M.O.R.

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For other uses, see MOR (disambiguation).

"M.O.R."
File:Mor 7vinyl cover.jpg
Single by Blur
from the album Blur
B-side
  • "Swallows in the Heatwave"
  • "Movin' On" (remix)
  • "Beetlebum" (remix)
Released15 September 1997 (1997-09-15)
Length3:27 (album version)
Label
Songwriters
ProducerStephen Street
Blur singles chronology
"On Your Own"
(1997) 		"M.O.R."
(1997) 		"Tender"
(1999)
Music video
"M.O.R." on YouTube

"M.O.R." is a song by English rock band Blur from their eponymous album. Released on 15 September 1997, "M.O.R." reached number 15 in the UK Singles Chart on its release as a single in September 1997. Worldwide, it reached number 45 in New Zealand and also charted in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Composition and lyrics

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The song's chord progression was borrowed from David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage". On the album Lodger Bowie and collaborator Brian Eno carried out a musical experiment in which multiple songs were written with the same chord progression, of which "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage" were the two that surfaced. "M.O.R." is both a continuation of, and tribute to that experiment, as its chorus also lifts the melody and call-and-response vocals from "Boys Keep Swinging" (Bowie and Eno both received credit for "M.O.R." after legal intervention).[3][failed verification] "M.O.R." itself stands for "middle of the road", which appears in the lyrics.

Music video

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The song's music video was directed by John Hardwick. It was shot in Sydney, Australia, and follows the misadventures of the band members (or rather, stuntmen in balaclavas pretending to be them) as they try to escape from the police. It was intended that the stuntmen wear masks of the band members to make it appear that the band were performing their own stunts, but the masks created for the video were such poor representations that the decision was made to use balaclavas instead.[4] The video also features cameos by stunt choreographer Grant Page as a helicopter pilot, and actor Noah Taylor as a truck passenger. It is included in the Blur: The Best of DVD/VHS released on 30 October 2000. The 'actors' in the video are all anagrams of the member of the band they play. They are as follows:

"Dan Abnormal" was an alias also used by Albarn whilst playing keyboards on the first Elastica album, as well as the title of a track on The Great Escape.

Track listings

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All lyrics were written by Albarn. All music was composed by Albarn, Coxon, James, and Rowntree.

Personnel and credits

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  • "Bustin' + Dronin'" and "Swallows in the Heatwave" produced by Blur
  • "M.O.R." (road version) and "Dancehall" produced by Stephen Street
  • Damon Albarn – guitar, vocals
  • Graham Coxon – guitar, vocals
  • Alex James – bass guitar
  • Dave Rowntree – drums

Charts

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Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 68
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[13] 11
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 45
Scotland Singles (OCC)[15] 15
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 15
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[17] 14

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 28 July 1997 Alternative radio Virgin [18]
United Kingdom 15 September 1997
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
[19]
Japan 11 February 1998 CD
  • EMI
  • Food
  • Parlophone
 [20]

References

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  4. ^ Conversation with the director, 1997
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  13. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7914." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Blur – M.O.R.". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  15. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Blur Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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