This is definitely one of Blurs most underrated songs - beautiful, emotional and meaningful. It could only be that heart-stopping dream of a song: ‘The Universal’. If you are lucky enough to remember the bitter rivalry between Blur and Oasis back in the 90’s, and if you were torn between the two, then this is the only song that is sure to convince you that Blur are much more original and versatile than Oasis. Blur created a whole new genre which was to change music forever – Britpop. Everything that they did was music that could have been written in the 60’s, but thank God it wasn’t. The deteriorating music industry was completely revamped the minute that Blur songs were first belted out of the radio. Catchy tunes and poetic lyrics started to dominate The Top of the Pops instead of the retiring garbage such as Meatloaf, Cher, and Celine Dion which was getting old, repetitive, and boring. Soon after Blur became well-known there were dozens of successful music artists that followed. The mid 90’s was a great time for music. A wide selection of talented musical genius’s who actually played and wrote their own stuff – unlike the computer generated noise that has unfortunately crept into today’s mainline music industry.
‘The Universal’ is by far my all-time favourite Blur song. With a mixture of interesting romantic strings and Blurs usual ensemble of guitars, drums, and Damon Albarns soul-shattering lead vocals, I find it hard to listen to this song just once at a time, and I always find myself clicking that beloved repeat button on Winamp every time that it comes on. Brass fills and an annoyingly catchy rhythm create a very effective optimistic feel which is essential for this song because it gives a calm and peaceful backing to Albarns strong and emotional vocals and helps create a soothing and uplifting sound when it comes to the chorus.
‘The Universal’ has brilliant lyrics which are quite confusing and at first glance seem to be random sentences strung together, but they are actually very meaningful and poetic. The lyrics are optimistic and thought-provoking, describing how the future will eventually get better. ‘The future has been sold’ explains how there are solid plans for the upcoming years and it also suggests that the future has been priced up and sold to the highest bidder and technology will improve over time and the future is in safe, reliable hands. ‘It really really really could happen, when the days they seem to fall through you, well just let them go’ is optimistic and positive and is saying that even if the world seems to be against you and everything is falling apart, you might as well carry on and let your worries and troubles go, and if you are determined enough then you can do anything. ‘Satellites in every home… yes the universal’s here, here for everyone’ suggests that there will soon be a vast improvement of technology where everything will be electronic and modernised and it will affect everyone in some way or another and will generally make peoples quality of life much better. ‘Every paper that you read says tomorrow’s your lucky day, well here’s your lucky day’ is saying that every horoscope in every paper will claim that tomorrow will be a good day and that even if today seems bad, tomorrow will be better – which also links in with the chorus line. There is also a subtle hint of sarcasm in the line because it is saying that yesterday’s paper claimed that today would be a lucky day, but if days seem to fall through you then obviously not every day is a lucky day so therefore the papers are lying.
No matter how much you love the song; there is no getting over the music video that accompanies it. It’s enough to scar an impressionable teenage girl for life, with the completely gorgeous close-ups of the once extremely attractive Damon Albarn; one comment on YouTube describes the video as: ‘Sexier than sex itself’, and after having watched the video literally hundreds of times, I couldn’t agree more. The video is based on Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’, and is an incredible tribute to the disturbing but brilliant cult classic. Blur are dressed up in white costumes similar to the costumes which Alex and his Droogs wear in the film, and Damon is wearing heavy eyeliner on one eye like Alex De Large. Colourful cocktails, naked mannequins, and a limited selection of complimenting colours (orange, red, and white) show an obvious resemblance to A Clockwork Orange. The main colour in the music video is bright white which makes the whole bar look heavenly, retro, and peaceful. During the video there are subtitles which indicate what a man is saying about the bar which he is stood in, and he says: “This can’t be heaven – I recognise it!”.
The whole science fiction theme fits in with the lyrics which are about how technology will improve the future and make everything better and easier. There is an element of purity and innocence about the video which creates an elegant and sophisticated feel. The illuminating white walls and the even whiter suits that the band are wearing make them seem to blend in with the background which makes an eerie and artistic appearance. Damon magnificently pulls off the ‘guyliner’ image and his creepy yet incredibly sexy stare is a rather impressive imitation of Alex De Large’s blank stare in A Clockwork Orange. At the very last second of the video, the priest sitting on the left side of the band goes to passionately kiss the man sitting next to him which links in with the perversion and sexual nature of A Clockwork Orange. The pure beautifulness of the video and song itself never ceases to amaze me, but please, someone put some clothes on those mannequins!
Damon Albarn is what makes this song so effortlessly creative and different. He has an incredibly unique skill for writing lyrics that even the most stubborn and opinionated philosophers could find no fault with. And even now that he has hit the big forty he still continues to produce outstanding music. He is currently the lead singer of an extremely popular virtual ‘cartoon’ band ‘Gorillaz’, and is only slightly less attractive than what he was twenty years ago, without a single sign of Botox or corrective surgery anywhere in sight. And now after years of anxious waiting, they’re coming back again, only now we will be blasting their tunes on Ipods, Mp3 players and God knows what else, instead of those hideous CD players back in the good old days. Expect a tasty reunion, seeing as Oasis made their comeback a couple of months ago… Is this the nineties all over again? If only…
Overall, this video alone is much more unique and inspiring than anything Oasis ever did. I didn’t pick up a guitar after hearing the famous and unbelievably popular Oasis tracks ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Don’t look back in anger’. However after first hearing the individuality and wit of Blurs ‘Country house’ and ‘Song 2’ only then did I take a severe interest in music. With the trashy R’n’B and despicable kiddy pop tunes that are now piling into the music industry, is it possible that a truly deserving, half decent band will ever save our sorry ears from Rhianna, 50 Cent, and a countless number of untalented X-Factor finalists? Now that Blur are back, it really really really could happen.
By Danyel Faddes.
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