I was in a car the other day (which is a rare occurrence for me), and lo-and-behold, the new Blur single came onto the radio. I had listened to Think Tank, which I didn't like much, but I was loathe to discover that the most atrocious song on the record - "Crazy Beat" - was the one that the label had selected as lead single. From the squelching vocoded chorus to the pedestrian indie-in-the-club verses, yikes! I don't know what I would have chosen as fit-for-radio, but it certainly wouldn't be that monster. It's too bad that my favourites on the album - "Sweet Song" and "Out of Time" - are too mellow to be chart-toppers. "Out of Time" spreads sad-sack Albarn vocals over a muted Beck-like guitarline. I particularly like the weird sounds and conversation in the background. "Sweet Song," meanwhile, is simply pretty. Slightly sad - felt piano notes and soothing oohs - but still many steps away from Sarah McLachlan kitsch. Very much like The Reindeer Section or Archer Prewitt or something. And Blur makes it sound so easy.