I tend not to use the word Indie whilst talking about music as I find the term pretty annoying, but for the sake of this blog I shall use it on a temporary basis. Independent music is not just about mop tops, a multi-coloured bead neck less, Johnny Knoxville trainees and baggy semi-flares it’s about being independent from the majors. Putting out what you want and basically having pretty much full artistic control of your music is the basic genetic make up of an Indie label. So, it is only fitting that true Indie Greats Blur have return … to save the day. So, is there any other way? Let’s have a look at the current contenders.
Most people who know me will know about my sheer contempt for shite cock-indie Ponses Razorlight. They claim to be Indie (as well as many other things if you believe Johnny ‘I’m the greatest song writer ever’ Borrell) but, in my opinion, they are nothing short of glammed up, 3 chord tabloid hunters who are so far up their own arses they are nearly kissing their own colons!!! Other acts who claim to carry the Indie Baton are similar funsters Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol, Fratellis & Bloc Party. The Kaisers are just a 10 year extension of Blur in their prime, Fratellis footy-mad indie terrace chanting makes me reach for the aspirin every time I hear them while Bloc Party’s post-punk sounding dross is sadly beginning to wear thin after a pretty promising start. As for Snow (snore) Patrol: I’m not even gonna go there. All of the above lacked the creativeness Blur had by a massive margin.
Apart from the typically well known dodgyness of Country House, many many brilliant tunes have been released from Blur such as Beedlebum, I’m Just a Killer For Your Love, There’s No Other Way & To The End: all pretty wide ranging in music style that were far superior to their then rivals Pulp, The Verve & Oasis who all stuck to their own sounds (in their own special way, of course) The Verve cornered the dreary market to the extent I couldn’t understand a word out of Richard Ashcroft’s mouth apart from the “no no noooo’s”, Pulp championed the people watching of suburban backstreet sexual encounters to the point of voyeurism while Oasis’ entire back catalogue and current efforts continue to regurgitate Beatles references for the one millionth time. By the by, same old, same old. Blur were, in the Radiohead sense of things, (but maybe not so extreme): different, but not different for the sake of being different. Britpop was born!
Albarn & Co have not been living off their royalties since the release of the 2003 Think Tank by any means; Damon Albarn a successful partner in Gorillaz, Alex James living on his farm making his own cheese, Graham Coxan enjoying a pretty successful solo career and Dave Rowntree bizarrely running for parliament has taken up the majority of their time. But, as Bass Player Alex James recently said “I’ve got my old job back” – a return to his old employment certainly brings a smile to my face.
So, what of the future for the pioneers of Britpop? The grand setting of Hyde Park(life) is already confirmed. As well as a massive pay bonus from label: Live Nation. After that, Glastonbury maybe? Then the usually cycle of album &Tour? If so, the choice of venues and size of the tour would be quite interesting to see as they are certainly not in the same mould as other recent reformations such as Take That. Maybe Alexander Palace would be more suited than the O2 to kick off the tour for example. After that the usually dingy settings around Britain & Europe would be just perfect for a band like Blur. The quality of the music though is pretty much guaranteed: good.
So, all hail the great Blur: true Indie champions. Let’s hope that they don’t do a ‘best of tour’ as that would just simply be a sell out. Stick to what you do best chaps as it’s not about your Vorsprung Durch Tecknik ye know? It’s about you joggers that go round, and round, and round, and round …….
Mol
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