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''13'' is the sixth studio album by English alternative rock band Blur, released on 15 March 1999. Jettisoning the Britpop sound of Blur's early career as well as the lo-fi, indie rock and alternative rock of previous album, ''Blur'' (1997), ''13'' contains elements of experimental, psychedelic and electronic music. Recording took place from June to October 1998 in London and Reykjavík. The album marks a departure of the band's longtime producer, Stephen Street, with his role being filled by William Orbit. Relationships between the band members were reported to be strained, with members frequently missing from the sessions. Lyrically, the album is significantly darker and more innovative than Blur's previous efforts, being heavily inspired by Damon Albarn's breakup with long-term girlfriend, Justine Frischmann, whose relationship had become increasingly strained over the years. ''13'' was released on 15 March 1999 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, making it Blur's fourth consecutive studio album to reach the top spot. The album was later certified Platinum. ''13'' also reached number one in Norway and charted within the top 20 in many other countries. The album produced three singles, which charted at number 2, number 11 and number 14 respectively on the UK Singles Chart. ''13'' was well-received critically, with a score of 79 on Metacritic, which equates to a tag of "Generally favorable reviews". ''13'' received a nomination for Best Album at the 2000 NME Awards. It was also nominated for the Mercury Prize. ==Background== Blur's previous studio album, ''Blur'' (1997) had seen the band move away from the Britpop movement and take on a more Indie rock influenced direction, primarily under the suggestion of guitarist Graham Coxon. The press and the industry had feared that the change in style would not be taken well with the public, and therefore the album would be commercially unsuccessful as a result. Despite these concerns, ''Blur'' had become an unexpected success, particularly in America, where the album had been certified Gold. However, the band still wanted to innovate, so they decided to embrace a different sound. Bassist, Alex James stated: "I think you just have to keep changing. That sort of thinking was, sort of, key."〔 The band's leader Damon Albarn had been in a long term relationship with Justine Frischmann, of the Britpop band Elastica. Their relationship was highly publicised, the couple being described by John Harris as "proto-Posh and Becks for the indie-rock constituency." However their relationship became strained over time, stated reasons including Albarn's desire to have children as well as Frischmann's continued friendship with Brett Anderson of Suede who had shared a rivalry with Albarn. Albarn's lyrics and attitude had reflected this in the eyes of the other band members, with Coxon pointing out, "I didn't have much of a clue that things were going wrong between Damon and Justine but it was probably easy to guess."〔''No Distance Left To Run''. Pulse films. 2010〕 After one last holiday together in Bali in late 1997 in an attempt to rekindle their relationship, the couple finally split.〔 Albarn later commented: "That relationship just absolutely crashed. I mean, it really was a spectacularly sad end."〔 After his breakup, Albarn started sharing a flat with artist Jamie Hewlett whom he had met through Coxon. Around this time, Albarn, had started to broaden his musical output. Whilst he was working on ''13'', there were various reports that him and Hewlett were working on a secret project, which turned out to be Gorillaz, a virtual band. Albarn also started working on film soundtracks: including ''Ravenous'', ''Ordinary Decent Criminal'' and ''101 Reykjavík''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「13 (Blur album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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