Ongoing History Daily: The story behind Blur’s Song 2
It boggles the mind at how much mileage Blur has gotten out of “Song 2” from their 1997 self-titled debut album. Not only is it a hit song in its own right, but it’s been used in countless TV shows, movie soundtracks, movie trailers, video games, and for sporting events. This was not supposed to happen.
The track came together in all of 15 minutes when Blur was trying to make fun of American grunge. It’s deliberately simplistic and crude but without all the doom and gloom of grunge—hence the joyful “Woo Hoo” heard throughout the song.
It was fun satire designed to be a serious commentary on American music imperialism. And it made the band millions.
