The 90’s sheltered transformative and experimental songs that defined musical movements and carved their place in music history. With bands emerging like Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and numerous others, the grunge rock scene played a huge role in shaping many of these hits that defined a decade’s worth of music. Some of these songs were carefully constructed to reinvent the traditional rock music of the time, while others seem to have fallen into that role unintentionally. “Song 2” by Blur is a notable example of this. Released in 1997 on the album Blur, the track is largely recognized for its explosive chorus, distorted guitar, and for becoming one of the biggest hits of the 90’s. At first, you’d assume the song was written by one of the mainstream rock bands of America’s West Coast due to its close resemblance to the style, though the song really was created as a satire of that exact genre. Despite this intention, it was embraced by audiences as an authentic rock anthem, which became an ironic and significant part of the ’90s grunge-influenced sound.
To understand this irony, it helps to look at how dominant grunge was during that decade. In the early 1990s, bands like Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden completely reshaped rock music. Their sound was heavier, darker, more emotional, and especially louder than what was previously popular. Grunge focused on rawness, honesty, and vulnerability, most notably with the band Alice in Chains and lead singer Layne Staley, who expressed these feelings through harmonies and heavy riffs. At the same time, we also had bands like Stone Temple Pilots that kick-started the widespread adoption of this Seattle-originating style.
On the other side, (literally), Blur was part of a completely different scene. What was popular in America at the time was completely opposed in Britain, as Britpop became more popular and unique to the nation. Britpop adopted chaotic tunes with a combination of storytelling, witty lyrics, and catchy melodies. Blur was a leading band in this genre, with frontman Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon leaning towards an extremely experimental style and not holding back from being funky, creative, and different. As grunge became more worldwide, Blur decided to mimic the “formula” used in many popular American songs to mock their unoriginality and exaggerate the elements that were copied and pasted into every song.
The “formula” used in a typical 90’s grunge track consists of a loud-quiet-loud structure that can be found in songs such as “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Everlong,” and “Can’t Stop.” The guitar is aggressive, the drums are loud, and the lyrics are simple and lack analysis. “Song 2” encapsulates everything grunge was at the time. Even Albarn’s straightforward lyrics clearly emphasize the mocking and satirical nature of the song, with the chorus going, “When I feel heavy metal… when I’m pins, and I’m needles.” According to Blur’s guitarist and musical genius Graham Coxon, “Song 2” was intended to be a joke on the record company. Albarn had demoed an acoustic version of the song that Coxon had insisted should be pumped up into a loud, chaotic, and speedy piece to annoy their record label. To further emphasize the “joke” that “Song 2” was, Blur didn’t even give the track a proper title and left the song as its name on the tracklist.
Despite Blur’s expectation for their track, “Song 2” had become a smashing success and blended a little too well into grunge rock rather than acting as a critique. The track reached No. 55 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and No. 6 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. This emerged Blur into the American music scene and broadened their audience. In the UK, the song became even more successful due to Blur’s established popularity, reaching No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. Not only did it have a chart success, but “Song 2” had become a piece of pop culture and was widely recognized in the media. The song has been played in countless sports arenas for player introductions and has become an unofficial hype anthem. Additionally, “Song 2” was used as the theme for the FIFA World Cup ’98 video game and became the first licensed song to be used in any EA Sports game.
“Song 2” is perfect proof of how sometimes the biggest hits are the ones nobody really expects. Blur gave the world an incredibly unique display of a parody that became an anthem of what it was intended to mock. Not only did Blur contribute to the grunge music legacy, but it also became an example of how imitation can be just as influential as the original.
