Modern Life Is Rubbish

This sounds better than the later Blur albums that most Americans are familiar with, Not that the latter work is bad music. It isn't, but THIS and Park Life, the one after it, are the core recordings of their classic period. The style on this is a bit punchier than the music that inspired it, but still faithful to its roots in1960s British rock/pop. If you like the Who, The Small Faces, the Kinks, or the mid period Beatles, you would likely appreciate this. It never gets dull, and even after all this time, it still can surprise me.

Most of the people try to get everything new and fresh, ignoring things that are old now. One of those "old" things is Modern Life Is Rubbish, one of the best albums ever made. Because it wasn't really around in US in 1993, it didn't gain enough popularity and is not well-known here today. It's bad. Bad, because it is so good. The album is not recycling the classic british groups' music-it builds on it, gives many new musical ideas, styles, and the result is what will be in your head if you will put Garage Rock, Britpop, Psychodelic Rock and the "essense of wittiness" in a mixer, make a cocktail out of them and drink it. It is not "just britpop", it is alternative, progressive, very british rock-what's not to like? And, by the way, Modern Life Is Rubbish is a name so good, it must be on your shelf. All you people looking for things all-new, stop right now and look in the past. There will you find good-old Blur's Modern Life Is Rubbish album. Get over yourself and pick it up-you won't be dissapointed.

You can't get better sounding Blur than "Modern Life is Rubbish". Unless you're debating over listening to "Parklife","The Great Escape",or this - Because then you've got a serious conundrum on your hands. Also, they were great under their other, older name - The Kinks.

Does Modern Life Is Rubbish suffer the ill-fated sophomore curse that have plagued many great bands? No. It is actually the superior album. From the beginning of the first song "For Tomorrow" you can tell this will have a different kind of sound than Leisure. Then "Advert" starts playing and you can tell this song has a different feel to it as well. By the time "Intermission" has finished, you really can't help but be surprised that the band that used the tired shoegazing style of Leisure is the same band that created this bizarre album full of strange sounds and complex music compositions. But the fun doesn't stop there. Even the second half of the album, though has a few soft songs, continues the slightly psychedelic rhythms and sound effects all the way to "Commercial Break"..... And it still doesn't end there. Two bonus tracks close the album at tracks 68 and 69. "When the Cows Come Home" is fun little song that could have fit in nicely within the rest of the album. "Peach" is the weaker of the bonus tracks, but it is worth listening. Modern Life Is Rubbish is, in my opinion, Blur's first great album. I'm not saying I don't like Leisure, but since I enjoy bands like Gorillaz, Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, and early Genesis, Leisure sounds a bit boring in comparison.

This is probably one of the most unique albums I've ever bought. The booklet is cool because Graham Coxon has the guitar chords for all the songs inside which I've never seen before. This is probably Blur's most overlooked album and being an American it is virtually unknown here. I even overlooked it for a long time until I sat down and listened to the whole thing a couple times. Now it's probably my favorite or second favorite Blur album.This album is supposed to be somewhat of a retaliation against American culture and grunge music in particular which was gaining popularity in the United Kingdom at the time. So this album has a very British feel to it and is intended to be a celebration of all things British. In fact, the album was almost titled Britain versus American due to the bands distaste for America at the time.For Tomorrow, Chemical World, Miss America, Villa Rosie, and Turn It Up are probably my favorite songs but the whole album is quality. The American version comes with the added bonus of two b-sides tacked on, those being When The Cows Come Home and Peach, two of Blur's best b-sides. Also Pop Scene is inserted at track 15 on the American release which is a huge bonus considering it's one of their better singles. Blur refused to put Pop Scene on the British release after the public their spurned it but it has since gained in popularity.

Ok. Greatest band of the 90s. Greatest guitar work of the 90s.Greatest album of the 90s? If not, Parklife?!

I bought this album along with "The Great Escape" and "Parklife". I think it's my favorite of the three, with Parklife being second.There are a lot of great singles on here, and a few nice songs I hadn't heard before, including "Sunday Sunday" and "Miss America". I also noticed that there are a few songs that stand out because they sound totally different, but are still great in their own way, like"Peach" and "Pressure on Julian". This album makes you want to sing along, great for driving tunes.

this album came really quick and i'm very happy with it! the only problem is when i played it in my car the track listing went up to 69??? There was only supposed to be 17 so i don't know what this happened? I've only tried it once so far maybe it will not happen again. The songs are of perfect quality though, nothing wrong with that!

With this album, Blur really pushed the boat out quite a lot.This is a great cd to listen to on holiday in the car.And never since have Blur done an album quite like it since.You will enjoy it from start to finish.And the bonus disc is excellent. Great B Sides on this album, some experimental some a bit more typical Blur.I think its their most varied record when it comes to sound.You have the loud guitar driven Advert but then the atmospheric and unusual Oily Water and Miss America.It is probably quite a very british album from Blur bit also not always either.Very overlooked by so many people, all the people...who always go hand in hand with their strange life!

Strange news from another house in the snow. Colin Zeal by Blur = Sleeping Gas by The Teardrop Explodes - the vocal melody on the verse anyway. My extremely slow brain has taken me 27 years, starting with a nagging sensation in 1993, telling me, "There's a reason I'm feeling pre-programmed to like this song, but I'm scunnered as to what it is.", until I played it about 10 minutes ago. It only took 27 years to get there, but hey - time starts to fly when you can buy an album as an adult (of sorts) in 1993 and still be giving it a play in 2020. As a decrepit old bugger. Oh bollocks. Note also: I'm unlikely to continue playing a record that's not very good for 27 years, am I? Better than Parklife? Dunno, but less ubiquitous, so it sounds a bit fresher, I guess. I'm on a bit of a Blur jag just now, having finally shelled out the piasters on The Magic Whip, and being unexpectedly rocked to my doddering core by it. I even bought Think Tank, the very idea of which repelled me when it came out - a Blur album without Graham? Shut up. The fact that he's come back somehow makes the concept easier to swallow, and it's not bad at all, as long as you don't expect a Blur album. Like, Coke's nice, but don't expect it to be Irn Bru, or you're stuffed. Reassessed also, The Great Escape, which stands revealed as a much, much better album than I'd had it down as back in The Dark Ages, right around when Alfred The Great was hiring Uhtred . Just like the two preceding it, but feeling kind of contrived, was my initial verdict on that one - you know: The Universal's a decent tune and the crowd all sing along to it, but it ain't This Is A Low - that sort of thing. It still ain't, not really, but it sounds a lot better than it did then. Yuko And Hiro's still the best one on it though; you've got to admit it. Anyway, I feel that I've somehow gotten a bit...let's call it lateral, and I'll buzz off and stick Kilimanjaro on - the first actual real true L.P. I ever owned actually. Not fake news. Crikey - does that means I'm cool enough to say crikey and get away with it? Probably not. I'm outta here.

Blur's second album 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' is my hands-down favourite out of everything that these four men ever done. It truly brought Britpop to the focus at the time, and spawned three singles: the indie anthem 'For Tomorrow' (not only my favourite Blur song, but in a short list of my all time favourites by any artist), 'Chemical World' and 'Sunday Sunday', none of which hit the heights of their later hits, but made a lot of people take notice of them.I think that the front cover conveys the message that this is a great album (If I was to judge a book by it's cover then that's what I would think anyway) - and indeed it is. The title is appropriate as a lot of the songs give off the message that life in the modern world is well, 'rubbish', and at the same time manages to perfectly capture the sense of living in the city, creating an almost romantic and somewhat nostalgic picture of London at the same time. With strong of elements of The Beatles and The Kinks influencing throughout, it's the epitome of a British record.For the most part, the tracks on the album are slow-paced and relaxing (the laid-back, atmospheric 'Blue Jeans' is particularly sublime) whilst the others, including the outstanding 'For Tomorrow', and fan favourite 'Sunday Sunday' are quirky and upbeat, the perfect tunes to sing-a-long and lift your mood. The rather funny thing is, the whole record sounds just as fresh and modern today, which is quite an achievement for an album released in 1993.Please do yourself a favour, whilst this is an outstanding album, you should seriously consider buying the 2012 two disc  Modern Life Is Rubbish  edition to hear these songs in superb crystal clear remastered quality, and also to own the bonus disc which has 19 tracks, including all the B sides to the singles 'Popscene', 'For Tomorrow' and 'Chemical World', including a sweet cover of Rod Stewart's 'Maggie May', and the original 'Young and Lovely', a gem and still occasionally played live today. The packaging is also very neat, housed in a lift-off lid box with four artwork postcards and a booklet with never-seen-before photos and liner notes based on an interview with all the members of the band. It really is a superb, worthy re-issue of one of my all time favourite albums. Modern Life Is Rubbish

Modern Life is Rubbish is for me, the finest Blur album. With this album they matured from the 'Madchester' to a credible identity of their own. From For Tomorrow to The Universal, the album gives an insight into their Stadium and Festival filling future. Without this album and its success there would be no Parklife, Beetlebum, Song 2 or Out of Time.A great album to listen to from start to finish

I was one of the bone-headed people who bought into the whole Blur vs Oasis thing, not during it's zenith in the heady days of mid-nineties Brit-pop. No I was too young for that (12) and wasn't too interested in music in the first place. My ignorance stemmed from archival interviews concerning both parties, and me being working class, sided with Oasis.On mature reflection both are superb bands in their own right and in two contrasting styles. Whilst Oasis rely(d) on the well worn formula of just making plain old rock n roll to the highest degree, with punch the air anthems and unforgettable choruses (they did with subsequent albums certainly mix things up more), Blur tried something slightly different. Of course much like their peers they also have all of the above, (Country House, Girls And Boys, Parklife, Song 2 etc) but after listening to this, their 2nd album, I was immediately entralled by the sheer scope, depth and ambition of it.We need look no further than the opening track "For Tomorrow", a near four and a half minute single which seemed outrageous at the time. I am aware that such singles already existed but they were usually consigned to well established bands possibly looking to experiment therefore making a risk justified. Blur's record company were NOT interested in facilitating Damon Alburn's "eccentricness". It's a riveting piece of work though, with beautifully integrated strings and intelligent use of higher octave backing vocals. The influence of The Kinks and Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd can also be easily heard within numerous tracks "Sunday Sunday", "Miss America" and "Star Shaped".My personnal favorites next. "Advert" is so instantly likeable in it's punk simplicity that I almost ALWAYS want to skip the brilliant aforementioned opening track just to get to it. "Blue Jeans", "Villa Rosie", and "Oily Water" are all uniquely strong tracks, but "Chemical World" goes one better with it's extraordinary nail on the head quinntissential English instrumental lurking at it's tail-end.Not so great tracks time....eh....there are none! Well ok some songs are definitely stronger than others, and if I was to mention a couple it would be "Pressure On Julian" and the melancholic closer "Resigned". That being said they only appear weak as the competition on this classic (yes classic, not instantly recognisable but classic) album is so fierce! It says in the liner notes that "Many hardcore fans consider this their best" and if "Parklife" is indeed considered their best, by critics and/or by fans, then I would have to agree with them as I own both albums and have given them both multiple playthroughs.In summary, this would be a very worthy addition to anyones collection and with the sheer abundance of extras you get with it, it's definitely worth your coin.