Oasis.
Several months ago, to the chagrin of their fans, guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher quit Oasis, the band he led with lead singer and brother Liam since 1991. Usually I could care less. The lives of the rich-and-famous have never concerned me to any significant degree and the tawdry exploits of rock stars in particular are, aside from eliciting moments of bemusement, compelling only when they discuss something they don’t know (usually politics) as opposed to something they do (like orgies and drugs). In verisimilitude I can identify with the trappings of stardom as the opulently decadent lifestyle afforded to me by blogging and working ten hour shifts have made me a household name as well.
Disparaged? Impugned? Intellectually denigrated? As a celebrity I have, of course, had my flag planted on the summit of all those mountains. But I have forged on with this, my humble blog, in order to bring respectability to celebrities and to prove that we are not just a collection of pretty faces and botox injections. In fact, I’m looking forward to my own episode of E! True Hollywood Story so that my uplifting tale can become the inspiration for other celebrities to “come out” and to no longer use their ignorance as an excuse to remain silent. But such profiles in courage are, as of yet, a mere dream. Reality for me is more mundane: drinking coffee as I pound out this post, dreading the moment I have to log-out of my alter-ego’s universe and leave for work. Alas the Jekyll-and-Hyde existence of a political and cultural dilettante. Sigh…
Liam Gallagher (click here to enlarge).
As far as Oasis the band is concerned, their music never appealed to me save for their song, The Hindu Times. Fortunately for them their success was never dependent on my opinion as they became a tremendous success in Europe and, while never achieving comparable heights here in America, nevertheless became one of the most successful bands in rock history.
Noel Gallagher (click here to enlarge).
Not only is such accomplishment and recognition a testimony to their talent, but also to their perseverance and character since as children they were raised by an alcoholic and abusive father and spent the majority of their adolescent lives in truancy. Yet Liam and Noel have never been close, or so claims Liam in a recent interview, and their interactions as brothers was limited to their roles as musicians on stage. In fact, it was their tumultuous and contentious relationship that ended the band, with Noel opting out following another fight with Liam by announcing on the band’s website:
Dearly beloved, it is with a heavy heart and a sad face that I say this to you this morning.
As of last Friday the 28th August, I have been forced to leave the Manchester rock’n'roll pop group Oasis.
The details are not important and of too great a number to list. But I feel you have the right to know that the level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable. And the lack of support and understanding from my management and band mates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new…
Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a family and a football team to indulge.
I’ll see you somewhere down the road. It’s been a fuckin’ pleasure.
Thanks very much.
Goodbye.
NG
Of course this is the same man who once said, “I have a certain turn of phrase. So if I say, ‘Chicken sandwiches in McDonald’s are just plain fucking wrong,’ it doesn’t mean I’m attacking all chickens or all sandwiches.” No, it just means he’s a fucking idiot.
I have a very close relationship with my family, especially my brother and sister, and to see two brothers who have everything materially but no familial bonds or spiritual and emotional connection is sad and disheartening, especially since it can also be interpreted as a microcosm of the late, great British nation and the prevailing social and civil dysfunction there. But until the Gallaghers and Britain experience their inevitable respective personal and national renaissances, I say lets enjoy the spectacle!
An Oasis Gallaghery:
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Noel Gallagher is not just a middle-aged man with a bad haircut. He is the bon vivant of English politics (formerly Labor Party of course) and national icon of cultural opinion and belle lettres. A songwriter crafting powerful yet nuanced lyrics that ultimately speak to what is inherently English in an Englishman, Noel Gallagher speaks with a ferocious moral clarity and colloquial vigor that is upsetting to those whose ideal of an English statesman is the professorial primness of a Neville Chamberlain or the intellectual profundity of a Winston Churchill. While I’m being facetious, it’s easy for critics to dismiss the Gallaghers (Noel Gallagher specifically) as being, well, tools. Yet Noel Gallagher, when stripped of the glowering tough-guy posturing, is actually quite engaging, interesting, and observant. I find his political opinions refreshing because of his total lack of ideological dogmatism and his openmindedness. In the following montage of videos, you will witness greatness and find yourself compelled to fall at Noel’s feet:
Noel discusses the English knife violence epidemic; conducts a very interesting interview with ITV’s Liam Parkinson; and discusses Manchester, politics, and soccer with the BBC:
Note: use the “forward” and “backward” buttons to cycle through the playlist.
Here’s a convenient time line detailing the life and death of Oasis:
An Oasis Timeline, click here to enlarge.
Noel Gallagher says he’ll never quit Oasis:
[flashvideo file="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yGuq1GCjZg" width="600" /]
Noel Gallagher quits Oasis:
[flashvideo file="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHmU44Rk-Qc" width="600" /]
Oasis’ biggest fan reacts to the news of Oasis’ demise:
[flashvideo file="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6IyGAvbOs4" width="600" /]
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What we’ll miss now that the Gallaghers are inconsequential:
1. Liam Gallagher being “God-like”:
[flashvideo file="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnyMxcTk_UA" width="600" /]
2. Noel Gallagher reflecting on the state of Rock Music:
[flashvideo file="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEuqM-VL5ks" width="600" /]
I thought it would be fun to consider how musicians are influenced by other artists and how they utilize that influence in their own works. It’s a case of semantics really: in music its called inspiration, in literature its called plagiarism. Anyway, compare the final released version of The Hindu Times with an earlier demo track; then compare The Hindu Times with several other songs: Abba’s Does your Mother Know, which may have either directly or indirectly inspired the Stereophonics’ Same Size Feet, which obviously inspired Oasis’ The Hindu Times. Enjoy!
Oasis – The Hindu Times:
[flashvideo file="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSLPbl8Nigk" width="600" /]
Compared with their earlier demo:
Oasis – The Hindu Times (Demo Version)
Compared to Same Size Feet by Stereophonics:
Stereophonics – Same Size Feet
Compared to ABBA’s Does Your Mother Know:
A Closer Comparison:
A Closer Comparison Between Same Size Feet and The Hindu Times
