There's No Other Way

Last updated

"There's No Other Way"
There's No Other Way.jpg
Single by Blur
from the album Leisure
B-side
  • "Inertia"
  • "Mr Briggs"
  • "I'm All Over"
Released15 April 1991 (1991-04-15) [1]
Genre
Length
  • 3:14 (single version)
  • 3:23 (album version)
Label Food
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Blur singles chronology
"She's So High/I Know"
(1990)
"There's No Other Way"
(1991)
"Bang"
(1991)
Music video
There's No Other Way (UK Version) on YouTube
There's No Other Way (US Version) on YouTube

"There's No Other Way" is a song by English band Blur, released on 15 April 1991 as the second single from their debut album Leisure . "There's No Other Way" peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. It was also their first charting song in the US, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100, and also reached number five on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.

Contents

Content

The song utilises a beat and tambourine sound typical of songs of the Madchester and baggy scene.

Release and reception

The song was the band's first top 10 in the UK, reaching number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. [5] The single was also a minor hit in the US, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100, [6] and number five on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. [7]

Alan Jones of Music Week awarded the song his 'Pick of the Week', writing: "Blur are bound to break big with this organ-bleeding, guitar-powered, post-psychedelic delight, a dancefloor and radio-friendly monster in the making." [8] Linda Ryan of the Gavin Report called it a "trippy pop song with breathy vocals set to a groovin' housebeat... It's a perfect '60s meets '90s vibe with an undeniable hook that begs for another play." [9] In Smash Hits , Miranda Sawyer said: "[The] song is fab! Lots of guitars and it sounds like the '60s, with a tune that's so catchy that it was very nearly Single Of The Fortnight." [10]

Music video

There are two music videos for the song, both videos were released in 1991.

UK video

The UK video for the song was directed by David Balfe,[ citation needed ] the former keyboardist for The Teardrop Explodes and owner of Blur's label Food Records. The video was produced by Anita Staines through Radar Films.

The video begins with a close-up shot of a worm inching through the grass. A pink ball is dropped next to the worm and a young girl picks it up, throwing it to her identical twin sister nearby. The scene cuts inside the dining room/kitchen of a suburban house, with Albarn and the rest of the band sitting down at a table. A woman, assumed to be the mother (actress Karen Ford) sets out dishes on the table with the help of the girls. Soup and bread rolls are the first course, this is followed by chicken pie, carrot batons, broccoli florets, gravy and new potatoes.

During the first course the family is then joined by a man assumed to be the father, and the whole group digs into the meal. During the meal, Albarn will occasionally stop eating, look up at the camera, and sing along to the lyrics.

After dinner has ended, the mother gets up from the table and retrieves a trifle from a cabinet, which she holds up in front of her face. The camera then gets distorted and jerky, the view filling up with a variety of colorful, loud filters applied to the film. The family looks at the mother with a mixture of apprehension and excitement as the film gets more distorted and layered with effects. As the song ends, the camera cuts back to a clear shot of the worm crawling in the grass again.

US video

The US video for the song was directed by Matthew Amos, the video consists of the band playing the song in a private pool, with colorful and psychedelic effects shown in the video.

Legacy

A playable version of the song is available for the Rock Band video game series, and it is available to download for Guitar Hero 5 . [11] Kurt Cobain of Nirvana told NME that "There's No Other Way" was his favourite British song of 1991. [12]

This song was used as background music in the 11th episode of season five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer entitled "Triangle".

Track listings

All songs were written by Blur.

7-inch and cassette

  1. "There's No Other Way" – 3:14
  2. "Inertia"

12-inch

  1. "There's No Other Way" (extended version) – 4:04
  2. "Inertia" – 3:51
  3. "Mr Briggs" – 3:59
  4. "I'm All Over" – 2:00

CD

  1. "There's No Other Way" – 3:14
  2. "Inertia" – 3:51
  3. "Mr Briggs" – 3:59
  4. "I'm All Over" – 2:00

Remix 12-inch

  1. "There's No Other Way" (Blur remix) – 5:09
  2. "Won't Do It" – 3:19
  3. "Day Upon Day" (live) – 4:02

Credits

Blur

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart performance for "There's No Other Way"
Chart (1991–1992)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [13] 113
UK Singles (OCC) [5] 8
US Billboard Hot 100 [6] 82
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [7] 5
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [14] 15
US Cash Box Top 100 [15] 61

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blur (band)</span> English rock band

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 the albums 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 widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".

<i>Think Tank</i> (Blur album) 2003 studio album by Blur

Think Tank is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 5 May 2003. Continuing the jam-based studio constructions of the group's previous album, 13 (1999), the album expanded on the use of sampled rhythm loops and brooding, heavy electronic sounds. There are also heavy influences from dance music, hip hop, dub, jazz, and African music, an indication of songwriter Damon Albarn's expanding musical interests.

<i>Blur</i> (Blur album) 1997 studio album by Blur

Blur is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 10 February 1997 by Food Records. Blur had previously been broadly critical of American popular culture and their previous albums had become associated with the Britpop movement, particularly Parklife, which had helped them become one of Britain's leading pop acts. After their previous album, The Great Escape, the band faced media backlash and relationships between the members became strained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bang (Blur song)</span> 1991 single by Blur

"Bang" is a song by English rock band Blur, released on 29 July 1991 as the third single from their debut album, Leisure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country House (song)</span> 1995 single by Blur

"Country House" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995), on 14 August 1995 by Food and Parlophone. Released on the same day as the Oasis single "Roll with It" – in a chart battle dubbed the "Battle of Britpop" – "Country House" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. The song is the band's best-selling single, with over 540,000 copies sold as of May 2014. Its music video was directed by Damien Hirst and nominated for Best Video in the 1996 BRIT Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beetlebum</span> 1997 single by Blur

"Beetlebum" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released on 20 January 1997 as the lead single from the band's eponymous fifth album, Blur (1997). Written about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's experiences with heroin, the song features Beatles-influenced music and a mood that Albarn described as "sleepy" and "sexy". Despite fears of the song's uncommercial nature, the single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Blur's second track to top the chart. It has since appeared on several Blur compilations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Song 2</span> 1997 single by Blur

"Song 2" is a song by English rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released physically on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and number six on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M.O.R.</span> 1997 single by Blur

"M.O.R." is a song by English rock band Blur from their eponymous album. Released on 15 September 1997, "M.O.R." reached number 15 in the UK Singles Chart on its release as a single in September 1997. Worldwide, it reached number 45 in New Zealand and also charted in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parklife (song)</span> 1994 single by Blur

"Parklife" is a song by the English rock band Blur, released in August 1994 by Food and Parlophone as the third single from the band's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The song contains spoken-word verses by the actor Phil Daniels, who also appears in the music video, which was directed by Pedro Romhanyi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tender (song)</span> 1999 single by Blur

"Tender" is a song by English rock band Blur from their sixth studio album, 13 (1999). Written by the four band members about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's breakup with musician turned painter Justine Frischmann, the song was released in Japan on 17 February 1999 and in the United Kingdom on 22 February as the album's lead single. "Tender" became Blur's 11th top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number two the week after its release. It also reached the top 20 in Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Beat</span> 2003 single by Blur

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls & Boys (Blur song)</span> 1994 single by Blur

"Girls & Boys" is a song by English rock band Blur, released in March 1994 by Food Records as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The frontman of Blur, Damon Albarn wrote the song's lyrics with bandmembers Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, while Stephen Street produced it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemical World</span> 1993 single by Blur

"Chemical World" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, included on their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), and released in June 1993 by Food Records. The song was written by the band and produced by them with Stephen Street, Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley and Steve Lovell. It peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Charts as well as number 27 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">On Your Own (Blur song)</span> 1997 single by Blur

"On Your Own" is a song by English rock band Blur. It was released as a single on 16 June 1997 from the band's fifth studio album, Blur (1997). It charted at number five on the UK Singles Chart. Although it was not released under the Gorillaz name, Damon Albarn, frontman of both musical projects, has since referred the song as 'one of the first ever Gorillaz tunes'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereotypes (song)</span> 1996 single by Blur

"Stereotypes" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is the opening track to their fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995). It was released on 12 February 1996 as the third single from that album, charting at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted in Australia, peaking at number 95 on the ARIA Singles Chart in June 1996. The accompanying UK B-sides—"The Man Who Left Himself", "Tame" and "Ludwig"—demonstrated a dramatic change in style for Blur, being stark and raw, foreshadowing the stylistic shift that would realize itself on their eponymous follow-up album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charmless Man</span> 1996 single by Blur

"Charmless Man" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is the fourth track on their fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995). It was released on 29 April 1996 in the United Kingdom as the fourth and final single from that album, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart and also charting in Australia, France, Iceland, and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">To the End (Blur song)</span> 1994 single by Blur

"To the End" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It appears on their third studio album, Parklife (1994), and was released as a single in May 1994 by Food Records. The song describes a couple unsuccessfully trying to overcome a bad patch in a relationship, and features full orchestral accompaniment with a choric refrain in French by Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab. The song was produced by Stephen Hague, unlike the rest of the Parklife album, which was produced by Stephen Street. Blur have produced several different recordings of the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">End of a Century</span> 1994 single by Blur

"End of a Century" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. Released in November 1994 by Food Records, it was the last single to be released from their third album, Parklife (1994). The song reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, considered a disappointment by Andy Ross of Food. Damon Albarn later stated that "End of a Century" may not have been the best choice for the album's fourth single, and that "This Is a Low" would have been a better alternative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Under the Westway</span> 2012 single by Blur

"Under the Westway" is a single by English band Blur, released in July 2012. After being played by Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon at Brixton Academy as part of a charity performance for War Child, speculation rose as to "Under the Westway"'s release. On 25 June 2012, it was announced on Blur's Twitter account that the track would be performed live by the band via a live stream and released for download shortly after, with Albarn stating "I wrote these songs for [the upcoming Hyde Park show] and I’m really excited about getting out there and playing them for people." The single was released as a download-only release on 2 July 2012, accompanied by "The Puritan", and received a physical release in August. The song also made its radio debut on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 6 Music show on the same day. It was the band's first single since 2010's "Fool's Day". An early mix of the song is included on the Blur 21 box set.

<i>Leisure</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Blur

Leisure is the debut studio album by English rock band Blur, released by Food Records on 27 August 1991.

References

  1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week . 13 April 1991. p. 19.
  2. Ramirez, AJ (22 April 2010). "Blur – 'There's No Other Way'". PopMatters . Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 Wawzenek, Bryan (23 January 2017). "Damon Albarn Albums Ranked in Order of Awesomeness". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  4. Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "1991: Time for the Mu Mu". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 637. ISBN   978-0-571-28198-5.
  5. 1 2 "Blur | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts . Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Blur Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Blur Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  8. Jones, Alan (20 April 1991). "Pick of the Week". Music Week . p. 12.
  9. Ryan, Linda (3 May 1991). "New Releases". Gavin Report . p. 60.
  10. Sawyer, Miranda (17 April 1991). "Singles". Smash Hits . No. 323. p. 43.
  11. "Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero Roll into April With Hot New Rock Additions to the Guitar Hero Music Library". Investor.activision.com. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  12. Lindsay, Cam (11 May 2018). "How Nirvana's Success Prompted Blur to Kick off the Britpop Explosion". Vice . Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  13. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 24 May 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  14. "Blur Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  15. "Cashbox Top 100 Singles: February 8, 1992". Cash Box . Retrieved 11 January 2021.