| "The Narcissist" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Blur | ||||
| from the album The Ballad of Darren | ||||
| Released | 18 May 2023 | |||
| Recorded | January–May 2023 | |||
| Studio | Studio 13, London & Devon | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:05 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | James Ford | |||
| Blur singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Narcissist" is a song by British rock band Blur. It was released on 18 May 2023 as the lead single for the band's ninth studio album The Ballad of Darren . The release of the track marked the first new material by the band since The Magic Whip in 2015. [3]
Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave the track 4 out of 5 stars, calling it far less counfounding and straightforward than "Go Out", the lead single of the band's previous record, The Magic Whip. He also called the rhythm track and beat Motorik-esque. [4]
Mollie Potter of The Edge gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, calling the track a "brilliant, crafty acknowledgement of their past triumphs, alongside a recognition of their growth as a band in the decades following their nineties heydey". [5]
Christopher Jackson of City A.M. described the track as a soundtrack to the summer. [6]
Consequence selected the track as its song of the week on 19 May 2023, calling it "an odyssey that builds but never implodes". [7]
In the United Kingdom, "The Narcissist" peaked at number 81 on the UK Singles Chart in June 2023, and was the band's first entry on the chart since "Under the Westway" in 2012. [8]
In the United States, "The Narcissist" debuted on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart at number 37 on June 10, 2023. [9] The song was Blur's first appearance on the chart since "Crazy Beat" in May 2003, which broke the record for the longest time between entries by a band in the chart's history. [9]
Blur
Additional Personnel
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japan Hot Overseas ( Billboard Japan ) [10] | 17 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) [11] | 33 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [12] | 81 |
| US Rock Airplay ( Billboard ) [13] | 34 |
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Hot Space is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 4 May 1982 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work, they employed many elements of disco, funk, rhythm and blues, dance and pop music on the album. This made the album less popular with fans who preferred the traditional rock style they had come to associate with the band. Queen's decision to record a dance-oriented album germinated with the massive success of their 1980 hit "Another One Bites the Dust" in the US.
"1999" is a song by American musician Prince, the title track from his 1982 album of the same name. Originally peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, a mid-1983 re-release later reached number 12 in the US, while a January 1985 rerelease, a double A-side with "Little Red Corvette", later peaked at number 2 in the UK.
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"Crazy Beat" is a song by English band Blur from their seventh album, Think Tank (2003). The song was written and produced by band members Damon Albarn, Alex James and Dave Rowntree in Morocco, with Norman Cook also serving as a producer. It was first serviced to alternative radio stations in the United States on 17 March 2003, by Virgin Records, while being commercially released in the United Kingdom on 7 July 2003, by Parlophone, including the songs "The Outsider" and "Don't Be" as B-sides. A three-chord song, "Crazy Beat" is a dance-pop and electropop track which draws influences of big beat and nu metal into its composition. Lyrically, it praises the effects of music and clubs on crowds.
"Cream" is a song by American singer-songwriter Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation, released in September 1991 as the second single from Prince's 13th studio album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). In a 2004 MTV special, Prince joked that he wrote the song while looking at himself in the mirror. "Cream" became Prince's fifth and last number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying at the top for two weeks. The song entered the top 10 in 15 other countries worldwide, peaking within the top three in Australia, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland. Its music video was directed by Rebecca Blake.
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