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Rating: "13" is yet another masterpiece by Blur... But you have to listen to it many times to fully enjoy it… At times it's frightening.
The whole thing opens with the atypical "Tender", seven minutes and forty-three seconds of unique melodies, with a gospel choir in the chorus and an incredibly country-bluesy guitar. Bassist Alex James plays a double bass and drummer Rowntree, to achieve that particular sound heard on the second quarter of each beat, hits wooden planks on the floor.
Then comes the first shock: "Bugman" is highly cacophonous yet at the same time incredibly enjoyable… The vacuum cleaner that bursts in at the 1'44'' mark, almost covering all other sounds, is terrifying… The last two minutes were completely improvised (according to Albarn), featuring alternating guitar riffs with bursts of running water and various rustles. Then there's one of the singles "Coffee & Tv", the one with the milk carton video, a track in which a very strange chord progression (including an F major and B flat major in the key of B major) accompanies an equally peculiar vocal line. Coxon's abrasive yet enjoyable cacophonous solo appears in the middle.
An organ melody leads into "Swamp Song", an oriental-inspired noise-rock track, said by Albarn to be inspired by Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir". From the fourth minute, music is accompanied by hysterical laughter and messy noises leading to an acoustic guitar ending. "1992" is a gem… a terribly sad slow tune that dates back to 1992 but was left in the drawer and forgotten. Albarn revisited it after breaking up with Justine Frischmann and wrote a very depressing lyric for it. Once again, the chord progression is very unique. The piece itself would last just over two minutes, but a sound described by Coxon as "UFO landing" created through feedback extends it to five and a half minutes.
"B.L.U.R.E.M.I" (the only title written in blue instead of white in the booklet… and I never understood why) is a chaotic punk-vocoder track that flows into a brief synthesizer interlude. Then comes another track that represents Blur's new direction well: "Battle", almost eight minutes of psychedelic progressive rock. It opens with a keyboard, followed by a spectacular drum and a cavernous, at times dub-like, bass. The melody is very unusual, and often Albarn's words are indecipherable… Very Sigur Ròs-like, no doubt!
"Mellow Song" is an acoustically opened track but then becomes a duet between sitar and guitar with a bass-rich drum base. The demo of the track is available as a b-side of the single "Tender". "Trailerpark" is a distortion-heavy funky track very much like Beck(!) with a telegraphic rapped text and a somewhat out-of-tune organ base… The track closes with a more aggressive, still very distorted coda. "Caramel" is the sister of "Battle": another seven and a half minutes of eccentricities, with a very particular vocal line (the Do Doo Do Do Doooo choruses are irresistible) that closes with car sounds and a techno-rock finish (reminds me of U2's "Pop" tracks).
Then comes "Trimm Trabb", which Blur wanted as a single, a jungly-folk with lo-fi noises in the background. It starts acoustic and calm only to become cacophonous and noisy (listen at minute 4'10'' to Coxon's riffs to believe it). "No Distance Left To Run" is the last single extracted, a terribly sad slow blues once again dedicated to Albarn's ex. The set closes with "Optigan 1", an improvised waltz from 1997 meant to be a b-side for "M.O.R" but then shelved for the new album.
Two notes have now become a habit: the b-sides. There aren't many unreleased tracks, mostly remixes, such as the drum'n'bass version of "Tender" or the dub-reggae version of "Bugman". Among the unreleased, however, how can one not mention the wonderful "All We Want", catchy and definable as the new Beetlebum, the stunning instrumental "French Song", an eight-minute piece, the aforementioned "Mellow Jam", the base for "Mellow Song", and the techno "I Got Law", a bonus track from the Japanese edition of 13, then reused as the base for "Tomorrow Never Comes" in "Gorillaz?"
The booklet is sparse this time… Featuring horrible drawings and only including the credits of the disc… A disappointment… For booklet enthusiasts like me, don't bother buying the original disc in-store… Get it on iTunes instead!
Still, an excellent album, worthy of 5 stars… A Blur classic… To be digested slowly though… Because it’s a bit difficult, described by Coxon as "a mind-blowing trip in devil's time"…
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Tender (07:40)
Tender is the night
Lying by your side
Tender is the touch
Of someone that you love too much
Tender is the day
The demons go away
Lord I need to find
Someone who can heal my mind
Come on, Come on, Come on
Get through it
Come on, Come on, Come on
Loves the greatest thing
Come on, Come on, Come on
Get through it
Come on, Come on, Come on
Loves the greatest thing
That we have
I'm waiting for that feeling
I'm waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling to come
Oh my baby
Oh my baby
Oh why
Oh my
(x2)
Tender is the ghost
The ghost I love the most
Hiding from the sun
Waiting for the night to come
Tender is my heart
I'm screwing up my life
Lord I need to find
Someone who can heal my mind
Come on, Come on, Come on
Get through it
Come on, Come on, Come on
Loves the greatest thing
Come on, Come on, Come on
Get through it
Come on, Come on, Come on
Loves the greatest thing
That we have
I'm waiting for that feeling
I'm waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling to come
Oh my baby
Oh my baby
Oh why
Oh my
(x2)
Come on, Come on, Come on
Get through it
Come on, Come on, Come on
Loves the greatest thing
Come on, Come on, Come on
Get through it
Come on, Come on, Come on
Loves the greatest thing
That we have
I'm waiting for that feeling
I'm waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling to come
Oh my baby
Oh my baby
Oh why
Oh my
(x2)
Tender is the light
Lying by your side
Tender is the touch
Of someone that you love too much
Tender is my heart you know
I'm screwing up my life
Oh Lord I need to find
Someone who can heal my mind
Come on, Come on, Come on
Get through it
Come on, Come on, Come on
Loves the greatest thing
Come on, Come on, Come on,
Get through it
Come on, Come on, Come on
Loves the greatest thing
That we have
I'm waiting for that feeling
I'm waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling to come
Oh my baby
Oh my baby
Oh why
Oh my
(goes on until end fading away)
02 Bugman (04:47)
I am an ex offender
They let me out in the Summer
I think I was in a coma
I didn't know what to do
Oh no
You go hang around go round
I'll watch myself hang on
Look out for the Bugman
You go hang around around
I'll watch myself hang on
Look out for the Bugman
I got no sent of existence
I know the nodding dogs
I go out in the city
I stay away from the bugs
Oh yeah
You go hang around around
I watch myself look out
Look out for the Bugman
You go hang around around
I watch myself hang on
Look out for the Bugman
The bu uh uh ug man
I go out in the city
I stay away from the bugs
Oh yeah
la la la la la oh oh...
I go out in the city
I go out in the city
I stay away from the buh uh bugs...
03 Coffee & TV (05:58)
Do you feel like a chain store
Practically floored
One of many zeros
Kicked around bored
Your ears are full but you're empty
Holding out your heart
To people who never really
Care how you are
So give me coffee and TV, easily
I've seen so much, I'm going blind
And I'm braindead virtually
Sociability is hard enough for me
Take me away from this big bad world
And agree to marry me
So we can start over again
Do you go to the country
It isn't very far
There's people there who will hurt you
'Cause of who you are
Your ears are full of their language
There's wisdom there you're sure
Till the words start slurring
And you can't find the door
So give me coffee and TV, easily
I've seen so much, I'm going blind
And I'm braindead virtually
Sociability is hard enough for me
Take me away from this big bad world
And agree to marry me
So we can start over again
05 1992 (05:28)
Going into business
An agreement of your bombast
You'd love my bed
You took the other instead
But don't you feel low
I was being oblique
And you'd love my bed
You got the other instead
What do you owe me?
The price of your piece of mind
You'd love my bed
You took the other instead
06 B.L.U.R.E.M.I. (02:53)
Group using a loopOf another pop group
Group shooting a hoop
And starving it up in to the soup
Cos I'm of regular features
And Adidas trainers
Completing the cycle
Until the teenage maniacs
Can bring it on back
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
Group using a loopOf another pop group
Completing the cycle
Until the teenage maniacs
They'll bring it all back
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I
B L U R E M I...
07 Battle (07:42)
Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle
Battle someone..Oooh
Battle, Battle, Battle
Battle someone..Oooh
Completion Serch
Here I love the blow
See me walk on down to
Adorn myself
It's a glory
Cos, See me
What do you think of now?
Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle
Battle someone..Oooh
Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle
Battle someone..Oooh
Can turn your sights
Kill until sub-zero
See me
Oh it turns you on
All my gawe
It's the end of your
Take your last one now
Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle
Battle someone..Oooh
Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle, Battle
Battle someone..Oooh
09 Trailerpark (04:26)
fist out
fist out for the five
fist out
I'm a country boy I got no Soul
Don't sleep at night, the worlds growing old
I lost my girl to the Rolling Stones
I lost my girl to the Rolling Stones
fist out
fist out for the five
fist out
I'm a country boy I got no Soul
Don't sleep at night, the worlds growing old
I lost my girl to the Rolling Stones
I lost my girl to the Rolling Stones
I'm a country boy I got no Soul
Sleep at night, the worlds growing old
I lost my girl to the Rolling Stones
I lost my girl to the Rolling Stones
10 Caramel (07:38)
I gotta get over
I gotta get over
I gotta get better
I'm with you forever
I gotta find genius (Caramel)
I gotta get better (Caramel)
I gotta stop smoking (Caramel)
I gotta get better (Caramel, Caramel)
-do doo do do doo-
Where's the magic
I gotta get better
Oh lord give me magic
I'm with you forever
I gotta find my skill (mounts hill ???) (Caramel)
and live by the mountains (Caramel)
I love you forever
I knew I , I knew I
(and you are, and you are..
low, low, low)
11 Trimm Trabb (05:37)
I got no style
I'll take my time
All those losers on the piss again
I dose dose away
That's just the way it is
That's just the way it is
I've got trimm trabb
Like the flash boys have
And I can't go back
Let it flow, let it flow
I sleep alone
I sleep alone
That's just the way it is
Just the way it is
Just the way it is
Just the way it is
Just the way it is
That's just the way it is
I got trimm trabb
Like the flash boys have
And I can't go back
Let it flow, let it flow
I sleep alone
I sleep alone...
12 No Distance Left to Run (03:28)
It's over
You don't need to tell me
I hope you're with someone who makes you feel safe in your sleep.
Being tonight
I won't kill myself trying to stay in your life
I've got no distance left to run
When you see me
Please turn your back and walk away
I don't want to see you
Cos I know the dreams that you keep
That's where we meet
When you're coming down think of me
I got no distance left to run
Ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh
It's over
I knew it would end this way
I hope you're with someone who makes you feel that this life is a life
One that settles down
Stays around
Spends more time with you
I got no distance left to run
I'm coming home
So cold
Home
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By serestoppone
Britpop and its sound are distant, and we can see nothing clear in this unusual work by the English band.
All honor to Blur, however: they were able to break down, reset, and start over.
By easycure
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