Coffee & TV

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1999 single by Blur

title: "Coffee & TV" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1998-songs", "1999-singles", "blur-(band)-songs", "emi-records-singles", "food-records-singles", "song-recordings-produced-by-william-orbit", "songs-written-by-alex-james-(musician)", "songs-written-by-damon-albarn", "songs-written-by-dave-rowntree", "songs-written-by-graham-coxon", "songs-about-alcohol"] description: "1999 single by Blur" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_&_TV" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1999 single by Blur ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

FieldValue
nameCoffee & TV
coverCoffee - TV cover.jpg
typesingle
artistBlur
album13
released
recorded1998
* Alternative rock{{cite weblast
* indie rock<ref name"Erlewine 2024"
* Britpop{{cite magazineurl
*indie pop{{cite magazineurl
labelFood
lyricistGraham Coxon
producerWilliam Orbit
prev_titleTender
prev_year1999
next_titleNo Distance Left to Run
next_year1999
misc
::

| name = Coffee & TV | cover = Coffee - TV cover.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Blur | album = 13 | B-side =

"Coffee & TV" is a song by the English rock band Blur, released as the second single from their sixth studio album, 13, on 28 June 1999. It was sung by the guitarist, Graham Coxon, with lyrics describing his struggle with alcoholism. It features an improvised discordant guitar solo.

The video, featuring a sentient milk carton searching for Coxon, was directed by Garth Jennings and won several awards. "Coffee & TV" reached No. 11 in the United Kingdom, No. 26 in Ireland and No. 2 in Iceland.

Writing

Along with the rest of 13, Blur recorded "Coffee & TV" in late 1998 with the producer William Orbit. Since Blur's main vocalist, Damon Albarn, was struggling to finish it, Coxon wrote and sang the lyrics. He wrote about his struggle with alcoholism, and how after giving up drinking he would relax by watching television, drinking coffee and writing songs. The experience also contributed to his first solo album, The Sky Is Too High. Coxon said the song was "about the idea that you feel like a piece of shit in a crap job, and you want to marry someone and get away from it all".

Coxon played a Fender Telecaster into a Marshall Plexi amplifier, and described the chord shapes as "ridiculous ... They're sort of minor chords going against major chords." He likened the guitar rhythm to Link Wray and Simon & Garfunkel, and cited "Stockholm Syndrome" by the American band Yo La Tengo as the biggest influence.

NME described the guitar solo as "a string of discordant notes, building to a storm of haywire string-bending". Coxon improvised it in one take by "just grabbing the neck and bending", and processed the sound with effect pedals including tremolo, vibrato and distortion. Coxon expected to replace the solo, but when the band revisited the song a few days later, they loved it and kept it. Coxon cited the solo as an example of how songs "develop like photographs" and eventually cannot be changed.

Reception

"Coffee & TV" reached No. 11 on the UK singles chart on 4 July 1999. Blur's manager, Chris Morrison, believed it was deprived of a top-10 place after it was confirmed that some sales figures were not recorded. The single edit was included on the 2000 Best Of compilation, and featured on the Cruel Intentions soundtrack.

Piers Martin of NME selected "Coffee & TV" as one of the album's highlights and wrote that it demonstrated that "Graham's a great guitarist and whaddaya know, he's a pretty decent singer". It was also praised by Straw in Melody Maker. Rolling Stone described it as a cross between Pavement and Brian Eno's 1974 album Taking Tiger Mountain.

In 2017, NME named the solo the 38th-best of all time, writing: "As fine an example of an anti-guitar solo as you'll hear anywhere ... You don't have to widdle away like Eddie Van Halen to carve out a truly memorable solo." The Independent described the solo as one of Coxon's best.

Music video

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Milkcarton.JPG" caption="Animated milk carton from Coffee & TV video."] ::

To promote the single, the band recruited Hammer & Tongs to create a video. The result featured a sentient milk carton known as "Milky" searching for Coxon, who appeared as a missing person's face on its side. Along the way, Milky finds a female strawberry milk carton, who is trodden on by a pedestrian; at the end of the video, both cartons are reunited.

The video won several awards in 1999 and 2000 including Best Video at the NME Awards and the MTV Europe Awards. In 2002, the video was ranked the fourth best video of all time by VH1. In 2005, it was voted the 17th greatest pop video of all time in a poll by Channel 4. In 2006, Stylus Magazine ranked it No. 32 in their list of the Top 100 Music Videos of All Time. In a similar poll, NME ranked it the 20th greatest music video of all time. In addition the video received heavy rotation on MTV in the US.

The model of Milky, as used in the video, was sold at an auction of Blur memorabilia in 1999. When Blur played at the London 2012 Olympics Closing Concert Celebration at Hyde Park, fans who bought a Blur T-shirt on the day were given a free replica milk carton of Milky.

Track listings

All music was written and composed by Albarn, Coxon, James and Rowntree. "Coffee & TV" lyrics were composed by Coxon. "Tender" lyrics were composed by Albarn and Coxon. "Bugman" lyrics were composed by Albarn. UK CD1

  1. "Coffee & TV"
  2. "Trade Stylee" (Alex's Bugman remix)
  3. "Metal Hip Slop" (Graham's Bugman remix)

UK CD2

  1. "Coffee & TV"
  2. "X-Offender" (Damon / Control Freak's Bugman remix)
  3. "Coyote" (Dave's Bugman remix)

UK cassette single

  1. "Coffee & TV"
  2. "X-Offender" (Damon / Control Freak's Bugman remix)

UK 12-inch single :A1. "Coffee & TV" – 5:19 :A2. "Trade Stylee" (Alex's Bugman remix) – 5:59 :A3. "Metal Hip Slop" (Graham's Bugman remix) – 4:27 :B1. "X-Offender" (Damon / Control Freak's Bugman remix) – 5:42 :B2. "Coyote" (Dave's Bugman remix) – 3:48 European CD single

  1. "Coffee & TV"
  2. "Trade Stylee" (Alex's Bugman remix)
  3. "Metal Hip Slop" (Graham's Bugman remix)
  4. "Coyote" (Dave's Bugman remix)
  5. "X-Offender" (Damon / Control Freak's Bugman remix)

Japanese mini-album CD

  1. "Coffee & TV" (UK radio edit)
  2. "Tender" (Cornelius remix)
  3. "Bugman"
  4. "Trade Stylee" (Alex's Bugman remix)
  5. "Metal Hip Slop" (Graham's Bugman remix)
  6. "Coyote" (Dave's Bugman remix)
  7. "X-Offender" (Damon / Control Freak's Bugman remix)

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1999) | Peak position | Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) | Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) | |---|---|---|---| | 41 | | | | | 2 | | | | ::

::data[format=table] | Chart (2012) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (1999)PositionUK Singles (OCC)
175
::

Certifications

Release history

::data[format=table]

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.United KingdomJapan
28 June 1999Food
7 July 1999CD
::

References

References

  1. Trendell, Andrew. (23 March 2015). "Blur's 14 all-time greatest hits, ranked".
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. (May 4, 2024). "The 25 most essential Blur songs".
  3. Greene, Andy. (13 May 2015). "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Brit-Pop Songs".
  4. Hogan, Mark. (23 April 2015). "What’s the Best Blur Album? A SPIN Roundtable".
  5. Yates, Henry. (2023-07-20). "Blur's Graham Coxon: 'The Coffee & TV chord shapes are just ridiculous'".
  6. [https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/graham-coxon-blur-six-best-riffs/ Graham Coxon's six best riffs with and without Blur]. ''Far Out''. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  7. Schiller, Rebecca. (2017-10-06). "50 greatest guitar solos of all time".
  8. Goodwyn, Tom. (2012-03-16). "Blur's Graham Coxon: 'I feel like I've opened another door with 'A+E'{{'}}".
  9. (13 July 1999). "Blur boss demands chart re-run". BBC News.
  10. Martin, Piers. (3 July 1999). "NME Reviews – Blur : Coffee and TV". [[NME]].
  11. Beaumont, Mark. (3 July 1999). "Coffee & TV – reviewed by Mattie Bennett, Andy Nixon, Roger Power and Duck from the band Straw". [[Melody Maker]].
  12. Sheffield, Rob. (1 April 1999). "Blur 13 Album Review".
  13. (27 May 2013). "Blur at Primavera Sound Festival, Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona". The Independent.
  14. (1 February 2000). "Blur's award hat-trick". BBC News.
  15. (26 April 2002). "Jonze dominates video poll". BBC News.
  16. "Programmes - Most Popular - All 4". Channel 4.
  17. (13 September 1999). "Blur auction boosts community coffers". BBC News.
  18. (1999). "Coffee & TV". [[Food Records]].
  19. (1999). "Coffee & TV". Food Records.
  20. (1999). "Coffee & TV". Food Records.
  21. (1999). "Coffee & TV". Food Records.
  22. (1999). "Coffee & TV". Food Records.
  23. (1999). "Coffee & TV". [[Parlophone]], [[EMI Records]], Food Records.
  24. (17 July 1999). "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles".
  25. (17 September 1999). "Íslenski Listinn (16.9–23.9. 1999)". [[DV (newspaper).
  26. Zywietz, Tobias. (November 2000). "The Top 200 Singles of 1999".
  27. (26 June 1999). "New Releases – For Week Starting 28 June, 1999".
  28. "コーヒー&TV～ジャパン・オンリー 来日記念ミニ・アルバム {{!}} ブラー". [[Oricon]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1998-songs1999-singlesblur-(band)-songsemi-records-singlesfood-records-singlessong-recordings-produced-by-william-orbitsongs-written-by-alex-james-(musician)songs-written-by-damon-albarnsongs-written-by-dave-rowntreesongs-written-by-graham-coxonsongs-about-alcohol