Features
Blur Goes East
Blur‘s first album of new material since 2003 has a cover inspired by Asian commercial art and an Asian theme. In fact, it was recorded in Hong Kong two years ago while the band was cooling its heels after Tokyo Rocks, a festival the British band was headlining, was canceled very suddenly.
Photo: AP Photo / Paulo Duarte
Optimus Primavera Sound, Parc del Forum, Porto, Portugal
Consequently, leader Damon Albarn decided that the first video attached to the album, for the song “Lonesome Street,” would use an Asian theme as well.
The video starts with a sole male Chinese dancer who eventually multiplies into a complete dance session featuring average Chinese people performing “traditional square dancing,” the kind that was recently cited by Chinese police as having a potential disruptive public influence.
A second video for the song, “Go Out,” features a Chinese woman providing instructions on how to make vanilla ice cream.