M.O.R.

"M.O.R." is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, from their eponymous album, Blur. "M.O.R." reached number 15 in the UK singles chart on its release as a single in 1997.

The song's chord progression was borrowed from David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage". On the album Lodger Bowie and collaborator Brian Eno carried out a musical experiment in which multiple songs were written with the same chord progression, of which "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage" were the two that surfaced. M.O.R is both a continuation of, and tribute to that experiment, as its chorus also lifts the melody and call-and-response vocals from Boys Keep Swinging (Bowie and Eno both received credit for "M.O.R." after legal intervention).

"M.O.R." itself stands for "middle of the road", which appears in the lyrics.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by John Hardwick and is considered one of the most expensive videos the band ever made. It was shot in Sydney, Australia, and follows the misadventures of the band members (or rather, stuntmen in balaclavas pretending to be them) as they try to escape from the police. It also features cameos by stunt choreographer Grant Page as a helicopter pilot, and actor Noah Taylor as a truck passenger. The video is included in the Blur: The Best of DVD/VHS released on 30 October 2000. The 'actors' in the video are all anagrams of the member of the band they play. They are as follows:

• Morgan C. Hoax - Graham Coxon
• Lee Jaxsam - Alex James
• Trevor Dewane - Dave Rowntree
• Dan Abnormal - Damon Albarn

The latter was an alias also used by Albarn whilst playing keyboards on the first Elastica album, as well as the title of a track on The Great Escape.

Track listing

• Orange 7"

1. "M.O.R. (road version)"
2. "Swallows in the Heatwave"

• CD

1. "M.O.R." (road version)
2. "Swallows in the Heatwave"
3. "Movin' On (William Orbit remix)"
4. "Beetlebum (Moby's minimal house remix)"

• U.K. Promo CD

1. "M.O.R." (road version edit)

• US CD

1. "M.O.R. (road version)"
2. "Pop Scene" (live at Peel Acres)
3. "Song 2" (live at Peel Acres)
4. "Bustin' + Dronin'"

• US Promo CD

1. "M.O.R. (road version edit)"
2. "M.O.R. (Alan Moulder mix edit)"
3. "M.O.R. (call out research hook #1)"
4. "M.O.R. (call out research hook #2) (Moulder mix)"

• Japan CD

1. "M.O.R. (road version)"
2. "M.O.R. (karaoke version)"
3. "I love her (demo version)"
4. "Death of a Party" (live at MC Vredenburg, Holland 1997)

• Australia CD

1. "M.O.R. (road version)"
2. "Dancehall"
3. "Country Sad Ballad Man" (live acoustic)
4. "Song 2" (live at Peel Acres)
5. "On Your Own" (live acoustic)

• Holland and Germany CD (Special limited live edition)

1. "M.O.R." (live at Peel Acres)
2. "Beetlebum" (live acoustic)
3. "On Your Own" (live acoustic)
4. "Country Sad Ballad Man" (live acoustic)
5. "This is a Low" (live acoustic)

Notes:

• The UK and US 'Road versions' are different, the U.S. version using the same take as is used on the video and U.K. promo cd while the U.K. version is mis-printed and is actually an edited version of the track on the album (exactly the same as the Alan Moulder Mix on the U.S. Promo).
• The Alan Moulder Mix is actually an edited version of the track from the album (and same as the UK Road Version on the standard UK release).
• The UK 7" is on orange vinyl.
• I Love Her (Demo) appeared on the 1st ever Fan Club CD, but has a slightly different mix for the Japanese market.
• The remix of Movin' On also appears on Bustin' + Dronin', however the Moby remix is exclusive to this single, with a different Moby remix on Bustin' + Dronin'

Production credits

• "M.O.R." (road version) and "Dancehall" produced by Stephen Street
• "Bustin' + Dronin'" and "Swallows in the Heatwave" produced by Blur