|
Parklife
''Parklife'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994, by Food Records. After moderate sales for their previous album '' Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: " Girls & Boys", " To the End", " Parklife" and " End of a Century". Certified four times platinum in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the album came to define the emerging Britpop scene in the year following its release, along with the album '' Definitely Maybe'' by future rivals Oasis. Britpop in turn would form the backbone of the broader Cool Britannia movement. ''Parklife'' therefore has attained a cultural significance beyond its considerable sales and critical acclaim, cementing its status as a landmark in British rock music. In 2010, ''Parklife'' was one of ten album covers from British artists commemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by the Royal Mail. In 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parklife (song)
"Parklife" is a song by the English rock band Blur, released in August 1994 by Food and Parlophone as the third single from the band's third studio album, ''Parklife'' (1994). The song is written by the band and produced by them with Stephen Street and John Smith. It contains spoken-word verses by English actor and singer Phil Daniels, who also appears in the accompanying music video; which was directed by Pedro Romhanyi. "Parklife" reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 30 in Ireland. It won British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year at the 1995 Brit Awards, and was also performed at the 2012 Brit Awards. The Massed Bands of the Household Division performed "Parklife" at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony. The song is considered one of the defining tracks of Britpop, and it features on the 2003 compilation album '' Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop''. Background According to Graham Coxon, the song was sarcastic, rather than a ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Escape (Blur Album)
''The Great Escape'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Blur. It was released on 11 September 1995 on Food and Virgin Records. The album continued the band's run of hit singles, with "Country House", " The Universal", " Stereotypes" and " Charmless Man" all reaching the top 10 of the UK singles chart. "Country House" was Blur's first number one hit in the UK, beating Oasis' " Roll with It", in a high-profile chart rivalry dubbed " The Battle of Britpop". Released at the height of Britpop and the band's popularity in the UK, the album was a major commercial success in the UK and Europe, becoming the band's second consecutive album to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart and being certified triple platinum in the UK in less than a year. The album received widespread critical acclaim upon its initial release, with praise for its songwriting and eclectic themes, though some retrospective reviews have been more negative, viewing it as a less cohesive, unins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blur (band)
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James, and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, ''Leisure'' (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles, and XTC, Blur released the albums '' Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' (1994), and '' The Great Escape'' (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed " The Battle of Britpop". Blur's self-titled fifth album (1997) saw another stylistic shift, influenced by the lo-fi styles of American indie rock groups, and became their third UK chart-topping album. Its single " Song 2" brought the band mainstream success in the US for the first time. Their next album, '' 13'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
To The End (Blur Song)
"To the End" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It appears on their third studio album, ''Parklife'' (1994), and was released as a single in May 1994, by Food Records. The song describes a couple unsuccessfully trying to overcome a bad patch in a relationship, and features full orchestral accompaniment with a choric refrain in French by Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab. The song was produced by Stephen Hague, unlike the rest of the ''Parklife'' album, which was produced by Stephen Street. Blur have produced several different recordings of the song. The accompanying music video was directed by David Mould and shot in Prague, Czech Republic. Release Single "To the End" was released on 30 May 1994 as the second single from ''Parklife''. It was not one of Blur's major hits, charting only at number 16 in the UK Singles Chart, unlike the singles released before and after, which both reached the top 10. French version Blur also recorded a version in which Albarn si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modern Life Is Rubbish
''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album '' Leisure'' (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival band Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK. Under threat of being dropped by Food Records, for their next album Blur underwent an image makeover championed by frontman Damon Albarn. The band incorporated influences from traditional British guitar-pop groups such as the Kinks and the Small Faces, and the resulting sound was melodic and lushly produced, featuring brass, woodwind and backing vocalists. Albarn's lyrics on ''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' use "poignant humour and Ray Davies characterisation to investigate the dreams, traditions and pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz. Raised in Leytonstone, East London, and around Colchester (borough), Colchester, Essex, Albarn attended the Stanway School, where he met Graham Coxon, with whom he would later form Blur in 1988. They released their debut album ''Leisure (album), Leisure'' in 1991. After spending long periods touring the US, Albarn's songwriting became increasingly influenced by British bands from the 1960s. The result was the Blur albums ''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' (1994) and ''The Great Escape (Blur album), The Great Escape'' (1995). All three received critical acclaim, while Blur gained mass popularity in the UK, aided by a Britpop Britpop#"The Battle of Britpop", chart rivalry with Oasis (band) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Girls & Boys (Blur Song)
"Girls & Boys" is a song by the British Britpop band Blur, released in March 1994, by Parlophone and Food Records, as the lead single from the group's third studio album, ''Parklife'' (1994). The frontman of Blur, Damon Albarn wrote the song's lyrics with bandmembers Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, while Stephen Street produced it. Charting at number five on the UK Singles Chart, "Girls & Boys" was Blur's first top-five hit and their most successful single until "Country House" reached number one the following year. In the United States, the track reached number 59 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number four on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart. Kevin Godley directed its accompanying music video, depicting the band performing among documentary footage of people on Club 18-30 package holidays. "Girls & Boys" was named single of the year by ''NME'' and ''Melody Maker'' and was nominated for best song at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Composition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
This Is A Low
"This Is a Low" is a song by English rock band Blur for their third studio album, ''Parklife''. The song was released as a promotional single in 1995. Background and recording Originally titled "We Are the Low", the song began life as an instrumental during the ''Parklife'' sessions. In the guitar solo, Graham Coxon played three solos, including one of him sitting in front of his amp, turned up to maximum volume. According to bassist Alex James, Damon Albarn was finding it hard to write lyrics. In his autobiography, ''A Bit of a Blur'', he revealed that "for Christmas I bought him a handkerchief with a map of the shipping forecast regions on it ... you can never tell where the muse is going to appear." "We always found the shipping forecast soothing", James said. "We used to listen to it n the American tourto remind us of home. It's very good for a hangover. Good cure for insomnia, too." On 4 February 1994, the penultimate day of official recording, Albarn was due to go int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
End Of A Century
"End of a Century" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. Released in November 1994 by Food Records, it was the last single to be released from their third album, ''Parklife'' (1994). The song was written by the band and produced by Stephen Street, reaching number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. It was considered a disappointment by Andy Ross of Food. Damon Albarn later stated that "End of a Century" may not have been the best choice for the album's fourth single, and that "This Is a Low" would have been a better alternative. Lyrical content Damon Albarn stated that the song is about "how couples get into staying in and staring at each other. Only instead of candle-light, it's the TV light." The opening line, "she said there's ants in the carpet", refers to an infestation of ants that Albarn and his then-girlfriend Justine Frischmann suffered in their then-home in Kensington. The lyrics seem to emphasise the then upcoming millennium change and the fact that people c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Britpop
Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. Britpop was considered a musical reaction to the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the American-led grunge music of the time, and Britain's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the larger Culture of the United Kingdom, British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade. Britpop was a phenomenon that highlighted bands emerging from the independent music scene of the early 1990s. Although often seen as a cultural moment rather than a distinct musical genre, its associated bands typically drew inspiration from the British pop music of the 1960s, the glam rock and punk rock of the 1970s, and the in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Street
Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the split of the Smiths. More recently he has worked with Kaiser Chiefs, Babyshambles and the Courteeners. For a time, he was managed by Gail Colson's company Gailforce Management. In February 2020, Street received the award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music at the Music Producer's Guild Awards. Career Early career Street began his musical career in the late 1970s playing in various bands around London. He played bass in the new wave ska/pop group, Bim, with future Neneh Cherry/Massive Attack producer Cameron McVey. The band were featured in the ''Listen to London'' documentary film. Street started at Island Records' Fallout Shelter Studio in 1982 firstly as an "in-house assistant" and then as an "in-house engineer". The Smiths ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Select (magazine)
''Select'' was a United Kingdom music magazine of the 1990s. It was known for covering the indie rock and Britpop genres, but featured a wide array of music. In 2003, ''The Guardian'' called ''Select'' "the magazine that not only coined the word Britpop, but soon came to define it." History The magazine was launched under United Consumer Magazines in July 1990, intending to be a rival to '' Q'' magazine. Its first cover star was Prince. Its first issue sold 100,000 copies. Between July and December 1990, its circulation hovered around 75,000. In April 1991, Spotlight sold ''Select'' to EMAP Metro. Under the editorship of Mark Ellen, the magazine began focusing on the baggy and Madchester scenes. The magazine soon became known for its coverage of Britpop, a term already in use in the music press by writer like John Robb but with an added new context in the magazine front cover by Stuart Maconie in its April 1993 "Yanks Go Home" edition, featuring The Auteurs, Denim, S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
