On the Moodzic agenda this week: the back catalogue of one of Britain’s greatest pop groups and the summer tour of a beautiful brunette. Here we go!
We begin with an incredible pop-rock band that truly stamped its mark on the 90s, and it’s safe to say we all know at least one of their songs. Yes, Blur is celebrating 21 years in the business! To mark this anniversary, they aren’t releasing a greatest hits album – that would be too easy and it’s been done before (their “Best of” was released in 2000) – but a box set containing 21 CDs, one for every year they have been with us. It includes the band’s 7 albums, 4 CDs of rarities and unreleased tracks, 3 DVDs, one vinyl record and a collector’s edition book.
Let’s look back at the history of these four English gents. After releasing a relatively unsuccessful debut album, 1991’s Leisure, the band led by Damon Albarn brought out its second LP 2 years later: Modern Life is Rubbish, which became one of the emblems of the emerging Britpop craze. In 1994, they released Parklife, which featured their famous track Boys & Girls and signalled the beginning of a string of hits that exposed them to the world at large, including Charmless Man (on our playlist this week), In the Country (the video to which you can find below) and Song 2. At the end of the 90s, they kissed goodbye to Britpop and headed in a slightly more experimental direction, ultimately leading to the Think Tank project of 2003 (an extract of the track Good Song is on our playlist). The group then split up before reforming for live performances in 2009. The singer has even hinted that a new record may be on the way. In the meantime, if you can’t live without Damon’s enigmatic vocals and the band’s unhinged punk-inflected pop, if you want to listen to and understand the group’s musical evolution or if you’re simply a fan, this box set is for you!
We promised to bring you a stunning brunette for the summer, and here she is: Inna Modja. The singer from Mali is performing her album Love Revolution at various summer festivals. She had already experienced success last summer with her single French Cancan (Monsieur Sainte Nitouche). This striking beauty, schooled by Mr Salif Keita himself, has real talent and has shown it by writing and performing this lovely album at the crossroads of pop, soul and funk, alternating between catchy, addictive tracks and more introspective ballads. We’ve been listening to Big Apple and the new single I’m Smiling. And it’s made us smile too!
On tour until 15 September.
All the live dates are on her website
This week, we’re also listening to:
- Run Boy Run of Woodkid
- Bells and Pan of Mina Tindle
- Trounce of Jonathan Boulet
- We are Young and All the Pretty Girls of Fan
So what do you think of the musical programme we’ve put together for you this summer?
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