Turn It Up

The chances that this Modern Life Is Rubbish track ever shows up on a Blur setlist again are about as slim as Damon joining Noel Gallagher and Sting to cover a My Chemical Romance song for a pro-war-in-Iraq tribute album, since pretty much everyone in Blur thinks it’s a bit crap, and many fans agree. Well, nonsense! Granted, its lyrics are nothing worth analysing (but when was that ever held against “Song 2” for example?), and it doesn’t fit well with most of the rest of the album (but aren’t incoherent albums something of a trademark for this group?), but it’s fun and melodic and seems to have three choruses, no verses and one middle 8. Perfect single material in other words, and someone at Food (Dave Balfe?) must have thought so too, since alternative artwork suggests that this was considered as a double a-side with “Popscene” at one point.