Parklife: A New Spin

Parklife A new spinBlur Parklife

A song by song response to Parklife by Blur

Parklife: A New Spin

  1. “Tonight” — Matt & Kim
  2. “The Way We Move” — Langhorne Slim, The Law
  3. “Ends of the Earth” — Lord Huron
  4. “Your Parents’ Cocaine” — The Coup
  5. “Groundhog Day” — Corin Tucker Band
  6. “I Will Walk”  — Release the Sunbird
  7. “Intro”  — Karriem Riggins
  8. “Falling Asleep” — Keaton Collective
  9. “Be Mine” — Alabama Shakes
  10. “Bright Lights” — Gary Clark Jr.
  11. “Sign Here”  — El-P
  12. “Watch the Corners” — Dinosaur Jr.
  13. “Ruin” — Cat Power
  14. “Marathon Runner” — Yellow Ostrich
  15. “Up All Night” — Best Coast
  16. “The Fog Is Rising”  — Joy Wants Eternity

Inspiration Album: Parklife – Blur

  1.     “Girls & Boys” – 4:50
  2.     “Tracy Jacks” – 4:20
  3.     “End of a Century” – 2:46
  4.     “Parklife”– 3:05
  5.     “Bank Holiday” – 1:42
  6.     “Badhead” – 3:25
  7.     “The Debt Collector” – 2:10
  8.     “Far Out” – 1:41
  9.     “To the End” – 4:05
  10.     “London Loves” – 4:15
  11.     “Trouble in the Message Centre” – 4:09
  12.     “Clover Over Dover” – 3:22
  13.     “Magic America” – 3:38
  14.     “Jubilee” – 2:47
  15.     “This Is a Low” – 5:07
  16.     “Lot 105” – 1:17

Mix Challenge Liner Notes

Blur’s 1994 album, “Parklife,” is one of my all-time favorites. I remember listening to it the first few times, constantly being thrown off balance, yet exhilarated, by the song that came next as the band veered from bouncy disco to Beatles-esque ballads to jarring punk to synth-heavy new wave. I was big into making mixtapes at the time, and I found “Parklife” to be like a mixtape itself, a genre-bending musical and lyrical snapshot of British pop culture.

My album, “Parklife: A New Spin” acts as a musical snapshot as well, based on American music from 2012. I tried to find songs that spanned musical genres yet retained solid links to the original Blur songs. Some of the links may be obvious, some are more obscure, and some may only resonate with me. But hey, figuring that out is what makes this a fun project in the first place.