Latest / Deprogrammed Music Podcast / Since We Last Spoke: Blur

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Since We Last Spoke: Blur · Deprogrammed Music Podcast

0:20
No intros necessary because because this is the I was just
0:25
telling them off air that this is the first one.
0:27
We've never done this. And funnily enough, Jenny and I
0:31
were talking about beforehand that this is actually been in
0:35
the works for like a year and a half at least like this
0:37
specifically. So I'm going to pass it over to
0:42
you, Jenny. Like we're we're talking about
0:44
Blur specifically today. We're we're because one record
0:48
has we're returning to blur, if you will, because one records
0:52
come out since we did our episode on them, the ballot of
0:54
Darren, and we're going to be talking about that.
0:57
But first, let's talk about you. And I did that episode at this
1:03
point almost exactly 10 years ago, like it would have been
1:07
somewhere around this time in 2016.
1:11
Yeah, it I think it was April, wasn't it?
1:13
Yeah, it was. It was very early in the show.
1:16
Very early. Very early, yeah.
1:19
I so I did listen to the episode again recently and it struck me
1:24
how different the show was back then.
1:28
That was back in the, the days when we would still have like
1:30
our top ten list. And then we had quote UN quote
1:34
honorable mentions that were actually just part of the list.
1:37
Because I, I think like the original concept was you were
1:42
supposed to have 10 songs and then some people couldn't narrow
1:46
it down to 10. So you'd have 10 honorable
1:48
mentions along with it. So.
1:50
But they all counted so and it. It makes more sense that way, so
1:55
good job for. Sure.
1:59
And so one of the other things about the episode that was kind
2:02
of odd was that I, I remember us talking about like the concept
2:06
of the starter kit of the band, you know, the trying to pick
2:10
the, the songs that would introduce someone.
2:13
And and I feel like it was a fairly new concept then too,
2:17
because like the first few episodes were kind of like there
2:21
was a lot of greatest hits kind of stuff still being tossed
2:24
about. And and in this one, we we
2:27
actually didn't talk about a lot of the hits.
2:30
Like I don't think anybody said song to like you may have
2:34
mentioned it, but I don't think anybody had it on the list.
2:38
For sure. Yeah, I don't think so.
2:43
So it was it was really interesting to like go back in
2:46
the the way back machine of be programmed and listen to that.
2:52
So one of the things that I talked about this on the Peter
2:54
episode, he was really mad at me for not having park life.
2:59
And I don't even think park life was mentioned.
3:01
I think that was the biggest whiff that we made it.
3:06
It really should have been there.
3:07
He was right. He was right.
3:09
And you know, looking back at the the older comments in this
3:12
chat, we were saying how like Peter would be in on this
3:15
because this was a fucking two years ago.
3:18
We started talking about this episode.
3:22
So I'm sure he would have wanted park life to be there.
3:24
So again, I think that was something that that we really
3:28
should have included and let me see.
3:32
So the last, this was the other thing that really struck me
3:38
about the the older episodes, like the the way we played the
3:40
last round was so different. Back then, you would just go
3:44
down the list and read the song names and then we'd be like,
3:46
yes, I want that one. No, I don't want that one.
3:51
Now it's this whole like Wheeling and dealing round.
3:55
We're like, well, if I get this one, you get this one, you know,
3:58
like, you know, you're playing the it's, it was so bizarre.
4:02
It was so bizarre. One of the other things I
4:07
thought was really funny was you mentioned one of the songs that
4:12
you called out was repetition. And I was like, I don't even
4:16
fucking remember that song. And then like 2 seconds later I
4:19
literally said I don't even remember that song because I
4:26
don't listen to leisure very often.
4:30
It's it's not really like my favorite Blur album.
4:33
I, I, I like it and I just, it's not in my heavy rotations.
4:37
So like, I was like, God, what the fuck is that?
4:42
I think, yeah, I, I mean, I don't know.
4:45
It was, it was interesting to go back and listen.
4:47
I looked at the list and I think we did a pretty good job other
4:51
than park life. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
4:56
Like, it really should have been mentioned.
5:00
And like, I didn't have London loves on my list.
5:03
And when I heard that I didn't have that, I was like, how, how
5:05
the fuck did I not have that on my list?
5:09
And I think that that kind of goes to like what I've been
5:11
saying about how, you know, sometimes, like my list will be
5:15
different on one day to another, you know, just because of like
5:20
what hits you on a certain in a certain way.
5:23
And I guess at that time I was just not into that song, but I,
5:26
I fucking love it. So I don't know, maybe maybe I
5:29
was making the hard decisions back then.
5:32
I know I played my list different back then.
5:37
I think I mentioned that I had like, I don't know if this was
5:40
the total amount of songs or if I just actually couldn't narrow
5:43
it down, but I said something about 63 songs and I had to
5:46
narrow it down from that. That's exactly why I have to
5:49
play the way I do now because like it's, it's painful to cut
5:53
some of my favorite songs. So like, you know, I don't know,
5:57
maybe maybe it just didn't hit me the right way at that time.
6:00
So, but the the list was, I thought the list was pretty
6:04
good. Let's see, we've got coffee and
6:07
TV out of time. Out of time is still like one of
6:10
my favorite songs of theirs, the universal fantastic.
6:17
There's some like there's some weirdly deep cuts on this list
6:20
and I think it's I think it's still pretty good.
6:24
You know, I think we did a pretty good job.
6:26
So here you. Know Justin, you're.
6:28
So great. You're so great was the thing
6:30
that we kept coming back to you on that episode.
6:32
That's one thing I remember for sure.
6:34
You're great. I'll say this, this is a band
6:39
that in hindsight, I don't think I was ready for then.
6:44
I was, I mean, I was receptive. But like, if we did this band
6:49
now #1 like obvious. The obvious thing is my my list
6:53
approach would be different. Like Park Life would have been
6:56
on mine for sure. Because I've heard it and it's
6:58
not, you know, it's not it doesn't have the stink of of
7:03
well, in I say stink. But like at at that point in
7:07
time, I was specifically staying away from hits.
7:11
Like I was, I was at, you know, act especially that early in the
7:16
show, actively looking to not do the thing.
7:20
Like I was trying to find deep cuts.
7:22
I was trying to get into the records, but also at that time I
7:27
was turning the Discogs around in a week and like not really
7:32
having time to absorb it. Whereas I feel like now like the
7:38
the the bands that I've been through, like with 10 extra
7:41
years, like now going through this, I feel like now I'm ready
7:44
for Blur. Like now, you know, I mean, I'm
7:47
not saying let's redo the episode, but I am saying like, I
7:50
feel like now is the time for me to get back into Blur.
7:53
And also this was only your second.
7:58
Discovery episode up until Devo was the previous.
8:01
One like couple weeks. Previous to that and before that
8:05
you actually knew all these bands already.
8:08
So Devo was completely new to you and Blur was completely new.
8:13
And it was like, you know, I, I even made made a comment on the
8:17
show, like Justin, what are you going to do when you run out of
8:19
bands that you know? Well, here the fuck we are.
8:23
Literally 10 years later. So I'm going to run down the
8:27
rest of this 10 and then I'm going to bounce it over to you,
8:29
Josh, just to like to speak to, you know, as the person who had
8:35
to miss out on this. So January said coffee and TV
8:38
out of time, the universal we had tender to the end country
8:42
house. You're so great.
8:44
Stereotypes sing. And then Sunday, Sunday closed
8:48
out our list and obviously we didn't have, you know, final say
8:50
or #1 at that point. But like, as somebody who came
8:56
to the podcast as a listener, it when you get to the blur
8:59
episode, like are you like ringing your hair out?
9:03
Like, Oh my God, these guys are are fools.
9:05
Or is this more like a oh man I wish I could have been there a
9:08
moment. Feel like I'm such a Blurred
9:13
nerd that any lists probably wouldn't have satisfied me just
9:18
because, like, Jenny would know. When you've been such a big fan
9:21
of a band for like, you know, more than a decade, you have
9:25
moods where you have like 20 different favorite songs at a
9:28
certain time. Like, we'll talk about Parklife
9:31
then. That was the song that got me
9:33
into Blur through the beefs and butted videos.
9:37
And I love that song. But like, I'll happily not hear
9:41
until I see the next live, you know?
9:44
Even though I love that song just 'cause they're probably
9:46
most played band over the years, but I I thought the list was
9:50
quite good. They they had a compilation
9:54
called midlife when they came back on their first reunion to
9:59
around that time. And I feel like this list was
10:02
kind of like a great compilation in that it had some of the the
10:08
you know, some of the hits, but it had some fantastic album
10:12
tracks or like lesser known sort of singles on it as well.
10:16
Like even in the songs that, you know, you had two agreeances on
10:21
that didn't make the final 10, like, you know, advert no
10:25
distance left to run, lonesome St.
10:28
Tracy jacks. Like there was some really good
10:30
songs there. And I think a good variety of
10:33
songs that were being hit. But I I will say I was I was
10:40
waiting the whole episode to hear Beatle bum and and Jenny
10:44
mentioned it at the end. Thank God.
10:46
But for me that song is just like, how can this song not make
10:49
it in? But I don't know.
10:51
I think you guys did such a good job.
10:54
I will say Justin, props for for mentioning battle.
10:57
That's my favorite blur, sort of.
11:02
I wouldn't say shoe gaze, but like really self indulgent
11:06
moment with, you know, really dense instrumentation and and
11:11
weird lyrics and whatever. Like I was.
11:15
I was glad you mentioned some songs.
11:17
I think you mentioned repetition there as well.
11:19
It's not my favorite moment of of of leisure, but I think it
11:23
was really cool that you chose such a a deep cut.
11:27
Like that, I feel like that's part of the the one week turn
11:31
around is like you kind of have to go with what speaks to you
11:35
immediately. I mean, you know, there's it's
11:38
it's possible that it would have still made my list regardless if
11:41
I had another week or even, you know, another day or whatever.
11:45
But like, I feel like I feel like the positive of having only
11:51
a week is you can't, you know, stress yourself out over the
11:55
pics that much. You just kind of 20, whatever,
11:58
20 kind of gravitate towards you.
12:00
But the bad part is then you come to the show and don't have
12:04
as much to say because you've listened to it like all of three
12:08
times and like you I I liked it. It's all you can add.
12:14
So all right, so let's talk about your relationship since
12:19
the show, Jenny, is your relationship still as strong
12:23
with with Blur? And when this album comes out,
12:26
is this something like you immediately go back, go to and
12:30
and fall back in love with the band?
12:33
I mean, first of all, absolutely nothing could break my love for
12:36
this band and for Damon Albarn in general.
12:40
But yeah, so we went back and listened to The Ballad of Darren
12:45
and you know it when it came out, I don't think it really
12:49
grabbed me because it really didn't enter my rotation at all.
12:55
And I'm not sure why it didn't because listening to it for this
12:58
show, I, I loved it. I, I don't know what it was it,
13:03
it didn't feel quite as cohesive as some of the other albums,
13:07
like it doesn't. I almost felt like they kind of
13:11
wrote the songs individually sometimes and then just put them
13:14
together. But it was good and there was a
13:19
lot of really fantastic songs on it.
13:22
So I don't, I don't know what my problem was the first time
13:25
through, but I mean, I there was, you know, Spotify does the,
13:32
you know, the best of lists and almost every single year Blur is
13:36
in my top ten. You know, I think there was one
13:40
year in particular that like they said, what's your favorite,
13:43
what was your favorite band for each season?
13:46
And it was just Blur each season, spring, summer, winter,
13:50
fall, fucking 365, you know? So yeah, I don't know.
13:59
I don't, I don't think I have anything else to say.
14:00
That's it. So, you know, again, as somebody
14:05
who missed out on the original conversations about Blur and
14:11
realizing that this was an album we hadn't covered, is this is
14:15
this like the excuse to come talk about Blur, Josh, and and
14:18
talk to me about your relationship with this this
14:20
record? Yeah, so to put some context
14:25
behind this, I've been pestering Judy and Justin to do something
14:28
for Blur for about two years, 'cause I will say that that
14:32
episode you guys made was the first thing I heard from the
14:35
program that I wanted to to listen to more Blur podcasts or
14:38
anything. And I like the episodes.
14:41
That's what brought me back here.
14:42
But yeah, it it it genuinely use the excuse to talk about Blur.
14:48
I did hear Zach say that episode about blur B sides.
14:51
I'm like, I might be pushing it a bit here, but but yeah, I
14:56
definitely an excuse to talk about blur and you know, it.
14:59
It's it's interesting in the context of listening to blur.
15:04
I I sort of got into them maybe around 2011 and and since then
15:09
they've had they've had the magic whip and the ballad of
15:14
Darren, but both of completely felt like surprises because
15:19
bless him, I love him. But Damon Albarn like never
15:22
sounds keen to do blur, but then does it anyway.
15:26
So you just you just you just never expect it to happen.
15:29
So each album's been a complete surprise when it's come out and
15:34
a very appreciated surprise. But I suppose what what I'd say
15:40
is that the the album making process now isn't typical of a
15:46
of working band or a full time band, but I suppose the genies
15:51
of blur is even in these short time frames.
15:55
So like the first album, the magic whip come out because they
15:59
had a festival cancelled when they'll between Japan and Hong
16:02
Kong and they just recorded songs over four or five days in
16:06
this really dingy studio. And then the Bella Darren they
16:11
were going to play at Wembley. They got offered gigs at Wembley
16:13
and they're like, wow, we don't want to be a nostalgia machine.
16:16
We need to make a new album. And they just I think they
16:18
recorded it and have it Ding ready and a really short amount
16:22
of time. So this album come from a really
16:26
compromised time frame and I think they've done a great job
16:29
considering it's not my favorite Blur album by any means, but for
16:33
Blur in their 50s and and you know, not playing to give her a
16:38
little time if it was a great effort.
16:40
Yeah, I want to speak. You can.
16:41
Definitely tell they're sorry. They're they're definitely in a
16:44
different place than they were when they wrote Park Life or 13
16:49
or, you know, these earlier albums.
16:50
So. I want to speak to that that
16:54
point, though, that it, it this like hammers the point home I
17:02
was making earlier about when we did this initially, I wasn't
17:06
ready for for blur. And again, I, I, I feel I was
17:09
receptive. I feel like I got it.
17:12
I mean, you know, the show wasn't as refined and I, I, I
17:15
feel like I would have latched on easier now.
17:19
But what I'm getting at is when I'm listening to this record,
17:23
while I have the same sentiment, this is probably not probably
17:28
would not be my favorite blur record.
17:30
It did make me want to listen to Blur, which I haven't had
17:34
period, you know, end of story. Since we we've done the show
17:37
again. Not that I didn't like them, I
17:38
just had no desire to go back to them.
17:41
And it there's no, no, there's nothing negative there other
17:47
than me not being willing to make the space listen to.
17:51
Be fair Justin, you you've had to listen to about 15,000,000
17:55
songs since, so it's a small price to pay for the programs.
18:00
But like listening to this record, I'm like, you know, kind
18:04
of to your point, 'cause we're doing this similarly to
18:07
something that's probably going to come out and you know, at
18:09
best a couple weeks, perhaps a couple months.
18:12
We're doing this the same time as the same idea with with
18:16
gorillas. And it's like at the time when
18:19
we did, when we did the Blur episode, like even though
18:24
there's a clear difference between the two, I don't think
18:27
in my brain 10 years ago I made a difference between the two.
18:30
Like, you know it, it's clear. But it's clearer now to me.
18:35
Like, and I feel like gorillas in 2016 spoke more to me and
18:43
Blur speaks more to me in 2026. Interesting.
18:47
I Yeah. And so like, I mean, I'm
18:49
interested to go back with them, but I mean, we're not, we're not
18:55
here to talk about that. But like I'm, I am interested
19:00
now to kind of go back and, and take in those records for
19:04
enjoyment and not just content. So because.
19:10
You have. To, because you have to right,
19:12
right and, and, and see if they if it, if it lights a fire under
19:16
me to, to propel them to 'cause I get the feeling again, you
19:21
know, is it going to project them to a top ten band for me?
19:24
I don't know, man, maybe possibly.
19:26
But like they are going to be a band that's going to be on my
19:28
mind, I feel after I actually listen to them, if I listen to
19:34
them now, whereas they were just another band that we covered on
19:38
the show at up until we did this.
19:42
So with that in mind, we really are like already right up
19:47
against it. So like I, I just want to like
19:49
close this out with instead of doing, we had talked about doing
19:52
a list. Anybody listening to this, if
19:54
you want lists on these, let me know.
19:57
Like, but on this first one, we're not doing lists 'cause I
20:00
feel like this, this conversation's been beautiful.
20:02
I don't. I don't want to muddy it up with
20:06
arguments about songs, although I don't think that'll happen.
20:10
Just out of curiosity, like what are your high points on this
20:14
record, Jenny? Like, you know, you can just say
20:16
the four songs you picked if that's what you want, but if if
20:20
they're not that then feel free. I've got Avalon.
20:26
It was really chill and floaty and had a lot of dynamics that
20:29
were really fun. It was very beatly to me, which
20:32
is always going to win me over. You know?
20:35
Saint Charles Square I think I'm picking hits off of this album
20:38
but I don't care. Saint Charles Square, The
20:42
Narcissist and it's hard to read my handwriting, but it looks
20:46
like it says goodbye. Goodbye, Albert.
20:51
Goodbye, Albert. Yeah, yes.
20:54
So, Josh, again, like we're not trying to match here, but like,
20:59
would you have been advancing any of those songs?
21:01
Which which four did you bring? Saint Charles Square, definitely
21:06
that it was, it was nice to hear that sort of energy in the
21:10
current Blair song The Narcissist yes, it was the the
21:15
lead single, but it was beautiful.
21:18
I didn't have Avalon, but I do love the sort of horns I have in
21:21
that song. Just a cool Blair choice.
21:23
I probably haven't heard since The Great Escape.
21:26
And I did like Goodbye Albert, but that wasn't in my fall cause
21:31
apparently you wrote this song about this bird.
21:33
He was like sitting with at the beach that died.
21:36
It was really sad. Well, typical depressing Damon
21:40
story. Yeah, but it was I have to find
21:43
Mary said that because it was kind of beautiful.
21:45
The way I'm describing it sounds really dark.
21:50
Yeah, I. The two songs I had that Jenny
21:54
didn't have with the ballad, which is actually the song is
21:58
120 years old that Damon's bodyguard kept telling him to
22:03
record of all things. Hilarious.
22:05
And Russian strings, which I think just has the most
22:12
beautiful chord progression. But yeah, those are my 4.
22:18
I did like those. Hilarious that I dropped the
22:22
ballad before we went on today. So even in a moment where I
22:28
wasn't sure if we were going to make the list, I was like, let
22:30
me listen to this record one last time before we go on.
22:34
And This is why I told you guys I think I might be ready for
22:38
Blur now because I listened to it like pretty much
22:40
uninterrupted. And when I had done it before,
22:44
it was kind of like 3 songs here, 2 songs here, 4 songs
22:48
here, you know? However, however it played out,
22:50
I'd got to listen to it all the way through and I was like, man,
22:53
I really like this. And like, as I was listening to
22:58
it, I, I dropped the ballot off for barbaric 'cause I got to
23:02
barbaric. I was like, oh man, this, I,
23:04
this is really pretty. And neither of you had that.
23:07
And then it was. Yeah, I wrote notes on it so
23:10
that I liked it. It just didn't make the top 4.
23:13
Right. And then my song, that was the
23:16
fifth song, you know, that I, I had up until, you know, a couple
23:22
days ago, whenever we said, Hey, let's do it, you know, Thursday
23:25
night or Friday night or whatever was Russian strings.
23:30
So I dropped that off. But the other two I had were,
23:33
were the narcissist in Saint Charles Square And the the
23:40
thought that that really, really, or the song that really
23:47
hammered home the point of I think Blur might be for me now
23:51
was Avalon. When I was listening to Avalon
23:54
just before we went on, I was like, holy shit, I love this.
23:57
Like what? Like it's great.
24:01
And you know, obviously not enough to make me make changes,
24:05
but that doesn't really matter. I also had the rabbi.
24:08
I forgot that was my my 4th song but Oh yes yeah I.
24:15
It was funny Justin, you your original 4 are exactly what I
24:20
picked. Yeah, great minds and all that.
24:25
I'm the songs about dead birds. Yeah.
24:29
I really liked. That was my first place in
24:32
respect. Is it being respectful, leaving
24:34
it out because of the dead bird or disrespectful?
24:37
I don't know. That's that's something to pond
24:39
though. Yeah, disrespectful.
24:41
To me, 'cause I liked it. But you'll say my B side was
24:47
called the swan, and that's a bird.
24:49
Yeah. And that was my favorite B side.
24:51
So practically an ally for the birds.
24:54
There we go OK, I'll take it. All this to say that the ballad
24:59
of Darren is is a really good blur record.
25:02
And if you've never gotten into blur, well, it's probably not
25:06
going to be the best blur record and it's not going to be your
25:11
favorite blur record. It clearly did something for me
25:15
listening to it today and I'm really considering going back to
25:20
blur again. You know, I actually might have
25:22
some time in the coming weeks actually, like I'm, I don't know
25:25
why I'm acting like I I won't, I actually might, which is cool
25:29
so. They don't have time.
25:31
Yeah, right. So the ballad of Darren, give
25:34
that a listen and we will see you all tomorrow.