OASIS CHANNEL 4 TONIGHT

[Alan A Hillier]

Oasis on Channel 4 tonight

I read some comments on here a while back about Oasis and I think I posted something about the Gallagher brothers some time back. I’ll make no bones about this, in my humble opinion the Gallagher bros and Oasis will be revered as a very important British band in the future, even if the majority of people on here don’t think so.

What is interesting to me is that there are so many of you in this forum that are living your young lives in the same time frame as this band and I suppose they really should be producing the back drop to your lives and representing you in some way, but they obviously don’t…. and that’s a bit sad really because I don’t understand why that is.

Noel Gallagher said in the interview on channel 4 tonight that “it was a good time to be a teenager from 1993 to 1997”…personally…I have no idea what he could have meant…. but why the fuck should I I’m 48 next birthday.

Noel Gallagher talked briefly about a collaboration with a band called Death in Vegas…I have no idea who they are but he explained quite openly that the project didn’t work and what is so fucking revitalizing about the brothers Gallagher is the ‘council house’ honesty they employ when they discuss the things that they do, whether they are good or bad…they just tell it how it is in their world and I don’t think you (Or I) should underestimate that honesty.

Apparently Noel and Liam have only written 5 out of the 11 songs on this new album…”A new dynamic” said Noel …The band writing the songs together rather than just contributing musically and not getting credited. Shit.. if that continues you might see Oasis do a ‘Stranglers’ and survive for the next thirty years or more…

Oasis in America…? Madison square Garden…well apparently the Americans love Oasis…who are considered to be the new ‘Beatles’

The channel 4 prog tonight was good…and the band ‘showcased a few of the songs on the new album but not ‘Part of the queue’


One of the tracks that they played tonight was called “The importance of being Idle” This song proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that Noel is a much better singer that Liam…This song (Like many of the others) had major overtones and references from the Kinks, the Shadows and a general sixties influence…. in fact it was unashamedly sixties …but who gives a flying fuck…everything is derivative…. and I can totally dig that they know that they understand that everyone knows that they have been influenced and they wear that knowledge on their sleeve and don’t try (Unlike some) to pretend to be totally original

“Liam was happy pissing his money from morning glory up the wall”

Who can’t understand that? These guys were successful and decided to enjoy their success just like council house boys like me would have done…. Hey Ma.’On top of the world’

But to their credit…they went on…. they believed in themselves and they got passed the idea that their initial success was just a fucking fluke and carried on……….to produce an album in 2005 that looks good…

Whether you like it or not…Oasis are right there..In your world…. right now

Al

[C r a s s !]

Hello Alan. I haven't seen you on here for ages. You well?

I too caught the Oasis prog. I hung on hoping I'd catch this Part of the Queue / Golden Brown sounylikey. It was mentioned, but I didn't see it mimed. As far as these songs went last night, they didn't set me on fire with excitement. With a title like Love Like A Bomb, written by the incendiary Liam Gallagher - I was expecting a big, raucous exclamation mark of a song. Instead, I got something twee-er, sadly. But I also heard the influences they have taken oin board - and I also don't have a problem. I like The Beatles, The Kinks, Small Faces, Paul Weller, The Stranglers.

Noel is refreshing in his down to earthiness honesty and wit. I do quite like the band, and they will one day, once more attain the near legendary status they achieved with their first 2 albums. I've seen them play live at Finsbury Park a couple of years back (you'll see me occasionally banter with our very own webmaster about sending him a live soundbyte from the gig - I knew he hated them!) and I was, it's fair to say, blown away.

There's a lot more to come from this mob, I hope. Them and the Kaiser Chiefs. And possibly Franz Ferdinand. Fucking Northerners!

[whinger]

I heard one on Radio two yesterday, I think it was the Idle song.. it reminded me an awful lot of Masterplan which I quite like.

Personaly I think there is plenty of room for everyone.

Noel couldn't have carried off Cigarettes and Alcohol off quite as well as his brother... anyway I digress.

Whinger©(a secret Franz fan )

[janek]

I heard one on Radio two yesterday, I think it was the Idle song.. it reminded me an awful lot of Masterplan which I quite like.

Personaly I think there is plenty of room for everyone.

Noel couldn't have carried off Cigarettes and Alcohol off quite as well as his brother... anyway I digress.

Whinger©(a secret Franz fan )

in poland their new album gets fantastic reviews. i guess the best since definitely maybe (morning glory was underestimated here). it's good that they're back

[janek]

ah - one more thing !! there's one great song added to japanese version of don't belive the truth !! it's called "sitting here in silence (on my own)". fantastic track - very simple, short, warm, and beautiful.
i've loved it from the first hearing

[theraven1979]

Sorry Al I hate Oasis - I just don`t see any worth in any of their music or (especially) lyrics. Also, I was a teenager in 93 and don`t really know what Noel was refering to as it wasn`t that exciting. I`d have preferred to have been a teenager in 77.


Jim

[Organ Grinder]

Sorry Al I hate Oasis - I just don`t see any worth in any of their music or (especially) lyrics. Also, I was a teenager in 93 and don`t really know what Noel was refering to as it wasn`t that exciting. I`d have preferred to have been a teenager in 77.


Jim

Well I'd much prefer to have been a teenager in 1977 as opposed to that BritPop period too bro!

But like with most teenagers one holds a certain reverence in onez heart for that period of life discovery. Supergrass, Elastica and Oasis (screw Blur!) were the sounds (although I was listening to the MiB mostly!) and I do hold hazy fond memories of being completely zonked in my back garden with parents away on holiday and not sleeping for 5 days that summer. But it's a tentative link cuz one must be honest and say that although it was a fuckin' great summer - the old fuckers who were further back in '77 musta hada better laff and better tunes.

Supergrass: 'We Are Young' is the soundtrack along with the entire side B of 'Definately Maybe'. No sleep for 5 days was rather silly in hindsight but we wanted to utilise every waking moment. Then my parents came home from Cyprus and the next door neighbours told them that their youngest (me) was a lunatic who layed in the back garden all night every night with his eyes wide open listening to loud music. That took some explaining. I recall I was watching the MIr space station or some satellite orbit every 16 minutes.... see, there's always a decent fuckin explanation for even the most bizzare behaviour! Anyone know what it was for sure though, serious question? Summer 1995 or 1994 I think...

Was shit funny watching two dustmen trying to manouvre our wheelie bin onto the back of their wagon cuz it was that heavy due to empty bottles of booze. The sound the contents made when they finally managed to get it on the up-lifter and tip it in the back of the wagon was horrific! Again, the neighbours twitched their curtains and drew diagrams to show my parents.

On day 4.5 my elder brother flipped and tried to murder my cousin for listening to 'Piper At the Gates of Dawn' once too often so by that point it was goodnight from him and goodnight from me time. Bed. Besides, mum and dad were due to get home that afternoon and the place was a mess. In hindsight he was probably the most compus mentus but we certainly never viewed it that way at the time because he really lost it. Talking of 'losing it': my elder brothers mate Nick has been in and out of basket weavers hotel ever since that week!

Recall lining up to cash a giro that week without sleep and being asked by a tramp if I was Satan: now that can throw you when you've not slept! I had my walkman on at the time and was listening to The Byrds "8 Miles High" and decided the best way to get out of the conversation was to give him my walkman and the tape. Prat.

Rambles that most 17 yr olds probably have I'd imagine so the soundtrack at the time is only the soundtrack in hindsight because as I say, we were lsitening to other stuff most of the time. For me it was 1960's stuff and the Stranglers. Supergrass is the soundtrack with hindsight being 20/20 though... but my mate scratched the record and wrecked our lives for 3 hours until I managed to spot my CD player next to my foot.

[ThruBeingCool]

Thing is with Oasis, they weren't/aren't just for teenagers. Their popularity is down to the fact that their music appeals to older generations too.

They've also provided a soundtrack to my life as well. Especially '94 - '96 which I won't go into detail here.

The first 2albums had some killer tunes on them, 'Don't Look Back In Anger' is a classic imho.

The 3rd album was a pile of utter shite. They were at their peak commercially but all the hype could not disguise the fact that they had no new ideas - so they put out an album of overblown bollox. Almost every track over 5 minutes, they didn't know how to even finish a song anymore.

I skipped the 4th album cos the 3rd was so poor. I have the 5th (Hindu Times) which ain't too bad, contains a handful of decent tunes, maybe I'll get the latest one eventually.

The basic problem I have with Oasis is that they always seem to be looking back to their earlier success for inspiration. Therefore all new songs seem to be trying to sound like their older ones & therefore trying to compete with them.

They're not exactly a band who try to change/develop their sound ,are they?

Still, I must admit to having a soft spot for them too.

[Organ Grinder]

Have a soft spot for Oasis too.

Still have their first TV appearance on The Word doing 'Supersonic' and it's still up there with 'Hangin Around at Guildford Uni in terms of inspirational performances that motivated me to take up music. Liam was filming the crowd from the stage with a cini-camera - wonder how much that footage is worth now?! I recall it clearly because the very next night me and some mates went for a chinese at a restuarant (you can buy booze without parental supervision in a restuarant under the age of 18 if you're eating but don't tell your kids!!) and I was blabbering on about it but they told me to shut the fuck up. They all liked Cyprus Hill or RAGTMachine.... I think.... then we walked 10 miles home that night from Peterborough to my mates house in Maxey and that's when I decided I'd never drink again.

Anyway the 'I'll never touch another drop again' promise was kept for about 12 hours until we crawled to get a Pot Noodle from the the corner shop the next day which was owned by a great guy called 'Hutch' - he gave us a can of Special Brew wrapped in gaffer tape to disguise the label in case the filth stopped us. Boked that fucker right up!

'Spaceman' by Babylon Zoo came out a coupla years later and I seem to recall that being major at the time. Number one for fucking ages if I recall correctly..... I thought the club version was better than the slow rock version.

Saw Inspiral Carpets at a local night club when I was about 12 (I think!) cuz me elder bro managed to sneak me in! So I suppose Noel was guitar roadie at the time then? My elder brother had his drink spiked that night (so he said, ha!) and I ended up trying to stop him from dying in a pool of vomit, snot and shit outside the nightclub. Goodnight. Mum eventually came down in the car at about 2am and our little secret of me being waaaaaay out my depth and up town was blown bigtime! He did his best and I appreciate that cuz most elder brothers wouldn't do that for their younger brother.

Anyway, all this rambling bollox has a reason (a: I'm bored and b: I'm bored tonight) but can anyone remember how fucking brilliant 'Caught By The Fuzz' was by Supergrass?! Now that was a song!

[C r a s s !]

[quote="Organ Grinder
Well I'd much prefer to have been a teenager in 1977 as opposed to that BritPop period too bro!


...True. It was magical...


and I do hold hazy fond memories of being completely zonked in my back garden [/quote]

...So no change there, then?


Flantastic musings there Orgy! I was a bit lost in the 90-95 scene at the time. Music had seeped away down the plugole for me. What about all that shit dance stuff then?

I got the same Oasis CDs as Bazza, and I agree with what Baz and what you all say, including Jimbo re: the shit rhyming couplets. What do expect from school-skipping Northern bastards? Fuckin' Shakespeare?

[Alan A Hillier]

Hi Jim, Gary, Baz et al

I think it goes without saying that everyone is entitled to ‘like or dislike’ whatever the fuck they want and debating the merits of various bands is like arguing about the relative qualities of a Lemon or a Lime and it is something that I never do.

I like Oasis in 2005 but I will concede that I genuinely understand why some might accuse them of being musically unremarkable or lyrically naive (but we’ll get to that).

Personally, I don’t think there has been anything out there in ‘Rockville ’ over the last 10 years that comes even close to the brilliantly belligerent way that the Gallagher brothers (and in particular, Liam) have dealt with the idiots that try to force their way into their lives and in particular the way they have dealt with some of the wankers in the media.

A nosey photographer or an argumentative reporter is never sure whether he is going to get a smack in the mouth or a head butt if he has taken the piss and pushed his luck too far. I know loads of (ordinary) guys that wouldn’t think twice about whacking some ignorant arsehole who was intruding into their private life or was caught stalking about on their property, but because the Gallagher’s are famous their reaction to these people (who think that because they have a camera or a microphone in their hands that they are somehow immune to the rules of common courtesy) is considered yobbish or boorish.

Well actually, the Gallagher’s act like that because they are fucking yobbish and they are fucking boorish and their reactions are totally instinctive and real (In my opinion) and personally, I fucking like that ‘fuck you’ attitude and If someone shoved a camera up my nose while I was having dinner in a restaurant or I found someone creeping about in my back garden they could be fucking absolutely sure that they would end up in casualty with their ‘Paparazzi’ zoom lens firmly jammed up their arse.

The Gallagher brothers make me smile whenever I see either of them in an interview because they are so fucking normal. I really do know geezers just like them.
There are so many quotes particularly from Liam Gallagher that have had me in tears over the years,

Interviewer to Liam Gallagher..

”Liam. Why did you call the album standing on the shoulder of Giants? Surely even giants have two shoulders?

Liam Gallagher to Interviewer

“Well this fucking geezer didn’t have two fucking shoulders,,he was fucking deformed .Ok”)


but I hope that I have not allowed myself to be misunderstood because I am not suggesting for one minute that Oasis as a band have ever been an original musical force, because quite clearly they have not.

What I can assure you of is that had I have been 18 in the early Nineties I would have definitely been drawn to this band simply because of the way that they behaved .

There is still an ‘edge’ about Oasis that is lacking from most (if not all) of the modern bands and what I like about Liam particularly is that you can never really be sure if he is going to turn up pissed and wreck the whole fucking gig (That’s if he bothers to turn up at all). When he stalks about the stage I’m never sure that he’s not going to go into one and the long suffering Noel has learned that he just has to ride out a gig and hope that it has a natural end.

A touch of madness in a sterile, predictable world will always do it for me, after all, you can’t have hung around with a twenty something JJ Burnel like I did back in 76/77 and be appeased by banality and conformity, John had that same latent aggression but it was always totally controlled…But he really was a dangerous fucker when he wanted to be.

I would have loved to have seen Oasis in a stinky little boozer with a hostile audience in front of them, that would really have been a test of their instincts as well as their bottle, a real test and a test that the Stranglers passed so many, many, times.


Oasis musically? Well…I think that they have been totally honest and do not pretend that they are doing anything other than drawing entirely from the influences of the sixties.

Oasis, like most of the other Brit Pop bands of the nineties are unashamedly ‘Retro’ and it is this ‘Retro’ concept that fascinates me more than anything else.

The ‘Retro’ band thing is anything but new, but to become famous world wide for producing music, or in some cases, immersing yourself in a ‘look’ or ‘pop culture’ that was created and crafted from social, financial or political circumstances which came from another era is very interesting and begs the question “Where does it all end”.

How long will it be before bands or artistes who want to look back for their influences are looking back and aligning themselves with others who themselves were parodies of their own ‘hero’s’….It could all get a bit surreal in 20 years time.

When I first saw the Jam in 1977 everyone totally accepted that they were a ‘Retro’ band, how could they not be? They were dressed like mods who had been at the pinnacle of their own ‘era’ ten years earlier. So in that respect the Jam were far from cutting edge, but they were a really good live band and they had something relevant to say that seemed to fit in with the general ‘fuck you’ punk mood that everyone was in at the time, but lets get this right, The Jam were also a ‘retro’ band.

I actually talked about this with Bruce Foxton in 77 and he gave the simple answer that Weller loved the mod era, he loved the look and the cloths and decided to adopt it as an image, and I suppose, It worked, but I can assure you all of one thing, Weller was not a mod, he was a 'retro' mod who grew up in a barren musical time that allowed him to nurture a fixation for Steve Marriott and the small faces, and latterly bands like Traffic and spooky tooth. I suppose it would be fair to say that the sixties reflected his own romantic pessimism and I have seen first hand what a moody fucker he can be.

What I was trying to point out in my initial post is that every era, without exception, has a musical, historical and political backdrop which happens to the people who are living within it. There was a programme earlier on this evening that discussed the 1975 ratification of the ‘common Market’ .geez things never really change .

The prominent features of any decade whether it be musical or political continue to be inflicted on us whether we like it or not and I suppose that’s just the way it is and the way it will always stay. We have our own particular time and what we do within it is determined by many things.

I agree with one thing you said Jim and that is that it really was fun being 19 in 1977…

But then…………I never had any choice.


Al

[paulinblack]

All this makes interesting reading, but are we not over complicating things ? Does it not come down to whether one likes the sound that the band makes or not ?

Personally, I quite like a few of the songs that I have heard on the radio. I haven't bought any of their albums though. Thats more to do with the fact that they were making it big in the UK when I was in the US and were waning when I returned.

Although I may have thought that their attitude, foul language and yobbish behaviour was cool during my formative year, now I find it totally embarrassing. I don't quite see it the way that Al obviously does. To me it appears to be part of the act and all designed to get more attention. However, to me, Noel sounds quite interesting when interviewed, but Liam is just a twat. Furthermore, I agree with the comments going before questioning precisely what he brings to the group.

Anyway, thats enough analysis from me !

Paul