Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish

Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival group Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK.

Under threat of being dropped by Food Records, for their next album Blur underwent an image makeover championed by frontman Damon Albarn. The band incorporated influences from traditional British guitar pop groups such as The Kinks and Small Faces, and the resulting sound was melodic and lushly produced, featuring brass, woodwind and backing vocalists. Albarn's lyrics on Modern Life Is Rubbish "uses poignant humour and Ray Davies characterisation to investigate the dreams, traditions and prejudices of suburban England", according to writer David Cavanagh.[1]

Modern Life Is Rubbish was a moderate chart success in the UK; the album peaked at number 15, while the singles taken from the album charted in the Top 30. Applauded by the music press, the album's Anglocentric rhetoric rejuvenated the group's fortunes after their post-Leisure slump. Modern Life Is Rubbish is regarded as one of the defining releases of the Britpop scene, and its chart-topping follow-ups—Parklife and The Great Escape—saw Blur emerge as one of Britain's leading pop acts.

Released	10 May 1993
Recorded	October 1991 – March 1993 at various locations
Genre	Britpop
Length	58:57
Label	Food (UK), SBK (US)
Producer	Blur, John Smith, Steve Lovell, Stephen Street

Source: Wikipedia

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Blur - Leisure

Leisure is the debut album by English alternative rock band Blur. The album was released on 26 August 1991 in the United Kingdom, and peaked at #7 in the UK Albums Chart. It was released in the US a month later with a different track listing. The album was certified Gold in the UK.

The U.S. version of Leisure was front loaded with Blur's three UK singles and the song "Sing" was replaced by the B-side "I Know" (see track listings for exact changes). "Sing" was included on the Trainspotting soundtrack in 1996. The original version, "Sing (To Me)" was recorded as a demo in late 1988, and can only be heard on the ultra-rare Promo-only single which was released over a decade later in February 2000.

The album was released during the waning days of the Madchester period in the UK and as a result Blur and Leisure were seen as catching the end of a trend. With the release of their second album Modern Life Is Rubbish in 1993, Blur would drastically reinvent themselves. Lead singer Damon Albarn has since referred to Leisure as "awful". [1]

Nonetheless, Coldplay announced upon the release of 2008's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends that "Sing" from Leisure provided a starting point for "Lost!", one of the highlights of the aforementioned Coldplay album.[2]