13 (Blur album)
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| 13 | |||||
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| Studio album by Blur | |||||
| Released | 15 March 1999 | ||||
| Recorded | June – October 1998 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 66:50 | ||||
| Label | EMI, Food, Virgin | ||||
| Producer | William Orbit, Blur | ||||
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| Blur chronology | |||||
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13 is the sixth album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in March 1999. The album peaked at #1 in the UK Albums Chart, while only charting at #80 in the Billboard 200 (US). It also spawned three hit singles: "Tender", "Coffee & TV" and "No Distance Left to Run".
13 sees the band moving further away from their Britpop past into more cerebral and denser musical territory. Some of the songs, however, resemble songs from their previous efforts, such as "Bugman", "Coffee & TV", "1992" and "Optigan 1." It is named after the band's recording studio, and also is their first album without longtime producer Stephen Street, rather with electronic producer William Orbit. The cover is a portion of an oil painting by Graham Coxon called Apprentice. The album's singles also have cover art by Coxon. The numbers 1 and 3 have been painted so they also form the letter 'B' - presumably for 'Blur'.
Much of the album was inspired by Damon Albarn's breakup with Elastica singer Justine Frischmann. Two of the singles, "Tender" and "No Distance Left to Run", describe Albarn's love for Frischmann and his struggle to move on.
The music video for the hit single "Coffee & TV" cemented Blur's reputation as a cult band in the U.S. with its protagonist Milky. The video gained heavy airplay on many modern rock channels in America. The track "Swamp Song" was viewed by many as a reference to former arch rivals Oasis, who released a song called "The Swamp Song" as a B side to their 1995 single "Wonderwall"
"Trailerpark" was originally intended for the South Park album Chef Aid, but was rejected by Rick Rubin. The album features several short hidden tracks at the end of songs, stretching the playing time out, notable examples of where this occurs are "Coffee & TV", "B.L.U.R.E.M.I", "Battle" and "Caramel", the latter of which features two hidden tracks.
In 2004, the album was packaged with 2003's Think Tank in a limited edition box set as part of EMI's "2CD Originals" collection.
[edit] Track listing
All lyrics by Albarn except "Tender" by Albarn and Coxon and "Coffee and TV" by Coxon. Music by Albarn, Coxon, James and Rowntree.
- "Tender" – 7:40
- "Bugman" – 4:47
- "Coffee & TV" – 5:58
- "Swamp Song" – 4:36
- "1992" – 5:29
- "B.L.U.R.E.M.I." – 2:52
- "Battle" – 7:43
- "Mellow Song" – 3:56
- "Trailerpark" – 4:26
- "Caramel" – 7:38
- "Trimm Trabb" – 5:37
- "No Distance Left to Run" – 3:27
- "Optigan 1" – 2:34
[edit] Singles
- "Tender" (February 22, 1999, UK #2)
- "Coffee & TV" (June 28, 1999, UK #11)
- "No Distance Left to Run" (November 15, 1999, UK #14)
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