Catching up on forty years. 1994: Parklife – Blur
Blur vs Oasis
Whigfield vs Wet Wet Wet
PJ & Duncan vs Take That
The Prodigy vs Crash Test Dummies
The list of delegates for the songs of 1994 are as long as a European Election ballot form.
The only way to judge 1994, when Britpop was at its peak, and the measurement of coolness was that you got invited to Downing Street, is to see how history views your music. To, so to speak, look back in anger.
Who comes out of this with their heads held high and their music credibility intact?
In which case, then it has to be Blur. Oasis may have won major battles on the playing fields of the charts, but Blur kept going and still to this day Damon and co are churning out quality music through their various projects. Gallagher brother last spotted cavorting on the pitch of the Etihad system as Man City won the league, but no guitar in hand.
And the song of the year? Strange as it may seem, Parklife must be the one. It seemed a bit of a gimmick song at the time but it has stood the test of time and probably improved with the years. Solid cheeky chappy lyrics, a great rift and a chorus to chant for, Parklife now is the song of 1994.
And of course, those lyrics…
“I get up when I want except on Wednesdays when I get rudely awakened by the dustmen (parklife)
I put my trousers on, have a cup of tea and I think about leaving the house (parklife)
I feed the pigeons I sometimes feed the sparrows too
it gives me a sense of enormous well being (parklife)
And then i’m happy for the rest of the day safe in the knowledge
there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it (parklife)”
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You can check out more on Blur her: Living with…Blur…for a week.