I have a memory of 13-year-old me watching a college student on my local campus play Xybots, an early 3D game. Blur’s first hit, “There’s No Other Way,” played on the stereo.
I got seriously in to Blur in college, thanks to a trip to England, they are still in my top 5. I’ve featured them here twice before.
They’ve come a long way. Blur was an art school band merchandised as a boy band (see: “rivalry” with Oasis). But they turned into a world-class band that continues to take chances and make beautiful music.
For instance, take frontman and primary lyricist Damon Albarn. His side project Gorillaz was perhaps one of the first virtual bands (and a hitmaker in its own right). Over the years, success has allowed him to experiment with pretty wild stuff, including opera and collaborations with African artists.
The pandemic, it turns out, gave him tons of time to take a classical work commissioned by a French music festival and turn it into a full-blown album.
That album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, is so subtle. Even the horn section is subtle. I talked about the title’s connection to a Renaissance motto and our efforts to grow. But now that the album is out, I can feature the music.
He continues to come a long way.