Chemical World, Blur

The title of this album sums this song up, really, Modern Life is Rubbish. The lyrics are series of lines about how, this new chemical world is, frankly, shite. But some of the lines are just so spot-on, so witty. Albarn sings contemptuously: These townies, they never speak to you, but then quickly looks at it from the other perspective Just stick together, so they never get lonely. His understanding of why things happen which he hates sums up the song. It's all that post-Thatcher stuff which obviously left a big impression on Britain, but it still has modern resonances. My favourite line from the song goes 'eating chocolate to induce sleep/and in a chemical world it's very very very cheap' - more the rhythm of it than anything else.

And this playful attitude is contained wholly in the melody, so light that it's almost macabre. I love the guitar riff which just floats over it all wonderfully, Coxon at his best. The song kind of feels like a more mature Parklife. I love it!