CD Project Thing #23 - Blur pt. 2

Blur - "Blur"
Blur - "Beetlebum" CD Single (UK Import)
Blur - "Song 2" CD Single (UK Import)
Blur - "On Your Own" CD Single (UK Import)
Blur - "M.O.R." CD Single (UK Import)

Finally, we're out from Britpop. It's all fine and good, but after a week it'll rot your mind. I can't imagine how Blur felt after years of it, but this was their response: an album that mostly sounds nothing like they've previously done, sounding like a lo-fi American indie-rock album more than anything. It's probably not a coincidence that it spawned their biggest US hit, "Song 2" (which I think is the first Blur song I ever knew). Not all of it works, but what does work is really good and a great changeup from the stale Britpop.

The highlight of the singles is a 6 track live peel session on "On Your Own". The band sounds way more interested than they did on the previous live album. It's so good, it would soon be released again...

Blur - "Live" EP (Dutch import)

But, no, not on this, although it's not too different. This was a Dutch radio session recorded like a week after the Peel session, and 4 of the songs are the same, another one had a similar live version released as a b-side on another single, and the last isn't that good. It's a good enough little show, but I hardly need both.

Blur - "Bustin' & Dronin'" (2 discs) (Japanese Import)

The third of Blur's Japanese-only albums, and the weirdest of the three. The first disc is 9 (mostly pretty awful) remixes of songs from "Blur", the second disc is the 6 song Peel session. The Peel session is good enough that it would make the disc worthwhile, but I already own it on the single, so what's the point? Strange, strange, strange.

Blur - "13"
Blur - "Tender" CD Single (UK Import)
Blur - "Coffee & TV" CD SIngle (UK Import)
Blur - "No Distance Left To Run" CD Single (3 discs) (UK Import)

An album sort of like the one before, but not really. There's a few weird rock songs like on "Blur", but my favorite songs on the album are probably the three singles, which are respectively a gospel ballad, a Graham Coxen-sung pop song and the saddest song ever. It's probably their most mature sounding album, and I think it's the last really good album they've done.

The b-sides here aren't so great, though. The big WTF moment is on "Tender", which for some reason as the album version of "Song 2" as a b-side. Uh, yeah. The "Coffee & TV" b-sides are just 4 remixes of "Bugman", one by each member of the band. The singles box set actually came out before "No Distance Left To Run" did, so the version in the box only has one b-side, but it's a really great one - a remix of "Tender" that's among my favorite remixes ever. Because I was trying to continue to get every Blur single ever (a persuit I later abandoned), I went on to buy the 2 part UK single for "No Distance Left To Run", which adds 2 new songs and a remix, but nothing I really need. They might be leaving, hopefully soon.

Blur - "Music Is My Radar" CD Single (2 discs) (UK Import)

The one new single off of "The Best Of Blur". The a-side is a pretty great African sounding track that sounds a lot like "Think Tank" would go on to. I've read that it was meant to be a b-side and "Black Book" (which became a b-side) was going to be an a-side, but I'm glad they changed their mind. The other 3 b-side are old live and peel versions of tracks from the very early 90s. Besides the a-side, not much point to it, and since I have that on the album, I don't think I need them.

Blur - "The Best Of Blur" (2 discs) (Canadian Import)

I'll be honest. For the first time on this list, I didn't listen to a disc here. I skipped the first disc, since I'd heard every song on it at least twice, and I thought I'd kill myself if I heard any more Britpop ever again. The second disc is 10 live versions of singles, and it's pretty decent. The highlight is "Tender", which just gets me every time.

CD Project Thing #22 - Blur pt. 1

Blur - "She's So High" single (UK import)
Blur - "There's No Other Way" single (UK import)
Blur - "Bang" single (UK import)
Blur - "Leisure" (Dutch import)

The beginnings of Blur. I don't think I ever realized before this just how much early Blur was influenced by the Happy Mondays. It's decent enough (especially some of the singles), but it's hardly great, it sounds very little like Blur would soon sound, and I'm pretty sure it's my least favorite Blur album ever.

You'll notice that I have a LOT of Blur singles. That's cause I own the 22-disc singles box set they put out a few years ago (along with a few other random things, some of which might get sold). The singles in the set include all the tracks from all formats, so many of them are much closer to eps than singles (I think the longest one is 9 tracks). In order to save typing and not make this all super long, I'll mostly just be listing them along with the album they go with, I think.

Blur - "Popscene" CD Single (UK import)
Blur - "Modern Life Is Rubbish"
Blur - "For Tomorrow" CD Single (UK import)
Blur - "Chemical World" CD Single (UK import)
Blur - "Sunday Sunday" CD Single (UK import)

I can't honestly say that I'd quite know how to define Britpop, but I can say that this is about as Britpop as Britpop gets (and, according to Wikipedia, it's generally considered the very first Britpop album). It's a huge leap forward from the first album and a must for any lover of Britpop.

The singles are mostly pretty long ("For Tomorrow" and "Chemical World" are both 9 tracks!) and include a pretty good mix of new b-sides, covers and alternate version of the singles. "Popscene" is the only non-album single Blur has ever done, and it wasn't released on the Best Of, but it's on the US version of "Modern Life Is Rubbish" so that's not as annoying as it would be.

Blur - "Parklife"
Blur - "Girls And Boys" CD Single (UK import)
Blur - "To The End" CD Single (UK import)
Blur - "Parklife" CD Single (UK import)
Blur - "End Of A Century" CD Single (UK import)

Part two of Blur's 3-year Britpop trilogy, "Parklife" isn't too different from "Modern Life Is Rubbish" except for having a little more dance music influence, but that's not really a bad thing. One thing that is a little annoying (and most Blur albums suffer from this) is their tendancy to include a song or two of what sounds like circus music. I just don't get it.

Shorter singles with fewer b-sides this time, but they're still pretty decent.

Blur - "The Special Collector's Edition" (Japanese Import)

Japanese-only b-sides collection. It's like 18 tracks, and would have been really exciting, if I didn't have all the tracks except one on the singles box set (and the one I don't have? Japanese fans singing "Bank Holiday". Uh, yeah.) So, I think it'll be going away soon.

This cd is also notable for having really great artwork, something they'd continue on the next two albums. Not really a good reason to keep something, though.

Blur - "The Great Escape"
Blur - "Country House" CD Single (UK Import)
Blur - "The Universal" CD Single (UK Import)
Blur - "Stereotypes" CD Single (UK Import)
Blur - "Charmless Man" CD Single (UK Import)

The third album in Blur's Britpop trilogy, it's still pretty good although I don't think I like it as much as the first two (although that could just be me being really burned out by this point). It's maybe a little more rock, but it still sounds basically the same as the last two albums, and the writing is the same, and it was really just about time for a change.

"Country House" is most notable for being Blur's entry in the big "Blur vs Oasis" single war (and it won, IIRC). The first two singles here are 8 track singles with 4 live tracks each, the other two are just 4 track singles. It's all decent enough (except, did we need ANOTHER version of "To The End"? No, we didn't), but nothing super great.

Blur - "Live at Budokan" (2 Discs) (Japanese Import)

Continuing the trend of a Japanese-only album after a real album, this is (like the title says) a live show from the Budokan. I suppose that it's not bad, but at this point I pretty much wanted to kill myself before listening to any more Britpop. There's nothing especially notable here, most of them sound pretty much just like the album versions. It is wrong that I get really excited when I find something that I can sell? Well, I do, and I did.

CD Project Thing #21 - Bjork, Frank Black Francis, Blind Faith, Blind Melon, Blondie

Bjork - "Post"
Bjork - "Selmasongs"
Bjork - "Greatest Hits"

I used to have a much more full Bjork collection, until she released a greatest hits and it occurred to me that most of her songs I really liked were on it. The exceptions were a few songs on "Post" and "Selmasongs" and so being the intelligent person I am, I kept those. Anyway, Bjork is Bjork. I can't really think of anything that sounds like her, and even her own songs don't sound like each other. Too much can get on my nerves, but this is just about the right amount.

Frank Black Francis - "Frank Black Francis" (2 Discs)

This interesting set is sort of a before-and-after of the Pixies (released under a combination of the names that the frontman used during the band and after the band). The first disc is a solo demo disc recorded just before the Pixies recorded their first ep. Some of it is pretty rough, but it's totally great, too - it's neat to see how well these songs stand up, even in this form. The second disc consists of new recordings of Pixies songs done with some guys from England, and they sound nothing at all like the original versions. Some of them are kind of interesting, but nothing can ever top the original. Overall, though, it's a must for huge Pixies fans, despite not even being issued under their name.

Blind Faith - "Blind Faith"
Blind Melon - "Blind Melon"
Blind Melon - "Soup"

All Marisa's, and all not really good at all. Take your pick, forgettable 60s rock or forgettable 90s rock! Pass.

Blondie - "Greatest Hits"

I used to have an old 80s Blondie "Best Of", but when this came out I was happy to replace it. Besides sounding a lot better, it's longer, going all the way through their reunion. It's one of those perfect greatest hits, where they have everything you could possibly want and not too much pointless crap. Even the new song isn't so bad...

CD Project Thing #20 - Bis

Bis - "I (heart) Bis"

Remember that famed "Indie Rock" mix tape that I said changed my life? Well, here's another reason why. When they first burst upon the UK scene in the mid 90s, Bis were a Scottish teenage trio (2 guys and a girl), super indie (to the point of even doing all their artwork themselves), and like so many of the UK teenage bands I love so much lo-fi and just amazingly fun. They were the kind of band that I'd have wanted to be in (if, you know, I had any musical talent at all). This cd came out a few years later and compiles all their early singles (in the liner notes, they call it "the lost first album"). If you like poppy, punky, co-ed vocals (and you probably don't, but I do, dammit), this is just essential.

Bis - "The New Transistor Heroes"

Do you like this blog? Well, at least for the moment you have this cd to thank for it still being here. I was going to quit doing it before the Better Than Ezra entries, until I put this cd on at 7:30 in the morning after a long weekend and the opening track ("Tell It To The Kids") just made me so happy that I knew I had to tell somebody about it, and so I had to keep on writing. In order to try to give extra value to their fans, it's all new tracks, not duplicating at all from their early singles, and they're just as good. I don't know where it lays overall, because it's always hard for me to compare "fun" music to "serious" music, but if I was making a ranking of my favorite "fun" music this is right up there.

Bis - "Play Some Real Music: A Bis Live CD"

Officially a bootleg (although not really, since they sell it on their site and even autographed the copy I bought), this is a live album released in like 2002, but only consisting of material up through 1997. As you'll gather if you read on, I strongly support this decision. Some of it is a little lo-fi and ragged, but so was everything the band did back then, so it pretty much fits perfectly. Not really essential or anything, but fun.

Bis - "Intendo" EP

A US-only EP consisting mainly of "New Transistor Heroes" b-sides, along with a couple of older and a couple of newer songs. It's not quite up to the level of the two earlier releases, but it's pretty good, and it's the last time they'd ever sound quite like this. Even though the music didn't quite show it yet, the packaging does begin to give away their move to being a little more professional - it still has a few of their traditional drawings of the band (for the last time ever, I think), but also a photograph, a first for the band. More changes would be in store soon...

Bis - "Social Dancing"

It seems to happen to almost all fun teenage bands - the urge to become more professional and serious. I'm not sure that story has ever disappointed me quite as much as it did with Bis. Before it did, though (see below), they did leave us with one last pretty good album. Sure, it was a more polished sounding Bis, a little less shouty, and a little more electronic, but it's still a good, poppy, enjoyable album.

After this, though, they'd pretty much fall off the table as far as I was concerned. Post-"Social Dancing" their career consisted of an album and a few eps that got more and more electronic and serious as time went on, to the point where the band I loved was pretty much unrecognizable (which is why I no longer own any of those releases). Then they broke up and did a few side projects, then they reformed with a new name and posted some mp3s that seemed to have a little promise, but then broke up again, and now they're regrouping in April to do two shows as Bis to celebrate 10 years since "New Transistor Heroes". Will they take this chance to get back together and do what they do best? We can only hope.

CD Project Thing #19 - Better Than Ezra, Big Head Todd And The Monsters, Big Star, Billy Mahonie

Better Than Ezra - "Deluxe"
Better Than Ezra - "Friction, Baby"

Two good alt-rock albums. You might just know the couple of hits off each one, but they're actually pretty solid, I like them quite a bit.

Better Than Ezra - "How Does Your Garden Grow"

By far my favorite BTE album, but also by far their worst selling (it sold so badly, it got them dropped from their label). I wish I could say that was a coincidence, but I'm pretty sure it's not. The main difference here is they went a little more experimental, adding some electronic stuff to their sound, and it works quite well. Too bad nobody else thought so.

Better Than Ezra - "Closer"

How did BTE follow-up their great, but horribly selling, album? They release this album, so mainstream that MY SISTER likes it. I've already sold it. Good riddance!

Big Head Todd And The Monsters - "Live Monsters"

I bought this for Marisa because she liked a few songs by them and wanted it, and I don't think I ever listened to it before now. Wow, it's really, really, really bad. So bad that I've completely blocked it out of my memory and can't remember it at all. That's probably a good thing.

Big Star - "#1 Record/Radio City"
Big Star - "Third/Sister Lovers"

Three albums on two discs ("#1 Record" and "Radio City" are two discs, "Third/Sister Lovers" is the third) of pretty good, should-have-been-more-popular. You know "Thirteen", who everybody ever has covered, and "In The Street", the theme to "That 70s Show", and there are a few other good ones, too.

Billy Mahonie - "1000 Years Of Billy Mahonie" Single (UK Import)

Of all the bands on the list, the one I probably know least about is Billy Mahonie. All I own is this CD Single, and I'm not even sure if they have a singer. I wasn't even sure if "Billy Mahonie" was a singer name or band name until I did a little research. Why, then, would I possibly own it? Well, it was the 100th release on the Too Pure label, so the band had a few of their label mates work on this single. The third song on it is "Manywhere (Hefner remix)", and since Hefner are the most amazing band ever (you'll read about that later), I had to have it. And, really, it's less like a "Hefner remix" and more like a whole (and pretty decent) Hefner song, since Darren Hayman from Hefner does vocals on it. So, thank you Billy Mahonie, whoever you are!