September 24, 2015
Must watch Blur Clips
September 4, 2015
The Making Of: Blur- The Magic Whip
Watch an excellent documentary about the making of Blur's new album The Magic Whip below. The video, filmed in Hong Kong, stars Alex James, Graham Coxon, Dave Rowntree and Damon Albarn in the recording studio, wandering around Hong Kong's cityscape, performing at various venues and also contains many candid shots of the band.
September 2, 2015
Top 10 Most Overlooked Gorillaz Songs
Gorillaz is coming back in the next year or two, and it's going to be huge. With the virtual band's return confirmed by singer Damon Albarn and cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, the next year will be an exciting one as the successful pop band makes their biggest comeback ever.
Nonetheless, most of the famous Gorillaz tracks have become popular in the mainstream and in soundtracks and playlists. Songs such as Clint Eastwood, Feel Good Inc, 19-2000 and Dare have become so popular that many people automatically type these in their search engines as they discover Gorillaz and their charm.
Here at BlurBalls, we bring you a refreshing list of the top 10 most overlooked, most neglected but amazing Gorillaz songs of all time. These include tracks from their b-side albums and lesser-known tracks from their official albums, as well as other various performances that fans of Gorillaz should check out!
1. Rockit - There's no denying that Rockit is probably the top of the top, and one of the best Gorillaz songs out there that fans should appreciate more. The chorus features 2D rapping and almost talking to the microphone in a monotonous, bored voice. The chorus of "Blah Blah Blah" is absolutely delightful, and we mull over life along with 2D as we listen to this song. It's fantastic and absolutely delightful, a true hidden gem.
2. We Are Happy Landfill - One of the lesser known songs from the album D-Sides, this tune is catchy and upbeat, and is definitely a hidden gem that deserves more attention. Damon Albarn comes off as more raspy and louder than usual, croning his signature lyrics. It's a rough song, but it's terribly good.
3. Mr Softy's Balloon Race - Probably the least known Gorillaz song on this list, Mr Softy's Balloon Race was originally found on the official Gorillaz website in a record player in one of Russell's rooms. It was later transcribed onto an audio formate and shared across the net, and remains to be one of the cuter, lighter and fluffy Gorillaz songs ever created.
August 28, 2015
Damon Albarn: Blur, Gorillaz and other Fables - Book Review + Giveaway 2015
Heads up for all Damon Albarn fans- there's a new Damon Albarn biography out in the bookstores and this one is the most up to date, most recent Blur biography of all time.
This fully updated book by authors Martin Roach and David Nolan was published in August 2015. Featuring first-hand interviews with those closest to the musician in his formative years, is the only available dedicated biography of Albarn and covers his multiple musical personas in depth, as well as the Britpop era and the rock star’s re-emergence as the Godfather to the iPod generation.
From Blur to the virtual band Gorillaz and his unique solo album Everyday Robots, to working with recently deceased Soul legend Bobby Womack, everything Damon Albarn touches turns to success. With The Magic Whip – Blur’s first album in over a decade - released last May, Damon Albarn is once again ready to take his place as an iconic jewel in the crown of the British music scene.
Yet this book documents the musician's struggles, life, love, relationships, origins and musical journey throughout his most formative years. The book follows Damon Albarn through Blur, the Britpop era, to his next musical endeavours, to his life with his partner Suzi and ends with a complete discography encompassing all of the singer's songs up to the year 2015.
This book is a definite must have for any Damon Albarn fan out there who wants an accessible, well-written and thorough book. It's biggest advantage is it's timely relevance- the year 2015 marks the beginning of possible a new chapter in Damon Albarn's musical career, and this book serves as a good memorabilia for the 'new' Blur of 2015.
About the authors: David Nolan is a British television producer and author, specialising in music and popular culture biographies, including the seminal book on the Sex Pistols, ‘I Swear I Was There’.
Martin Roach is a firmly established writer and publisher on all things popular music, having ghost-written several extremely high-profile projects for major publishing houses and owned his own music publishing company
This book is great for both younger fans and to the more serious Albarn fans who want more insight into how the musician developed his career throughout the years.
This book is available on Amazon for purchase.
Alternatively, BlurBalls is bringing you an exclusive chance to win 1 FREE COPY of the book Damon Albarn: Blur, Gorillaz and other fables. Simply enter using the form below and the winner will be chosen in 4 weeks (September 28)!
August 26, 2015
Damon Albarn Getting Ready for New Gorillaz Album Recording
August 13, 2015
London Calling- New Blur Podcast 2015
New Blur podcast alert! Music Heritage UK, a charity which exists to promote, protect and preserve UK's popular music heritage recently launched a podcast on the Camden Town and its role in the birth of Britpop, featuring Alison Wise who runs the London 'Camden Rock n Roll Walking Tour'.
This new podcast is a great listen, and there's plenty on Blur in there!
August 4, 2015
Damon Albarn Performs "Song 2" for First Time Without Blur
Damon Albarn is currently touring in support of his solo album, Everyday Robots, released in April this year.
Last night, at a show in Boston, he and his band played Blur's 1997 hit "Song 2" without his bandmates for the first time. According to The Guardian, it's the first time Albarn has performed the song without Blur, and the first time he's played it on the current tour. Albarn was wearing an elephant hat thrown on stage by a fan, according to NME.
June 15, 2015
Blur perform Tender on Jimmy Fallon
Blur perform an excellent, touching acoustic version of Tender from their album '13' in the backstage of the Jimmy Fallon show earlier last month. The band looks extremely relaxed and chilled, and this is probably the best live version of Tender we've seen in the last few years. Hope you enjoy the share!
June 10, 2015
Blur- Ong Ong acoustic version
We are currently loving the song Ong Ong from Blur's newest album. Here's some footage of the song performed on Last.fm sessions live in May 2015. Blur performs a refreshing light acoustic version of their new song, which is perhaps the best little gem on their new album The Magic Whip.
What's your favourite song from The Magic Whip?
June 8, 2015
Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon talk about recording
Watch a new interview where the band talks about recording at Abbey Road studios. The video contains some refreshing footage of Damon and Graham looking young and energetic.
June 6, 2015
Watch Blur- Ong Ong Music Video - Love it or hate it?
The new video for Blur's new single Ong Ong features an orange in a retro video game, with the band dressed up as various insects, ice-cream cones and an unidentifiable red object. It's a different style of video compared to the band's previous release Lonesome Street and Go Out, which features live footage of real people. Check out the video below!
May 8, 2015
10 things you didn't know about The Magic Whip
- Blur produced this album secretly in Hong Kong, when they were there for tour in 2014. Graham Coxon even revealed that he had to lie to friends and family in order to keep their new album secret.
- In May of 2013, Blur were set to play Japan's Tokyo Rocks Music festival. However, the entire festival was cancelled for unknown reasons, leaving the band stranded in Hong Kong for an extra 5 days. The result of this extra 5 days of studio work is the new album, where Albarn later stated he was unsure whether the resulting music would ever be released.
- Stephen Street, the producer of The Magic Whip, actually produced Blur's first album 'Leisure' and several other subsequent albums. He had a fall-out with the band a few years ago where there was a mini-feud between him, William Orbit and other Blur members.
- The Magic Whip is band's first studio album since Think Tank (2003), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in their career.
- Stephen Street actually plays keyboard in several of Blur's live performances as part of their new 2015 tour. See this video for Stephen on the keyboards!
- The cover of the album features the Chinese words of 模糊 é”éž, which translates into "Blur Magic-whip". The artist, Tony Hung, who also created the lyric video for "Go Out", met with frontman Damon Albarn in early 2015 to discuss the album artwork and was shown photos and ephemera from the singer's travels in Hong Kong.
- Damon Albarn has always enjoyed featuring Asian cities or Chinese elements in his songs. His hit from Gorillaz- Hong Kong- was also about the city, as is the whole of The Magic Whip. The song 'Ong Ong' in particular is also a tribute to Hong Kong.
- Graham Coxon said that The Magic Whip is his favourite Blur album of all time. His reason? "It's poignant – a lot of what Damon [Albarn]'s saying with the lyrics would maybe resonate with someone who's my age, feeling dislocated by technology but also slightly enslaved by it, and worried about where it's all going to end up. I feel like he's saying the stuff that I feel".
- The Magic Whip actually contains only half of the songs that Damon Albarn has written in Hong Kong. Alex James has revealed that the band have enough material to release another new album, having only used half of the tracks they wrote for 'The Magic Whip'.
- Damon Albarn’s voice has changed a lot, evident in his new album. His voice matured from a more high-pitched voice to a deeper, raspier and melancholic voice which conveys the feeling of the Magic Whip well. It's probably why the new album received very positive critical reviews.
May 6, 2015
Graham Coxon and Stephen Street Interview
Here's a great little interview about Blur's Hong Kong sessions and recording their newest album The Magic Whip. Graham Coxon and Stephen Street talks about their latest collaboration and feelings towards the album.
May 4, 2015
Blur at UK Number 1 for New Album
May 3, 2015
Blur live at La Musicale 2015
Watch Blur perform their new album The Magic Whip, live in Paris, La Musicale in 2015.
April 21, 2015
Blur Ong Ong Lyrics
To get out of this town
But the tarmac was melting and the people seemed to sway(?)
Stuck in the underground
I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you
feeling the love of you
You know just what to do
I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you
I will be there with you
April 17, 2015
New Blur song review- Ong Ong
Quite possibly our favourite song on Blur's new album The Magic Whip, the new song 'Ong Ong', premiered live on Jools Holland's show on April 14th is simply gob-smacking. It's a perfect, summery and light tune, where Damon sings his lyrics "I wanna be with you" behind a chanting "La La La La".
The melody is top-notch, with it's soothing and melodic tune. Graham Coxon's guitar shines as he gives out his best performance so far, and Damon Albarn's voice is very fitting for the song. The backup singers were also very fitted for the song, giving it a full sound unlike Lonesome Street, Blur's other single.
The Hong Kong and Asian theme is also evident in the song, where there's an interlude between choruses where an exotic tune is played.
All in all, Ong Ong is similar to something between a Beatles song crossed with Blur's tunes from Modern Life is Rubbish. It's absolutely a gem and we are sure it will be a crowd favourite in Blur's Hyde Park performance later on in the year.
April 16, 2015
Blur- I Broadcast lyrics
April 15, 2015
Blur premier new songs Ong Ong and I Broadcast- Jools Holland
Blur showcased two songs, 'Ong Ong' and 'I Broadcast', from their forthcoming album Magic Whip, which is their first in 12 years and is due for release on 27 April 2015. The new songs form part of their new album's "Hong Kong" theme.
Damon Albarn looked like he's in great condition, showing off his signature British menswear and a leather jacket. Alex James looks his usual best in a white shirt and hair shaking, and the other two members of the band Graham Coxon and Dave Rowntree was in their usual form. The show also featured other bands such as The Vaccines performing new upcoming singles.
Watch Blur live on Jools Holland (BBC Two) - I Broadcast
Blur performing Ong Ong
April 8, 2015
Designing the perfect room to enjoy your music when living in a flat
March 30, 2015
Blur- Lonesome Street Lyrics
What do you got?
Mass produced in somewhere hot
You'll have to go on the Underground
To get things done here
And then you have
[?] service done
This is a place to come to, or, well, it was
I know a hot spot
Crossing on the guillotine
[Chorus]And if you have nobody left to rely on
I'll hold you in my arms and let you drift
It's got to be that time again
And you, you will be over soon again
So get yourself up, get past on your way
There's nothing to be ashamed of
Taking off again
The 514 to East Grinstead
You've set me off
And talking types will let us down
Talk, talk on your arse all night
You wanna be there
[Bridge]
Step inside the tarmac ride
To the land that time forgot
Oh, we're just gonna go there
Cracks inside the tarmac ride
To the land that crime forgot, oh no
And if you have nobody left to rely on
I'll hold you in my arms and let you drift
Going down to Lonesome Street
Going down to Lonesome Street
Lonesome Street
Going down to Lonesome Street
Lonesome Street
Going down to Lonesome Street
Lonesome Street
March 27, 2015
Lonesome Street by Blur- Song Review
Blur's new single Lonesome Street is another hit, not because it's the greatest song of all time, but because it manages to capture the essence of Blur's 90s sound and merge it with new tinges of their album 'The Magic Whip', due out in the middle of this year.
The song begins with a small tune from a keyboard, and launches into Dave Rowntree's signature repetitive drumming- energetic, simple and well, Blur-like. The drumming must be applauded in this song as it forms the baseline of the track. It gives the song a Brit-pop vibe, which will definitely make it different from other songs in the charts these days.
Some say Lonesome Street sounds like a mixture of an early Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett. Indeed this is true. This song could fit right into the early pop tracks, as Damon Albarn sings about "cracks inside the tarmac ride" , "crossing the street" to taking a train to East Grinstead.
Sounding somewhat like a track that could fit right into either "Leisure", "Modern Life is Rubbish" or The Great Escape, this track can fit right in somewhere between "Charmless Man" and "One Born Every Minute". Indeed it could even be a b-side to their earlier 90s albums, because it has the raw energy and touch to the tune.
The only criticism that one can give is that the song sounds slightly repetitive towards the end. Damon Albarn repeats "Lonesome Street" increasingly towards the end, and the lyrics are limited by this phrase. Even so, the song still gives us happy vibes because it does not disappoint.
Again, the release of this track preludes their eagerly awaited album, which should be even bigger, better and will not fail to impress fans.
Check out the lyrics for Lonesome Street and stay tune for more Blur updates, right here on our site.
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New Blur interview about their new album Magic Whip and 2015 tour
Listen to a new Blur interview featuring Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree talking about their new album The Magic Whip and its makings, and the role Graham Coxon played in shaping their new direction.
February 20, 2015
New Blur Single- Go Out lyrics
Blur- Go Out lyrics
Oh, oh, oh,oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
I get this stand alone
Dancing with myself
We go get a gong
Luxury of style
I've seen you in the hall
Dancing with myself
I get into my bed
I'll do it to myself
To the local
oh oh oh oh
'Go Out' - New Blur Single of 2015 released
Review- Go Out by Blur
The new Blur single 'Go Out' sounds like something right out of Blur's earlier album. The song, featuring a single repetitive drum beat signature of Dave Rowntree's style, is similar to the earlier, younger Blur of the 1990s when they were still in the hey-days of Britpop.
Fans will instantly recognise the sound of Blur in 'Go Out', where Damon Albarn sings "We go into the local... We go into the local, oh oh" and chants his "oh oh oh"s similar to their earlier songs in the album "Blur" and "Think Tank". The lyrics include references to Hong Kong and the band's outings around the city in China, one of the biggest destinations for experiencing the East and West mix.
Interestingly, the music video also features a women making homemade-ice cream. The song reminds us of "Advert" in Modern life is Rubbish, where Damon sings about the disillusionments with modern TV advertisements and commercialism. We can't help thinking Damon is trying to recreate some of the social critiques that his earlier songs have going on, only with a different sound. It's a very multicultural video, reflecting perhaps what's to come in the album The Magic Whip, due to be released on the 27th April 2015.
The song's guitar riff in the middle is reminiscence of the band's latest album Think Tank, where there's a move towards more of a rock style. The song ends abruptly, leaving us wanting more.
Overall, this is a catchy, interesting but simple song by Blur, whose return is much welcome in the world of British pop. They've given us a new single with a unique sound, which reminds us of the 1990s and sounds very much like Britpop, although with less of the fancy instrumentals, xylophones and other instruments which Damon Albarn liked to use before.
The soundtrack for Blur's new 12 song album in 2015 will be:
- Lonesome Street
- New World Towers
- Go Out
- Ice Cream Man
- Thought I Was a Spaceman
- I Broadcast
- My Terracotta Heart
- There are Too Many of Us
- Ghost Ship
- Pyongyang
- Ong Ong
- Mirrorball