Music mega-store HMV recently announced that they are entering administration, having suspended their stocks on the stock market and ending talks with creditors.
Blur's Graham Coxon reacted to the store's announcement, and wrote on Twitter: "One day they might come up with an alternative to shoving everything into a computer.. Eggs.. Baskets.. Digital is a con."
Graham also tweeted a popular tweet about the store's status: "They'll be closing down musicians soon.. It ain't gonna get any better."
Other musicians have also voiced out their opinions about HMV's bankruptcy and debt situation . The Cribs also created a storm on Twitter, and tweeted - "Regarding all those theorizing Payola may be our final album, in light of the HMV news it certainly seems that way...#downloadsarentalbums."
"I'm really sad about HMV. Say what you want about it, but I'm genuinely sad" tweeted Ellie Goulding in another tweet.
One reason why the music store has gone bust is because of the technological age of music - the largest retailer in music is digital, and stores like iTunes have been one of the most popular sources for downloading music. With digital music being available to everyone with internet, it is of little surprise stores like HMV are unable to sustain business.
Blur's frontman Damon Albarn, however, is an avid supporter of digital music, having made the new Gorillaz album 'The Fall' available for free digital download. Much of his recent work and all of the Blur re-issues have been made public on digital purchases.
Check out Graham Coxon's recently revamped Twitter page and follow the Blur guitarist's musings by clicking HERE.
Diana Vasquez is a vibrant and dedicated Blur fan from California who creates and uploads some of the most interesting Blur videos in cyberspace. Many of the Blur, The Good The Bad and The Queen, Gorillaz and other band footages circulating around are uploaded by her using her alias “TracyJackAlbarn”.
We interviewed her recently about her devotion for Blur, video editing, Blur t-shirts and got to know a bit more about why she got into the band’s music in the first place and became a lifelong fan of the band.
1) To start off, tell us a little about yourself.
My Name is Diana and I'm 20 years old. Though most people online (either from Youtube, Facebook etc.) know me as the huge blur fan "TracyJackAlbarn" who uploads archive Blur videos and old interviews of the band. Frequently, a lot of people think that I am from London, England because of my huge Love for Blur but I'm actually born and raised in Los Angeles, California, the city of stars! 2) How did you get into Blur ? First Blur memories ?
I got into Blur through my sister's music collection 5 or 6 years ago. My sister has always had a brilliant taste in music and always had awesome concert experiences (she once shook hands with Jack White - I’m so jealous!) Back when I was 14 or 15 I didn’t have a developed music taste and was completely into cheesy pop music, pop singers, boy-bands- you name it.
The first Blur memory I had was when I first listened to 'There's No Other Way' from Leisure. It completely blew my mind. It sounded new and different to me and I became curious to know who the band was. Afterwards, my sister showed me one of Blur’s music videos- "She's So High" was the first music video I ever watched by Blur and I instantly fell in love with their music and their lead singer Damon Albarn!
A Leisure-esque Blur - Their first top 10 single was 'There's No Other Way' in 1991
3) You have a popular Blur-related Youtube channel - can you tell us about that ?
Yes. Actually I have my main channels ('TracyJackAlbarn' and 'TracyJackAlbarn2') that I use everyday. These contain mostly rare video footages of band, with Blur interviews, concert live performances, movie clips from the Blur shows and so much more. There’s even the making of some Blur music video footages, Damon on Bowie and old game shows that Blur featured in, and lots of old interesting clips.
And of course, I make funny Blur parodies, tributes and even birthday videos to celebrate Damon Albarn’s annual birthdays, as well as extra series episodes. My main channels have grown in popularity these few years. This is a pleasant surprise because I didn’t think that people like to watch these funny Blur videos in their free time! I always receive kind "thank you " comments or responses for creating Blur-related videos, and that gives me a good feeling inside.
4) Damon or Graham ?
Damon. He is definitely my favorite. Well... I don't want to brag too much about his good- looks, but besides that I think Damon is probably one of the most talented human being in the musical scene that I have ever encountered. Damon has made many pieces of art that should be appreciated - from his work on Dr.Dee to DRC Music and the many other solo projects that are separate from Blur and Gorillaz, he has always created excellent music. That said, Graham Coxon is definitely a very gifted and excellent guitarist. I've also admired Graham's solo work very much and would love to see him live in concert someday!
5) Favourite Blur song and why ?
Favorite Blur Song? Now that's a hard one, because it always changes from time to time. I think Blur’s B-side hits had always been on the top my list. At the moment, my favourite Blur tracks are 'Trimm Trabb', 'One born every minute', 'Don't Be' and 'Hanging Over'.
Blur 'Hanging Over' poster made by a fan -
Blur are known as a band with "brilliant b-sides"
6) Strangest thing you did related to Blur and the band
Well there are quite a few! From having a picture of Blur on a birthday cake when i was 15... dressing up as Damon for Halloween once during my sophomore year of highschool (though my sister mistook my costume as Pete Doherty from The Libertines!). The strangest thing I ever did relating to Blur was probably making South Park parody videos a long time ago. It was a Youtube hit but I guess they were a little weird for those who watched it.
7) Have you ever seen Blur live ?
Sadly, I have never seen Blur Live. However I have seen Gorillaz live in concert back in 2010. But since the recent upcoming dates have confirmed for a long tour for Blur this year in 2013, I just hope and pray that Blur will come to tour in the USA. If so, I'll surely be the first in line once the Blur boys has landed to LA.
Blur are set for a massive tour in 2013 but
there are no plans for American fans just yet
8) How has Blur changed you ?
Blur has definitely changed the way I listen to music nowadays. Because of Blur, I've now become more of a stable optimistic indie listener and I listen to a wider variety of music genres.
I've gotten more into Jack White, Gotye, Yuna, Augustus Pablo, Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, The Kills, Little Dragon, Elastica & many more. In a way, Blur “saved” me from the cheesy-ness of mainstream pop music and expanded my range.
9) What Blur items do you own ? Any blur merchandise ?
I have a few books, magazines, DVDs, & CD's from Both Blur, Gorillaz, Damon Albarn's solo projects. I also own some documentaries and copies of movies that Damon Albarn starred in (only 'FACE' & 'Anna and the Moods'). Just recently this year, I got my first Blur Vinyl & CD single of "Under the Westway/ The Puritan”!
As for Blur Merchandise, I do have two Blur shirts and one of them has a picture of Damon in the front. I also bought quite a few buttons featuring Blur and Graham Coxon. This sounds quite little but I have a feeling that my collection of Blur items and merchandise will be growing bigger and bigger in the future and ask they continue to release new music!
10) Any last words ?
I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that starting early January of 2013, I'm going to start My first VLOG channel. It'll be full of random miscellaneous videos where viewers can get to know me more. I’ll also include quite a few Blur humor here and then. It's truly an honor and privilege being interviewed for BlurBalls! Thank you so much!
Check out more of Diana’s Blur videos on herYoutube Channel (we can't get enough of this live video of the MAKING OF BEETLEBUM by Blur). There’s a lot of archive Blur interviews and cool pieces to watch.
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The Blur frontman has had thirty bikes stolen in the past few years. The reason is because Damon "can’t be bothered to lock them up".
Blur's Damon Albarn has reportedly spent £18,000 on replacing bikes that he has had stolen from him.According to The Sun, Damon Albarn, who is a fan of "old-school style racers that cost about £600", refuses to chain the bikes up when he is not using them, leaving the vehicles open to being stolen by anyone who wants to take them. According to the tabloid, Albarn has spent over £18k replacing around 30 bikes he has had stolen since 2007.
"Damon’s wild for having his bikes nicked," an unnamed source told the paper. "He always buys old-school style racers that cost about £600 a pop. He’s spent around £18,000 since 2007 getting his stolen bikes replaced. It’s all because he can’t be bothered to use a lock. Staff asked him to use a lock but he said, 'I can’t be arsed'. They even offered a lock installed with satellite tracking technology but he refused it."
Quoted from Source: NME
Damon Albarn was nominated just hours ago for a Brit Award 2013, for Best Producer of the year. He produced soul legend Bobby Womack's latest album 'The Bravest Man In The Universe' and also featured in several tracks in the album.
Damon is not unfamiliar with the Brit Awards - having been an iconic musician for more than two decades, he saw Blur being nominated (and winning) for some twenty Brit Awards from years 1995 to 2012. His second band Gorillaz were also nominated for nine Brits in the past.
Blur won the Outstanding Contribution to Music at the Brits in 2012
The British Producer of the Year Nominees are as follows:
• Damon Albarn
• Jake Gosling
• Paul Epworth
Perhaps this year Damon Albarn will once again take the stage for this award in the Brits 2013. Maybe he'll even do another long, lengthy speech thanking everyone he knows. Or perhaps his speech will cut off another famous singer and spark much online fury yet again. Will he win ? Who knows.
Damon Albarn recently designed a personalized t-shirt for UK clothing brand Fred Perry's 60th anniversary showcase. The plain white t-shirt featured a minimalistic design by Damon, with the units digit of the number sixty replaced by the signature Fred Perry logo. Damon also signed his name at the bottom right corner of the t-shirt.
The frontman has always been a big fan of Fred Perry's style - having been a life-long devotee to the brand, Blur chose Fred Perry's polo shirts and fashion as the band's main uniform during the height of the 'Battle of the Britpop', where Blur were up against Oasis in the battle for the UK Number 1 single of 1995.
"These Fred Perry shirts are associated with mods" - Damon Albarn on Fred Perry, 1995
Damon Albarn also wore a navy blue Fred Perry in the huge comeback gig of 2009, where Blur played in front of nearly 70,000 people to mark the band's reformation and return. The gig in Hyde Park is hailed as one of the band's greatest live shows this century.
Check out our collection of Damon Albarn in Fred Perry throughout the years:
From the Britpop years all the way to 2012, Damon Albarn has always worn Fred Perry shirts through the way. And Damon isn't the only one who is a fan of the brand. The British hype for Fred Perry (dubbed 'British street fashion') has many celebrity and musician fans, and also gave rise to many online fan sites, including the notable "Brits in Fred Perry" blog.
View the other designs, including Terry Hall's one, in the 60 Years Fred Perry gallery here.
With Kwestral the owl's eerie red eyes peeking behind Bobby Womack and Damon Albarn, the duo recently performed a stunning rendition of Bobby Womack's new song 'Love is Gonna Lift You Up' on New Year's Eve 2012.
Damon Albarn joined soul legend Bobby Womack on stage during Jools Holland's New Year Eve Hootenanny special on December 31st 2012. The Blur singer produced Bobby Womack's new album 'The Bravest Man In The Universe' and features on several tracks including 'The Bravest Man In The Universe', 'Please Forgive My Heart' and 'Deep River'.
Bobby Womack also featured on Damon's 'Plastic Beach' album for Gorillaz
There's also a story on the owl - Damon Albarn commissioned a UK-based artist to make the bird especially for this special performance. Find out all about the special stage prop here.
The purple stage was filled with Christmas lights and festive decorations as Damon Albarn played on a large grand piano that was covered with a large picture of a countdown timer. The performance was a brilliant one, with both musicians crooning the chorus and filling the room with sound. Watch and enjoy the video below.
There will be a special BBC radio show this New Year's Eve (December 31st) featuring Damon Albarn's former music teacher, who will be talking about the Blur frontman in a special documentary about Essex pop stars with number 1 hits in the 90s.
Mr. Nigel Hildreth was Graham Coxon and Damon Albarn's music teacher at Stanway School, Colchester, when the two were 12 or 13 years old. Damon frequently praised Mr. Hildreth for being inspiring, motivating and fantastic. Hildreth also praises and support Damon's side projects, including writing a feature article after watching the frontman's acclaimed 'Monkey Journey to the West' opera in 2007.
"We were incredibly lucky: we had a fantastic music teacher, Mr Hildreth. We did Orpheus, Oh! What A Lovely War – fantastic. We did The Boy Friend – not so fantastic. We did Guys & Dolls – incredible. And we did a bit of West Side Story as well. A really nice cross section."
Damon Albarn on his school days
The BBC feature will be presented by Scott Robinson from the boy band Five. It will be broadcasted on BBC Essex in the end of the year from 11am and 5pm.
