Thursday, September 1, 2011

The Return of Top Blur Moments on Record

Part II in our series in Top Blur Moments on Record, this time focusing on guitarist extraordinaire Graham Coxon, who also became more visible as a singer and songwriter as Blur's career progressed. His solo career is a testament to that, and is definitely worth checking out for the (few, I'm guessing) of you who come to this blog who haven't already done so! What makes Graham's guitar playing so unique and excellent, and this is coming from a long-time guitarist myself, is not only his amazing technical ability, but the sounds and textures he's able to create through the use of different combinations guitars, amps, and effects. That being said, it's again so hard to pick just 10 great moments, but if I *have* to (and I do), as of this moment, mine would be: 1. Beetlebum 2. This is a Low 3. For Tomorrow 4. Essex Dogs 5. Popscene 6. Chemical World 7. All We Want 8. There's No Other Way 9. He Thought of Cars 10. Inertia I can think of a bunch more that I really struggled with leaving off of that list (Bugman, Battle, Starshaped, London Loves just to name a few) but these are the ones that epitomize, to me, the breadth and excitement of his playing, from acoustic guitars and fingerstyle to chiming lead lines woven throughout chords to full-out balls-to-the-wall distortion and sound effects wizardry. What are your favorite 10?

4 comments:

  1. Graham's undoubtedly the most under-rated guitarist of the last 30 years. My picks:

    1. Charmless Man
    2. Chemical World
    3. M.O.R.
    4. Music Is My Radar
    5. Oily Water
    6. There's No Other Way
    7. This Is A Low
    8. Popscene
    9. Country House
    10. Pressure On Julian

    Keep up the great work - looking forward to the 2nd edition of the book!

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  2. I meant "Star-Shaped" instead of "Julian" - always get those two mixed up, for some reason.

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  3. ^No worries...they're both great!

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  4. 1. BEETLEBUM
    2. TRIMM TRABB
    3. Country sad Ballad Man
    4. Bugman
    5. Death Of A party
    6. Music Is My radar
    7. this is a low
    8. Popscene
    9. For Tomorrow
    10. Essex dogs

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