How Damon Albarn come off in Live Forever - Live Forever (2003) Discussion

[–] missrbn 19 years ago

I completely agree. I've never really heard an interview with Damon until this documentary and I always expected him to be sarcastic and cheeky (at least that's how he comes across in his videos). Plus, the whole thing was about how Oasis were regular working-class lads and Blur were the upper-middle class educated intellectuals. It looked like Damon didn't have many well thought-out ideas and even had difficulty piecing together sentences.

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[–] blonde28 19 years ago

i'm a massive fan of Oasis, and in that i kinda try to convince myself that damon albarn is a prat...i watched this documentary with an open mind, thinkin "ok, lets see what he's really like". And now i can say that i don't have to try and convince myself... he was a prick.

Asked about what it was that turned Oasis n Blur against eachother, Damon replied "i don't think we need to talk bout that"

CUT

Noel Gallagher then explains why.

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[–] al_g02-1 19 years ago

Damon Albarn has always been incredibly underconfident and an awkward interviewee, and always has to piece his sentences together slowly. He comes across as confident and loud because that's whay his stage persona is often like.

I think he looks back on the mid-90s quite embarassed with maybe himself and how he and others behaved, which is why he's uncomfortable. And I can see why he chose not to answer the Oasis question because it would appear he's moved on from that, and its all people seem to want to know about. Noel Gallagher still has a lot of issues about the fact that Blur moved their single back to collide with theirs.

I'm a massive fan of Blur and Oasis and I've never got the 'you can only like one or the other', they are both fantastic.

I don't see how Damon Albarn came off as 'a prick' in this film, if anything I think it just showed how vulnerable he is and how disillusioned with everything he became. If he had been a cocky, condident wanker, then I could see your point, but Damon, Jarvis and Noel have really matured, and the truth is Damon has always been like that behind his facade.

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[–] resistance01 19 years ago

Damon has always been more mature in some ways than the other Britpop figures, but he no longer indulges himself the way he did when he first experienced fame. Although I am a big Pulp and Oasis fan, Blur has always been in a league of its own and I consider Damon Albarn a musical genius. Yet I can see why he can be percieved as a prick - he seems kind of distant and lacks the down to earth personality that his bandmates seem to have. It is as if he is arrogant and unconfident at the same time. I really wish he didn't condemn his past as he does though - as much as it might embarass him, Blur will always be associated with Britpop, and he will never be able to convince the public or his fans otherwise.

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[–] made_o_stone 19 years ago

I lost a lot of respect for Damon Albarn after watching Live Forever. Why did he agree to appear when he had nothing to offer, and refused to answer questions? He must have known that the Roll With It/Country House issue would be raised, and I thought it was incredibly arrogant for him to say "I don't think we need to talk about that." Er, yes you do Damon, that's why I'm watching this documentary. I've never seen someone as up their own arse as he was in this, what a contrast with Noel's approach to interviews.

Rumour has it that Damon Albarn wrote 'Charmless Man' about Morrissey - I think it was more autobiographical myself

I think you're the same as me / We see things they'll never see / You and I are gonna live forever

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[–] bittersweet_smiler 19 years ago

... He must have known that the Roll With It/Country House issue would be raised ...

Just in relation to that, does anyone know which of those two singles being released at the same time actually made it to number 1 first? Were they both number 1 at some stage? Did one of them debut at number 1 beating out the other one? Does anyone really know why Blur put their single release back 2 weeks, other than curiousity as to who would make number 1 or just to spark up some rivalry? The documentary didn't cover any of this.

As far as I can remember here in Australia, Country House came in at about 40 on the charts and Roll With It didn't crack the top 50. Although Oasis has only had 2 real charting songs in Australia (Wonderwall and Lyla), and Blur had Tender, Coffee & TV, and Song 2 in the top 50 (Song 2 was much more successful than any Oasis song), so Oasis and Blur and Pulp and all that are considered here as popular alternative artists.

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[–] made_o_stone 19 years ago

Country House took the number one spot, and Roll With It went in at number 2.

I think you're the same as me / We see things they'll never see / You and I are gonna live forever

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[–] brightenthecorners 18 years ago

It's funny because I'd always thought that Blur got the number one as well but in the movie and the director's comments it seemed to imply that Oasis won the battle.

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[–] highcoolblur 18 years ago

"It's funny because I'd always thought that Blur got the number one as well but in the movie and the director's comments it seemed to imply that Oasis won the battle."

They did.

It's more like blur won the battle, Oasis won the war.

blur got the #1 single, (Country House DID sell more than Roll With It) but in the long run Oasis had more commercial success, esp overseas.

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[–] Nik68 18 years ago

"Blur actually won the singles clash"

They did, but Morning Glory sold much more out of the 2 albums, and as said earlier, Oasis had much more success overseas. here in North America, Blur's only hit was song 2(which most people didnt even know the title of) whereas Oasis is still going strong.

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[–] kris_taylor81 17 years ago

BLur got to number one, but Oasis sod something like 15 million copies of (Whats the story) morning glory? (officially the third biggest selling album in the UK of all time, behind Queens greatest hits (yuck) and Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Yay)) worldwide, thus trouncing Blur in the album stakes

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] limiescouse 19 years ago

<<<The documentary didn't cover any of this.>>>

Yes it did. Noel suggested it was an idea from editor NME, a mag that championed Blur over Oasis and as Noel said was losing readers by the thousands. This way the invent a rivalry and then become the unofficial magazine of the rivalry.

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[–] bradley-taplin 15 years ago

The subject he says he doesn't want to talk about was comments that Liam Gallagher made about Justine Frischmann at the time- obviously Albarn and Frischmann were five years seperated when this film came out.

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[–] getfuzzy 19 years ago

I agree with everything you said, but one thing I noticed about Noel when he made that comment about his "soul being purer". He didn't directly say that in the first person, he was saying it in a sort of rhetorical way. It's hard to explain but if you watch that part again you'll know exactly what I mean.

I think the movie as a whole tends to play up the middle vs working class thing, probably to a fault, but it makes for an interesting perspective.

"I'm packin' Smacky!" - Bucky

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] getfuzzy 19 years ago

I'm not a huge fan of most American music, but I think it's incorrect to say that nothing came out of America in the 1980's - much of what happened that was good in American music, happened in the underground scene. Then you had bands like REM, Husker Du, The Replacements, Black Flag, The Minutemen, and eventually built up and surfaced in Nirvana. Love them or not, they were revolutionary in their impact. Nirvana sent shockwaves throughout that had an impact on everyone - even britpop.

REM did their best work in the 1980s, The Beastie Boys released Paul's Boutique, which I believe is one of the milestones of the evolution of popular music. The Talking Heads cannot be dismissed either - they were HUGE in the early 1980s - up there with the Police and U2 for a time.

The biggest bands in England during the 1980's - JAMC, The Stone Roses, the Smiths, didn't really sell many records over here at all. You had the Police and they did great up till like 1984, but then I can't really think of any other big British bands owning the world after that. Does U2 count as a "British" band????? If so you have a bit of a point! LOL =)

"I'm packin' Smacky!" - Bucky

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] dannycwwe 19 years ago

This "film" is historical inacurate with serveral facts, and to me anyway, seems little more than an Oasis tribute. Blur were and are a better, far more imaginative and talented band than Oasis. Blur actually won the singles clash yet this "film" completely ignors that fact. Also many people within the music press and industry will tell you that Blur are the better band.

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[–] seanconnery_bigfeet 19 years ago

I like Blur on my FACE. Oasis... I do not.

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[–] charmbracelet69 19 years ago

Damon Albarn has always been media-shy and to say he came across as a "prick" and a "prat" in 'Live Forever' is slightly off the mark. Rightly or wrongly, Oasis fans are bound to find any excuse to have a snipe at Damon and I suppose I can understand why some people found him to be a bit distant and arrogant in the film. However, people seem to forget that the Blur V Oasis scenario was always amazingly over-hyped by the media. Although Liam and Noel were a bit more open about their dislike for Blur (the AIDs comments, for example), the media still hyped the hatred up and just because Damon doesn't want to raise those issues and that hatred again, does not make him, by any stretch of the imagination, a prick. Damon, like most band members, had a public persona and that persona happened to be very different from the person he actually was - he wasn't the cheeky, cockey mockney that people made him out to be. Oasis, although a fantastic band, often used their 'working-class' roots to sell records and still, to some extent, try to. Oasis were a lot more outspoken than Blur were and that is why Noel was a lot more at ease with the media in the film; simply because, he is.

It is hard to see how some fans of Oasis say that Damon's vulnerability makes him a prick, yet idolise the Gallagher brothers; people that wished AIDs upon two rivals. Doubling standards anyone?

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[–] al_g02-1 19 years ago

i agree charmbracelet.. most of the people involved with the britpop explosion now look back on it with embarassment and bemusement at how serious it all got, except the gallaghers.. they are still living in the past in some ways, with noel always harping on about definitely maybe, don't get me wrong, i'm a huge oasis fan..

i just don't agree with the albarn 'prick 'prat' comments..

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[–] Verdoux-1 11 years ago

It is hard to see how some fans of Oasis say that Damon's vulnerability makes him a prick, yet idolise the Gallagher brothers; people that wished AIDs upon two rivals. Doubling standards anyone?

How is that a double standard? It's not, it's just a preference.

Out of those three, Damon and Liam came off as douches and Noel was the one who was down to earth and actually answered the questions.

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[–] johnb742 19 years ago

In the UK, bands like Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Culture Club, The Smiths, The Style Council, etc, etc, etc were huge - hardly the "nothing" that this documentary seems to claim.

While Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and the Culture Club were pretty big it doesnt mean they represented the youth of the day. I take the film saying that there was barely anything going on meaning the kids didnt have a band that was 'theirs'. Sure the Smiths meant alot to alot of people but they split up in like 87.

most of these big bands from the 80's werent writing about real life, certinaly not a life average kids knocking about council estates could relate to

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] charmbracelet69 19 years ago

Don't be so stupid. Just because Damon wasn't up Tony Blair's arse does not make him a tory. Blair had approached Albarn before the "invites" to Number 10 were sent out and Damon thought he was an idiot, as much caught up in celebrity as anyone else was, and had no desire to renew the acquaintance. Damon is not a tory and just because he is educated (shock horror) does not make him a ****.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] frederickelliot 18 years ago

Neither Damon nor Noel came off well (Liam was liam...his idiocy has a charm all of its own). Damon appeared cold and bitter. Noel is smug and cocky...a working class hero? Not when he's sat on a phaffing throne he ain't.

Jarvis Cocker was the standout. They should have dedicated a lot more of the doco to him. This guy is class all the way (you've only got to see the clip of him ripping into Michael Jackson).

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[–] flywatter 18 years ago

i think damon was stoned

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[–] themonkeyclaw 18 years ago

I think they intentionally put Noel in that huge chair. It's an interesting perspective as to where he and Damon are both at now. Back when it was all going on Noel and the Boys were the working class heroes from the rougher parts of Manchester, now he's sitting on a throne, whereas Damon and Blur were percieved as the "upper class nice boys" (very much like The Rolling Stones compared to the Beatles in there time), and Damo'ns doing his interview in a pub.

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[–] made_o_stone 18 years ago

What, because both songs have the word "charm" in the title? Charmless Man bears no resemblance whatsoever to This Charming Man and does not reference it in any way. Were you just trying to look clever by knowing a Smiths song?

I think you're the same as me / We see things they'll never see / You and I are gonna live forever

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] made_o_stone 17 years ago

Eh? This post makes no sense. I believe the phrase is 'sit down, shut up'.

I think you're the same as me / We see things they'll never see / You and I are gonna live forever

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] kingoffrogs 18 years ago

have you seen the video for "no distance left to run"? he's asked what the song is about, and he gives this very vague answer. i think he's pretty sick of all of this *beep* and so he doesn't really think too hard about it. he is confident, but the subject matter is pretty much 10 years old, how articulate are you about ten years ago? i think at the very least he is hiding his real self away. safe.

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[–] BrightEyes86 18 years ago

Well, it's kind of strange. I mean if you compare Damon Albarn from Starshaped. He did seem "SO together," because I think it was all new to him, but later on as the years pass by Damon looked like he became disillusion to all the fame, drugs, and the whole middle class vs. working class thing with Oasis. I'm not surprise Damon acted the way he acted, because the entire band never really took an extreme interest to discuss the conflict with Oasis. The band, and especially Damon always seem above and beyond the trivial conflict.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] SeijyuroHiko790 18 years ago

I think that despite Liam's 'stupid' words, they were very funny, as were Noel's. I think the two best parts were 1. When Noel was critiquing S Club 7, and making arm movements saying "I never got that.". 2. When Liam was asked about being androgynous ("I'm like a bird?" "I do take care of me 'air").

I will also say that all of Damon's moments were hard to watch. I thought his mood very morose about the whole affair, but I don't think that it would make him a prick.

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[–] praybird 18 years ago

Why people taking in so seriously? It's such fun to watch a film about britpop NOW, and the whole thing about Oasis/Blur battle is just supposed to make you smile ang get a little bit nostalgic. AND what's even more importent for me to say is that Damon Albarn is a very talented artist who's done very talented things and call him words like...I just find it ridiculeus. And for your information,boys. Ask any girl what she thinks about Damon, the first thing she would say that he's SOO CUTE. And the fact that someone as talented and goodlooking is having problemes expresing himself during interviews - well that's just makes hin even more cute! His got his music to expess himself enyway.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] goggomobil6969 18 years ago

Man, the Noel comments about Morning Glory selling more than Definitely Maybe were the best comments in the whole movie.

Noel: Do you do it just to piss me off?

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[–] Orloondo_Bland 18 years ago

There's so many great Noel moments, particularly when trashing Be Here Now:

"The songs are about four hours long, the lyrics are awful and for every moment whne Liam's not singing there's a loud guitar line by me, in a Wayne's World stylee."

"People will always say it's awful but you know... sell it. You'll get a couple of quid for it, I would imagine.... give it to me and I'll sign it for you, you'll probably get a tenner then."

Comedy Genius.

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[–] mrbreaker69 17 years ago

If you read the book "Britpop" by John Harris, you can see how Damon is not comfortable with interviews. Noel is very honest about the whole phase. Alex James also is more vocal about the whole experience with Blur and the Britpop era.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] loz-1 17 years ago

I've interviewed tons of pop celebs and up and coming musicians for my website. I met Damon Albarn in '93 and he was a lovely chap - one of the friendliest folk I met in fact. I think he just looked uncomfortable with the line of questioning in "Live Forever". I don't think he's a prat. Not in the slightest.

I've been a fool but you know I wouldn't kill for you...

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[–] thewalrus8 17 years ago

Here's what I think of Damon in this movie...He is completely high throughout the interview. Nothing too serious, but having to recollect the entire blur vs. oasis debacle, it was probably more than he could handle and knowing about his prodigious weed intake, he was probably baked. Watch it again so you can disagree with me, but that is what I got from his interview.

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[–] jwild49 17 years ago

I totally agree with you on that, plus all the people writing him off as a prick or whatever are just wasting their time because he really doesn't care! He's been through so much critism already and I think the reason why he seemed sensitive and vulnerable was because he was high and couldnt gather his thoughts!

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[–] crozkent 17 years ago

Kinda funny how Albarn is the relevant one now - with Gorillaz and The Good The Bad & The Queen. Although I prefer the music of Oasis, the Gallagher boys are one step away from a spot on the Surreal Life. Of course, I'm an American, so this might not be the case across the pond.

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[–] atomicseasoning 17 years ago

Yeah this documentary was filmed probably in 2001-02, so it was before Damon had helped form The Gorillaz and so forth. In "Live Forever", to me Damon came off as a bit sad & pathetic, strumming his ukalele and drifting into nostalgia.

Obviously Damon's 30s weren't very good to him looks-wise (I mean he isn't the worst looking guy for nearly 40 now, but you can definitely tell he isn't the pretty boy he was at 28.) so that's probably why The Gorillaz are 2D animation!

Somehow though both Noel & Liam have held up pretty well since the 90s, although Noel's always had a unique look about him, dykwim?

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[–] starlette147 17 years ago

First of all did somebody in this thread say that Oasis is still going strong? Well if you consider the fact that they've never topped their 2nd album I wouldn't say that is the case. It seems like they are resting on their laurels a little bit by releasing a greatest hits at this point. Sure you pick up an Oasis disc today it will have one or two good songs (Lyla off the new disc aint bad) but they haven't had a solid album from beginning to end since their first two.

I'm inclined to believe Blur has 3 masterpieces, my favorite being 13 which I think in someways was a precursor to Kid A. Albarn has been much more prolific in the past decade by having singles chart in 3 different bands. And Blur is going back to the studio in November (with Grahm!!!) to see if they got one more album left in them. That's enough to get even the most cynnical Blur fan excited.

But I like both bands for different reasons. Albarn just likes a little competition hence the singles battle. Gallagher is the arrogant one, saying he hoped Damon and Alez die of AIDS. He's still on his soapbox today saying he wishes Bono and Thom Yorke would shut up about politics and play their "hits." Too bad he doesn't realize that his opinion is a lot less relevant now than it used to be.

I too was expecting a little bit more of a cheeky and sardonic interview with Damon. Instead, I saw just a regular old bloke enjoying a pint and a smoke. Gallagher was definetly more candid. Maybe Albarn was high. He seemed to be kind of mumbling and mincing words. Which bring me to the question I had when I originaly came to this post. When he was talking about Parklife, he said the meaning of the album was misconstrued but I didn't catch what he said. I should have watched with subtitles. Anyone care to elaborate?

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[–] DayDream_Angel 13 years ago

I thought Damon looked defeated in this documentary (Britpop era was unkind to him)...maybe he was feeling down because Coxon left:(

Didn't he form the Gorillaz in 98 with Hewitt? Anyways,the band didn't perform as cartoons because of Damon's looks, it was an antithesis to the whole celebrity culture duh! But apparently he got over that facade last year - the Gorillaz toured as humans (and he looked great)!

Noel Gallagher was always a special looking man, his looks could only get better as he age...Liam Gallagher, however, look like crap now.

Oasis is no more, but Blur might make another album - lol, how things changed.

A member of IMDb since 1999

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