[.ca] Modern Life Is Rubbish

Chronique amazon.fr:
Issu d'une tradition tourmentée, celle qui donna la scène de Manchester au début des années 80, Blur parvint cependant à faire sa place sur la scène pop britannique. Mené par un Damon Albarn omniprésent, le quatuor londonien affiche dès ce second album une belle assurance. Tant dans le soin apporté aux compositions - une veine mélodique évidente - qu'à celui de leur exécution. Le groupe compte des musiciens tous au service du collectif, ce qui donne des chansons compactes et soigneusement ficelées. Le disque est ambitieux ("Miss America"), et ses textes révèlent une personnalité d'auteur sensible, et une écriture musicale qui aime les risques. C'est sans doute pour que l'auditeur puisse en suivre plus facilement les sinuosités que figurent dans le livret les noms des accords, en même temps que les textes. Ces héritiers des Who et des Kinks livrent là un album d'une qualité digne de ses inspirateurs. --José Ruiz

From Amazon.co.uk:
Blur's second album saw them finding their feet just before they suddenly went supernova. In songs like "Chemical World", they started developing the themes of everyday British life that would follow them to their Parklife era. "Sunday Sunday" provided its own blueprint for the Britpop scene, showing the traditional Sunday dinner with the family for what it really is ("You gather the family round the table and eat enough to sleep"), while "Advert" follows in the spirit of Blur's musical ancestors (art school punks and mods). "Blue Jeans", meanwhile, demonstrates that Damon Albarn has always had a talent for writing delicate, sad ballads. Modern Life Is Rubbish deserves to be heard, not only to show how much Blur changed over the years, but because it still stands up and holds its own against anything they came up with later in their career. --Emma Johnston

Amazon.com essential recording:
Until this album, Blur was just another English dance-pop band recycling '60s guitar licks and that tired Manchester beat (dugga-dugga-cha, dugga-dugga- dugga-cha). But Modern Life is Rubbish turned out to be the weirdest and most endearing head-rock album since the Flaming Lips' Transmissions from the Satellite Heart. The 17 songs revel in strange chord changes, bizarre sound effects, off-kilter beats, gonzo lyrics, and English eccentricity, bringing to mind Ray Davies, Syd Barrett, and Julian Cope jamming together under the influence of what Blur calls the "Chemical World." Songs like "Colin Zeal," "Pressure on Julian," and "Sunday Sunday" boast killer hooks amid the chaos, making Modern Life Is Rubbish valuable trash indeed. --Jim DeRogatis

Modern Rock may be Rubbish....but...:
Not a new release by any means, but spinning in my head for good reason. Blur's second album, released in 1993, was a direct invite into the stormy world of Britpop, which was about to explode into mainstream. In the United States, the extension of Britpop leads only to Oasis and very early Radiohead (which is a shaky comparison at best), and often gets bogged into the sugar-pop of the Spice Girls or the alt-grunge of Bush before being recognised as its own separate and definitive category. Blur remain the lone symbols of what was once Britpop, having just released a 7th album to number one sales and singles and receiving a recent vote of album of the year by Q magazine (surprisingly ahead of Radioheads latest). Where Suede have disbanded, reformed, disbanded, and now are allegedly reforming again, Oasis have declined to repetitive schlock, and Radiohead have turned their heads to the left-field, Blur have survived through the gentle art of constant reinvention, while still retaining a core sound. MLIR Marks Blur first foray into what became "traditional" Brit-Pop. They tore off their 'baggy' style (enforced upon them by the execs at Food Records) and replaced it with a tongue-in-cheek cynicism that was distinctly...well...British. While fool's gold tracks like "Sunday Sunday" and "Turn it Up" are easily mass-pleasure romps, the rest of the album is a vignette of 1993 from the UK perspective. I say this because a vignette of 1993 from the US perspective would consist of a one word answer that starts with an 'S' and ends with an 'eattle'. The album opens with "For Tomorrow," one of the "hit singles" frontman Damon Albarn was told to write in order to get his band's follow-up to 1991's Leisure released. This track is one of Blur's attempts at intentionally mainstreaming their sound, with fantastic results. The song is a post-glam David Bowie on a strict diet of 'Hey Jude' (hear the chorus and you'll know what i mean), and is one to remain stuck in one's head for days. Couple this sound with Albarn's clever cockney, and you have Blur's original basic formula. Other tracks in the "Blursound" that are reserved for mainstream listeners are "Villa Rosie," "Popscene (available on the US edition)," "Coping," and "Chemical World." All these tracks are uniquely satisfying slices of Britpop. What really makes the album withstand the test of time, however, are the 'non-single' style tracks, namely "Blue Jeans," the hidden tracks (68&69)"When the Cows Come Home" and "Peach", and the lovely "Miss America." Overall, negating the empty tracks between 15-67, this album is the perfect kind to leave on shuffle indefinitely. It's Blur at their finest, despite the fact that, with every succeeding album, Blur have redefined what 'finest' really means.

It is, isn't it?:
The Madchester scene was helpful in getting Blur a record contract, but the image that it left them dragged them down as the scene faded. Blur needed a vision. On a tour of America, memories of their british homeland inspired them to write the songs that would become Modern Life is Rubbish, arguably the beginning of britpop. There is still a hint of their Leisure days on tracks like Oily Water and Turn it Up, but other than that, Modern Life is Rubbish is a leap forward for Blur, a reinvention. This is a band that mines the history of British music, from the Kinks-style satire of Sunday Sunday to the Syd Barrett-vibe of Miss America. It even pays tribute to Teardrop Explodes lead singer Julian Cope on Pressure on Julian. This is a band that gives us goofy instrumentals between tracks. This is a band that pokes fun at commercialized world, on songs like the punky Advert and the resigned Resigned. This is a band that thinks the rush of the city isn't worth it, as heard in the lyrics of Coping and Colin Zeal. This is a band that thinks Modern Life IS Rubbish. Modern life may be rubbish, but the performance of this album isn't. Damon Albarn's voice is a lot more confident than it is on Leisure, and the lyrics are more complex, and sometimes downright funny. ("practice doesn't make perfect when you're interbreeding", from Villa Rosie). Damon also gets to show off his talents on piano and a wide variety of keyboard, something he didn't get to do as much of on Leisure. Graham Coxon's guitar playing is delicious, as catchy and as vibrant as you can get for this kind of music. Both Alex James' bass and Dave Rowntree's drumming are varied and help to keeps things interesting. Some reviews have called this album weird. It's not that weird at all, pretty straightforward, catchy pop-rock melodys and choruses, with lyrics you can understand. It's just pop music with a sense of humour, the way the Beatles and the Kinks were. A couple of drawbacks. Stephen Street's production may have helped broadened Blur's sonic horizons, but sometimes it's the overall effect a bit flat and echoey. The occaisonal song gets a bit repetitive as well. Just nitpicking, really. It's a good album! If you like your rock music poppy, clever and stuff you can sing along to, this would be a good album for you. It's awfully underrated, mostly because it is overshadowed by its follow up, the Britpop blockbuster "Parklife". For the newcomer, this a particularly good album to get if you are after an album similar to the Best of, as there's only one track from this disc that made the Best of, so not much overlap. Modern life may be rubbish, but its a little more enjoyable with this album in your CD player.

First Take of the English Trilogy:
"Leisure"(1991)was still the product of a band in the search for their own sound(though having one of Blur's best songs-"There's no other way")and litlle prepared for success,as the black hole they entered after "Popscene"(1992)plummeted down the charts showed.Virtually written off by every journalist in Britain they set out to prove their worth,honed their pop formula,found their own voice and released their first great album-"Modern Life is Rubbish"-ressurrecting for the 90's the british spirit of bands like the Kinks,Squeeze or Jam(Which is visible in the superb retro cover). FOR TOMORROW-One of Blur's trademark songs;the guitar in the beginning followed by Damon singing "He's a twentieth century boy"(T-Rex anybody) still make for one of the best song intros(and albums for that matter) in modern music history. ADVERT-An excellent tune with outstanding vocal harmonies in the chorus. COLIN ZEAL-The closest to the KInks sound,and all the better for that. PRESSURE ON JULIAN-Reportedly about Julian Cope(it sees Blur acknowledge one of their influences)it's a great track in the spirit of the album. STARSHAPED-The most uplifting track,it hasn't got though a chorus to match the verses feel of teenage gusto. BLUE JEANS-The most gorgeous melody in here,one of the standouts. CHEMICAL WORLD-Faster than the last one,was one of the singles. SUNDAY,SUNDAY-The most direct song of this recording,great guitar,vocals,chorus and it's fast too.Perfect. OILY WATER-The worst track,probably because the demo version of this song was considered good enough to be in the album,well it wasn't.Should have been more worked upon. MISS AMERICA-Possibly Damon's best vocal perfomance lies here.After repeated listens the "I don't mind at all,I love only you"still manages to do it every time.This country tinged song is in fact somewhat distant from Blur's usual sound. VILLA ROSIE-Could have been penned by Ray Davies.One of the album's best. COPING-Powerful.The album's last great song. TURN IT UP-A rather incomprehensible song but still kinda cute. RESIGNED-The record's last cut is a pretty,mainly ambiental track. This album marks the beginning of Blur's golden age in a masterful way.

Excellent sophomore effort from Blur!:
After the promise of 1991's Leisure, Blur finally offer up a masterpiece of recording with their second album! Damon Albarn decided to write songs with a decidedly British slant, both lyrically and musically, and along the great musicianship of Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree, produced this wonderful album. Landmark cuts include the jaw-dropping For Tomorrow, Chemical World, Starshaped, Oily Water, Sunday Sunday, and Blue Jeans. Although the quality drops a tad near the end of the album, overall this is a tight, wonderful album. American fans should buy the USA version, as it's the only place you can get Blur's amazing 1992 one-off single Popscene.

Eccentricity has rarely sounded so good:
As a genre, Britpop has certainly had its moments, but too many of its more noted practitioners haven't quite been able to emerge from the overwhelming shadow of their Beatles influence (hell, Oasis don't even try). Many of these bands, or at least the ones that tend to hit here in the States, mean well, and they're certainly not without talent, but their music ultimately comes up lacking because the originality just isn't there (I'm looking your way, Coldplay). That's where Blur come in, with a sound and vision all their own. Blur's roots are in the same Beatles-derived template that a million other bands have borrowed from, but instead of appropriating this formula Blur twist it around and expand on it to create a style that's recognizably British but still unmistakably theirs. These guys take thirty years of British rock history and throw it in a blender, but what comes out is their own convention-dodging creation. And they're a lot more fun than Radiohead to boot. The irreverent attitude of original British-invasion bands like The Who, The Beatles, and The Kinks is here in all its glory, but "Modern Life Is Rubbish" is a Britpop album for the mind. The album is filled with odd time signatures, off-center arrangements, and the kind of skewed guitar sound that you won't hear on your local modern-rock station because it's too busy playing the latest terrible Nickelback single. Damon Albarn's voice is usually a bit off-key, but since everything else here is as well, it works perfectly. Blur's quirkiness brings to mind the Flaming Lips more than Oasis, and just like with the Lips, "Modern Life Is Rubbish" isn't just weirdness for its own sake; these guys have a batch of immensely enjoyable songs on their hands. "For Tomorrow" starts out with one of the catchiest hooks you'll ever hear, and then gets even catchier with a "la la la la la, la la la la la la la" chant that'll rattle around in your head for days. The riff-driven "Advert" actually rocks pretty hard, while "Colin Zeal" even introduces a reggae-dub beat that would do the Clash proud. And you've got to respect a band that would follow up the swooning guitars and and biting vocals of the bizarre "Pressure On Julian" with the joyous, transcendent pop of "Star-Shaped." For its part, the lyrically sly, musically stunning "Chemical World" is a classic, pure and simple. Is there a better lyric out there than "The peeping Thomas has a very nice view/ Across the street at the exhibitionist"? I think not. For its second half, "Modern Life Is Rubbish" actually manages to get slightly weirder, showcasing the commitment to diversity that truly separates Blur from the crowd of pretenders. After "Chemical World," the album mixes (relatively) straightforward pop with some more experimental stuff, sometimes within the same song (see "Pop Scene" for an example of what I mean). In a real curveball, "Intermission" starts out as a jazzy piano piece before skidding into a fascinating mess of noise and distortion. The distorted vocals, jumbled drum beat, and snatches of guitar noise that make up "Oily Water" combine to form one of the oddest, coolest rhythms you'll ever hear on a "pop" album. "Miss America" and "Resigned" are the quietest, most minimal songs on here, but their music and lyrics still keep them from resembling anything you'll hear on the radio. To sum up, not only do I consider "Modern Life Is Rubbish" one of the best British albums I've ever heard, but it's quickly become one of my favorite albums of any kind, ever. And given the fact that my CD collection is filled with punk, hardcore, and ultra-extreme metal albums, that's no small achievement. On one final, throwaway note, anyone who likes this album should check out Porcupine Tree's masterful, Britpop-meets-prog-rock-meets-metal album "In Absentia." I think you'll like what you hear.

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