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THE REVIEW
Re-released a few years ago on DVD, "Starshaped" documents the (dramatic) condition of the band between 1991 and 1994.
Angry, tired, broke, unsuccessful (the beautiful "Modern Life Is Rubbish" had been a genuine commercial flop) yet always with boundless enthusiasm, the four were literally on the brink of psychophysical collapse.
Filmed in an immediate and captivating way, through interviews with the band (memorable when silence falls as they talk about their condition between 1992 and 1993, interesting to hear Coxon talk about Morrissey), genuine hysteria with subsequent self-destruction (a schizophrenic Albarn on stage jumping and throwing himself against the amplifiers, only to have one fall on his foot allowing him yes, to continue jumping, but from pain and thus forcing him to come off stage where he begins to scream and complain), hangover symptoms (a suddenly missing Coxon then found wandering completely drunk).
These four madmen got it into their heads, in the midst of the Grunge era, to resist by proposing music with entirely different coordinates, and this is the point: before becoming the most important English band of the '90s with the epochal "Parklife", Blur were simply desperate and on the verge of breaking up. However, they were brimming with talent and with a genuine and burning passion for their music.
Fortunately subtitled in Italian, the documentary, accompanied by their period music and enriched with unmissable "gems" (the drunken "The Wassailing Song", the immediate and brilliant "Explain", the psychedelic "Luminous"), fully represents the various "when you have nothing left, you have nothing to lose", "you do your best when you hit rock bottom" or "once you've hit the bottom, the only way is up". And Blur had indeed hit rock bottom, and often here we find them still digging a little deeper (Albarn caught vomiting is more eloquent than a thousand words).
Dirty, fun, emotional, interesting, important and also enriched by a long and beautiful "Live In Kilburn" from the period, opened by a sadly never fully appreciated "Popscene", and by a fairly dispensable and thankfully short extract from a "Live At The Princess Charlotte", which seems to be amateurishly filmed with a camcorder.
The inclusion of the splendid and lysergic "Sing" in the "Trainspotting" soundtrack was no accident: "Starshaped" is the Trainspotting of a band captured in the moment of transition from chrysalis to butterfly.
"I can’t feel because I’m numb (..) / so what’s the worth of all of this if the child in your head is dead / sing to me"
("Sing")
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Summary by Bot
Starshaped offers an intimate and raw look at Blur during 1991-1994, capturing their struggles with exhaustion, failure, and passion. The documentary presents candid moments of self-destruction and determination amid the grunge era. Including rare live performances and interviews, it reveals a band on the verge of breakthrough. The film encapsulates Blur's resilience and eventual rise to Britpop prominence.Tracklist Lyrics
02 Day Upon Day (00:00)
04 Slow Down (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
05 Pop Scene (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
06 Bad Day (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
07 Can't Explain (00:00)
09 Wear Me Down (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
10 She Is So High (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
13 Wassailing Song (00:00)
14 Day Upon Day (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
15 Commercial Break (00:00)
17 Turn It Up (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
18 There's No Other Way (live at the Princess Charlotte) (00:00)
19 High Cool (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
20 Sing (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
21 There's No Other Way (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
22 Fool (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
23 High Cool (live at the Princess Charlotte) (00:00)
24 She Is So High (00:00)
25 Won't Do It (live at the Princess Charlotte) (00:00)
26 Oily Water (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
27 Explain (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
29 Wear Me Down (live at the Princess Charlotte) (00:00)
30 When Will We Be Married (00:00)
31 Outro (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
35 Come Together (live in Kilburn) (00:00)
Blur
English rock band formed in Colchester; core members include Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree. Rose to prominence during the Britpop era and later explored experimental and electronic sounds. Active from 1989 to present.49 Reviews
