"End of a Century" is a song by English
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
band
Blur. Released in November 1994, it was the last single to be released from their third album, ''
Parklife
''Parklife'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album '' Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' returned Blur to prominence i ...
'' (1994). "End of a Century" reached number 19 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, considered a disappointment by
Andy Ross
Andrew Ross is an American musician. He has been the guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist for the rock band OK Go since 2005. He is also behind a solo project, Secret Dakota Ring, which released albums in 2004 and 2008. Ross is also co-founder of ...
of
Food Records
Food Records was a British rock record label set up in 1984 by David Balfe (formally of Zoo Records), who later took on Andy Ross as his partner. Originally formed as an independent record label with distribution going through Rough Trade D ...
.
Albarn later stated that "End of a Century" may not have been the best choice for the album's fourth single, and that "
This Is a Low
"This Is a Low" is a song by English rock band Blur for their third studio album, '' Parklife''. The song was released as a promotional single in 1995.
Background and recording
Originally titled "We Are the Low", the song began life as an in ...
" would have been a better alternative.
Lyrical content
Damon Albarn stated that the song is about "how couples get into staying in and staring at each other. Only instead of candle-light, it's the TV light." The opening line, "she said there's ants in the carpet", refers to an infestation of ants that Albarn and his then-girlfriend
Justine Frischmann
Justine Elinor Frischmann (born 16 September 1969) is an English artist and retired musician. She was the lead singer of the Britpop band Elastica after forming Suede, before retiring from the music industry and pursuing a career as a painter ...
suffered in their then-home in Kensington.
The lyrics seem to emphasise the then upcoming millennium change and the fact that people contemplate the future rather than take care of the present. Producer
Stephen Street saw the song as "Damon getting the art of songwriting really sorted".
Music video
The video is a live performance recorded at
Alexandra Palace. As with their later video to
Tender, it uses the audio track of the live performance, rather than overdubbing the audio of the studio take.
Track listings
7-inch and cassette single
# "End of a Century" (
Albarn,
Coxon,
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
and
Rowntree; Lyrics by Albarn) – 2:47
# "Red Necks" (Albarn, Coxon, James, Rowntree; Lyrics by Coxon) – 3:04
CD single
# "End of a Century" (Albarn, Coxon, James, Rowntree; Lyrics by Albarn) – 2:47
# "Red Necks" (Albarn, Coxon, James, Rowntree; Lyrics by Coxon) – 3:04
# "Alex's Song" (James) – 2:42
Personnel
*
Damon Albarn – lead vocals,
organ
*
Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...
– acoustic and electric guitars,
clarinet, backing vocals
*
Alex James – bass guitar
*
Dave Rowntree – drums
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Authority control
1994 singles
1994 songs
Blur (band) songs
Food Records singles
Wikipedia requested audio of songs
Song recordings produced by Stephen Street
Songs written by Alex James (musician)
Songs written by Damon Albarn
Songs written by Dave Rowntree
Songs written by Graham Coxon