Blur - Parklife

No stars

Never in my life have i heard such a terrible album. First of all, it's annoying. Second of all, it's boring. It's not trendy, not unique...i can't find anything good about it. I picked it for $10 and i want my money back. I was hyped up about getting into Blur, hearing top stuff about them, but this was just a horrible experience. I'm not picky with music either...i barely throw back anything, and i listen to a huge variety of music including alternative rock, punk, ambient, electronic music, acoustic music, electronic music, doom/drone metal, jazz, blues, funk, rap, JEEZ the list goes on and i hope to never hear Blur again. August 20, 2008

The beginning of Brit Pop.

It seems I have some explaining to do right from the get go: for all those who claim that Blur's Parklife is the beginning of Brit Pop, there are just as many--maybe more--who would place this "movement" if not squarely at the release of Suede's first album, or even Oasis' "Definitely Maybe", then surely the its inception is more vague, consisting of a slow build, and based upon several releases and a general change in attitude. One thing for certain, there is at least some good reason to believe that Brit Pop is somewhat reactionary, as an antidote to the imported grunge rock coming from the states, and the general "Americana" that had suddenly eclipsed what was by all accounts a major British music movement that never seemed to reach stateside with the intensity it had in England, that being Madchester, representative of bands like Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Farm, Flowered Up, and the New Fast Automatic Daffodils, among others. Even the first Blur album, "Leisure", was to some degree associated with the Manchester sound.

But truth be told, the naissance of Brit Pop belongs to all of the above. As with any "movement" there are all sorts of reasons converging and catalysts a plenty. Nevertheless, I hold steadfast in my assertion: Parklife is the Beginning of Brit Pop. But why? Why not other bands, or even previous releases by Blur? Surely Modern Life is Rubbish should be considered! It is, after all, quintessentially English if not more than a little anti-American. But if Brit Pop is to be remembered as more than a one dimensional idea qua philosophy replete with an attitude, style, and general mode of being its crystallization must be found in once source, and that source is Parklife.

Unlike previous Blur albums and certainly the other great albums by Brit Pop's elite, Parklife mixes its metaphors and is an interpretive history of all that is and has been noteworthy within popular British history: Mod, Punk, Northern soul (subtly its there), James Bond cool, Pub dirge, a show tunes a la Noel Coward. And with guest appearance from Phil Daniels of "Quadrophenia" fame, as well as Lætitia Sadier from Stereo Lab (never mind she's French) it marked itself as a timeless as well as timely remark on why it was much cooler to turn on to a style that was ostensibly slick as opposed to turn off and be disenfranchised and angry, or maybe indifferent, which was what, essentially, American music was offering--or at least it seemed that way at the time. Whereas the Seattle scene was donning flannel and ratty jeans, Brit Pop was about wearing trainers, football jerseys, and haircuts. It sounds superficial now, but if you were listening to The Smiths, The Bunnymen, etc. in the eighties, then the Manchester and Shoegaze bands of the late eighties/early nineties, American grunge was disappointing.

But all this is not to trivialize Blur or Brit Pop. It was, and is, certainly not just a style without substance. To the contrary, its substance and content are rooted in its context, and Parklife is the seminal expression of the convergence of all of this. In short, Parklife discloses the mood and feel, dare I say optimism, of the early to mid-nineties.

Listen to it with an old copy of the NME, Melody Maker, or a Select, and you will know what I'm talking about!

July 20, 2008

one of blur's best

Quite honestly, playing this album makes you want to like... Walk through the streets of the UK toting your guitar case headed towards band practice while wearing your union jack bearing leather jacket in the chilly november air. It's inspiring. While listening to it, you're wishing you could make music like this. I love blur. I think it's always been a close tie between them and oasis, but blur always comes out on top because of Albarn's voice. Definitely one of the best albums of the 90s, definitely one of the best in my personal collection, and definitely one of blur's best. you get this, you won't regret it and you'll play it everyday for about 2 months. March 31, 2008

Dislike Infectious Music that's Well Made? Stay Away.

Parklife is a fantastic album, it really is. The songs are all impeccably well-crafted, the lyrics are clever without being full of themselves, and the playing is peerless. Opening track "Boys & Girls" is a wonderful dance track, finding the mid ground between Britpop and Hip-Hop (Kind of. I just liked how they rhyme). The only downside to the album is a matter of location. Starting with their second album, Modern Life is Rubbish, blur were known for their ability to capture the feelings and emotions of the time and place where they were. Parklife is revered as Mid-90's England captured in song, and while I like the album very much, I feel like I missed something because I didn't hear it in it's own time. A small grief, but a grief none the less. January 10, 2007

My first Blur album

Hailed by many as Blur's best album, "Parklife" was my first sampling of them. After many years of being a huge fan of 90's alt/rock, I decided to check this band out. What do I think of this album? read on...

I was familiar with the first song on this album, "Girls & Boys" from seeing the video on Vh1 classic late one night. This song was the reason I got the urge to check this band out, a very catchy tune. The album continues next with "Tracy Jacks," and the comparisons to the Who and the Kinks come to mind with this certain song. "End of the Century" is one of the albums highlights. This song should be up there with the likes of Radiohead's "High and Dry." The next song, "Parklife" is more fun brit-pop, I'm not much for spoken word, but this song comes through with its catchy chorus.

The next four songs bring down the album just a tad bit, "Bank Holiday" is a quick punky song. "Badhead" is a great mellow song, but it seems out of place between "Bank Holiday" and the instrumental "Debt Collector." "Far Out" is a short, more experimental song. I like this song, it reminds me of the psychedelia of Syd Barret, and early Pink Floyd. Its a shame the song is so short.

The album picks up again with "To the End," this is easily one of my favorite songs on the album. Its a very british song, and I love the chorus. This song has a more epic feel, which I like.

The rest of the album is hit or miss. "Clover Over Dover" is one of my fav's from the album. More of a downer of a song with its depressing lyrics, and thats what I like. "This is a Low," the longest song on the album, and its many peoples favorites. I have to agree because its a very well written song, and its a good way to close out the album.

Blur's "Parklife" was better than I expected, and I'm ready to dive deeper into Blur's other albums. It's a great start if your a blur noobsause like me.

Blur's "Parklife" - Final rating: 77% November 24, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...