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1. The best ever and 2. the most overrated

2009 June 15
by Maverickmcp

As set-lists go, they don’t get much better. Roll on Hyde Park. 

http://www.nme.com/news/blur/45329

And for those of you awaiting a Stone Rose reunion, this http://www.nme.com/news/the-stone-roses/45350 would appear to be pretty definitive. Although Angie’s brother John said that Saturday’s Dailyt Record said they WERE reforming and doing a tour later this year, with date(s) in Glesgei.

Go figure. My bad.

38 Responses leave one →
  1. roochero permalink
    June 15, 2009

    Rating (out of 10):

    1 ‘She’s So High’
    7 ‘Girls And Boys’
    5 ‘Tracy Jacks’
    7 ‘There’s No Other Way’
    6 ‘Jubilee’
    7 ‘Badhead’
    3 ‘Beetlebum’
    7 ‘Trimm Trabb’
    5 ‘Coffee & TV’
    3 ‘Tender’
    3 ‘Country House’
    5 ‘Charmless Man’
    6 ‘Colin Zeal’
    1 ‘Oily Water’
    5 ‘Chemical World’
    5 ‘Sunday Sunday’
    3 ‘Parklife’
    5 ‘End Of A Century’
    2 ‘To The End’
    6 ‘This Is A Low’
    6 ‘Popscene’
    5 ‘Advert’
    7 ‘Song 2′
    0 ‘Out Of Time’
    ? ‘Battery In Your Leg’
    1 ‘Essex Dogs’
    6 ‘For Tomorrow’
    3 ‘The Universal’

    Average rating (not including ‘Battery…’): 4.44

  2. mormanski permalink*
    June 15, 2009

    Rating (out of 10):

    1 ‘She’s So High’
    9 ‘Girls And Boys’
    3 ‘Tracy Jacks’
    3 ‘There’s No Other Way’
    1 ‘Jubilee’
    6 ‘Badhead’
    7 ‘Beetlebum’
    5 ‘Trimm Trabb’
    8 ‘Coffee & TV’
    7 ‘Tender’
    1 ‘Country House’
    2 ‘Charmless Man’
    1 ‘Colin Zeal’
    1 ‘Oily Water’
    1 ‘Chemical World’
    1 ‘Sunday Sunday’
    2 ‘Parklife’
    7 ‘End Of A Century’
    7 ‘To The End’
    4 ‘This Is A Low’
    3 ‘Popscene’
    1 ‘Advert’
    7 ‘Song 2′
    5 ‘Out Of Time’ (never a zero!)
    6 ‘Battery In Your Leg’ (quite alright)
    1 ‘Essex Dogs’
    2 ‘For Tomorrow’
    7 ‘The Universal’

    Average rating (including ‘Battery…’): 3.89

  3. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 15, 2009

    Not sure exactly how you came to that conclusion, but the one for Stone Roses is much easier.

    1. Elephant Stone 9/10
    2. Fools Gold 7/10
    3. Everything else 1s and 2s

    Average: Must be about 2 or 3

  4. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 15, 2009

    9 ‘She’s So High’
    10 ‘Girls And Boys’
    7 ‘Tracy Jacks’
    6 ‘There’s No Other Way’
    6 ‘Jubilee’
    10 ‘Badhead’
    10 ‘Beetlebum’
    7 ‘Trimm Trabb’
    7 ‘Coffee & TV’
    10 ‘Tender’
    6 ‘Country House’
    6 ‘Charmless Man’
    6 ‘Colin Zeal’
    9 ‘Oily Water’
    8 ‘Chemical World’
    4 ‘Sunday Sunday’
    9‘Parklife’
    8‘End Of A Century’
    10 ‘To The End’
    10 ‘This Is A Low’
    11 ‘Popscene’
    7 ‘Advert’
    9 ‘Song 2′
    8 ‘Out Of Time’
    1 ‘Battery In Your Leg’
    1 ‘Essex Dogs’
    7 ‘For Tomorrow’
    10 ‘The Universal’
    Correct average: 7.6

  5. mormanski permalink*
    June 15, 2009

    Just for the record, these are marks out of 10 in comparison to all songs. Not just between Blur songs. Therefore, you are saying that ‘This Is A Low’ is up there with the best songs ever written.

    Songs such as:

    Tangled Up In Blue – Bob Dylan
    A Case Of You – Joni Micthell
    Street Spirit (Fade Out) – Radiohead
    Life On Mars – David Bowie
    Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones
    Suzanne – Leonard Cohen
    Us And Them – Pink Floyd
    You Win Again – Bee Gees
    Nothing Compares 2 U – Prince
    What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
    Fast Car – Tracy Chapman

    Based on this information, do you want to re-score? Or are your scores out of 100? I noticed you gave an 11.

  6. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 15, 2009

    I realise that that’s what I am saying. Popscene is an exception on the basis that it is THE best song ever written. It is the only song written which is an 11. This is how your ‘golden greats’ score.

    Tangled Up In Blue – Bob Dylan – 7 (not even one of his best)
    A Case Of You – Joni Micthell (never heard it but based on other JM songs, sadly it’s a 1)
    Street Spirit (Fade Out) – Radiohead 4 (one of their mediocre efforts)
    Life On Mars – David Bowie 10 (give you that one)
    Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones 9
    Suzanne – Leonard Cohen 2 (rubbish BTW)
    Us And Them – Pink Floyd (again never heard, but using the default based on other PF songs I’ve heard – 4)
    You Win Again – Bee Gees 0
    Nothing Compares 2 U – Prince 7 (Sinead O’Connor version, 3 Prince version)
    What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye 4 (vastly overated)
    Fast Car – Tracy Chapman 2 (liked it when a child, has not aged well. Also find fact Tracy looks like Desmond Tutu distracting)

    Nothing to trouble the mighty Blur there really.

  7. mormanski permalink*
    June 15, 2009

    Wikipedia:

    “Tangled Up in Blue” is a song by Bob Dylan. It appeared on his album Blood on the Tracks in 1975. Rolling Stone ranked it #68 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

    “Popscene” is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released 30 March 1992 as a single, charting at #32 in the UK Singles Chart. The low chart placing came as a confidence blow for the band, who were struggling financially at the time.

  8. mormanski permalink*
    June 15, 2009

    Just checked said list by Rolling Stone magazine. What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye is ranked the number 4 best song of all time.

  9. mormanski permalink*
    June 15, 2009

    Blur dinny get a mention.

  10. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 15, 2009

    Britain’s Got Talent is the highest rated show of the year.

    True art cannot be measured by bean counting. Shame on you.

  11. roochero permalink
    June 15, 2009

    10 Tangled Up In Blue – Bob Dylan
    7 A Case Of You – Joni Micthell
    8 Street Spirit (Fade Out) – Radiohead
    8 Life On Mars – David Bowie
    8 Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones
    7 Suzanne – Leonard Cohen
    8 Us And Them – Pink Floyd
    9 You Win Again – Bee Gees
    5 Nothing Compares 2 U – Prince
    10 What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
    5 Fast Car – Tracy Chapman

    Agree with the sentiment tho mormanski

  12. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 15, 2009

    Rooch and Mormanski – It’s disappointing that your views are both so very mainstream. I had thought you might be more free thinking.

    Is your favourite band The Beatles? Is Your favourite film The Shawshank Redemption? Is your ideal woman Cheryl Cole?

    Doesn’t it bore you to run with the pack? It’s safe, for sure. But don’t you feel it’s waste of time?

  13. mormanski permalink*
    June 15, 2009

    I don’t choose the songs I like based on “the pack”. I choose the songs I like based on the songs that I like. It is of no surprise to me that other people may feel the same, in fact I’m surprised when they don’t.

    If you choose to like songs disliked or ignored by “the pack” then whether you know it or not, it is you who is influenced by “the pack”.

    Songs I am surprised “the pack” don’t seem to like.

    The Electrician – Scott Walker
    Mountains and Castles – AI Pheonix
    Surf Song – James Yorkston and the Athletes
    La vie en rose – Grace Jones
    Something Big – Jim O’Rourke

  14. roochero permalink
    June 15, 2009

    Easily resolved via Last FM’s number of artists listened to:

    Mav 200+
    Mor 700+
    Roo 1000+

    The sentiment I agree with is 10 rating = perfection.
    Closest Blur got was Entertain Me and Yuko & Hiro, neither of which they play noo.

    With the Rolling Stone / Blur chart placing I dinny agree.

    Noo that’s baith yez telt…
    5 of my criminally ignored classics (all 5* on itunes):

    A Foggy Day – Barney Kessel
    Suzanne – Moose
    Lady Love Your Cunt – S*M*A*S*H
    Your Class – Television Personalities
    The Lights – World of Twist

  15. mormanski permalink*
    June 16, 2009

    Jist wan minuto Roochero.

    Surely the number of Artists listened to isnay the right way tae measure these hings. Cos some of us huv listened tae mare tracks than others…

    May I suggest the concept of the diversity percentage.

    Number of artists listened to / total tracks played X 100 = diversity percentage

    Roochero

    1054/41434 X 100 = 2.54

    Mormanski

    756/15106 X 100 = 5.00

    Maverickmcp

    269/2987 X 100 = 9.01

    On second thoughts screw that, it makes Maverickmcp win and any system which may give Blur a semblance of credibility outside the tiny world of mid 90′s uk art school wank cannot be allowed to stand. God bless you diversity quotient, we hardly knew ye.

  16. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 16, 2009

    I dinnae even understand it, but was going to add that have to discount about a half of the artists Roochero listens to because they are French and how can ye like something if you dinnae ken what they’re singing about? (the two exceptions to this being Joe Le Taxi and Voyage Voyage. And the French version of To The End by Blur.

    Adieu.

  17. roochero permalink
    June 16, 2009

    mormanski, your percentage indicates the likelihood of listening to a new artist per track played, not diversity.

    Diversity is the difference to what is normal.

    Our “normal” for range of artists is
    (269 + 756 + 1054)/3 = 693

    therefore our diversity ratings are:

    Mav (269/693) = 0.39
    Norm = 1
    Mor (756/693) x 100 = 1.09
    Roo (1054/693) x 100 = 1.52

  18. roochero permalink
    June 16, 2009

    Mav,

    This from the man who once told me that this line from To The End:

    “en plein soleil”

    Was translated to:

    “f*ck off son”

    Vert sheet pour tu:
    I must not talk merde… I must not talk merde… I must not talk merde… I must not talk merde… I must not talk merde… I must not talk merde…

  19. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 16, 2009

    I never did tell ye that. Sacre bleu.. zut alors!!

    (I learnt when watching a copy of Rambo in a bar in the Costa Brava that was subtitled in Dutch that ‘Fuck you’ in Dutch is ‘Val Dood’. So I used to write adventure stories in English and called the hero Val Dood. Yes. I’m a bit sad.)

  20. mormanski permalink*
    June 16, 2009

    Roochero,

    of your 5 criminally ignored classics, only one is on spotify, making you both ersehole of the century and erchie extraordinaire!

  21. roochero permalink
    June 16, 2009

    Mav, ye did… in The Croon/Moschk and I remember bein surprised that, that bein the case, it was receivin so much airplay.

    Morm, what better exemplifies their “ignored” status than not bein on Spotty?

    ps. Mav, likin the sound of the Val Dood adventures. Git them posted.

  22. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 16, 2009

    I’ll see if I can dig oot Val Dood. He wis ace.

    Cannae mind saying that about To The End so musta been in a booze fuelled state. What am I like, eh? Mental me.

  23. roochero permalink
    June 16, 2009

    Furthermore…

    Val Dood = Fall Dead

  24. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 16, 2009

    Is it? Actually, that’s still a kinda cool hero name.

    Put ‘Fuck you’ into Babelfish and translated to Dutch. Comes out (I shit you not) as ‘Fuck U.’ Excellent. So the only different between English and Dutch is that they use texting slang all the time.

  25. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 16, 2009

    Translation of ‘voyage voyage’ to English: ‘travel voyage’. Whaaaat? How come the second one’s nae different? It’s the same word twice?

    Saké de baise!

  26. mormanski permalink*
    June 16, 2009

    Sometimes you don’t want a literal translation as it might not make sense. For instance ‘Sacre bleu’ would literally translate as ‘sacred blue’. This is meaningless in English and so a much better translation would be ‘Holy shit’. Of course, one can only guess what the French would make of the literal re-translation to ‘Sacre merde’…

  27. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 16, 2009

    True. In Rambo, they must have intrepreted him as saying ‘Drop dead’. Pretty gay by Rambo’s standards though.

    I think I saw a film recently called ‘Sacred Shit.’ Wisnae French tho. Japanese.

  28. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 16, 2009

    Paris. 1964. Revolution was in the air.

    Val Dood emerged into the morning sunlight. He could still taste the sweat of that poor, double crossing bitch he’d disposed off not 12 hours earlier on his lips.

    He flicked the cigarette from his mouth onto the cobbled Parisien street. God how he hated the shit these Frenchies smoked. Fucking animals.

    He breated a heavy sigh, a cocktail of cheap red wine, tabacco, and regret. The Dutch agent was late. He didn’t much care for lateness.

    Then behind his, he heard a shrill voice. He didn’t like being crept up on.

    “You’re late”, he spat at the blonde bobble hatted girl, “Now where the fuck’s my passport?”

    The Dutch girl’s face turned rose, and her teeth bared. He was starting to like her already.

    “Val Dood!” she barked at him, as she slipped him the coffee envelope.

    “Yep”, he whispered, as he turned and walked off into the busy traffic.

    She turned and watched him disappear. And he always did. She started to think crazy thoughts. Thoughts of how good they could be together. And then just as she began cursing her own foolish imagination, a bullet ripped through her forehead. Her body smacked against the pavement, dead instantly.

  29. roochero permalink
    June 16, 2009

    Val Dood… what a guy.

  30. mormanski permalink*
    June 16, 2009

    Wait a minute, wait a minute…

    Val Dood? What/ho/why is this? Please explain.

  31. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 16, 2009

    read back up the posts Mormanski. Will all become clear. Much like Val Dood’s mind did as the drugs that has been slipped into his Cointrea was beginning to wear off.

    How did he get here? What happened last night? And why was there a dead midget lying on a floor wearing a Mickey Dolenz mask?

    ‘Shoot’ mused Val Dood, ‘here we go again…’

  32. roochero permalink
    June 17, 2009

    Conspicuously little defence of mormanski’s “diversity principle”. He’s not the first to use Val Dood as cover. He won’t be the last.

    Has the penny finally dropped?

  33. mormanski permalink*
    June 17, 2009

    Has the penny finally dropped thought Val Dood. He topped up her glass with more cheap bordeaux and felt a vague sense of nausea and arousal as he looked at her aged face. She had been beautiful once, but that was a long time ago, before the war and before all the shit.

    He caught a glint in her eye as she lit yet another cigarette and that’s when he realised, they knew everything. The prostitute in Cannes, the smuggling operation in La Rochelle and the Moroccan connection.

    ‘Shall we meet again tomorrow, same time?’ he asked.

    ‘Yes, why not?’ she shrugged.

    Val Dood’s hand reached down and felt reassuringly at the blade strapped to his leg. He knew by morning that one of them would be dead.

  34. roochero permalink
    June 18, 2009

    Rio, September ‘65.

    The gambling room air was a heavy concoction of cigar, thick perfume and the sweat of the luckless. Val Dood sat at the bar, a vision of stone. In his hand a double Scotch, on his shoulders the freedom of the western world.

    An over-rouged parlour girl swayed across the room, her assets close to overspill. Mid 30s. Close to losing her looks. Close to looking her shape. Val Dood’s type. She sat on the stool beside him. Lighted a cigarette.

    “Esperanto is due in on The Gravitas at Guanabara Harbour tomorrow at 0600 hours.” She blew, and with smoke whisps spiralling from her nostrils, she rose, pulled at her dress, swayed from the room.

    Tomorrow would be a bloodbath. That much was clear. Val Dood drained his glass. A matchbook lay on the bar. He picked it up. Flicked it open… ‘Rm. 215’

    “Hell” thought Val Dood “It’s all gravy”.

  35. mormanski permalink*
    June 18, 2009

    Val Dood did it again!

    I think we need a Val Dood page for Val Dood related stuff.

  36. Maverickmcp permalink
    June 18, 2009

    Boys, you did me proud. Val Dood lives!!!!!!

  37. mormanski permalink*
    June 19, 2009

    I propose a Val Dood play list!

    http://open.spotify.com/user/mormanski/playlist/1Y8wi9vQnrSeBmYyxHTuAL

    Not sure on the rules, maybe if you come hame steaming on whisky, all the songs on this play list should make you hink eh Val Dood…? Or no.

  38. sauzee permalink
    June 23, 2009

    Sing is the best blur song ever written – i wid give it 10 out of 10

    however I feel the moment has now passed.

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