"Popscene" is a song by British rock band Blur which represented a change in musical direction for both Blur and the nation. BritPop had arrived. At its release on the 30th March 1992, nobody acknowledged it either critically or commercially. It was a song which attacked the musical tastes of the fans it was trying to preach to, labeling them 'clones absent from a way of life'. Indeed the early 90s rave, grunge and shoe gaze did dominate the charts back. But quite simply, it wasn't British enough for Blur. Its lackluster performance in the charts (32 UK) cemented Blur's eventual belief that Britain did not deserve 'Popscene'. Even though it was as ...  Read the complete review

Reading the book 'Bit of a Blur' recently, I remembered just how much I love the music of the great British band that is Blur. For many years now I have had a strong appreciation for the music of the band, always the albums that Blur have released have been full of life and excitement; catchy tracks have been a prominent feature of all of the bands releases and never does the music of Blur cease to amaze me. 'Popscene' was the first single that Blur ever released as a band, it was released to coincide with the bands Rollercoaster tour, a tour that would take in the United States and came about as a result of the band being £60 000 in debt. The idea was to ...  Read the complete review

I've been a keen listener of Blur ever since I purchased the album 'Parklife' way back in 1994. It was one of those CDs that stayed in the CD player for a very long time, that and the fact I only had two or three other CDs at the time. I was inspired to buy this off the strength of the title track, 'Parklife', seeing as it seemed like a lot of fun and I loved the way it sounded, mainly due to a genius guest vocal spot by Phil Daniels. I was amazed to hear such a good mix of different sounding songs on one album, from the plastic-pop-like 'Girls & Boys' to the sadness of 'This Is A Low.' And all of the points inbetween. This ...  Read the complete review

I LOVE BLUR! Ever since the release of She's So High/I Know, along with its stunning (for a 1991 debut single) video and charming melody. Actually, this is a lie. Like many other Blur fans, I had no idea they existed until Parklife (my only excuse - I was too young). Even this groundbreaking album that introduced Britpop to the world was not enough to convince me of this band's great undeniable talent until I got The Great Escape (for my 12th birthday!). The brilliant catchy tunes (some pop, some not), amazingly intelligent and sometimes disturbing lyrics and even some real emotion make this album as good as Parklife. Please read my opinion on this album ...  Read the complete review

Yes, Blur do it for me in a big way and if you are in any doubt you need to listen to their 10th Anniversary Box Set for the full delight of their wide and varied skills. A must-have for a Blur-a-holic like myself albeit an expensive must-have at that. It took me a good year before I had the spare cash to spend on this delightful box set and then only thanks to a generous birthday/Xmas cash gift. This tenth Anniversary Box Set is a delight – 22 CD singles charting Blur’s musical history contains 127, yes, 127 tracks in total – all in original picture covers with an accompanying glossy, colour picture booklet. I think originally the ...  Read the complete review