Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish

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

A fantastic second album, better than the first.

Does Modern Life Is Rubbish suffer the ill-fated sophomore curse that have plagued many great bands? No. It is actually the superior album. From the beginning of the first song "For Tomorrow" you can tell this will have a different kind of sound than Leisure. Then "Advert" starts playing and you can tell this song has a different feel to it as well. By the time "Intermission" has finished, you really can't help but be surprised that the band that used the tired shoegazing style of Leisure is the same band that created this bizarre album full of strange sounds and complex music compositions. But the fun doesn't stop there. Even the second half of the album, though has a few soft songs, continues the slightly psychedelic rhythms and sound effects all the way to "Commercial Break"..... And it still doesn't end there. Two bonus tracks close the album at tracks 68 and 69. "When the Cows Come Home" is fun little song that could have fit in nicely within the rest of the album. "Peach" is the weaker of the bonus tracks, but it is worth listening. Modern Life Is Rubbish is, in my opinion, Blur's first great album. I'm not saying I don't like Leisure, but since I enjoy bands like Gorillaz, Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, and early Genesis, Leisure sounds a bit boring in comparison. July 13, 2008

This album is far from rubbish

The grandeur of this album didn't quite dawn on me until the second time I listened to it, and thank goodness I gave it that second chance! Included on this awesome C.D. are many varying guitar patterns, many of them being largely catchy and enjoyable. Horns accompany some tracks, as well as piano and occasional television samples. The only real negative feature of this C.D. is that the lyrics are sometimes mildly corny, such as in "Villa Rosie" which has the line "so tasty" repeated about eight times, or in "Turn It Up" where the listener is permitted to hear the awkward phrase "kazoo, kazoo" on multiple instances. Despite this unfortunate factor, though, most of "Modern Life Is Rubbish" is great listening. Track #8, "Intermission", is a sprightly song which includes a humorous recurring piano pattern that is somewhat circus-like. The pattern gradually accelerates as percussion and hard guitars are added in. This C.D. has plenty of rockin' tracks that are vital for the Blur fan to hear. I would recommend it with enthusiasm and present it proudly with five shinin' stars. August 29, 2005

The Best Blur album...

I think this is Blur's best. It has more rocking songs on it, later Blur albums get a bit too arty and weird. "Colin Zeal" is my favourite, its kind of a Bowie influenced song, and it rocks hard. Oily water" is second best, I love the ending.
By the way, the Gorillaz suck hard. June 21, 2005

There finest

Blur would continue on to build upon the moderate success of this album and the return of there critical stock. But this is also the work of a band building a scene and style all there own. the lyrics are so heavily identified as kinks esque in many reviews but the strength of this album lies in its punkish straightfoward manner, though it betrays post punk and american alternative leanings among others (check out the My bloody valentine styled break in Oily water or the beautiful Lo-fi of miss america)Damon slurs and scowls throughout the album, it remains Blurs most cohesive and stands as a statement of there intent. they would explore diffrent facets of there sound from here but this album remains there finest. ragged intellegent and untainted. May 12, 2005

Modern Life may be rubbish...but this album isn't

Modern Life is Rubbish is a pretty cool Blur album. "For Tomorrow", "Colin Zeal" and "Star Shaped" make this album worth getting, along with several other songs. On the other hand, this album does have some downsides, "Villa Rosie" for example hits a couple really "off" notes.
This album in a way is similar to Parklife, with it's catchiness and occasional "off" notes, but this is different. The quiet songs on here are better, the other songs seem to be a little more "full" and enjoyable, as opposed to songs like "Magic America" on Parklife.

I couldn't bring myself to give this album 5 stars... it's been really hard for me to 'get into' it. Don't get me wrong though, it's a very splendid album. February 12, 2005

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