Welcome to the first installment of what I shall be calling "Celine cries over music" a.k.a. a listing of my favourite albums. These won't necessarily be in any order (partly due to the fact that I have a very difficult time deciding on a favourite Beatles album) and I don't have super varied tastes in music, so consider yourself forewarned. And as excited as I am to share my favourites, I'm horrible at articulating my feelings about music because mostly I just want to gush and sigh and cry when I listen to music I really enjoy...
First up:
13 by Blur (1999)
Surprise, surprise, I know. A big shocker (especially for anyone who has seen my tumblr) that I'm starting off with this. The penultimate album by Blur (not including compilations) and the last one before Graham Coxon's departure from the group. Cue uncontrollable sobbing.
I suppose the album isn't exactly an easy listen. Even after having listened to the album more times that I could possibly count, it still manages to stir up a whole sea of emotions for me. I don't want to get super pretentious and delve into a review of the album; that's what critics (ha!) are for, so I'll just share the following about my two favourite tracks:
1. When I listen to "Caramel", I find myself wondering how this it isn't everyone's favourite song. It has everything I look for in music: it's familiar, yet otherworldly; it scares me, yet it's oddly soothing. The layers of sound, the lyrics and Damon's voice, the slow build-up to the controlled chaos toward the end of the song, only to have it calm back down and fade out the way it began - it blows my mind every single time I listen to it. I've got chills now just thinking about it.
2. I first became aware of Blur through"Coffee and TV". I remember seeing the video and thinking it was cute and sad and loving the singer's voice. (It came as a bit of a shock when I later found out that Graham wasn't the usual singer in the band, although I love Damon's voice as well.) I like the contrast of the upbeat sound of the song and the rather melancholy lyrics. And the guitar solo? Pure awesomeness.