'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:

1. Lonesome Street
2. New World Towers
3. Go Out
4. Ice Cream Man
5. Thought I Was a Spaceman
6. I Broadcast
7. My Terracotta Heart
8. There are Too Many of Us
9. Ghost Ship
10. Pyongyang
11. Ong Ong
12. Mirrorball

What would you rate it?

Blur announce a new album The Magic Whip in 2015

Blur has officially announced their new album titled "The Magic Whip" to be released on April 27 is available to pre-order from today.

Featuring a distinct Chinese theme, Blur announced their first album as a four-piece in 16 years at a live streamed Facebook event from Chinatown in London.

According to Blur, the recordings began during a five-day break in touring in Spring 2013 at Avon Studios in Hong Kong. Last.  November Graham Coxon revisited the tracks and, drafting in blur's early producer Stephen Street, he worked with the band on the material. Damon Albarn completed the songs by adding his lyrics and thus produced this new album.

This is fantastic news for Blur fans, as no one expected a new Blur album to be released at such an early date. Previously, the band announced a comeback but had scheduled it for 2016/2017.

The band also announced they will headline British Summer Time Hyde Park on Saturday 20th June 2015. Tickets go on general sale at 9am, Friday 27 February from www.bst-hydepark.com.

The soundtrack for Blur's new 12 song album in 2015 will be:

1. Lonesome Street
2. New World Towers
3. Go Out
4. Ice Cream Man
5. Thought I Was a Spaceman
6. I Broadcast
7. My Terracotta Heart
8. There are Too Many of Us
9. Ghost Ship
10. Pyongyang
11. Ong Ong
12. Mirrorball

Watch the music video for their new single "Go Out" below. 

6 things you didn't know about Gorillaz

With all the news about a new Gorillaz album in 2015 or 2016, here are 6 facts that you didn't know about the band's tumultuous and interesting history.

1. Damon Albarn formed Gorillaz after his last Blur album, having settled down with his girlfriend and even becoming a father. Gorillaz was the first product of Albarn's rebirth, which was the project fronted by four cartoon characters.
2.  Jamie Hewlett was the artist with whom he shared a house in between the end of his relationship with ex-girlfriend Justine Frischmann and the decisive start of his life with current girlfriend Suzi Winstanley. Essentially this was a roommates' collaboration.
3. Jamie Hewlett hated Damon Albarn at first- quoting Jamie: "Damon was very competitive, and I had the whole Tank Girl thing going. Then in the late Nineties I split up with Jane, around the same time Damon broke up with Justine, and for some reason we decided to get a flat together. We'd spend hours watching MTV and wondering why everything on it was so terrible. I think Damon was tired of being the frontman for Blur, and I was just aghast at how boring most pop groups are when they're interviewed. Look at them, on television, all sat on the couch with nothing to say. So we said, "Let's make up a fake band".
4. In 2010, the two co-founders had yet another fallout. Jamie stated that he felt that people were starting care more about the music and less about his characters and art. The two creators had many disagreements while on tour in 2010 and were growing apart. Although they didn't split then, it spurred rumours about the split several years later. 
5. In 2011, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett had an argument, which led to the news that row "basically ended things" for the group. They have been hit with rumours of break-ups and split-ups, with some insiders commenting that Gorillaz are always "dogged with angry rows".
6. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have  broken up a few times over 2011-2015, allegedly over personal issues. Damon also once said that he was "less than impressed with Jamie’s party lifestyle."

Gorillaz announce official comeback in 2015

Jamie Hewlett, the cartoonist of virtual band Gorillaz confirmed the band’s return in a series of new Instagram posts in his personal account earlier today.

He posted three new coloured sketches of the band members, two of bassist Murdoc and one of guitarist Noodle. In the comments below the first image he posted, he said simply: “Yes. Gorillaz Returns.”

Damon Albarn, the frontman of the band, ruled out any return of Gorillaz last year. Yet in another interview before, Damon Albarn said that he was prepping a new album and was “in the process of reactivating” the group for a potential 2016 release date. Since the promised a return of his animated Gorillaz project last October he has remained silent on any further plans. Meanwhile, the singer has been busy staging a musical in Manchester and promoting his solo material.

The new drawings show an edgier, less green Murdoc holding a gun and wearing a religious necklace. It also shows Noodle wearing a Japanese-styled Kamikaze jacket, air goggles and brandishing a weapon resembling a samurai sword. This may mean that the new Gorillaz album contains a war theme, or features an adventure back to Japan or a faraway continent.

 The last album Gorillaz released was 2011′s mini-ipad album The Fall.

Great news for all the fans- it looks like there will be new Gorillaz material released sometime this year! Stay tuned for more news.

Check out Jamie Hewlett's Instagram account HERE. 

Design inspired by the Brit Pop era

The Brit Pop artists of the 1990s produced music that was inspired by their illustrious precursors of the 60s, 70s and 80s. It was ‘Brit’ and it made a statement, not least of which was that it rejected the Grunge music that had originated in Seattle in the US in favour of homegrown music. It was inspired by the guitar pop music of the 1960s – bands such as The Beatles – the glam rock of the 1970s – for example David Bowie, Iggy Pop – punk rock – such as the Sex Pistols – and Indie Rock of the 1980s – which included bands such as The Stone Roses and Inspiral Carpets. Mix these genres together, add tons of working class attitude, and an even larger amount of British culture, and you have a flavour of what Brit Pop is all about. Brit Pop influenced a generation and it continues to inspire design today and influence our everyday lives, both back then and now.  

The greatest of the Brit Pop bands included Suede and Blur from London, and Oasis from Manchester. In the case of Oasis and the infamous Gallagher brothers, not only was the Mancunian dialect mimicked, but their style was also copied, and their attitude was affected. Think about press images and album covers of the 90s – long greasy fringes and scruffy hair; still, bored facial expressions staring into the camera and sometimes leaning towards it; arms folded, often looking apathetic-bordering-on-aggressive. Song lyrics were about all things British, with an emphasis on that cigarettes and alcohol, working-class culture; the music was a social commentary but it had a great, catchy, good-fun tune. Although the lyrics often made serious points, it was music you could dance to, sing along with and party to.

Interior design and pop culture

Music that makes you feel like cutting loose and partying has always shaped our lives. Take pop music of the 60s and 70s, for example. Home décor of this era featured bold, bright stripes, zigzags and swirls in yellow, orange and brown, as well as disco balls and geometric shapes to mimic the disco vibe that had taken the world by storm.

Brit Pop was first and foremost British, and its style was embodied by the Union Jack: a symbol of pride and nationalism. The British flag influenced design and continues to do so by appearing in different formats on walls, murals, and picture frames. Typography art, word-clouds or wordles (a collection of words associated with a certain subject made into a piece of art) from Brit Pop lyrics, scatter cushions, as well as phone cases and T-shirts can all be found with Brit Pop themes. The artist of the time was British modern artist Damien Hirst, whose work included preserved dead animals including a sheep, a cow and a tiger shark.

Brit Pop has inspired not just artists and designers, but also fashion: fashion of the Brit Pop era was influenced by the collared shirts and leather jackets worn by the likes of alternative rock band The Smiths and The Jam in the 1980s. Followers of Brit Pop in the 90s wore a mixture of student and sporty casual, such as Fred Perry polo shirts, zip-up tracksuit tops, and Adidas sports shoes, and baggy, scruffy parkas, teamed with sunglasses, messy hair and a sultry look. And happily for the generation of the 90s, the Brit Pop era continues to influence much of our culture even now.

Dress like a Britpopper

Ever wanted to dress like a celebrity? Ever found your fashion idol online and wanted to look exactly like him or her? Maybe you have been inspired by singers like Damon Albarn or Graham Coxon, and want to dress in their special jacket or outfit that you once saw on Blur's music videos!

While it may be a bit harder to dress like a male celebrity, it's easier than you think for female singers. Dresses are often custom made to fit a certain style of celebrity fashion, e.g. Britpop chic,vintage dresses, Katy Perry styles, you name it, someone out there has made something like it for sale in a boutique store or what not.

There are so many custom made dresses online that one doesn't have to worry about a lack of choice in our age. From British-styled vintage pieces to chic modern styles, there's a lot to offer from online shopping. For music fans, you can even dress like your favourite celebrity or rock star, simply by buying online!

Damon Albarn receives blue plaque at Leytonstone

Damon Albarn has received a new blue plaque at his former Leytonstone home.

According to The Guardian, the Blur singer visited his childhood home at 21 Fillebrook Road, Leytonstone, this week. The singerlived in the house until he was nine-years-old and attended George Tomlinson Primary School, in Harrington Road.

 He said: “Its multi-racial population had a very profound effect on me, and the borough has a very particular feel to it, given the proximity to Epping Forest and places like Hollow Ponds. “I remember cows coming down this road on a regular basis. You wouldn’t believe it now what with the A12 extension, but memories like that obviously stuck with me.”

Albarn’s recent Mercury-nominated album, Everyday Robots, recalls his early childhood living in Fillebrook Road and one of the songs is named Hollow Ponds.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader of Waltham Forest council, said: “This borough has produced talented people from all walks of life and given Damon is such a huge name in the world of music it was right that we should celebrate him as a son of Leytonstone too.

 “Having been privileged to have met him, it is obvious that he has a real affection for the borough, as anyone listening to Hollow Ponds on his new album can hear.

This marks a new place to visit for any Blur fans who is eager to visit Blur-related landmarks around London and the UK.

5 Reasons why Britpop won't die

1. Parklife still exists - everyone's jogging in the park these days

2. We all know someone who is the girl who are boys who like boys to be girls 

3. Damon Albarn's still a Britpop man- just look at the way he dresses


4. Milky's a UK icon

5. Gorillaz sounds a bit like Blur - seriously, just listen to Tomorrow comes Today

New Damon Albarn song- Sister Rust

The cinematic song features on the soundtrack to the action film starring Scarlett Johansson.

The majority of the music in the film was provided by composer Eric Serra. Lucy is released in the UK on August 22 but is already out in America.