1992: directed by Dave Mould

Warning: this video should not be seen by those who are medically barred from viewing strobing lights. Strobing Blur has got to be ten times worse. For the rest of us, who do not share this malady, you are free to enjoy "Popscene" again and again. And again.

Blur is playing in a small room with a dreadful carpet and worse wallpaper, with "Popscene" up in lights behind them. Damon, in jeans and a sweater, is FREAKING OUT like he's selling out Madison Square Garden. Alex, in ill-advised yellow V-neck, looks pretty relaxed though, weaving about. The Author suspects Mr. Mould directed the band to move around a whole bunch, since it would be edited a certain way, but Alex interpreted that as "swing your lovely bouncy hair about and roll your eyes, yeah, that's exercise the Alex James way". Dave and Graham don't have the same problems; Graham just hammers away at his guitar and shoegazes, and Dave has an actual workout to perform the way he usually does. Still, compared to Damon, snarling and leaping and hitting himself in the head, the other members of the band are standing still.

The song lyrics are flashed up as subtitles, one word at a time, further extending the strobing effect and providing a handy aid for karaoke bars, and the camera swings around wildly, and the whole video is cut to directly rhythmically accompany the song. When the song goes into it's bass-solo instrumental segment, we leave Blur in the studio and watch a typical slightly trashy London couple get ready for a night out, meet each other (subtitle: "love"), go on their date. The couple goes ice skating. Er. Yeah. The band starts to try to come back in flashes, simulating what it must be like to ice skate when you're really horny and drunk, but we have to stay with the couple until the man half makes his grab and you get to see a teasing segment of the skin of the woman half. Oh naughty naughty.  

Back to Blur. Damon continues to fling himself about, shaking his extremely clean hair and jumping up and down on his clean shoes. Wait, they're all very clean and energetic and healthy, a passel of young preppy-punks making music that gets more bitter every day. At the end of the song they droop, glad to be off work.

CUTE FACTOR: high.
VIDEO QUALITY: a great piece of editing work, unique as far as the Author knows, and the visuals almost perfectly fit the song . It makes the heart beat faster.
FUCKED UP FACTOR: medium. they're too clean.
OVERALL GRADE: A+