13 (Blur album)

Untitled

13 is the sixth album by English rock band Blur, released on March 15, 1999 in the UK and on March 16 in the U.S.. It reached #1 in the UK album chart, while making #80 in the United States. It spawned several hit singles; "Tender", "Coffee & TV" and "No Distance Left to Run".

13 sees the band moving further away from their Britpop past into more cerebral and denser musical territory. The album is inspired by Damon Albarn's breakup with Elastica singer Justine Frischmann, reportedly caused by the latter's heroin addiction. Two of the singles - "Tender" and "No Distance Left to Run" describe Albarn's love for Frischmann. The music video for the hit single "Coffee & TV" cemented Blur's reputation as a cult band in the U.S. with its protagonist Milky. The video gained heavy airplay on many modern rock channels in America.

In 2004, the album was packaged with 2003's Think Tank in a limited edition box set as part of EMI's "2CD Originals" collection.

Track listing

All tracks written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree.

1. "Tender" – 7:40
2. "Bugman" – 4:47
3. "Coffee & TV" – 5:58
4. "Swamp Song" – 4:36
5. "1992" – 5:29
6. "B.L.U.R.E.M.I." – 2:52
7. "Battle" – 7:43
8. "Mellow Song" – 3:56
9. "Trailerpark" – 4:26
10. "Caramel" – 7:38
11. "Trimm Trabb" – 5:37
12. "No Distance Left to Run" – 3:27
13. "Optigan 1" – 2:34

Trivia

• The album is named after the band's recording studio, and also is their first album without longtime producer Stephen Street, rather with electronic producer William Orbit.

• The album cover is a portion of an oil painting by Graham Coxon called Apprentice. The album's singles also have cover art by Coxon. The numbers 1 and 3 have been painted so they also form the letter 'B' - presumably for 'Blur'.