Damon Albarn!

Jinglejangle69

In your opinion 1 or 2 songs.

Your opinion is one of millions.

Jinglejangle69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122955253#Comment_122955253

In your opinion 1 or 2 songs.

Your opinion is one of millions.

NIMAN

Didn't mean to quote anyone.

Rooks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122955275#Comment_122955275

Don't get offended. I just don't see why he's a genius. It's a public forum. Feel free to ignore me.

Jinglejangle69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122955340#Comment_122955340

I never called him a genius.

Rooks

"The word "genius" gets thrown around a lot, but it should be reserved for a select few who continue to innovate and excel in their field, and push the boundaries. Whatever "image" you may have had of him in the 90's, put that to the side, and appreciate what he's gone on to do in his career since, it's been special. I think the man has been one of the greatest talents the music industry has ever seen, and although he doesn't want the limelight, press, attention, and actively withdraws from it, it should be acknowledged. He's a generational talent!"

I think you need to crawl back under your bridge.

extra-ordinary_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122955238#Comment_122955238

Blur, just highly unlikeable music. They really had a talent for creating music I didn't like, The Universal maybe.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122951495#Comment_122951495

Blur.

Oasis! I mean Oasis!

Lewis_Benson

He was a pretty good songwriter as stated.

Blur were musically more interesting than Oasis back in in the day imo. I didnt like oasis at all as I thought their music was too simple, still do.

Gorillaz was also a novelty band to me, seemed like they were just having a laugh.

Oh some Gorillaz stuff is amazing. They seemed like a novelty all right at the start with Clint Eastwood and 19-2000, but then from the Demon Days and Plastic Beach albums onward they've done some outstanding stuff. His project The Good The Bad and The Queen is great too.

Blur are really good - some brilliant moments - but during the Britpop years I don't think it was their best era (of all those bands, Pulp and Lush were my favourites). Better in the 2000s imo.

Jizique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122956527#Comment_122956527

Gorillaz outstanding live, seen them a few times and always very different - huge group of touring musicians, never take it too seriously and if you look at any YouTube of their last Dublin gig in the 3 Arena, you can see the joy he gets in the performance and the crowd reaction

COVID

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122954604#Comment_122954604

I think Damon Runyon is a better writer; having said that, I still wouldn't call my Damon a genius.

Your Damon is a very good songwriter. He has also had to deal with a debilitating stammer for most of his life, and he deserves nothing but credit for his achievements.

Had that Damon Hill in the front of the car one day … very, very fast, but again, no genius.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122954561#Comment_122954561

All I saw mentioned in your OP was Gorillaz and Blur. If his other work is even better, why didn't you mention it?

The only way anyone could possibly think this work is 'unparalleled' is if they haven't heard any other music.

nullzero

Is he not called Dermot Oblong?

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122953136#Comment_122953136

Could have been much better, probably a decent documentary left on the cutting room floor.

Albarn and James are clearly struggling with addiction and both seemed unhappy.

Rowntree and Coxon are clean years and just seem so much happier.

You get the sense from watching it that none of the 3 wanted to get back together for the "reunion" and they only did it for Albarn.

AyeGer

I always loved the outro on beetlebum, just listened to it again there. Brilliant.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122959330#Comment_122959330

Yeah Johnny Marr has sung its praises. It's gorgeous!

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122956984#Comment_122956984

Well you'd have Blur, Gorillaz, The Good The Bad and the Queen, his solo albums, 3 world music/African albums under different names, Rocket Juice and the Moon, operas, soundtracks, and loads of collaborations and writing songs for others. And the diversity, from one album to the next, even within the same act, is huge.

Everything pretty much since "the Great Escape" and the whole Oasis/Blur thing, he stepped away from the commercial side of the industry, and experimented and changed styles and genre's. And the thing people miss, even if they don't like him, or think his genius is overstated, no one else has ever had his scope and did it to continued commercial and critical success, despite him actively trying to stay out of the limelight. Well in what we regard as "contemporary music".

Others experimented outside their main act, to varying levels of success, but rarely sustain it, let alone for one side project to be met with critical acclaim. Albarn has been doing it for decades, across every genre, and remains as popular and relevant as ever under different guises. It's unheard of really, which is the point of the thread, regardless of anyones taste or opinion of him! People can objectively step back surely, and separate subjective opinion, to acknowledge someone has been outstanding in their field, and gone way beyond any of their peers in ability and scope and continued success, no?

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122956527#Comment_122956527

Ye that's the funny thing about Blur. Where many bands fall off at the "end of an era", Blur actually went from strength to strength, and could be argued, are more relevant and popular today than they ever were.

Even in the following generation, if you look at album sales, bands even ten years later like Keane, Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight etc, had bigger selling albums than Blurs biggest selling albums.

Yet if you look at something like Spotify, Blur have 11 million followers for a non active band, two decades later, dwarfing any other 90s band bar Oasis, or most bigger selling bands who came along after them, like some of the mentioned bands, and even popular American bands.

The point being, since Blur started to reinvent themselves, they still sound fresh, even today. Most bands fall away, cause their music gets associated with a previous era. Most bands who remain "big" and "stand the test of time", is only due to them being so big at their peak, like Oasis and Led Zeppelin.

Blur are an anomaly in a way, as is Albarn, they remain popular and relevant as their music is so diverse it sounds fresh in any era!

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122955275#Comment_122955275

That poster has more an issue with the poster than the topic I think. Seems to follow me around abit lately, trying to undermine my opinions and topics, not that I could less.

Even though I didn't reply to two or three of his messages on the topic, he then quoted the original post again looking for my attention. Funny when you have certain people on strings haha

Rooks

Ah the bliss of the ignore button. Sending posters back under their bridges.

marto501

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122954618#Comment_122954618

F**kin Slayer!!!!

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122960419#Comment_122960419

Plenty of folks have done similar things though.

Off the top of my head, Danny Elfman. From his band Oingo Boingo to writing The Simpsons Theme tune to the soundtracks and theme tunes to more films thank I can even think of. One of the most talented musicians and composers of our time.

I'm listening to a lot of Killing Joke at the moment. A band who have influenced a tremendous amount of well known bands. In 1982 the lead singer Jaz Coleman decided to quit the band and go to Iceland to become a classical music composer. And he did. He them came back and they have since made a plethora of albums across several genres.

If you want a duo who have probably dipped their toes in more genres than any other band on earth, try Sparks. Started in 1971 and still making music. They just released their 26th album in 2023.

How about Mike Patton? Trent Reznor? Thom Yorke? Even fecking Elton John. All have hugely varied musical careers and IMO would be vastly superior when it comes to their overall multi disciplinary musical talents than Albarn.

It's all highly subjective and comes down to personal taste in the end (I can't stand Albarn's voice so that's me out when it comes to him) - I suppose my point is he might be talented, but he's far from 'unparalleled'.

Rothko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122960419#Comment_122960419

I'm surprised that you haven't mentioned Deltron 3030.

buried

Yeah fair play to him, he knew what he was doing, but in all fairness, he's just the original Chris Martin.

Rooks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122963918#Comment_122963918

As a songwriter, I'd rank Chris Martin higher than Albarn. He has a better voice too.

pappyodaniel

Any explanation as to his missing teeth? I knew he was into the brown back in the day when he was with Justine Frischmann from Elastica.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122964059#Comment_122964059

Really? Not discounting your logic, I don't rate either of these bucks. Show me some examples of what you mean R

Rooks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122964354#Comment_122964354

It's an opinion. I have heard a selection of both songwriters work, and I prefer Martin's work. I also prefer Martin's voice.

I'm just repeating my point here. It's very easy to follow what I said.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122964372#Comment_122964372

All right man, I just wanted you to show me what songs you think outshone the other lads, like you said. I wasn't going to jump down your oesophagus about it like