On February 24th 2012, BBC Radio 6 hosted a two-hour long Blur radio show, featuring a playlist created by fans, for fans. Previously, we posted exclusively on this little event here asking you fans to submit your favourite Blur related tracks.
The show was excellent and truly enjoyable - rarities like the beautiful b-side "Young and Lovely" and the French version of "To The End" were played, amongst many others. Damon Albarn's Fatboy Slim collaboration track "Put it Back together" was also a pleasant surprise. A Gorillaz track was also played.
Alex James, bassist, also surprised all fans and tuned into the show. He made a special request via twitter for Blur's b-side "Supa Shoppa", a non-vocal track. His tweet was:
Alex James @TheAlexJames
@BBC6Music @BlurOfficial Been putting the kids to bed. You gonna play Supashoppa or what ? Xxxxx
Other highlights included a The Cardiacs song, a funky remix of Tender, An XTC track was also played; XTC's Andy Partridge was originally set to produce Modern Life is Rubbish in it's initial stages.
BlurBalls sent in a request for the track "You're so Great" from the album Blur. We were ecstatic when they chose to play our track, and even gave a shout out to all our readers (yes, you!) and the Blur fans out there!
Listen below to the extract.
And two little site updates- firstly, the results for Graham Coxon's birthday survey is finally out! Check out what fellow Blur fans and our readers have to say to Graham Coxon below.
Secondly, our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/blurballs) has gone live with the new timeline design. Thanks to Tajda for designing the great banner, featuring Damon, Graham, Dave and Alex on stage at the Brit Awards 2012 winning the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.
Graham Coxon, Blur guitarist and solo artist turns 43 years old today (March 12th 1969)! We've collected a series of Graham funnies and moments that all fans will enjoy.
One of the most revealing Graham Coxon videos out there is him on MTV Cribs. Graham Coxon shows the audience around his house and tells us about his "raunchy" pair of pants, guitars, computers and Blur figurines. Watch it below!
For those who want to enjoy a special Graham Coxon video, with extracts from his best moments, interviews and the great man speaking, watch a special video below! Thanks to Tajda for making the video (and two memes) and helping us out at BlurBalls!
And of course, Graham does have great solo albums. His varied albums show his full range of talents, and he experiments with different styles of music. His latest album A+E takes us back to more 80s retro guitar music, but we currently love this track from Graham's wonderful solo album "Happiness in Magazines". The track "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery" is has remnants of Coffee and TV, and is a mixture of Graham's distinct vocals plus his strumming.
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Is Blur's new publicity technique to keep fans in suspense ? It seems that fans can only guess at whether the britpop supergroup, who reunited in 2009, will be releasing a new album in the future.
Contradicting information is presented by all four members of the band. Blur forum member damon4president brought up this piece of news regarding a recent radio interview:
Alex said on BBC Breakfast that the answer depends on who you ask and what day it is, and that was the first time I have heard any of them admit that they are constantly contradicting one another!
damon4president goes on to expand his thoughts, which is another way of interpreting the mixed information given:
The only way I can reconcile these contradictions - Damon and Graham saying there will be a new album and Alex saying there won't - is to assume that they are not working on one right now, but may do in the future.
Granted, Alex's 'end of the world is nigh' comments every time there is a big gig on the horizon do begin to grate, but, to put it bluntly, he can talk rubbish sometimes. I cannot see why a band that is in a good place, has gigs lined up, and has only just recorded a well-received new song, would decide to end things.
A toothy Damon and Noel Gallagher of Oasis get friendly at the 2012 Brit Awards - what will become of Blur after the Brits ?
Alex James also said that the summer gigs may be the "last thing" the band may do, and that Blur may disband after the Hyde Park gigs - saying "It is tinged with a bit of sadness really. This show in the summer could be the last thing we ever do."
All the hints and clues that go in opposite directions. As a fan, it feels very much like a tug of war. Who should we believe ? Cheese Farmer Alex James on Top Gear, who said "No", or Graham Coxon who said "Yes" to a recording and making a new full album?
“It’s pretty nice to be getting the Brit award", Graham said [in a Dailyrecord interview]. “We haven’t planned the rehearsals yet, but there will definitely be another Blur album.
“We’re always going to meet up and want to play things. We do like recording. Eventually, even if things aren’t around the corner, Blur will do more recordings together."
Or should we trust drummer Dave Rowntree, who said it won't happen? Or listen to Damon Albarn, who remains undecided- said it was a definite "No", then changed his mind and said it really, really could happen. And don't forget that Damon also expressed desire in an American tour for Blur earlier this year.
A very young Blur
Just like the sudden announcement of the Hyde Park Olympics gig, which was posted up on their official Facebook page at midnight shortly after their comeback Brit Awards performance, we can't help wonder - is this a publicity stunt ?
If it is, it certainly is working. Working very well indeed.
This band keeps you guessing, but we are, to quote a certain song from Modern Life Is Rubbish, holding on for tomorrow...We are clinging onto what Graham Coxon said to NME Magazine this year- "It was called a reunion in 2009, and that's what it was. So we are reunited. So now that's it".
In a recent NME interview, when asked "Will Blur be making a new album?" the response was again mixed:
- Damon said "Don't count on it" , aka NO
- Graham said "We've got commitment issues. But it'll probably happen."aka YES
- Alex said "There are definitely no plans to make one"aka NO
- Dave: "There's a lot of appetite out there for new Blur music. It's no secret that we're working on something" aka YES
But one thing's for sure, William Orbit is twiddling with his producer knobs and currently in progress with making "Under The Westway" fit for release - soon. Where? No one knows. Ask Damon.
Blur has finally addressed the Brit Awards controversy- they were blamed for cutting singer Adele's acceptance speech after they both won awards in the 2012 ceremony.
Blur
bassist Alex James has announced that the band were not aware
that Adele's speech at this year's Brit Awards was interrupted
and cut short. Taken from an
NME article:
Adele flipped her
middle finger after she was interrupted by host James Corden during
her acceptance speech for the Mastercard British Album Of The Year gong. The
comedian was forced to usher her from the stage so that Blur, who picked up the
Outstanding Contribution To Music Award, could begin their live set.
Both ITV and the
Brit Awards have since apologised for the controversy, but in an interviewwithBBC Breakfast, James insistedthathe andhis bandmateshadnot been awareoftheincident,
and also said that the subsequent furore hadn't taken the spotlight away from
Adele.
Alex James, speaking on BBC Breakfast about the controversial issue, said:
That's
live telly. I don't think it overshadowed anything. We were up there backstage
and didn't know what was happening until afterwards. I think Adele is amazing
and has a fantastic career in front of her.
Earlier, we wrote all about Blur being bashed at the Brits for their performance and acceptance speech length. The media was heavily focused on the Blur/Adele issue, as well as Damon's unusual live performance.
This is the first time Blur has spoken out about the issue, although Damon Albarn did mention it very briefly on radio. And it seems like they didn't even know that Adele's speech was cut off. It goes to show, sometimes you just can't trust the media too much.
Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE,
Read all about Blur kicking Adele OUT of the Brits HERE,
Alex James appeared on television show Top Gear on March 4th 2012 and spoke about Blur's future plans.
He told host Jeremy Clarkson that Blur has been working on a new song - "We've got a new song to unveil, I just listened to it in the morning".
Alex also added that the unnamed track was "like a hymn, a real tear-jerker".
When asked about their controversial Brit Awards performance of 12 days ago, (click to read a feature article about the happenings of that night) where Blur received the Outstanding Contribution to Music award, he said: "It was utterly magnificent to get back together and smash those
songs out again."
Last month, Blur's frontman Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon played a new Blur song 'Under The Westway'during an acoustic set at the War Child pre-Brit Awards charity gig at O2 Sheperd's
Bush Empire in London. Watch an exclusive BlurBalls recording of the great performance in the video below.
In a recent NME Magazine interview, Blur did confirmed they were trying out new songs and new material since their 2009 reunion, but were "cagey about whether they'd record a new
album", which would be their first since 2003's Think Tank.
When Graham Coxon was asked about new album plans in time for Blur's massive Olympics 2012 Hyde Park set,
he said he'd be "interested in playing new things" during the live gig, exclaiming: "We always used to play underdeveloped things and kick them into
shape during the shows, but it isn't the occasion for that. Obviously we're not
gonna play the same set we played in 2009, but there things that people always,
always wanna hear."
Previously, super producer William Orbit (who produced Blur's dark, edgy album "13" in 1999) hinted he was working on new
material with Blur in a series of tweets and facebook page, sparking rumours that there was a new Blur album.
Producer Stephen Street, who produced five Blur albums including the hugely successful "Parklife" in 1995, has also said he "would like to work with" the band and "recording with them again". Street is currently remastering all the Blur records, perhaps for a release late this year in a box set/ vinyl collection. Click here to read all about the Blur remasters.
Besides the Hyde Park Olympics concert, Blur are also headlining two other events: Denmark's Skandeborg Festival in August 9th 2012 and Sweden's Way Out WestFestival on August 10th.
A young Blur in their Modern Life is Rubbish days
However, the band still contradicted themselves with mixed messages about their future "new" recording. In recent interviews, there were a lot of "Yes, we are working on new songs" and "No. we are not going to make a new album" and some "We're not sure"'s.
Watch Graham Coxon speak out about the band's preparations for the Hyde Park gigs and click HERE read all about Graham vowing to make this gig bigger and better than their 2009 runs.
With these mixed messages about the potential new Blur album, fans can only speculate. So far, nothing was confirmed by the band. They seem reluctant to talk about any future albums, although are happy to chat about individual tracks. They debuted Under the Westway in the War Child event. However, Alex James did say it's probably a "no" to a new Blur album on last night's Top Gear episode.
Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE,
Here's some more Blur related news
for all fans out there. For those of you who want all the details about the
band's future gig(s) in preparation for the London Olympics at Hyde Park 2012-
Graham Coxon did aninterview
with NMEon 29th February
2012.
Watch the most recent interview
backstage at the 2012 NME Awards below:
Regarding Blur's summer plans, Graham says: "We're going to start
rehearsing soon and we've been back playing together for a bit. We're going to
concentrate on making it a really nice experience in the summer.
"We're going to
try and get it up a notch from 2009, which seems almost impossible to me in a
way because the Glastonbury appearance was so phenomenally amazing."
"We're going
to try and go one better."he added. Graham hopes that this year will be
more trump the 2009
Hyde Park reunion show, where Blur played a one-off massive gig under the sweltering
summer heat.
Graham Coxon and Alexa Chung
presented an award to The Vaccines for Best New Band during the ceremony. Coxon is working on his new 80s sounding album A+E and crafting a varied solo career. He
alsoexpressed desire to work
with The Vaccinesand join
them on stage in the future, or perhaps during the summertime.
Slightly shaky footage of Coxon and Chung presenting an award to The Vaccines
Blur willplaytheoutdoorclosingceremonyshowonAugust 12 for the games' closing ceremony. They have
announced that they will headline two concerts in Denmark and Sweden just
before the big Hyde Park gig.
Blur made a dramatic return to the
stage in the 2009 NME Awards. Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon appeared on stage
together for the first time in 9 years. They performed "This is a Low" from their 1995 hit album Parklife.
A touching
performance of This is a Low - the performance was raw and emotional
It's exciting knowing that Blur will start rehearsing soon - hopefully there will be more warm-up gigs announced soon. Stay tuned for more up to date Blur news.
Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE,
Gorillaz released their 3-in-1 Converse campaign single Doyathing, featuring Andre 3000 and James Murphy, on 23rd February 2012. Damon Albarn raps as 2D in his monotone, signature style and the track.
Watch the music video featuring a sleepy 2D and a very green Murdoc parading around their rather tidy house below. It's strange but fits the tune well, and as usual, Gorillaz blends live action and graphics perfectly.
As for the music, this Gorillaz track is quite enjoyable - it's definitely something worth downloading for fans. Damon's rap is similar to the introduction of Gorillaz's hit "Clint Eastwood" and Andre 3000 is brilliant as usual. The beat is catchy and extremely addicting- in a good way of course!
Gorillaz also released the making of Doyathing's music video along with a nice little interview with Pitchfork (click to read):
There's also a 13 minute version available for those of you who want to enjoy a longer tune HERE.
And since we're ape-ing around, it would be appropriate to mention that Davy Jones of The Monkees passed away recently. The Monkees sounded somewhat like The Beatles, and of course, The Beatles have influenced Damon Albarn and Blur significantly (although this influence doesn't seem to extend to Gorillaz!).
You can also buy the Converse shoes with great designs on Amazon.
Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE,
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