The Universal

This song is about a drug (perhaps Prozac) that provides artificial happiness.

At the time of the release of this song, "Britpop" was attempting to encapsulate all things British in its music and thus create a sort of soundtrack for the time. John Harris said in his book The Last Party: "Blur's 'The Universal' identified a condition of tranquilized (and very British) denial as the illness of the modern age."

The title came from the name of an 'Imagined successor to Prozac,' meaning one that reduces the suspicion that anything has gone wrong.