"There's No Other Way"
Single by Blur
from the album Leisure
B-side
  • "Inertia"
  • "Mr Briggs"
  • "I'm All Over"
Released15 April 1991 (1991-04-15)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 3:14 (single version)
  • 3:23 (album version)
LabelFood
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Blur singles chronology
"She's So High/I Know"
(1990)		 "There's No Other Way"
(1991)		 "Bang"
(1991)
Music video
There's No Other Way on YouTube
Music video
There's No Other Way (U.S Promo Version) on YouTube

"There's No Other Way" is a song by English band Blur, released on 15 April 1991 as the second single from their debut album Leisure.

Content

The song utilises a beat and tambourine sound typical of songs of the Madchester and baggy scene.

Release and reception

The song was the band's first top 10 in the UK, reaching number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] The single was also a minor hit in the US, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100,[6] and number five on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[7]

Alan Jones of Music Week awarded the song his 'Pick of the Week', writing: "Blur are bound to break big with this organ-bleeding, guitar-powered, post-psychedelic delight, a dancefloor and radio-friendly monster in the making."[8] Linda Ryan of the Gavin Report called it a "trippy pop song with breathy vocals set to a groovin' housebeat... It's a perfect '60s meets '90s vibe with an undeniable hook that begs for another play."[9] In Smash Hits, Miranda Sawyer said: "[The] song is fab! Lots of guitars and it sounds like the '60s, with a tune that's so catchy that it was very nearly Single Of The Fortnight."[10]

Music video

The video for the song (released 1991) was directed by David Balfe, the former keyboardist for The Teardrop Explodes and owner of Blur's label Food Records. The video was produced by Anita Staines through Radar Films.

The video begins with a close-up shot of a worm inching through the grass. A pink ball is dropped next to the worm and a young girl picks it up, throwing it to her identical twin sister nearby. The scene cuts inside the dining room/kitchen of a suburban house, with Albarn and the rest of the band sitting down at a table. A woman, assumed to be the mother (actress Karen Ford) sets out dishes on the table with the help of the girls. Soup and bread rolls are the first course, this is followed by chicken pie, carrot batons, broccoli florets, gravy and new potatoes.

During the first course the family is then joined by a man assumed to be the father, and the whole group digs into the meal. During the meal, Albarn will occasionally stop eating, look up at the camera, and sing along to the lyrics.

After dinner has ended, the mother gets up from the table and retrieves a trifle from a cabinet, which she holds up in front of her face. The camera then gets distorted and jerky, the view filling up with a variety of colorful, loud filters applied to the film. The family looks at the mother with a mixture of apprehension and excitement as the film gets more distorted and layered with effects. As the song ends, the camera cuts back to a clear shot of the worm crawling in the grass again.

Legacy

A playable version of the song is available for the Rock Band video game series, and it is available to download for Guitar Hero 5.[11] Kurt Cobain of Nirvana told NME that "There's No Other Way" was his favourite British song of 1991.[12]

Track listings

All songs were written by Blur.

7-inch and cassette

  1. "There's No Other Way" – 3:14
  2. "Inertia"

12-inch

  1. "There's No Other Way" (extended version) – 4:04
  2. "Inertia" – 3:51
  3. "Mr Briggs" – 3:59
  4. "I'm All Over" – 2:00

CD

  1. "There's No Other Way" – 3:14
  2. "Inertia" – 3:51
  3. "Mr Briggs" – 3:59
  4. "I'm All Over" – 2:00

Remix 12-inch

  1. "There's No Other Way" (Blur remix) – 5:09
  2. "Won't Do It" – 3:19
  3. "Day Upon Day" (live) – 4:02

Credits

Blur

  • Damon Albarn – lead vocals, organ, production on "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm All Over" and "Won't Do It"
  • Graham Coxon – guitar, backing vocals, production on "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm All Over" and "Won't Do It"
  • Alex James – bass guitar, production on "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm All Over" and "Won't Do It"
  • Dave Rowntree – drums, production on "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm All Over" and "Won't Do It"

Additional personnel

  • Stephen Street – production on "There's No Other Way"

Charts

Chart performance for "There's No Other Way"
Chart (1991–1992) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 113
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 82
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[7] 5
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[14] 15
US Cash Box Top 100[15] 61

References

  1. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 13 April 1991. p. 19.
  2. ↑ Ramirez, AJ (22 April 2010). "Blur – 'There's No Other Way'". PopMatters. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 Wawzenek, Bryan (23 January 2017). "Damon Albarn Albums Ranked in Order of Awesomeness". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  4. ↑ Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "1991: Time for the Mu Mu". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 637. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
  5. 1 2 "Blur | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Blur Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Blur Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  8. ↑ Jones, Alan (20 April 1991). "Pick of the Week". Music Week. p. 12.
  9. ↑ Ryan, Linda (3 May 1991). "New Releases". Gavin Report. p. 60.
  10. ↑ Sawyer, Miranda (17 April 1991). "Singles". Smash Hits. No. 323. p. 43.
  11. ↑ "Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero Roll into April With Hot New Rock Additions to the Guitar Hero Music Library". Investor.activision.com. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  12. ↑ Lindsay, Cam (11 May 2018). "How Nirvana's Success Prompted Blur to Kick off the Britpop Explosion". Vice. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  13. ↑ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 24 May 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "Blur Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "Cashbox Top 100 Singles: February 8, 1992". Cash Box. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
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