Episode 63: Blur’s “Leisure” (1991)

Summary

Accelerated Culture Podcast: Episode 63 Summary – Blur’s “Leisure” (1991)

Release Date: March 29, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 63 of the Accelerated Culture Podcast, hosts Lori and Scott Free delve deep into Blur's debut album, "Leisure", released in 1991. Titled as a 2024 Webby Award Honoree for Best Indie Podcast, Accelerated Culture takes listeners on a nostalgic exploration of the evolution from 1980s new wave to 1990s alternative music, with a particular focus on often-overlooked albums that shaped the Britpop movement.

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Hosts' Personal Updates

The episode begins with Lori and Scott sharing their recent experiences in the music scene:

• Scott Free recounts attending a Helmet concert at Chicago’s Cobra Lounge, highlighting the band’s precise and energetic performance. (00:54)

  “But man, did these guys rock. Precise and tight and loud and distorted and complex with sometimes crazy time signatures.” (00:56)

• Lori mentions her upcoming attendance at the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, expressing excitement about seeing favorite bands like New Order, Garbage, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds live. (02:41)

  “New Order is going to be there. Garbage. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The Go Gos. Yeah, it's an amazing lineup, so right on. I am excited.” (03:33)

They also share shout-outs to listeners, fostering a sense of community among their audience. (04:09)

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Introduction to Episode: Blur’s "Leisure"

Scott introduces the episode's focus on Blur's 1991 debut album, "Leisure", acknowledging its cultural significance despite not being the band's most acclaimed work.

“Leisure now, it's not their best album, not by far, but it is, I think, culturally important because this was the seeds of what would later become the Britpop movement.” (06:13)

Scott emphasizes that while "Leisure" contains elements of shoegaze, Madchester, and baggy genres, it subtly hints at the Britpop sound that would emerge later, making it a vital piece in music history.

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The Formation and Evolution of Blur

Early Days and Band Formation

The hosts provide an in-depth history of Blur's formation:

• Stanway Comprehensive School in Colchester, where Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, and Alex James first crossed paths. Damon was known for his unique style and interests in music, hair, and acting. (08:40)

  “…Damon was a big fan back when Meantime came out. So I’m happy that you got to see them. Kind of bummed that I didn’t know about it.” (02:21)

• The initial friction between Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon, starting with derogatory comments about each other’s shoes, eventually blossomed into a creative partnership. (09:34 - 10:31)

• Alex James joins the band after being persuaded by his admiration for New Order, contributing his bass skills that would become foundational to Blur's sound. (18:08)

• The band's early name changes from Circus to Seymour before finally settling on Blur, influenced by the J.D. Salinger short story "Seymour: An Introduction." (20:41)

  “In 1988, there's a band called Circus. It's Damon Alburn on vocals, Graham Coxon on guitars, Dave Roundtree on drums. In late 1988, bassist Alex James joins the band and they change their name to Seymour after the J.D. salinger short story.” (20:41)

Signing with Food Records and Early Success

Blur signs with Food Records by February 1990, leading to the release of their initial singles:

• "She's So High" hits number 48 on the UK Singles Chart. (37:58 - 38:08)

  “She’s so High was a double A side. The next track was the other side of the she so High single.” (56:36)

• "There's No Other Way" becomes a significant hit, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart. (43:49 - 44:26)

• "Bang" follows as the third single, though it only reaches number 24, marking a less successful release compared to its predecessors. (50:42 - 51:20)

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Album Deep Dive: "Leisure"

Background and Influences

"Leisure" is characterized by its blend of shoegaze, Madchester, and emerging Britpop sounds. Hosts draw parallels between Blur's work and that of contemporaries like Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, and My Bloody Valentine.

“Graham Coxon explained, Leisure was our Queen, quote, indie Detox album.” (33:13)

Track-by-Track Analysis

1. "She's So High"

   • Description: Blends shoegaze elements with punchy guitar riffs.
   • Key Points: Originated from Alex James’s bass loop; recorded at Battery Studios, same as Stone Roses’ "Fool’s Gold".
   • Hosts' Opinion: Appreciated Graham Coxon's guitar work despite simplistic lyrics.
   • Quote:

     Lori: “But man, I think we were searching for their identity. There's some songs that are going to sound very much like the Madchester scene, but it's also as much shoegaze as anything else.” (06:31)

2. "There's No Other Way"

   • Description: Features a groovy, danceable beat with harmonious vocals.
   • Key Points: Became a top ten hit; compared to The Beatles and The Charlatans.
   • Hosts' Opinion: Praised the song's dance rock genius and Graham’s guitar prowess.
   • Quote:

     Scott: “It's pop rock genius. I mean, just so good.” (44:49)

3. "Bang"

   • Description: A high-energy track with a Manchester-inspired beat.
   • Key Points: Written quickly at Food Records’ insistence; Damon Albarn later disowned it.
   • Hosts' Opinion: Mixed feelings, acknowledging its solid beat but recognizing Damon’s criticism.
   • Quote:

     Damon: “Bang was just shit so he pretty much disowned it.” (51:38)

4. "I Know"

   • Description: Incorporates psychedelic influences with layered guitar effects.
   • Key Points: Features vintage photography on the cover; Damon’s relational dynamics with band members subtly reflected.
   • Hosts' Opinion: Enjoyed the psychedelic sounds and criticizes simplistic lyrics.
   • Quote:

     Scott: “I think there's a lot of personality through Graham Coxon's guitar.” (56:36)

5. "Slow Down"

   • Description: A heavy, fast-paced track with intense drumming.
   • Key Points: Features a significant shift in tempo and mood midway.
   • Hosts' Opinion: Divided opinions; Lori felt Damon Albarn’s vocals didn't match the music’s intensity, while Scott appreciated the dramatic shift.
   • Quote:

     Lori: “Slow Down. Had no great sense of atmosphere or any real tune to speak of.” (62:31)

6. "Repetition"

   • Description: Mid-tempo with shoegaze influences and layered vocals.
   • Key Points: Compared to Gorillaz’s later work; hints at future musical directions.
   • Hosts' Opinion: Found it interesting but noted lyrical shortcomings.
   • Quote:

     Scott: “It’s a product of the time, man.” (47:21)

7. "You, My Friend"

   • Description: Energetic track blending danceable beats with indie guitar work.
   • Key Points: Recognized as a fan favorite in live performances despite mixed in-headphone reviews.
   • Hosts' Opinion: Appreciated its live appeal but found it cacophonous solo.
   • Quote:

     Scott: “It’s a banger.” (76:50)

8. "Fool"

   • Description: Echoes The Smiths with introspective lyrics and melodic guitar.
   • Key Points: Damon Albarn’s vocals compared to Morrissey’s; produced by Mike Thorne.
   • Hosts' Opinion: Liked the song despite acknowledging its lyrical simplicity.
   • Quote:

     Scott: “It lacks some of Morrissey's literary pretensions, but the doubt and the questioning...” (78:25)

9. "Birthday"

   • Description: Slow-paced with droning guitars and reflective lyrics.
   • Key Points: Built up intensity at the 2:43 mark; themes of introspection on personal milestones.
   • Hosts' Opinion: Viewed as a sleeper shoegaze winner despite Damon’s lyrical reservations.
   • Quote:

     Scott: “Damon was left with little choice but to croon a few ahs and oohs in lieu of a proper chorus.” (61:59)

10. "Wear Me Down"

    • Description: Fuses grunge-like heavy guitars with Britpop harmonies.
    • Key Points: Seen as disjointed but functionally effective; ends the album on a mixed note.
    • Hosts' Opinion: Considered it two good songs mashed together, acknowledging its disjointed nature.
    • Quote:

      Scott: “It sounds like another band entirely… two pretty good songs, but are just shoehorned into each other.” (86:10)

Critical Reception at Release and Retrospect

Upon its release, "Leisure" received mixed reviews:

• NME gave it a balanced 6/10, acknowledging its present appeal but ignoring its future significance. (31:36)

  “Andrew Collins declared, it ain't the future. Blur are merely the present of rock and roll.” (31:36)

• Over time, critics and the band itself began to reassess the album's value:

  “Having previously discounted the band's 1991 debut as awful… Damon Albarn... hinted that had it been released into today's more rapid and unforgiving climate, Blur might not have been heard of again.” (80:53)

Despite initial lukewarm responses, "Leisure" is now recognized for capturing the indie scene of the early '90s, blending shoegaze, Madchester, and Britpop elements seamlessly.

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Legacy and Impact of "Leisure"

"Leisure" laid the groundwork for Blur's evolution into a Britpop powerhouse. Although the hosts acknowledge that the album is inconsistent, it remains an essential listen for understanding the genre's roots.

“It's extremely important that we're doing this episode because this would become so influential on what things on things to come in the Britpop scene.” (91:57)

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Band Members' Later Projects

The episode concludes with a brief overview of the band members' pursuits post-Blur:

• Graham Coxon released three solo albums and collaborated with artists like Duran Duran on their 2021 album Future Past.
• Alex James formed the band Fat Les with actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst, and works as a food writer for The Sun.
• Dave Rowntree ventured into podcast hosting with Dave Rowntree's Podcast Show and released his solo album Radio Songs in 2023. He also worked as a computer animator and became a lawyer during Blur's hiatus.
• Damon Albarn continued his illustrious career with Gorillaz, an animated band that achieved global success with numerous albums, including the influential Demon Days.

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Conclusion and Future Episodes

Lori and Scott wrap up the episode by reflecting on their favorite tracks from "Leisure":

• Scott prefers "Birthday" for its shoegaze qualities.
• Lori favors "There's No Other Way" for its quintessential Britpop elements.

They preview the next episode, which will explore The Ocean Blue’s 1991 album "Cerulean", coinciding with Lori’s upcoming live concert featuring the band. This continuation underscores the podcast's commitment to uncovering and analyzing pivotal albums that shaped alternative music.

“So, we're going to cover a band that I love, the Ocean Blue, and their 1991 album, Cerulean. So I'm excited not just because we're doing that album, but also because I'm going to be seeing them live in about a month or so.” (98:06)

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Notable Quotes with Attribution:

• Scott Free (00:54): “But man, did these guys rock. Precise and tight and loud and distorted and complex with sometimes crazy time signatures.”

• Lori (02:21): “New Order is going to be there. Garbage. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The Go Gos. Yeah, it's an amazing lineup, so right on. I am excited.”

• Scott Free (06:13): “Leisure now, it's not their best album, not by far, but it is, I think, culturally important because this was the seeds of what would later become the Britpop movement.”

• Scott Free (31:36): “Andrew Collins declared, it ain't the future. Blur are merely the present of rock and roll.”

• Scott Free (44:49): “It's pop rock genius. I mean, just so good.”

• Lori (51:38): “But man, I think we were searching for their identity. There's some songs that are going to sound very much like the Madchester scene, but it's also as much shoegaze as anything else.”

• Scott Free (86:10): “It sounds like another band entirely… two pretty good songs, but are just shoehorned into each other.”

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Final Thoughts

Accelerated Culture Podcast effectively navigates the complexities of Blur's "Leisure," balancing critical analysis with personal anecdotes. By situating the album within its historical context and exploring its lasting impact, Lori and Scott offer listeners a comprehensive understanding of this seminal work in alternative music. Whether you're a Blur aficionado or a casual music enthusiast, this episode provides valuable insights into the album that sowed the seeds for Britpop’s rise.

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For more episodes and deep dives into alternative music history, visit AcceleratedCulturePodcast.com.

Transcript

[Unknown Speaker]

Foreign.

[Lori]

Welcome to the Accelerated Culture Podcast. A sonic journey through the vibrant and revolutionary sounds of the 1980s and 1990s. And now 2024 Webby Honoree for best Indie Podcast. I'm Lori, along with my co host, Scott Free, and in this podcast we explore how new waves stormed the airwaves in the early 80s and and gave way for the rise of alternative music in the 90s. Find us on the [e-mail] hello, and welcome back to the Accelerated Culture Podcast.

[Scott Free]

I'm Lori and I am Scott Free.

[Lori]

What's new, Scot Free? What have you seen? What have you done?

[Scott Free]

Oh, I have done many things since last we spoke. Although the most relevant to this podcast is two weeks ago, more or less. I went and saw at the Cobra Lounge, a small room dedicated to rock that rocks hard in Chicago's near west side. Went and saw helmet doing the 30th anniversary tour of their album Betty. I had not ever seen Helmet live, and I hadn't heard a word about Helmet in years. But man, did these guys rock. Precise and tight and loud and distorted and complex with sometimes crazy time signatures. But man, this show was so good. And again in a really small room.

[Lori]

I haven't been to Cobra Lounge in a long time. I think the last time I was there was a Naked Ray Gun concert and I got kicked in the face.

[Scott Free]

I could see that.

[Lori]

Yeah, me getting kicked in the face. You could see.

[Scott Free]

Oh, no, no.

[Lori]

Okay.

[Scott Free]

Naked Ray Gun getting out of control.

[Lori]

But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I didn't even realize Helmut was touring because I was a big fan back when Meantime came out. So I. I'm happy that you got to see them. Kind of bummed that I didn't know about it.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, it was one of those things where a buddy of mine months ago sent a link to just a few friends at the time. I went and signed up, but they said they were sold out. But I could get myself put on a waiting list and then bam, Miracle Ticket comes through and I'm going to Helmet. That show was good.

[Lori]

Oh, that's cool. I'm so glad. My big news is I'm going to be going to the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena in May.

[Scott Free]

Oh, wow. I am envious of that. That is an insane lineup.

[Lori]

Yes, well. And of course, you know, Scott, I am obsessed with madness. I have wanted to see them live all my life.

[Scott Free]

Wait, you have never seen madness live. Laurie of the Stateside Madness Podcast has never seen madness live. That is a crazy situation. That is some sort of if there only there was a word for it. All right, Madness. That's madness.

[Lori]

New Order is going to be there. Garbage. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The Go Gos. Yeah, it's an amazing lineup, so right on. I am excited.

[Scott Free]

Maybe see if you can use our Accelerated Culture podcast cred to get you some backstage access or press so you can take some photos.

[Lori]

That would be amazing.

[Scott Free]

That's how these endeavors really pay off, you know, concert perk and tens and tens of cents of ad revenue.

[Lori]

Well, I do have a few shouts out.

[Scott Free]

Shout it out.

[Lori]

Okay, well, the first one is one of our Facebook followers, Joseph Ayers. He's been following our podcast for some time now, and on the Matthew Sweet episode, episode 62, he commented, Good episode, good album. So thanks, Joseph, for being a longtime fan.

[Scott Free]

Joseph, thank you for listening.

[Lori]

Yeah. The next shout out. This is somebody that has commented on our website before. Sheraton. Croce. C R O C E. Croce. Croce.

[Scott Free]

And if it's anything like Jim Croce, it's Croce. Yeah.

[Lori]

Who writes, is Matthew Sweet a serial killer? Omg. I spit out my drink. You two are hilarious. Thanks for this trip down memory lane.

[Scott Free]

Did we say something about Matthew Sweet being a serial killer?

[Lori]

You don't remember that?

[Scott Free]

I gotta tell you, when I'm on stage or when I'm in the recording booth, I tend to go into this sort of fugue state, and whatever comes out of my mouth, I have no memory of later.

[Lori]

That was me. I was the one who was speculating that Matthew Sweet might be a serial killer.

[Scott Free]

Oh, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lori]

Okay. And then the last shout out that I have, I have a student named Darcy in my web development class, and she's informed me that her husband Juan is listening. So, Juan, welcome aboard. Welcome to Accelerated Culture. And I swear, I'm not as mentally unstable as I come off.

[Scott Free]

Almost, but not quite as mentally unstable as you come off.

[Lori]

Nice. All right, so, Scott, you chose this album, I think, didn't you?

[Scott Free]

We kind of looked at the big albums of 1991 that we hadn't covered, and this one seemed like a good example of a genre that we really haven't gotten too much into. So, yeah, we kind of came to this one together, I think.

[Lori]

Okay, well, so we're talking about Blur and their 1991 debut album, Leisure now, it's not their best album, not by far, but it is, I think, culturally important because this was the seeds of what would later become the Britpop movement.

[Scott Free]

I've always enjoyed Saying the name of the band with a grossly exaggerated accent, so more bleu. And since they are a very English band and one of the progenitors of the whole rip pop genre, I don't know, I feel like maybe the album title should actually be pronounced Leisure. Anyway, people know Blur from song two, which if you don't know it by name, you definitely know it by the chorus. And then the other big single actually came out before Leisure itself was released. Their second single, which we will obviously talk about in some detail because it also appeared on their debut album, there's no Other Way. Everybody knows that song. It was a monster hit. So seemed like Blur was an important one to talk about because of that proto Brit pop thing they did. But I gotta tell you, I knew Blur from the singles. I had never actually sat down and listened to Leisure in its entirety. And I was surprised to find that it is not really what we think of as a Brit pop album. There are the seeds of it in here, but it's as much shoegaze and Madchester and baggy as anything else. And sometimes it combines those genres and. And sometimes you can hear what they're going to be later. And the Brit pop really does shine through, but plenty to dig into.

[Lori]

So, Scott, before I get into the story of Blur, I do want to cite a couple sources. A lot of my information is coming from a book called the Life of Blur by Martin Power. And also I have a few anecdotes from. From a 1995 select magazine feature called Blur. How did they do that?

[Scott Free]

Noted.

[Lori]

So the story of Blur really begins at Stanway Comprehensive School in Colchester in the uk. So this is, as far as I can tell, the equivalent of a middle school. They were like 11, 12, 13 years old at the time. Damon Albarn was a student there and he was kind of regarded as the school weirdo. So he had two passions, music and his hair.

[Scott Free]

Is it his hair?

[Lori]

He had three passions. Music, his hair and acting. He was very much into two tones. Ska music, madness, like we mentioned earlier. The Specials.

[Scott Free]

Sure.

[Lori]

And also the mod scene, bands like the Jam.

[Scott Free]

Ooh, Paul Weller.

[Lori]

Yes, Paul Weller. And so, according to Graham Coxon, who would later become a band member with him, Damon wasn't liked much at school. Even I thought he was a vain wanker.

[Scott Free]

Okay. And that's his Brendan bandmate.

[Lori]

Yeah, I can understand that. I think you and I probably have said things like that about each other at some point.

[Scott Free]

Wow, that sounds like a confession. I've never been anything but glowingly nice about you.

[Lori]

Right. Well, anyway, I guess there was a comment that a very young Damon Alburn made to Graham Coxon a derogatory comment about his shoes because they were both wearing brogues. Graham's were rubber sold and they. Damon's were leather sold. So he made a very derogatory comment. And that was like their first encounter.

[Scott Free]

You know, I've had friendships that have started that way. Maybe not about the soles of our shoes, but starts on an acrimonious note and turns into something else entirely over the years and decades. So I feel you.

[Lori]

So, as I mentioned, Graham Coxon was a year behind Damon Albarn. So they were both studying music at Stanway Comprehensive. Damon started off playing violin, and eventually he moved to piano. And that was really his instrument of choice, that and singing. And originally, Graham Coxon was a saxophone player. This was at the urging of his father, Bob Coxon. However, at age 12, Graham Coxon heard the Jam for the first time, Paul Weller again. And it changed his life. He said, I just have to have a guitar so I could play along with the jam. Fortunately, his father relented and bought him.

[Scott Free]

His first guitar and saved him from a lifetime of ska bands.

[Lori]

Right. So despite their initial friction, they both ended up cast in a play together. They were both in the music program, and they both pursued musical theater. And they were in a play called Orpheus in the Underworld.

[Scott Free]

Ah, the classics.

[Lori]

Yes. Right. They both had lead roles, with Graham Coxon being cast as Styx, the God of the underworld, and Daemon as Zeus, king of the gods. Daemon was really bitten by the acting bug. And after they graduated from Spanway Comprehensive, Damon went on to a drama school called East 15. That was really kind of an eye opener for him. He was significantly younger, up to three years younger than most of his classmates. He was a little bit of a precocious child, so he was a little bit more advanced, and he really was not feeling the vibe at East 15. I felt hopeless, unhappy, and really dissatisfied with what I was doing, he told writer Stuart McCroney in 1988. I just didn't feel any connection with the school at all. He actually ended up dropping out of East 15. He was so disenchanted. And on a side note, I can understand that now. I wasn't three years younger than most of my classmates, but I was pretty much the youngest in every class. And when you're at that age, it really is. It is difficult. You wouldn't think so now, when you're older, a year or two difference is not A big deal, but in your teens, it really is who you call an older you, old man.

[Scott Free]

All right, that's me, yeah.

[Lori]

He stayed in touch with his friend from. Because they're now friends. His friend from Stanway, Graham Coxon. Graham Coxon was going to school at the North Essex School of Art, where he was having a fantastic time. And Damon's younger sister Jessica was also a student at North Essex School of Art. So when Damon dropped out of East 15, he reconnected with his love of music. He received an inheritance, 3,000 pounds, because his grandfather had died. And Damon decided to take that inheritance and pour it all into creating a demo. He recorded a three song demo at the Beat Factory in London.

[Scott Free]

That is a baller move.

[Lori]

Now, when he didn't get any bites from any record labels, he decided that maybe he'd be better off in a band. So he started a band called Circus, which included a few other musicians, including a guy named Dave Rountree. Now Dave Roundtree. His parents expected him to learn an instrument and so he started off on, of all things, a set of mini bagpipes called a chanter.

[Scott Free]

Oh, no way. My mother actually gave me a chanter. I was a saxophone player. My mother, half Scottish, thought that I might get a kick out of trying to learn the bagpipes and gave me a chanter kit. It's a double reeded kit pipe and it is incredibly difficult, like double reeds, like an oboe or a bassoon. It is really easy to make an absolutely painful squeak, but difficult to make actual notes. And some would say that it's actually impossible on a bagpipe to make anything other than a painful squeak. But I love me some bagpipe music, have yet to even get novice level good at the chanter, much less master it. So the bagpipe is a distant, pardon the pun, pipe dream.

[Lori]

Ah, I see what you did there.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not proud of that.

[Lori]

But it sounds like Dave Roundtree would agree with you because he stated, quote, it was like playing a bloody hot water bottle. So he managed to convince his parents to let him learn military drums. He became a drummer for a local band called Edelweiss. He was actually in a couple bands and while he was an Edelweiss, he was introduced to Graham Coxon. Now, Graham Coxon, who as I mentioned, was at North Essex School of Art, was playing sax in a number of bands, including a band called the Curious and another band called Hazel Dean and the Carp Eaters From Hell.

[Scott Free]

That is a terrible name. That's the worst name I ever Heard.

[Lori]

Right? Yeah. But anyway, the two met and over drinks, they were talking and they discovered that Graham's father, Bob Coxon, had actually been Dave's music teacher at Landmere School. So Coxson invited his new friend, Dave Roundtree, to go see his old friend Damon Albarn, who was performing his first solo gig. And Roundtree was impressed enough that he handed Damon a note with his phone number that said, if you ever need a drummer, just give me a ring.

[Scott Free]

Right on.

[Lori]

Yeah, Right. And then actually, that phone call would come sooner rather than later, because in October of 1988, two days before circus was supposed to begin recording, their drummer left. So they called Dave Roundtree up and he said yes. And according to Damon Albaron, there was nobody else that they were even considering that it was just a given that this would be their guy. So there have been a few lineup shifts with Circus and then eventually a few people left and Graham Coxon came in. But he surprised everybody because they all knew him as a sax player. They were very surprised to learn that he was actually quite good at guitar. So now all that was left was finding a bassist. This is where Alex James comes into.

[Scott Free]

The story in late 1988. If I'm not off my mark.

[Lori]

Correct. Alex, unlike the other guys, he didn't have any formal music training. When Alex was 13, his father purchased him an upright piano for a birthday present, thinking he would encourage Alex to learn music. And Alex really enjoyed watching his father play, but he really didn't want to learn it himself. He said, quote, my dad showed me how to play blues, but really I just wanted to be a footballer like all the other boys. Besides, only wankers were into music now. That changed when he was 16 and he heard the song Blue Monday by New Order. The bass in particular, he said the bass was doing one melody and the guitar is doing another. And you've got these great, very honest lyrics. It was sophisticated in a very primitive way. A bunch of Herberts claiming high art as their own.

[Scott Free]

I don't need to start calling people Herberts.

[Lori]

Herberts, yeah. So he fell in love with New Order and with Peter Hook's bass playing and picked up the bass. Alex was introduced to Damon Albarn In December of 1988, when circus was throwing a party at the Beat Factory to celebrate the finishing of their little mini album that they recorded. He was also friends with Graham Coxon and he knew that Graham talked about Damon a lot, so he was really eager to meet this guy. He was really kind of a snob towards Alex and he was so irritated that when Damon asked Alex, well, what did you think of it? He said, I told them they sounded like Brother Beyond.

[Scott Free]

I don't know what that means.

[Lori]

I don't know what that means either. But apparently it was an insult because he said Damon had completely pissed me off. So even though they kind of met on this sour note, this seems to be a trend with Damon Alburn, I'm noticing. When they lost a few other band members, they called Alex to the Beat factory. He was given a can of lager and a bass guitar. And they said what happened next sealed his fate in the studio as kind of his pseudo audition. Alex started playing around with a bass melody that would later become the baseline for she's so High.

[Scott Free]

I'm gonna do the too long, didn't read version of that.

[Lori]

Okay.

[Scott Free]

In 1988, there's a band called Circus. It's Damon Alburn on vocals, Graham Coxon on guitars, Dave Roundtree on drums. In late 1988, bassist Alex James joins the band and they change their name to seymour after the J.D. salinger short story. Seymour, an introduction. They get courted by Food Records, but Food Records doesn't like the name Seymour. After some brainstorming, they change the name to Blur and are assigned. They start recording singles and Blur, as we know it is born.

[Lori]

Thank you. Thank you for that. I do tend to be very long winded, don't I? It's like you should have seen when I was editing my dissertation. Yeah. So Food Records, as you mentioned, and they were the label that had signed Jesus Jones, are they not?

[Scott Free]

Oh, yeah. I knew I knew that name.

[Lori]

Jesus Joe. And so by the end of February of 1990, the band had signed to Food Records. Interestingly enough, there was a provision in the contract with Food Records that said that Dave Roundtree was no longer allowed to wear pajama bottoms on stage.

[Scott Free]

I love what happens once they are actually signed. In 1990, the newly christened and record contract having Blur goes on tour supporting the Cramps. And I freaking love the Cramps. It is a weird juxtaposition of this early indie pop with shoegaze elements and sort of proto Manchester thing they've got going. It's juxtaposed with the freaky psycho rockabilly thing that the Cramps have going. But, hey, you get to hang out with Lux Interior and Poison Ivy for a year. That's a good year right there. Yeah, that's all I got.

[Lori]

All right. Yeah. As you mentioned, they changed their name to Blur and went into the recording studio and I Guess the rest they say is is history.

[Scott Free]

Yes. So before the release of the debut album leisure, Blur released three singles. The first one, she's so High, reached number 48 on the UK singles chart. After that one, they added producer Steven street and produced another single which became quite big. There's no Other Way. It was a huge hit, hitting number eight in the UK singles chart. And a third single which did not fare nearly as well, but that one was entitled Bang. All this is before the album is even released. So this is an amazing start for a brand new band. Brand new in quotes, because, you know, as you said, they had been working at becoming this brand new band for years at this point, but still an auspicious start. There's a quote from the Wikipedia article on Blur that I love. And, you know, as is so often the case, I read the Wikipedia, so you don't have to. Blur became pop stars and were accepted into a clique of bands who frequented the Syndrome club in London dubbed the Scene that Celebrates Itself, which is an amazing name for a group of bands.

[Lori]

Okay, I have something interesting about that, actually.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, what do you got?

[Lori]

So another group of people that hung out at Syndrome formed a band called Suede. Now, this was Brett Anderson and his girlfriend, now, I guess former girlfriend, Justine Frischman. So Brett was the lead singer of Suede and Justine was the rhythm guitarist, and she was still living with Brett at the time, but she started dating Damon Albarn.

[Scott Free]

Oh, no.

[Lori]

Yeah. So as you might imagine, that caused a little bit of an awkward situation. Frischman actually left Suede and started a new band, which she called Elastica.

[Scott Free]

Oh, all right.

[Lori]

Yeah, yeah. There was always this rivalry between Blur and Suede and then eventually Oasis, which I'm sure we'll talk about, but I think that some of the rivalry is coming from this.

[Scott Free]

Dang.

[Lori]

Anyway. Yeah. Right.

[Scott Free]

Sordid history, but it's interesting.

[Lori]

And actually, according to Damon Albarn, he kind of takes credit for some of Suede's success. This is so Damon. He's really kind of cocky, isn't he?

[Scott Free]

A little bit.

[Lori]

Okay. According to him, Suede would not have been successful if he hadn't stolen Justine away from Brett. Because that split and that friction is what inspired Brett to write these conflicted Love Lauren songs like Metal Mickey and Animal Lover.

[Scott Free]

Oh. So Damon really did him a favor by stealing his girl.

[Lori]

But, I mean, that's just. That's just so Damon Alburn, right? Yeah.

[Scott Free]

How about it?

[Lori]

Yeah, yeah. I was going to talk about how I came to discover this album Please. Okay, so in the late summer of 91, that's when this album came out. And this was right after I graduated high school. Hadn't quite turned 18 yet. So I hadn't moved out of my parents house yet.

[Scott Free]

Okay.

[Lori]

But I would in a couple months. But my best friend, who was a year ahead of me in high school, she pulled up one day in her car, picked me up. We were going out. I don't remember, we were going to the mall or something. And she was playing this on her car CD player. And I saw the COVID of the album. She had it tucked into the pocket of the passenger side car door. And I picked it up and I saw this very distinctive cover of this woman in this swim cap with daisies all across the top and just this ridiculous amount of makeup. Like, who wears that kind of makeup when they go swimming right now I found out when I was researching for this episode that that was a photograph that was taken in May of 1954 by a gentleman named Charles Hewitt for a fashion feature on bathing hats called Glamour in the Swim. And they had cropped it down because there were actually two ladies in the picture. I think they took a cue from the Smiths because the Smiths would often take these vintage photos and crop it down so you'd only see one person. And Damon Albert was a huge fan of Morrissey and the Smiths, so I can see where they would have done that.

[Scott Free]

But anyway, this is the second time we've seen that technique as an album cover in just the last few episodes. Matthew, sweet girlfriend. Again, the album cover featured a vintage photo of a beauty in an odd outfit featuring unusual headwear. Like, that's the formula. That's the album cover formula. All right.

[Lori]

I didn't even think about that.

[Scott Free]

Right.

[Lori]

I didn't even count. Yeah. Wow, good observation. Well, anyway, so she's playing this music and you have to understand that up until this point, her absolute favorite band in the world was Susie and the Banshees. She introduced me to Fugazi, she introduced me to Black Flag. She was very heavily into the Sex Pistols. So hearing this coming from her car stereo, it was not like anything that she had listened to before. And she so all excited, she tells me, this is my new favorite band.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, it's everything else you mentioned was kind of dark and sometimes hard. And this ain't that.

[Lori]

Yeah, well, and she was super, super goth. I was goth light, she was super goth. So, yeah, this really took me by surprise. But I remember listening to this album just kind of riding around Town. And I remember. Okay, there's some good stuff in here. And I remember thinking this almost sounds Beatles esque in some places.

[Scott Free]

Definitely could see that.

[Lori]

Yeah.

[Scott Free]

The harmony in particular.

[Lori]

Yeah. So as far as I know, she is still a Blur fan. There was a situation after a Blur concert where she hooked up. We'll just, we'll put it that way. She hooked up with Alex James, the bassist, and after a show, and then she was very angry because the next time they came into town, she went backstage and he didn't recognize her.

[Scott Free]

Oh, dare he?

[Lori]

I know, I know. So she, she was on this big I hate Alex James kick after that. And I'm sure you know, because they were really heavily into drugs and alcohol when they were first touring, so it's possible he didn't even remember her.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know how to break this two year old friend, but she was likely not the only fan with whom Alex engaged in that sort of relationship over the course of their touring. Just a guess.

[Lori]

Anyway, so that's how I first came to find this album. And I do have memories of, you know, late August, early September, driving around, listening to in particular the singles. I remember.

[Scott Free]

Oh yeah, they were very big.

[Lori]

The other thing that I think we need to note here. Scott, please. Is that the US release was very different from the UK release.

[Scott Free]

Oh yeah. Track order was all different. And at least one song was swapped out in the US version with a B side or double A side single. Yeah.

[Lori]

Yes. Leisure was released on August 26th of 1991. So the original title of the album was supposed to be Irony in the uk.

[Scott Free]

I like it.

[Lori]

Yeah. But according to the life of Blur, both the band and the label had dumped the Sex Pistols referencing title by the time it arrived in shops. Also fair, it did not chart in the us, but it did reach number seven in the UK and was certified gold in the uk.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, and critics didn't love it. They didn't hate it, but they didn't love it. Contemporary reviewers were less than glowing about it. This is from an NME article called Album A and E, Blur Leisure by the NME blog on April 7, 2011. And in that article, which is a revised, updated review of Blur's Leisure, they go back and talk about the NME article that came out at the time of the album's release. And it says contemporary reviewers were inclined to agree, delivering an even handed six out of ten. That is NME's Andrew Collins declared, it ain't the future. Blur are merely the present of rock and roll, which is Funny, because Blur would kind of go on to become the future of rock and roll, at least within the Brit pop genre, and especially in England. Yes, it should be noted that as time went on, Damon Albarn himself developed a less than generous view of their debut album. Albert himself kind of hated it. Eventually, later in life, once the band had evolved past it, and critics love to quote this, calling the album awful. We'll talk about why that might be later, but I can tell you in advance, I don't agree with him and I think he is probably referring to one specific aspect of the album.

[Lori]

And we're going to hear this because we're about to start the track by track. But I think they were still searching for their identity. There's some songs that are going to sound very much like the Baggy or Madchester sound. There's other songs where you're going to hear elements of shoegaze. And Graham Coxon explained, Leisure was our Queen, quote, indie Detox album. An album that allowed us to get all that dinosaur, Valentine's and C86 bile out of our system. So dinosaur, meaning dinosaur junior, which was another big indie band at the time. Valentine's, My Bloody Valentine, huge influence on Graham Coxon for sure. There's some hits, there's some misses, but let's dive right in.

[Scott Free]

Well, okay, then let's do it then. Let's get into the track by track, deep dive and start where we always do with track one, she's so High.

[Lori]

I always get this one confused with the Tal Bachman song that came out a few years later, she's so High.

[Scott Free]

I. I don't. I don't know that song, but. All right.

[Lori]

Okay. All right.

[Scott Free]

So as an opener for the album, it kind of encapsulates some of the disparate strains of contemporary music of the time, contemporary English music at the time, that blur our juggling like it's Shoe Gaze, but it's harder than Shoe Gaze, but still has that dense wall of reverb and delay and swirling guitars. And it's not so dreamy as dream pop, but it still has those big sunny harmonies. And the chorus particularly, it's got those harder guitars. It's a mid tempo thing, so it's not quite Manchestery, but you know it. It really is doing a couple different things at the same time, right?

[Lori]

Yeah, yeah. So this song originated with that baseline that Alex came up with, that four chord sequence when he was auditioning to be the last member of the band. And by all accounts, he was not a very good bassist. At this time. So what they had to do is they basically took it and looped it. The loop bass took two days and the drums took a week. What they also had to do with some of the songs, I don't know if this is true for this one, but for some of the other songs, they actually had to kind of layer Graham Coxon's guitar over the bass. They probably didn't do it in this one because of the loop. It's the same bass sequence for both the verse and the chorus. It doesn't change. I don't know if you noticed that they recorded this in June of 1990 while they were watching the World Cup. This one definitely has a very Stone Roses vibe to it, doesn't it?

[Scott Free]

I can feel that. Yep.

[Lori]

And actually they recorded it at Battery Studios, which was the same studio that the Stone Roses used to record Fool's Gold.

[Scott Free]

Oh, Gold is so good. I'm a little bummed that I signed on to become co host of this podcast after you'd already gotten past Stone Roses. Because, man, if you want to talk Manchester, that is the album. But here we are.

[Lori]

Well, you know, we make the rules, we can break the rules. There's no reason why we can't go back if we want to. Yeah, yeah.

[Scott Free]

Eventually we're going forward.

[Lori]

But anyway, Alex was convinced that she's so High would be a number one. He really was sure of it. So, as you mentioned, Scott, the single predates the album. It was released on October 15th of 1990. It went to number 48 in the UK, not in the US and it was named NME's single of the Week, which is interesting because you just read that quote where they were panning this album.

[Scott Free]

Right.

[Lori]

But it wasn't that way to start off. The single cover actually was the source of some controversy, or as the Brits will say, controversy.

[Scott Free]

Will they? I'm not sure they say that.

[Lori]

No, they do, they do. I can pull up some clips that they say that they used a photograph of a naked woman riding a hippopotamus on the COVID And so there was some controversy there.

[Scott Free]

That is for very low values of controversy. I gotta think there were much more controversial things going on at the time.

[Lori]

Have you seen the music video for this one, Scott?

[Scott Free]

I have, yes. The thing that struck me at first is that, man, they are just kids at the time. And then the visuals are. I mean, it's fun. They're miming the lyrics to the song in this crazy toroid ring made of smaller rings of lights. I could see this One playing on the video screens in a chill out room in a club somewhere.

[Lori]

Yeah, there's definitely a psychedelic factor to it, isn't there? The video was directed by Dave Balfi of Food Records and we've talked about him before. I think in the Jesus Jones episode. The idea was he wanted to make a neon jellyfish. I don't know that he succeeded at that.

[Scott Free]

No, this is a very, very abstract jellyfish. But honestly, it works.

[Lori]

Yeah, honestly, it's. Visually, I don't find it very interesting.

[Scott Free]

But I guess just as a lighting aficionado, it worked for me. But, you know, it's just the guy standing around in a dark room with these neon lights and rotating lights swirling around them. So I think it's cool. But, you know, is it not particularly groundbreaking? Yeah, just fun to look at.

[Lori]

I can't quite figure out the lyrics. She's so high I want to crawl all over her. I mean, that sounds kind of creepy.

[Scott Free]

Well, I mean, yeah, that's in the chorus. The lyrical structure that sort of repeats with variants for the verses. I see her face every day doesn't help me. There's a BBC review that I think summarizes this, particularly where the lyrics are concerned. It's from BBC.co.uk a BBC review by one Sid Smith from 2007 and the title really gives it away. Blur had nothing to say but said it very well.

[Lori]

Yeah, I think that's a fair assessment. Yeah, the lyrics are very simplistic. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, sorry, that. That was just the title of it. The actual, the. The line from the review, the spacey jangle of she's so High encapsulates the relaxed appeal of sunshine drenched choruses eagerly repeated simply because it sounded good rather than what it all might mean. And yeah, Damon Elburn is not writing deep philosophical lyrics. He's saying and singing words. Yeah, just to have something to say and sing. And an easily repeatable chorus that he repeats quite a bit.

[Lori]

There was a quotation from Sounds magazine when the single was released. This debut sees the guys doffing their cap to the indie slash dance scene while flouncing way beyond it. How can you resist a love song opening with the lines I see her face every day? It doesn't help me. This stands comparison with anything in the last five years. Blur are the first great band of the 90s.

[Scott Free]

Wow. Yeah, all right.

[Lori]

For me, I think what really. And you're going to hear me say this a lot on these songs, what really makes these songs for Me is Graham Coxon's guitar. He is just a virtuoso. He is so amazing. He's bringing the grit and the power and the oomph. And then also Dave Roundtree's drums on most of these songs. They're very tight, they're very crisp, some of them. Like this one, it does have kind of a Manchester inspired backbeat or a Baggie inspired backbeat, but that's not a bad thing.

[Scott Free]

No, not a problem for me.

[Lori]

Yeah, but they were accused at the time of ripping off, like, Happy Monday.

[Scott Free]

Stone Roses, they were accused of bandwagonism. But when you actually look at these individual tracks as we will, if you're saying it's Madchester, you can be like, okay, it does sound a lot like the Charlatans, but without so much organ. Or it does sound a lot like the Happy Mondays, but without all the sampling and electronic beats. And it does sound a lot like in Spiral Carpets, but like, there's always. It sounds kind of like some things, but whatever. I mean, you can only be so mad at a band for following the sonic trends of the time. Not everyone is going to be a pioneer. Sometimes you're just playing within a genre. And if you do it well, hey, more power to you.

[Lori]

Yes. All right. Anything else on track one?

[Scott Free]

I think that'll do it for me.

[Lori]

Okay, the next track, again on the American release is there's no Other Way.

[Unknown Speaker]

Taking the fun out of everything and making me wrong When I don't want to think Taking the fun out of everything I don't want to think at all there's no other way there's no other way all that you can do is what's there.

[Scott Free]

Okay, right from that opening guitar riff in all its 60s glory, you can tell that this is going to be great, right?

[Lori]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Scott Free]

Oh, yeah. The riff is relatively simple, but, like, so groovy, right?

[Lori]

Yes. And really, again, it's. It's that guitar riff that makes the song. The guitar and the drums.

[Scott Free]

Yes, yes to all that is a very compelling dance rock beat. This is where you can be like, okay, now I can definitely hear Happy Mondays or Stone Roses in it, but, you know, they're doing their own thing. And then when the drums drop out and the guitar and the bass just play that break, that is pop rock genius. I mean, just so good. And also the harmonies are just amazing. Those. Oh, yeah, yeah. So great. Also then guitar solo with reverse reverb comes in. I am a sucker for reverse reverb guitar. I am always in for that. You know, I remember at the time people were saying that this sounds like the Beatles and, you know, I can see it. But for my money, it sounds more like the Monkeys and I am not even mad about it. Strong proponent of the Monkeys. Anyone who is busting on the Monkeys is itching for a fight as far as I'm concerned.

[Lori]

It's funny that you should mention that because in the video for this.

[Scott Free]

Yes.

[Lori]

Daemon's hair, he looks like a deranged Peter Torque.

[Scott Free]

Definitely. I mean, yeah, that was one of the hairstyles of the Mad Chester Arrow is that ridiculous shag bowl cut. They were really committed to it in this video. Yeah, it is some straight Peter Clark stuff.

[Lori]

Yeah. Now, the reverse reverb guitar that you were talking about.

[Scott Free]

Yes.

[Lori]

Graham Coxon was a huge fan of.

[Scott Free]

Sid Barrett era Pink Floyd, same Graham Coxon, same.

[Lori]

And you can really kind of feel that psychedelic influence.

[Scott Free]

I have two different, longer quotations. The first of them from the NME a N e article from 2011 that I mentioned earlier. The first two tracks of Blur's Leisure, including Of Course there's no Other Way, glow with a golden pop fuzz and Boast a feat shifting irresistibility that made them indie disco classics, as even while borrowing someone else's sonics, Blur's identity shines through, particularly through the personality of Graham Coxon's guitar. And that's it. Like, this is as the best of Madchester was, for my money at least, is a guitar rock dance song. And Graham Coxon is the man here.

[Lori]

You know that organ in the background that kind of threads throughout the song? That is really cool. That's actually Damon. You know, I mentioned that he had studied piano.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, yeah, that makes all kinds of sense. And yeah, that's where you get comparisons to the Charlatans and Spiral carpets. Feeling pretty apt. But again, are you mad about it? Is it a problem that they sound like those other bands? Those other bands are amazing. And if these guys are fitting into that genre at the time, not a problem as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, okay. The other quotation comes from the Quietus.com's August 25, 2011 article by Jim Keoghan revisiting Blur's leisure two decades on. And here it goes. Powered throughout by a colossal baggy beat is a song to rival anything ever produced during Madchester. Combined with Hammond organ, this is baggy to its core and can sit comfortably along such tracks as the Only One I Know or Fool's Gold. Just look at Damon's Tim Burgess haircut In the video, if you need any further proof of the song's attempt to cash in on some imported mank credentials. Oh, wow, Right. That one is maybe characterizing it as more of a ripoff than I would, rather than a fine example of the genre of the time.

[Lori]

The video is absolutely stupid.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, for sure.

[Lori]

It's awful. And that was another one that was directed by Food Records Dave Balfi. So.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, well, they can't all be art at their core. Music videos from the beginning were commercials for records. They became an art form, but, you know, sometimes they were just commercials for the record. And, yeah, this falls into that.

[Lori]

Okay, so there's no Other way was the second single off of the album. It was released April 15th of 91, so, again, predated the album. In the US, it went to number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Alternative Airplay chart, it went to number 5 on the Dance Club Songs chart, it went to number 15. Now in their native Britain, the UK singles chart, it went to number eight and was certified silver.

[Scott Free]

That brings us to track three. Bang.

[Unknown Speaker]

Bang Now I have to wait another week when all is said and all is done what was said was never done don't panic it's not really worth your while Bang goes another year in and out I want in Everybody's doing it so do it too I don't need anyone But a little love make things better I don't need anyone But a little love make things better.

[Scott Free]

Okay, so again, it's a Manchester beat. It's a Manchester sort of shuffle, almost break beat, but organic. You can tell that Dave Roundtree is actually playing real drums and playing them live. You know, it wouldn't be out of place on a Charlatan's or Happy Monday lp, but it's pretty straightforward. Pop rock doesn't have so much organized charlatans, doesn't have so much electronics as the Happy Mondays. And it. You know, you can see the beginnings of Brit pop in here. And then just like in. There Is no Other Way, these harmonies, the vocal harmonies just really go all out in the choruses.

[Lori]

So this song was written after Food Records insisted quite adamantly that the band had to write another hit, another single that would chart. And supposedly it only took them 15 minutes to complete it.

[Scott Free]

Why? Like, is it that easy? The record company says, hey, we need you to make a hit. And they're just like, okay, here we go. They dax it out 15 minutes later. Hit man, nice work if you can get it right.

[Lori]

Well, Damon later said, bang was just shit so he pretty much disowned it. And it's almost never played live. It was not included on any of their best of albums. And Alex James said in 1999, I don't think we'll ever play that again. Now, I haven't actually checked to see if they have, but, yeah, I know.

[Scott Free]

Again, it's another dance rock track. I don't think there's anything objectionable musically to it. I think it's doing some of the same work that there's no other way it was doing, but maybe not quite as memorably what was. What did Damon Elburn say about it? It's shite.

[Lori]

It's shit.

[Scott Free]

You also, in retrospect, labeled this whole album awful. And I don't want to necessarily, necessarily disagree with the artist about his own appraisal of his own work, but I don't think there's anything objectionable musically here. I think he is probably talking as the lyricist about his lyrical content and that maybe is fair.

[Lori]

Yeah, I mean, it's not very lyrically sophisticated. Bang Goes another Day. What? What? But I do like this song. I know I'm probably in the minority on that.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, I. I'd call it unobjectionable, maybe inessential, but it's got a solid beat. I can dance to it. I don't know. I don't have a problem with it. Maybe I like. Do I. Do I like things too much? Maybe I need to make a point to painting more stuff.

[Lori]

Okay. So this was released as the third. Third single off of the album on July 29, 1991, so also predates the album. All three singles do. It reached only number 24 in the UK singles chart. That was obviously disappointing performance and they wouldn't really reach the chart success of their previous two singles until I want to say Girls and Boys.

[Scott Free]

Oh, wow.

[Lori]

Yeah. Which was what, 94?

[Scott Free]

Something like that.

[Lori]

Yeah.

[Scott Free]

Yeah. It's curious that the first three singles from the album, granted, they predate the album, but the first three singles are also the first three tracks on the album. Oftentimes we've seen in the past that maybe is not a huge vote of confidence on the part of the record company about what's going to happen after.

[Lori]

But we'll see only on the US version, that was not the sequence on the UK version.

[Scott Free]

This one also had a video and it really puts the Brit in the Brit pop. It's Big Ben and Tower Bridge and red double decker buses It's a trip through the streets of London and streaking tail Lights, fast motion and the band, you know, goofing around and miming in twitchy speed. Adjusted film time. Not going to change anybody's life. But gave the Gave the teens a chance to look at the cute boys in the band with their cute haircuts.

[Lori]

You know, I enjoyed the video for this much more than the other two. The video was directed by a different person. Hang on, I didn't catch his name. Willie Smacks S M A X was the name of the director of the video. So they kind of gave up on Balfy directing the videos. They actually brought in a professional video director for this one. And I think it shows. I think it's a lot more polished looking, It's a lot more professional.

[Scott Free]

It's dumb fun, but it does put the Brit in Brit pop, as I said.

[Lori]

Yeah, I like this one. I know a lot of Blur fans don't, but I think it's a decent one. As you mentioned, Scott, they kind of front loaded the American version with the singles so she's so High, there's no Other Way and Bang. She so High was actually a double A side. The next track was the other side of the she so High single. This is called I know.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, Just Waiting For All. I know, I know It'll come between us. I know, I know.

[Lori]

Wow. I mean, we talked earlier about Sid Barrett and Pink Floyd being an influence and that absolutely comes through on here. I love the psychedelic feel of the backwards guitar and all that that. I really like this.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, plenty of organ on this track as well. Already made a couple references to the Charlatans and that's definitely an influence here. The guitar work, I think is great. Again, that groovy riff. And then later, like after the 2 minute mark 2:10 or so, there's this really big screaming guitar line that comes in like, come on. Like, that is just fun guitar rock, man.

[Lori]

Again, they did get a lot of criticism for doing the Baggy or Mad Chester sound. Yeah.

[Scott Free]

I mean, again, what? It's a product of the time, man. Like, again, not everybody's going to be the innovator. Did they do it? Well, they did. Is that a problem? I got no problem with that. That said, lyrics. All right, so how you want to be is what I am. Very, very Damon Albert. And like, damn, early in the game in his career for him to have that much cocky attitude. But, you know, eventually he wasn't wrong. How you want to be is what I am like to get into that pretty head Just to see to see if you are dead like damn, Dude.

[Lori]

I like that line.

[Scott Free]

Right.

[Lori]

Some of his lyricism in this album is just kind of meh, but, right, that. That's pretty. That's pretty intense.

[Scott Free]

He follows it up with. And it would amuse me just to see how you feel about me and this crowd. So, like, okay, it's not going to win any Nobel Prizes, but A plus, rock star attitude for a guy who's just on his debut album, right?

[Lori]

Yes.

[Scott Free]

Okay, so it's not Shakespeare. He's not blazing new trails lyrically here, but A plus, rock star attitude for a guy who is just on his debut album. The NME A and e article from 2011 that I've referenced, I think does summarize it pretty well. It's not going to win any prizes for its lyrics, but it's hard to see why. The band are apparently ashamed of this neat groove. And it would have been no bad thing if it had sat alongside sing on both sides of the Atlantic, as it did in Japan.

[Lori]

So for our listeners, Sing was a track that was included on the UK version, and then there was a Japanese version that kind of combined elements of both. I finally listened to sing for the first time, and you know what? I don't think it's missing anything. No, I really don't. I don't care for it, but fair enough. But, yeah. So this one, again, I think, has shades of the Stone Roses to it, doesn't it?

[Scott Free]

Yeah, totally.

[Lori]

So they recorded this in the same session as she's so High, when they were still known as Seymour. Hey, is there a Butts here?

[Scott Free]

Seymour Butts.

[Lori]

Hey, everybody. I wanna see more butts. Surprisingly, for this one, I think that Alex's bass is actually pretty good, which leads me to wonder how much of it is actually him playing live and how much of it is studio nitrous. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, Alex does eventually get better, you know, on the other albums, but, yeah, here there were some issues, but I think that this is a fantastic song.

[Scott Free]

I'll agree. That brings us to track five. Slow down.

[Unknown Speaker]

It'S up to you, you know it is I can't convince you all you have to do is slow down I've always said it'll never change all you have to do just to be you that's all I want to say.

[Scott Free]

All right, man. The opening, just going for it rock guitar wise. And, man, Dave Roundtree is working his ass off on this one. The opener is just all fills and crash cymbals and just banging on the drums like freaking Animal from the Muppets.

[Lori]

Yeah, yes, absolutely. It starts off so strong in the life of Blur, the author says, drowning in a torrent of Sonic youth like guitars and rattling cymbals. Slow down. Had no great sense of atmosphere or any real tune to speak of. Fighting to be heard over all the power chords and crashing percussion, Damon was left with little choice but to croon a few ahs and oohs in lieu of a proper chorus.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, and it's got all of that full frontal assault for the first half of what is a pretty short song. At a minute 32, when this deep, fuzzy bass and the guitar start working together as one, just mercilessly rolling over you. That is when the song, I think, really starts to get interesting. Like it's cool and it's badass rock in the first part. But then, yeah, it changes gears and that's when I think the song really kicks in for me.

[Lori]

I realize that I'm gonna get hate mail for this. This would be a really good song if not for Damon. I think Damon kind of wrecks it for me.

[Scott Free]

Yeah. I don't know. Because there's like a disconnect between the heavy full frontal assault of the music and his lighter, nasal, youthful voice. Is that kind of what you're getting at?

[Lori]

Yeah, yeah. As a matter of fact, I can read you exactly what I have in my notes, please. Yeah, so the extent of my notes on this one, Scott, were. Meh.

[Scott Free]

I can't say that I agree. I think it is an interesting tonal shift. We've seen quite a bit of the Mad Chester stuff before it. And yeah, that Sonic Youth reference that you dropped earlier.

[Lori]

Yeah.

[Scott Free]

Something to it. Heavy and hard. I think it's a welcome change of pace.

[Lori]

Okay, that's fair.

[Scott Free]

Even if there's a Not really the same level of hooks to really get you. But I don't know, I think it's got something that. Again, one Frontal Assault.

[Lori]

All right. Anything else you want to say on that one?

[Scott Free]

Yeah, I think that'll do it.

[Lori]

Okay. Well, the next song was another Seymour song. This one is called Repetition.

[Unknown Speaker]

Try, try, try, try, try, try. I'll think dream like the.

[Lori]

Okay, yeah.

[Scott Free]

This is a more mid tempo track. For starters. It's not the danceable version of Blur's Leisure. And while it does have some heavier guitars and that more plodding beat, it's not nearly as hard as Slow down. Before it, there's a quote from another source that I should introduce, I suppose, albumism.com an article entitled Blur's debut album Leisure turns 30 anniversary retrospective by Terry Nelson, August 22, 2020. One repetition clearly points to Elmern's side project, Gorillaz and their self titled 2001 LP. Right. Like you can kind of see the seeds planted for that. It's heavier than you usually see with the Gorillaz, but in that tone and in that tempo, for me, there's definite kinship to My Bloody Valentine here. You did say Graham Coxson was a My Bloody Valentine aficionado.

[Lori]

Yes, I did.

[Scott Free]

Right, right. So you can hear that. Yes, in the guitars, but that vocal bend down in the chorus, like that's like they're taking a guitar tape based effect from My Bloody Valentine and doing it with their voices. And to me, that is actually really cool.

[Lori]

I was trying to make out how they were doing that. That's an interesting sound.

[Scott Free]

Right.

[Lori]

And of the verses is Damon singing into a megaphone?

[Scott Free]

That would be very much in character for him. I'll say. Yes.

[Lori]

Okay, so my notes, it starts off with a smooth, mellow groove. I do really like this one. And you say it's not danceable. Well, you didn't see me last night.

[Scott Free]

I guess I didn't. Yeah.

[Lori]

You should be thankful.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, I'm gonna. No, I'm gonna need you to. I think. I think one of your cats may have accidentally knocked the webcam that I planted in your living room. If you could adjust that for me, that would be great.

[Lori]

And if my husband is listening, he's joking.

[Scott Free]

That was just joke, baby.

[Lori]

Yeah.

[Scott Free]

The other quote I liked here was again from that BBC review. Graham Coxson is cautious about indulging in too many guitar heroics, opting instead to clown around with some dopey fuzzbox again. He makes it sound like a bad thing.

[Lori]

What?

[Scott Free]

I am not seeing it as dopey. I enjoy a good fuzzbox. And, yeah, this is not a problem for me.

[Lori]

Martin Power, the author of Life of Blur, he described that in a very interesting way. Graham's guitar droning away like a drunken computer game behind Albarn's heavily compressed vocal. A bit of a gimmick perhaps, but one that still made for a satisfying, if queasy listening experience.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, I like that.

[Lori]

All right, Anything else on this one?

[Scott Free]

I think that'll do it.

[Lori]

Number seven is you, my friend.

[Scott Free]

All right, that brings us to number seven. Bad day.

[Unknown Speaker]

To you too. Anything you do you ever do like she said, do you want anything you ever wanted she how to feel. This is a five day. This is a five day.

[Scott Free]

It's like there's no other way. Part two, now with more accordion and 30% less energy. Not that anyone asked for that, but that's my take.

[Lori]

That's funny, because my notes begin. Is that an accordion at the beginning? Question mark. It gets better, though. Lyrically, again, is just kind of mediocre. Honestly, I think this is one of the more forgettable tracks on the album. But we have Graham Coxon playing his Les Paul there front and center, and I think, again, he really makes the song. I've not been able to confirm this, but there was a rumor going around online that this song was about Damon Simon suffering from a streptococcal infection.

[Scott Free]

Huh. And the evidence for that would be other than bad day?

[Lori]

I don't know.

[Scott Free]

Huh.

[Lori]

That is so oddly specific that I almost have to think that there is a grain of truth to it.

[Scott Free]

All right.

[Lori]

But I was not able to confirm that. So.

[Scott Free]

I mean, if he had a streptococcal infection, it would probably be a bad day.

[Lori]

I imagine so.

[Scott Free]

But, you know, the evidence is thin. I don't think we can convict.

[Lori]

Okay, that's fair.

[Scott Free]

As we've established, part of why I love Madchester and Baggie is the gratuitous use of the Wawa pedal. And Graham Coxon really delivers it here, combined with plenty of chorus and fuzzy distortion, and that's pretty much always going to work for me. That said, it does feel like a retread of there's no Other Way plus Gordian, so it's fine. It's inessential. I. I think there's a reason it wasn't released as a single. Yeah, because they already released it as a single, but better.

[Lori]

Not all of these tracks, but some of these tracks kind of feel like filler, you know, like we front loaded it with the singles, and now let's hurry up and let's write something to fill out the rest of the album. You know what I mean?

[Scott Free]

Yeah.

[Lori]

And I kind of feel that way about the next song too.

[Scott Free]

Oh, dang.

[Lori]

Yeah. Well, the next song is called High Cool. H I G H C O O L let's listen.

[Unknown Speaker]

If you come here which you sometimes do don't think that I really want you to and if you come here which you always do don't think that I expect you to Is that all I give you? Is that all I give you?

[Scott Free]

All right, so Jim Keogan, in that the Quietus article that I've referenced, calls it another slice of baggy magic. My own notes on it were. You know, it ain't virtuoso level stuff, but damn, Graham Coxon can craft a really solid, jangly, groovy guitar riff. It ain't Mozart. It ain't even Ned's attack Dustbin. But it doesn't have to be. It's a pop album. It's. I.

[Lori]

It's certainly better than I could do. I mean, I guess I gotta keep that in mind.

[Scott Free]

Is that the bar?

[Lori]

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, maybe. You know, again, I think the guitar and the drums, freaking fantastic.

[Scott Free]

Yeah.

[Lori]

No qualms with either Graham Coxon or Dave Rowntree.

[Scott Free]

Yeah. And lyrically, this is not life changing stuff. But it is curious that in what is by all accounts a relatively phoned in song for them, Damon Alburn's attitude comes through. And that cocky kind of snotty attitude just makes it funny. Even if it's just kind of casually dashed off. If you come here, which you sometimes do don't think that I really want you to and you talk too much which you always do don't think that I really want you to. Ouch. Dude.

[Lori]

I'm gonna say that sounds like it'd be familiar to both of us. I think we both have had occasions where we wanted to say something like that to people, right?

[Scott Free]

Yeah. That's fair.

[Lori]

Yeah. So I mean, when I say, you know, this is not great, it's not bad. I'm not ripping on the band, but like, the chorus of this one is like, ah. You know what I mean?

[Scott Free]

All right, the next one, track nine, come together.

[Unknown Speaker]

You must be mad and in know you are you should have known I do anything for you so why, why can't we come together? Why, why, why and why?

[Scott Free]

All right, so this one is a pretty solid marriage of like the driving, danceable rock beats of Madchester, with Dave Roundtree really earning his keep with a kind of frenetic organic, syncopated breakbeat thing, but also with Shoeg's indie guitars. The Quietus called it an energetic foray with hints of early ride. And I would say that is spot on.

[Lori]

Okay.

[Scott Free]

Yeah.

[Lori]

I was gonna say not to be confused with the Primal Scream song Come Together, which came out, what, like a year before this? Maybe?

[Scott Free]

And not to be confused with the Beatles classic Come Together, it's a totally different come together time.

[Lori]

Lyrically, it is not very sophisticated.

[Scott Free]

Oh, yeah. Not stretching the boundaries of contemporary poetry. I think it's safe to say there aren't even any ideas here, but it's.

[Lori]

Just asking questions to a lover. Yeah.

[Scott Free]

And Damon admits that outright in the lyrics. Inside my head, there's nothing left. Although he does pin that on the person to whom the song is sung. It's all been taken out by you. Honestly, I don't care. It's a compelling dance rock song with a wall of jangly guitars, tubular solo, and lush harmonies. I'm in.

[Lori]

You know, I do understand that when this is played live. Now, I've never seen them live. Unlike my friend.

[Scott Free]

She saw them live up close and personal.

[Lori]

You're so bad. But no, I understand that this one is a fan favorite when it's played live. And I can kind of hear how with the driving guitar and the bass and the drums, I can envision this being really good live.

[Scott Free]

Yeah. Banger.

[Lori]

Yeah. But when I listen to it on the headphones, it's cacophonous.

[Scott Free]

You say that like a bad thing.

[Lori]

Okay, sure.

[Scott Free]

Nah, I'm all in on this one.

[Lori]

All right, all right, that's fair. That's fair. The next song, which some people have compared to the Smiths, one of Damon's inspirations is called Fool.

[Unknown Speaker]

Sorry, but I don't understand the things you say they make no sense Funny, but I think that you mean them all this time, don't you? I know that you think I'm a fool but couldn't you try to fucking harmful one more time? Sorry, but I'm not really lit this name. I've got my mind on something else.

[Scott Free]

I don't have a ton to say about this song, but I am going to take this opportunity to actually give props for the first time to bass player Alex James.

[Lori]

Okay.

[Scott Free]

Doing Yeoman's work, moving and grooving the whole time. Or at least the studio pastiche that they made of his live played tracks to turn it into this moving and grooving bass line. Rock solid work. Dave Roundtree is also doing solid work throughout.

[Lori]

I agree with what some critics have said that, yeah, this is a Smith song. I think if Morrissey took over the lead vocal, it would be indistinguishable from, if not Smith's and maybe some of his solo work like Viva Hate. I mean, you don't agree?

[Scott Free]

You know, I think it lacks some of Morrissey's literary pretensions, but the doubt and the questioning and the, you know, I can see where you're coming from on this.

[Lori]

So for that reason, I do like this one. This one, by the way, was produced by Mike Thorne.

[Scott Free]

Mike Thorne.

[Lori]

But yeah, so the last couple of tracks on this album, they brought in a guy named Mike Thorne to produce the last one, two, three. The last three tracks Mike Thorne has produced for Roger Daltrey. John Cale, Bronsky, Beat soft sell, Nina Hagan, Laurie Anderson and Soft Machine.

[Scott Free]

Many of those have long enough careers that that could, could be a noteworthy resume line or.

[Lori]

Well, it, it also says that he produced the first three records by Wire.

[Scott Free]

Oh, interesting. That is some cred.

[Lori]

Yeah, he's got the, he's got the pedigree, right. I, I, I like this one. I think it's a good one.

[Scott Free]

Yeah. I mean, for me, like, it's much talked about that Damon Alburn called this album awful, but I think that A, that's too harsh and B, really more about his own appraisal as a lyricist of his own lyrics. Because if this song is as bad musically as the album gets, awful is way too harsh. This song is fine. It's fine.

[Lori]

Yeah. You know, thinking about things that I have created, you know, like from the first episodes of the podcast when it was me and Trey, or some of the graphic design work that I did when I was your student in college, I'm kind of the same way. I look back at the early stuff that I did and I'm just like, what was I thinking?

[Scott Free]

Oh, mortifying. Yeah. Not your work. I have the same reaction to my past work. I'm looking forward, not looking back.

[Lori]

I think we're always our own worst critic.

[Scott Free]

Oh, yeah.

[Lori]

So I can understand where he's coming from. And we tend to be harder on ourselves. We. Not just you and me, but I think human beings in general, artists in particular, tend to be a lot harder on ourselves than other people are of our work. You know what I mean?

[Scott Free]

I mean, yes. Although I think that is a product of a bygone era nowadays, particularly with influencers and reality tv.

[Lori]

I thought you were going to say something about AI generated sloth.

[Scott Free]

No, but one of these days.

[Lori]

And do you want to move on to the next one then?

[Scott Free]

Yeah, I might as well. Track 11. Birthday.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's my birthday no one here died. Very strange day I think of you Day go outside Day sits in.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, it's a down tempo number, particularly in the context of this album. Slower. It's got that reverse droning guitar wallpaper at the beginning and then the strummed underwater sounding, flanged guitar chords and surprisingly active bass line and then those bigger, crunchy, heavily reverbed and delayed guitars. This is the sleeper shoegaze winner of.

[Lori]

The album for me, especially at the 2 minute 43 second mark. That's where it just.

[Scott Free]

Oh yeah, yeah. All of the stuff that I just mentioned is just the ramp up at 2:43. Oh, the song's 3 minutes and 49 second total runtime, like, actually really kicks in with those huge drums, huge screaming, albeit subtly screaming guitars. Like that's where the song really gets going. And 243 worth of build to it. Worth the wait.

[Lori]

Yeah. And our listeners, unfortunately, did not get to hear that part of it. So this is definitely worth seeking out and listening to the whole thing.

[Scott Free]

Go stream it. Give that artist.001 cents.

[Lori]

Yeah. Lyrically, again, this is very simplistic, but I find it relatable. Birthday is a time for reflection, introspection, you know, he says, what a pathetic day. I don't like this day. It makes me feel too small. So, I mean, I get it. I get it. I've had birthdays like that.

[Scott Free]

Same.

[Lori]

Yeah. And you know, this would have been a really comfortable place to end the album. Doesn't it?

[Scott Free]

No.

[Lori]

I mean, doesn't it feel like it's kind of building up to, like an ending?

[Scott Free]

Yeah.

[Lori]

But then there's something after it. Then it kind of surprised me a little bit the first few times I heard it because it leads to the final track, which is called Wear Me Down.

[Scott Free]

You.

[Unknown Speaker]

You make me feel like no one ever will. So why, why do you call me until my heart is still you. You wear me down. All my defenses are gone now and I can't find you. You wear me down. My defenses have gone down and I'm gone.

[Lori]

So what are your thoughts on that one, Scott?

[Scott Free]

I think I'm going to borrow a thought from Jim keoghan of the quietest.com, not because I necessarily, necessarily agree with it, but I think that it's hilarious applauding dirge of a song that manages to do to your patience exactly what the title promises. Wear me down.

[Lori]

Yeah, yeah.

[Scott Free]

I don't 100 agree, but this sounds like another band entirely. It's admittedly a bit of an odd way to close out the album. Yeah, when people talk about Brit pop, they talk about it as the British antithesis to America's grunge movement. But Wear Me down sounds like a grunge track with a whiny British accent, the heavy intro and the first verse. The chorus sounds more like it belongs with the rest of this proto rip hop album. And the second verse kind of blends the two grunge pacing and heavy guitars, but with Brit pop harmonies. Critics hated it, but I can't fully agree with them. Okay, it's disjointed, yes, but each of its two modes works in its own right. They just don't have a lot to do with each other.

[Lori]

Yeah. So you've got this fuzzy guitar, like My Bloody Valentine, shoegaze stuff with these droning vocals. I mean, he's really just droning, and I don't love that. But then, you know, the chorus, it becomes clear, like you said, it's almost like it's a different band. I would have been perfectly happy if they had ended it at Birthday. I think had they taken this in a slightly different musical direction, I think it would be a very good song.

[Scott Free]

But as it is, I think it's two pretty good songs, but that are just shoehorned into each other.

[Lori]

Yeah. Mashed together.

[Scott Free]

Yeah.

[Lori]

Yeah. Well, Scott, that brings us to the end of the album.

[Scott Free]

It does that.

[Lori]

It does. So guess what I'm gonna ask you.

[Scott Free]

Boy, that is a tough one. Oh, you haven't actually asked me.

[Lori]

I haven't. I haven't. What is your favorite track off the album?

[Scott Free]

You know, I am going to give it to the, as I called it, Sleeper Shoegaze, winner of the album. That'd be track 11, birthday.

[Lori]

Okay.

[Scott Free]

Yeah.

[Lori]

All right. Well, I am gonna go with probably the obvious choice, the big one. Yeah. There's no other way.

[Scott Free]

There's no other way.

[Lori]

Yeah. I mean, it's got everything that I like. It's got a danceable, baggy, esque beat to it. It's distinctive and it really is, I think, emblematic of the Brit pop movement as a whole.

[Scott Free]

All right, I can absolutely agree with that. There is. I only wouldn't pick it because I have historically had a tendency to pick the huge single. And I'm trying to. Trying to dig a little deeper here. But, yeah, it's an unimpeachably good song and the reason it was a massive hit. So, yeah, I'm with you still. I'm sticking to my guns. Liking the shoegaze esque Birthday, Blur would ditch that sound before long and go another direction and then another and then another.

[Lori]

So, yeah, let's talk a little bit more about that.

[Scott Free]

Well, yes, but let's talk a little bit more about how the album was received and how it has been reevaluated over the years. So, as we said, it did not take long for Damon Albarn to bash it himself. Some of the critics at the time were not entirely favorable in their assessments of it. Let's see here, from the NME reassessment article from 2011. Having previously discounted the band's 1991 debut as awful, in the 2010 documentary no Distance to Run, the frontman Damon Albarn even hinted that had it been released into today's more rapid and unforgiving climate, Blur might not have been heard of again. Quoting thank God that the album's release was a time when you could make a record that wasn't right and not be discarded the next minute. He noted, the Quiet has had a great one, I think. Like an unsavory uncle, Leisure is the family member no one talks about. The version of Blur that everyone seems to like and be comfortable with, the endlessly reinventive masters of indie pop, is one that was forged during the making of Modern Life Is Rubbish. Not only is Leisure a pretty decent album in its own right, but it is also one that managed to capture the indie scene of the early 90s like no other again sort of finding the three different strains of British rock that were happening at the time between the shoegaze, dream pop, the Madchester scene and then this new, more stripped down indie pop that would become Brit pop and really gives you all of those in 1:12 track serving. Yeah.

[Lori]

And as a result, I think it comes off as being very inconsistent. I mean, the ones that were released as singles, I feel like, are very strong and then there are some again. And I know I said this before that feel like they're kind of afterthoughts, but that said, it is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. It's not their best. But I think it's important that we're doing this episode because this would become so influential on what things. On things to come in the bright pop scene.

[Scott Free]

So, yeah, so then what did happen next?

[Lori]

Okay, well, they released a few other albums, Modern Life is rubbish in 1993. Park life, I think that that was their peak for most people.

[Scott Free]

Yes. Park Life is where Blur came onto a lot of people's radars if they had not already stood up and taken notice of there's no Other Way. Certainly Girls and Boys was a notable single on a number of levels. The sheer sing along ability of it. The whole gender bending thing that captured a moment. Yeah, I think that was an important one.

[Lori]

Yeah, that was. It was a fun one.

[Scott Free]

But I would say then the self titled 1997 album is another one that. I mean it was pretty huge. No.

[Lori]

Yes. Yeah. And they really reinvented themselves in their sound on that one. And that is. It's a harder, more indie sound.

[Scott Free]

It has the previously mentioned song two with the big Woohoo. Well, I feel heavy metal and Beetle Bum. Yep, yep.

[Lori]

But yeah, so they've done 1, 2 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8. Nine studio albums, the most recent of which the Ballad of Darren in 2023. The four band members have also gone on to do other projects as well.

[Scott Free]

I'd be interested to hear what Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree have gone on to do. Any insight there?

[Lori]

Yeah. So Graham Coxon has released three solo albums. He's been a featured musician on a number of albums for a number of other artists, but most notably, at least to me is a Duran Duran fan girl. Their 2021 album Future Past. He not only played guitar, but collaborated on the songwriting of a lot of those songs. Oh, really? And, yeah, and he shares a writing credit on a lot of the tracks on that album, and it's actually a really, really good album. So check it out, fans. Alex James has not released any solo material.

[Scott Free]

All right?

[Lori]

He formed a band called Fat Less. At least I hope it's Fat Less, not Fat Les, with actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst.

[Scott Free]

Fascinating.

[Lori]

He's worked as a musician on a few other albums for a few other people. And he is a food writer for. For the newspaper the Sun. Okay, so Dave Roundtree is a podcast host, so we've got some competition there. Dave Roundtree podcast show is what it's called. And he released a single called London Bridge in 2022, and then his first solo album, Radio Songs, was released in 2023. Interestingly enough, he's also a computer animator and he has done some animation for show called Empire Square, which is another British Channel 4 thing.

[Scott Free]

So even weirder, when the band took a hiatus in 2006, he became a lawyer, as one does. Yeah. And became a keen activist and labor party supporter, but on him. Fascinating.

[Lori]

Yeah.

[Scott Free]

All right, well, then that, of course leaves the other projects of Damon Albarn to talk about.

[Lori]

I was going to say, has he done anything notable?

[Scott Free]

Yeah, one in particular actually comes to mind, which a lot of people, you might not even realize the Blur connection, just because he is one of the two permanent members of Gorillas, Damon Alburn and artist Jamie Hewlett. But because gorillas are cartoons, both in their videos and they went on tour and the cartoons were who performed their music, people might not actually realize that that's who is the lead singer of Gorillaz. That and there's hip hop MCs who regularly guest and other artists or other musicians and vocalists who come on. So Gorillaz is obviously a huge, successful act at this point with 1, 2, 3, 88 solo albums. Dang. I really only know five of them. So that's crazy. I got some back catalog to dig into, apparently. Apparently I leapt and missed several Gorillaz.

[Lori]

Albums because I remember, Scott, you were very much into Gorillaz when they came out, and I remember listening to some of their music in our office. I never made the connection.

[Scott Free]

The self Titled album and Demon Days are both brilliant.

[Lori]

I never made the connection with Damon Albarn.

[Scott Free]

This is what I'm saying.

[Lori]

Yeah. But you know, the animation style, because they're an animated band, I thought, gee, that looks really familiar to me. Couldn't quite place it. Jamie Hewlett, whom you mentioned, actually illustrated Tank Girl.

[Scott Free]

Well, that makes more sense now, doesn't it?

[Lori]

Yeah. Right?

[Scott Free]

Yeah. All right.

[Lori]

It's all coming together. All coming together. But, yeah, I mean, like, I never in a million years would have thought that this was from the same guy. So, you know, good for him. I mean, yeah, he's really kind of hit this creative stride and exploring all these different genres of music and doing it quite well. So good on him filling it. Yeah.

[Scott Free]

So what are we doing next? What album are we taking a deep dive into? On our next episode of Accelerated Culture, Laurie?

[Lori]

Well, we are staying in 1991 and we are spending an awfully long time in 91, but it was such a good year for music.

[Scott Free]

Oh, God, yes.

[Lori]

So we're going to cover a band that I love, the Ocean Blue, and their 1991 album, Cerulean. So I'm excited not just because we're doing that album, but also because I'm going to be seeing them live in about a month or so. But no, I really like Cerulean. I know, Scott, you're not as familiar with them as I am, so you're going to have a little bit of homework.

[Scott Free]

Yeah, no, I know their self titled debut, back from when they were kids. Like they were a teenage band that hit big with the Ocean Blue.

[Lori]

Yeah.

[Scott Free]

But Cerulean, their sophomore album, I don't know. So I'm looking forward to getting into it.

[Lori]

So on that note, thank you for listening. Everybody, this is Lori.

[Scott Free]

It's a goodbye from me and from me, Scott free. We'll see you back here in just a couple weeks.

[Lori]

Ra.