We have another first for Friday Night Jukebox: the first song that both of my readers are probably sick of, especially if they've seen a sporting event or any numbers of movies over the course of the past twenty some odd years....
Blur formed in London, England in 1988. Originally a Britpop band, Blur would reinvent itself a couple of times over the course of its career with excellent results. The band has had considerable commercial and critical success in its native U.K., and while they haven't quite enjoyed the same success here in the states, they have had a few hits and a nice following. In the mid 90's Blur had a running battle with Oasis for the best band in the U.K. It's generally conceded that Blur did not wind up on the winning end of the battle, but to even be a part of such rarefied air has to be a nice consolation prize. Blur has released eight studio albums (with the last six all debuting at #1 on the U.K. Album Chart), five live albums, and five compilations. They've also released 34 singles with 2 #1's and nine more top ten singles on the U.K. Singles Chart. Blur has won five Brit Awards and been nominated for a Grammy. The band took a hiatus from 2004-2008, and has been on another hiatus since 2016 but has not ruled out a future reunion.
"Song 2" was released as a single in 1997 from their cleverly titled fifth album, Blur. The single reached #2 in Great Britain, and #55 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was their third straight number one in the U.K., but peaked at #55 in America.
Fun Fact: "Song 2" is two minutes and two seconds long, has two verses and two choruses, and was the second song on its album, as well as the second single released from said album. No word as to whether the number two was a particular band member's lucky number...
Originally written by frontman Damon Albam as an acoustic tune to fuck with their record label, the song took on a new life when guitarist Graham Coxon suggested they play the song with a power pop energy...and their record executives surprisingly loved it. It's one of those songs that after the first couple of guitar chords is instantly recognizable, and the opening progression is widely considered not only Coxon's best work but one of the better guitar openings in rock history. From there it's a nod to American alternative power guitar, some frenetic vocals from Albam, and a whole heck of a lot of "woo-hoo"'s (it's the little things...). Even with the ubiquity of the song, it's still a great listen and two minutes and two seconds of power pop joy.
Lyric Sheet: "I got my head checked/By a jumbo jet/It wasn't easy/But nothing i-is/No/Woo-hoo..."
Enjoy:
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Peace,
emaycee
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