“13” (Blur) – Songs Ranked

I don’t normally listen to Blur albums, but one of my readers recommended a few to me so I thought I’d give them a go.

I chose “13” in the end as it seemed like a more mature and introspective project, and I think I picked correctly. It was a really solid album in the end … but how would I rank each song?

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

The Most Streamed Songs of Each Year – Ranked

1995: The Year In Music

“(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?” – Songs Ranked

“Gorillaz” (2001 Debut Album) – Songs Ranked

Meh

13 – Optigan I

… I’m not really sure what the point of this track was.

“Optigan I” is an instrumental song to close the album. It’s odd, repetitive, dreamlike, and I imagine it was only included so that the tracklist could be 13 songs long. Y’know, like the title of the album. Clever stuff.

Okay

12 – 1992

In terms of the actual songs on the album, “1992” was the one I connected to the least.

The songwriting is very mellow across the album, but this song wasn’t engaging enough.

11 – B.L.U.R.E.M.I

Conversely, “B.L.U.R.E.M.I” was too chaotic for me to sink my teeth into. An album of extremes, you might say.

Also, I had a stroke each time I typed out the title of the song. Points deducted for that.

10 – Trailerpark

“Trailerpark” has quite a cool vibe. The piano and distorted drum combo is neat, but I never found myself settling into the rhythm.

Good

9 – Mellow Song

I’ve got to hand it to Blur – they certainly know how to name their songs.

Weirdly, “Mellow Song” isn’t the most mellow song on the album. It’s almost as generic as its title.

8 – Bugman

A nice wall of noise to keep the energy of the album going.

“Bugman” is the second song on the record, and it perhaps doesn’t represent what the rest of the album would come to be. I dig it, though. It’s like an early Gorillaz song.

7 – Swamp Song

Well, it’s much better than the Oasis “Swamp Song”. Blur can at least get one-up on them for that.

I like how dirty and growly the track is. It’s a bunch of dudes going into the studio to make as much coherent noise as possible.

6 – Battle

A song on the longer side, but an enjoyable one. “Battle” is grand when it needs to be and the adventurous production helps it stand out.

5 – Trimm Trabb

One of the more experimental songs on the album – both in its music and in its name.

“Trimm Trabb” starts off quite understated, but the second half is the Blur Rock we know and love.

Great

4 – Caramel

“Caramel” was my biggest surprise on the album – it’s quite long but I found myself enjoying it more than I was expecting.

The chorus is an unlikely earworm, and the sinister production works wonders. I wish the final thirty seconds of groove was its own song.

3 – No Distance Left to Run

I’ve always seen Blur as a hard-hitting Rock band, which made a slower song like “No Distance Left to Run” affect me more than it should.

It’s soulful and heartfelt, with a simple chorus you can get behind.

2 – Tender

I was pleasantly surprised by this opener. “Tender” is one of Blur’s bigger songs and yet I don’t think I’d heard it before.

It’s got a gospel quality which I love, and it set the tone well for what would be an offbeat yet mellow project.

1 – Coffee & TV

The reason I chose “13” as my Blur album to listen to was because I was already familiar with “Coffee & TV”. After listening to the whole album, I still think it holds up as the best one.

The melodies and chord progressions always keep you on your toes – it almost never lands where you expect it to. On top of that, the harmonized chorus is one of my favourites from Blur.

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