It might be a chord hook, it might be an anecdote, it might just be something you wouldn’t dream of hearing; all this and a great deal more factors make a great song. We have been counting down the top songwriters of the last 25 years and have so far brought you features of Matt Bellamy, Pharrell Williams, Alex Turner and Eminem. This week we bring you Damon Albarn.
In the above picture, we see the words "Modern Life Is Rubbish" emblazoned across a wall. It was 1993 and it was the title of Blur's 2nd album, hardly the dynamite success they would later achieve with Parklife but an important album for '90's British Rock n'Roll. It was influenced by their home-turf and the culture they saw dissipating in the wake of an increasingly globalised world. Not to get too student-y about this, it is an interesting work to examine for while Nirvana continued to spread what would become their legacy, British music was straggling behind. With this album and the stand-alone release of "Popscene" the year before, Damon successfully brought back a bit of whimsical, nostalgic melody to an otherwise gritty music scene. "For Tomorrow" was the lead single and emenated all that Damon had to offer at this time, a renewed and romantic take on London with a melody that just about bet anything else that was around at the time.
The album Parklife which followed finessed their ability into a more commercial realm and boasted songs that effectively pushed the Britpop scene to the fore, including "Parklife," "Girls & Boys," "To The End," "End of a Century" and "This Is A Low." Along with Oasis' Definitely Maybe, it heralded a new scene in which American grunge was unwelcome and melodies soared with a playful grace not seen since the '60s. One of Albarn's key influences was of course Ray Davies of the Kinks and in Blur's music at this time, we can distinctly hear that "neighbourhood-dandy-cheerful" (for desperate need of a better adjective) sound coming through. Damon wrote pop songs with jest, bravado, melancholy and the most interesting character songs since Davies and gang, such as "The Charmless Man." Effectively, he raised the Britpop scene from the ground and lambasted it into the '90s, losing out only perhaps to Noel Gallagher in terms of songwriting ability.
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While Oasis went on to be more successful with Morning Glory, they were unable to adapt to a changing music scene unlike Damon who was savvy enough to do so with the album Blur in 1997. "Beetlebum" was even in Gallagher's words, a "brilliant" song and the follow-up "Song 2" gave the band an American presence with an international hit. 13 and Think Thank in 1999 and 2003, respectively, were then more experimental works which nonetheless boasted great pieces in "Tender," "Coffee and TV" and "Out of Time."
Albarn soon began to feel constricted by Blur however and formed Gorillaz with Jamie Hewlett. Three albums spread throughout the 2000s showcased a variety of influences and experimentation. Their hits have featured a number of artists including Shaun Ryder ("Dare") and De La Seoul ("Feel Good Inc"). Their headlining of Glastonbury the year after Damon had performed with a reunited Blur was more than just a double whammy of success; it was an indication of how prominent a figure Albarn is in the British music scene.
His Noughties' work may have been a little less fun and a little more artsy at times (he even had an opera among a variety of other side-projects) but it is an indisputable fact that he is one of the most eclectic, well-rounded and progressive of Britain's modern songwriters. Now, if only he would hurry up with that rumoured new Blur album...
Thank you for reading. Next week: another 90s' Singer-Songwriter with a taste for the "art" of music.
