Think Tank
Studio album by Blur
Released	May 5, 2003
Recorded	March 2002 - October 2002
Genre	Alternative rock Electronica
Length	49:16 (excl. "Me, White Noise") 55:58 (incl. "Me, White Noise")
Label	Parlophone Virgin
Producer(s)	Blur, Ben Hillier, William Orbit, Norman Cook
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link musicOMH.com (Positive) link NME link Pitchfork Media (9.0/10) link Rolling Stone link
Blur chronology
Blur: The Best of (2000)	Think Tank (2003)

Think Tank is the seventh studio album by English rock band Blur, released on May 5, 2003 in the United Kingdom and on May 6 in the United States. It represented a major musical change for the group and also gave them their highest charting album in the United States. The cover art for this album was done by the famous graffiti artist, banksy. This work is copyrighted. ... A studio album is a collection of previously unreleased, studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... Blur are an English rock band formed in Colchester in 1989. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Electronic music. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Parlophone is a record label which was founded in Germany prior to World War I by the Carl Lindstrom Company. ... Virgin Records is a British recording label founded by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Ben Hillier is a British pop-rock music producer who is part of the creative team 140dB. He produced such popular and critically acclaimed albums as Playing the Angel by Depeche Mode, Think Tank by Blur, Some Cities by Doves and Cast of Thousands by Elbow. ... William Orbit (sometimes written as William Ørbit, born on 15 December 1956 as William Mark Wainwright in Shoreditch, Hackney) is an English musician and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonnas album Ray of Light, which received four Grammy Awards. ... Fatboy Slim (born on July 16, 1963, Quentin Cook) also known as Norman Cook is a British musician in the dance music genre. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 2_stars. ... musicOMH.com is a UK based webzine formed of music features, interviews and reviews of albums, singles, gigs, festivals, opera, theatre, music DVDs and films. ... Sometimes confused with the Canadian music magazine Music Express The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a music magazine in the UK which has been published weekly since March 1952. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... A typical example of Pitchforks main page, as of 12-12-06 Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork and occasionally shortened to P4K, pitchy, or pfork,[1] is a United States-based daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... Blur are an English rock band formed in Colchester in 1989. ... Blur: The Best of is a greatest hits compilation by Blur released on CD, cassette tape, MiniDisc, double 12 vinyl record, DVD and VHS. The CD album includes 18 of Blurs 23 singles from 1990 to 2000. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks distributed to the public. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Blur are an English rock band formed in Colchester in 1989. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (127th in leap years). ... Graffiti (strictly, as singular, graffito, from the Italian — graffiti being the plural) are images or letters applied without permission to publicly viewable surfaces such as walls or bridges. ... The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practising the arts and/or demonstrating an art. ... Banksy is a well-known yet pseudo-anonymous[1] English graffiti artist, possibly named Robert Banks. ...

Instead of the pop music of their early career or the alternative rock Blur made in their previous albums, Think Tank was filled with brooding, atmospheric, heavy electronic sounds, a testament both to Damon Albarn's increasing interest in electronica and his control over the group's creative direction. The album was recorded after Graham Coxon quit the band; because of this, it features almost no electric guitar in the style of Blur's earlier albums, largely relying on backing vocals and other instruments to fill the void. Coxon's absence also meant that the album was almost entirely written by Albarn. }} For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... It has been suggested that Electronica be merged into this article or section. ... Damon Albarn, (born March 23, 1968 in Leytonstone, London), is an English singer-songwriter who gained fame as the lead singer of rock band Blur. ... Graham Coxon singing in the video to Blurs Tender Graham Coxon (born Graham Leslie Coxon on 12 March 1969, in Rinteln, West Germany) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the former guitarist in the rock band Blur. ... Left: Rosa Hurricane, a heavy metal-style solid body guitar. ...

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. Copy control logo Copy Control is the name of a copy protection system used on recent EMI digital audio disc releases in some regions. ...

Recording history

Think Tank was recorded in Morocco with Fatboy Slim contributing to two tracks ("Crazy Beat" and "Gene by Gene"); supposedly his presence as producer was a contributing factor in Graham Coxon's departure from the group. Coxon's only significant contribution to the record was a guitar line on the last track, "Battery in Your Leg". Fatboy Slim (born Quentin Leo Cook on July 31, 1963, also known as Norman Cook) is an English musician in the dance music genre. ...

Like Blur's breakthrough album, Parklife, Think Tank is a loose concept album, in that its songs all deal with similar themes without a definite story arc or continuous characters. Most of the songs are concerned with a sense of paranoia and alienation in British club culture. Parklife is a critically acclaimed Britpop album by the band Blur, released on April 25, 1994. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Reception

The album was nominated for Best British Album at the 2004 BRIT Awards, and won the Q Album of the Year award. The Brit Awards are the annual United Kingdom pop music awards founded by the British Phonographic Industry. ... Q is a music and entertainment magazinepublished monthly in the United Kingdom. ...

A special edition of the album was released in a red booklet. The enhanced CD included four live videos. The artwork for the album was produced by the graffiti artist Banksy. The album's cover art sold at auction in 2007 for £75,000. ^[1] Graffiti (strictly, as singular, graffito, from the Italian — graffiti being the plural) are images or letters applied without permission to publicly viewable surfaces such as walls or bridges. ... Banksy is a well-known yet pseudo-anonymous[1] English graffiti artist, possibly named Robert Banks. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ...

Track listing

All tracks written by Damon Albarn, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree, except where noted. Damon Albarn, (born March 23, 1968 in Leytonstone, London), is an English singer-songwriter who gained fame as the lead singer of rock band Blur. ... Alex James (born Steven Alexander James, 21 November 1968, in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, England) is the bass player in the band Blur, and one of the members of Fat Les. ... Dave Rowntree (born David Rowntree on 8 May 1964, in Colchester, Essex, England) is best known as the drummer in the band Blur. ...

0. "Me, White Noise" (Albarn, James, Rowntree, Phil Daniels) – 6:48
   • Hidden track which requires manual rewinding before Track 1.
1. "Ambulance" – 5:09
2. "Out of Time" – 3:52
3. "Crazy Beat" – 3:15
4. "Good Song" – 3:09
5. "On the Way to the Club" – 3:48
6. "Brothers and Sisters" – 3:47
7. "Caravan" – 4:36
8. "We've Got a File on You" – 1:03
9. "Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club" – 3:03
10. "Sweet Song" – 4:01
11. "Jets" (Albarn, James, Rowntree, Mike Smith) – 6:25
12. "Gene by Gene" – 3:49
13. "Battery in Your Leg" (Albarn, Graham Coxon, James, Rowntree) – 3:20

Philip Daniels (born October 25, 1958 in Islington, London) is an English actor. ... In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music which has been placed on a Compact Disc, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener. ... Out of Time is a song by Blur and was released as the lead single from their seventh album Think Tank in 2003 (see 2003 in British music). ... Crazy Beat is a song by Blur and was released as the second single from their seventh album Think Tank in 2003 (see 2003 in music). ... Good Song is a song by Blur and was released as the last single from their seventh album Think Tank in 2003 (see 2003 in British music). ... Graham Coxon singing in the video to Blurs Tender Graham Coxon (born Graham Leslie Coxon on 12 March 1969, in Rinteln, West Germany) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the former guitarist in the rock band Blur. ...

External links

• Blur 'Think Tank' Track By Track - interview with Damon, Alex and Dave talking about Think Tank track by track at Xfm Online