The hook to Blur’s biggest song doesn’t have words. Woo-hoo. Before they were duking it out with Oasis for control of the Britpop kingdom, Damon Albarn and his band sounded like a tired Madchester band. That scene—leftover acid house and baggy beats—was gasping for its final breath. Hanging on to a deflated genre, Blur’s debut album sounded uninspired.
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Blur left for a U.S. tour, and when they returned they found the band Suede on the cover of every music magazine that mattered in the U.K. Albarn, whom the British press accused of being a man in search of a trend, was inspired by Suede’s hype and reinvented Blur’s sound and look. Reacting against American grunge, the new Blur embraced Englishness.
Albeit a little too English for the press. A photo of the band—known as “British Image 1″—dressed in skinhead attire with an English Mastiff was attacked by critics as nationalistic. Chasing a trend or not, Blur found their sound, and Britpop was in full swing. Albarn crafted pop hooks and guitarist Graham Coxon was becoming known as a reluctant virtuoso.
Blur vs. Oasis
During the ’90s, Blur and Oasis traded the top spots on the British music charts. Britpop’s death knell sounded with Oasis’ third album, Be Here Now (1997). The record was commercially successful, but Britpop was beginning to wane. The excess and hype were exhausting.
Coxon, rejecting Britpop, was listening to American indie bands like Pavement. This brought new inspiration for Blur and, once again, they reinvented themselves. Their self-titled fifth album was released in 1997; “Song 2” was released as a single, and it was a smash hit. Emphasizing their homeland, Blur had revolted against American grunge dominance only to find a new sound back across the pond.
[RELATED: Behind the Britpop Beef Between Oasis and Blur]
It Started as a Joke
Blur presented the song, as a joke, to their record label as a potential single. Coxon assumed the label would think the song was too short and too extreme to release to radio. To the band’s surprise, the record company loved “Song 2.”
Damon Albarn’s acoustic demo of “Song 2” was played in a slower tempo. He explained on the Tape Notes podcast that the original version sounded like bossa nova with a softer woo-hoo chorus. Coxon thought it sounded too nice and suggested they speed up the tempo. He added an outrageous amount of distortion to his guitar in an attempt to sabotage the song.
The intro guitar riff is purposefully sloppy. Coxon plays the guitar with an antagonizing attitude. Bassist Alex James doubled his instrument with fuzz, which dominates the song’s chorus. Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree set up two kits opposite each other to create the beat.
Hit songs can be over-produced and over-analyzed, similar to how a marketing company might test a product. Blur’s haphazard studio approach to “Song 2” is not how most major-label records are made, but they had the freedom to experiment and be noisy.
What Does It Mean?
The song was track 2 on the album; the working title, “Song 2,” stuck.
Albarn’s recorded vocal was meant only as a guide track for the band. According to producer Stephen Street, Albarn is just “babbling” lyrics. The band later made attempts to refine the song with more production but ultimately left it as-is.
I got my head checked
By a jumbo jet
It wasn’t easy
But nothing is, no
“Song 2” is a two-minute song with two verses and two choruses. For those lucky enough to have witnessed Blur play the song in front of a stadium full of people, it’s apparent the song emphasizes feeling over meaning.
Woo-hoo
When I feel heavy metal
Woo-hoo
And I’m on pins and on needles
Woo-hoo
Well, I lie and I’m easy
All of the time, but I’m never sure why I need you
Pleased to meet you
Car Commercials? Sure
Blur were one of the biggest bands in the U.K., but they didn’t achieve similar success in America until “Song 2.” It became a U.S. alternative radio hit.
Both Mercedes-Benz and Nissan used the song in commercials. “Song 2” was also used in ads for Pentium II and the video game FIFA ’98. In an age when alternative bands licensing music to TV commercials was frowned upon, Blur found a new way to reach fans outside of mainstream radio.
Blur was the band’s third straight No. 1 album in the U.K. With “Song 2,” they were finally out from under the weight of Britpop—the cultural movement they helped launch.
Legacy
“Song 2” feels like the release of pure joy. It’s the sound of angst becoming bliss. The distorted f-you to the record company turned out to be a massive hit. After two reinventions, Blur, ironically, wrote their signature song, which sounded very American.
Damon Albarn went on to form Gorillaz, his second stadium-level band. Gorillaz are, visually, cartoons. The interesting thing about Albarn’s career is the paradox of his trendiness. When Albarn finally bucked the trends—like releasing a two-minute song with a wordless hook—he found his voice.
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