Modern Life Is Rubbish

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Modern Life Is Rubbish
Studio album from Blur

Publication
(s)

1993

Label (s) Food Records / EMI

Format (s)

CD, LP, cassette

Genre (s)

Britpop

Title (number)

14th

running time

58:57

occupation

production

Stephen Street

chronology
Leisure
(1991) 		Modern Life Is Rubbish Parklife
(1994)

Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second studio album by the British rock band Blur , released in 1993 . Despite its relatively low success at the time, the album is now considered to be one of the style-defining and first releases of Britpop .

Background and recordings

The first versions of songs from the later LP Modern Life Is Rubbish have been part of the band's repertoire since late 1991. The debut album Leisure , released that year, was still in the style of the then popular Shoegazer and Madchester sounds from groups like My Bloody Valentine . This was followed in 1992 by the single Popscene , which heralded a different musical style for the group with harder guitar riffs and brass arrangements. Blur's label Food Records sent the group on a 44-day US tour that same year after gaining experience on stages in the UK and the rest of Europe. The tour fell on the overwhelming success of grunge bands like Nirvana or Soundgarden . Blur, who still represented the dying British shoegazer scene, could neither appeal to younger listeners of the time nor their musical tastes. The disinterest of the audience at their concerts and the stress of the tour due to the size of the USA to be traveled turned into heavy alcohol consumption, arguments and the longing for the usual British homeland on the part of the band. After their return from the USA, Blur was also confronted with new British bands such as Suede , which they had ousted from the music scene with their appearance.

The newly acquired view of the British homeland had Blur's sound changed significantly. British rock and punk bands of the 1960s and 1970s such as the Kinks , The Small Faces and The Jam became their new musical godfathers. The sound of the songs recorded at the time, such as Chemical World or Advert, were fast rock songs that hardly resembled the earlier sound of the band. In terms of content, the lyrics by singer Damon Albarn now also reflect British life in all its various facets, without foregoing sarcasm and criticism. Externally, too, the band changed at times. So they dressed in the style of mods and punks with Fred Perry shirts, jackets and boots from the brand Dr. Martens . They openly admitted their new strong connection to British musical culture in interviews. The cover of the album features a painting of a British steam locomotive called Mallard . The title Modern Life Is Rubbish was revealed to frontman Damon Albarn through graffiti in London. The working title of the album was Britain Versus America .

The first recordings for Modern Life Is Rubbish had already taken place in 1991, but took place in various studios until the beginning of 1993. Andy Partridge from the rock band XTC was at times in discussion as a producer for the record. After failed sessions with him, Blur switched to producer Stephen Street . He should also produce the next Blur albums.

reception

Modern Life Is Rubbish was released on May 10, 1993 and reached number 15 on the UK charts , which was a disappointment for the band in contrast to the top 10 placement of the album Leisure . The three singles that were released from the album all only reached the top 30 of the British single charts. Not one single was in the popular BBC telecast Top of the Pops presented.

In the liner notes for the 2012 reissue of the album, Damon Albarn recalls:

"Modern Life Is Rubbish got to 25 in the Charts, which was abysmal for an album, it was a disaster."

" Modern Life Is Rubbish hit # 25 on the charts, which was miserable for an album, it was a disaster."

- Damon Albarn

The press reviews for the album in 1993 were mostly bad. Since Blur appeared on promotion photos for the album in the style of the skinheads of the 70s and never denied a strong reference to English music, they even had to confront the accusation that they were supposedly right-wing.

Today the view of Modern Life Is Rubbish is significantly different. It is regarded as one of the first Britpop albums due to its downright novel sound in 1993 and the return of British musicians to their roots. This style later became part of a large audience through bands like Oasis or Pulp , but also Blur. The life-affirming attitude of the album is emphasized again and again in contrast to the often brooding-sounding grunge and the counterbalance that has arisen. Blur continued the style based on Modern Life Is Rubbish with great success on their next two albums, Parklife and The Great Escape . These three records are referred to as the Life Trilogy by fans of the group who still love Modern Life Is Rubbish to this day . The Britpop as a trend movement and the fame for the group, which it inevitably brought with it, led Blur to rethink from the mid-90s. Their fifth album, Blur , was a new turn in 1997 in the group's style towards alternative and experimental sounds.

Allmusic gives the album four and a half stars.

Track list

All songs were written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree.

  1. For Tomorrow - 4:18
  2. Advert - 3:43
  3. Colin Zeal - 3:14
  4. Pressure on Julian - 3:30
  5. Star Shaped - 3:25
  6. Blue Jeans - 3:53
  7. Chemical World - 4:02
  8. Intermission - 2:27
  9. Sunday Sunday - 2:36
  10. Oily Water - 4:59
  11. Miss America - 5:34
  12. Villa Rosie - 3:54
  13. Coping - 3:23
  14. Turn It Up - 3:21
  15. Resigned - 5:13
  16. Commercial Break - 0:56

The pieces Intermission and Commercial Break are instrumental pieces that follow directly after the previous songs. The US-American pressing of the album contained the songs Popscene as well as Peach and When the Cows Come Home as bonus tracks as well as a demo version of the song Chemical World instead of the original version.

Singles

For tomorrow

  1. For tomorrow
  2. Peach
  3. Bone bag
  4. When the Cows Come Home
  5. Beachcoma
  6. For Tomorrow (Acoustic Version)
  7. Into Another
  8. Hanging over
  • The song For Tomorrow reached number 28 on the UK charts. A video clip was shot for the single in London, in which numerous sights such as Trafalgar Square and Primrose Hill can be seen.
  • Some versions of the single contain a special version of the title called For Tomorrow (Visit to Primrose Hill extended) , which is characterized by a longer instrumental part.

Chemical World

  1. Chemical World
  2. Maggie May ( Rod-Stewart - cover )
  3. It's Schmecht
  4. Young & Lovely
  5. My Ark
  6. Never Clever (Live)
  7. Pressure on Julian (Live)
  8. Come Together (Live)
  • The single Chemical World made it to number 28 on the UK charts. There were also different versions of this single, so on some formats there was a revised demo version of the song with the title Chemical World (Reworked) , which is also known from the US version of Modern Life Is Rubbish .

Sunday Sunday

  1. Sunday Sunday
  2. Tell me, tell me
  3. Long legged
  4. Mixed up
  5. Dizzy
  6. Fried
  7. Shimmer
  8. Daisy Bell (Dacre)
  9. Let's Go All Down the Strand (Murphy, Castling)
  • The single Sunday Sunday reached number 26 in the UK charts.
  • Almost all B-sides are original recordings from the early days of the band, which initially called itself Seymour.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Blur. Officialcharts.com, accessed January 9, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b Stuart Maconie: Blur. 3862 days. The official chronicle . Hannibal, 2000, ISBN 978-3-85445-176-1 .
  3. ↑ Modern Life Is Rubbish at Allmusic (English). Retrieved August 1, 2016.