After much hair-pulling, and mind-changing Blur has decided to release "Coffee and TV" as their second single from 13. Set for release in the U.K. on June 21, the track features vocals by guitarist Graham Coxon. Coxon's lo-fi solo album last year didn't fare well with reviewers, but a recent poll taken on the Blur World News Web site stated that forty percent of fans voted the guitarist their favorite Blur member -- a landslide above frontman Damon Albarn's paltry 20 percent rating.

Despite this show of fan support, insiders claim that Coxon was hesitant to agree to release the track as the single since he's "rather a shy bunny, and doesn't want to have to sing live on TV." To exacerbate his jitters, the guitarist will have to sing the atonal Velvets-esque song in front of 60,000 at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Amsterdam on June 13. The former Brit-poppers have just been added to the festival along with Alanis Morissette. If time allows, Blur might corner fellow festival players Radiohead for a game of cards; a recent article in the U.K. Independent cites the two bands as sometime bridge partners.

When they're not playing a rubber of bridge, the Blur members have been spending their off hours remixing their next US single, "Bugman," with each member reworking his own version of the psychedelic number. Albarn collaborated with London duo Controfreaks on his mix. Blur's U.S. Spokesperson did not have a release date for the track, but hinted it might be on shelves by next month. The band is also rumored to return to the States in September. In the meantime, Blur is scheduled for a show at the Naval College in Greenwich, England, on June 1 with Paul Weller and Jamiroquai. The performance, which is not open to the public, will be broadcast live on the Japanese TV network NHW.

JAAN UHELSZKI
(May 27, 1999)