If you happen to be reading this in the U.K. you are probably saying to yourself, "what the fuck is this American talking about." Parklife, along with Oasis' Defiantly Maybe fueled the second wave of the British invasion in the mid 90's. However, Parklife maybe one of the definitive British albums of all time, yet here across the pond it only made a splash. Receiving the critical acclaim here in the U.S., it wasn’t until Blur's 1997 self titled effort and a little single called "Song 2," that made them household names. Parklife, 16 tracks of pure Brit-pop and rock, it takes aim at social issues, a disdain at the modern era and of course classic motifs of sex, drugs and rock and roll. It breached four singles in the U.K., but here Stateside the single "Boys and Girls," was played at every MTV Spring Break and 90's raves. Parklife drew many comparisons to other acts such as The Kinks, Pet Shop Boys and Duran Duran and solidified Blur as one of England's top acts. The impact Parklife had on music at the time helped fuel the tabloid driven feud between Oasis and Blur and having new bands take sides as to what band and sound they wanted to mimic. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in the music world and the acts that Blur had inspired with this disc would prove it. Blur front man Damon Albarn even inspired himself with one of his later projects Gorillaz, and some of the new alt-wave bands of today such as The Editors, The Killers and Franz Ferdinand cannot argue that Parklife was not an inspiration. It maybe one of the greatest British achievements overlooked here in the U.S. I hope now we can go back over a decade later, pick this record up and start listening again...for the first time.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Underrated Classic - Blur "Parklife"
If you happen to be reading this in the U.K. you are probably saying to yourself, "what the fuck is this American talking about." Parklife, along with Oasis' Defiantly Maybe fueled the second wave of the British invasion in the mid 90's. However, Parklife maybe one of the definitive British albums of all time, yet here across the pond it only made a splash. Receiving the critical acclaim here in the U.S., it wasn’t until Blur's 1997 self titled effort and a little single called "Song 2," that made them household names. Parklife, 16 tracks of pure Brit-pop and rock, it takes aim at social issues, a disdain at the modern era and of course classic motifs of sex, drugs and rock and roll. It breached four singles in the U.K., but here Stateside the single "Boys and Girls," was played at every MTV Spring Break and 90's raves. Parklife drew many comparisons to other acts such as The Kinks, Pet Shop Boys and Duran Duran and solidified Blur as one of England's top acts. The impact Parklife had on music at the time helped fuel the tabloid driven feud between Oasis and Blur and having new bands take sides as to what band and sound they wanted to mimic. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in the music world and the acts that Blur had inspired with this disc would prove it. Blur front man Damon Albarn even inspired himself with one of his later projects Gorillaz, and some of the new alt-wave bands of today such as The Editors, The Killers and Franz Ferdinand cannot argue that Parklife was not an inspiration. It maybe one of the greatest British achievements overlooked here in the U.S. I hope now we can go back over a decade later, pick this record up and start listening again...for the first time.