Editors Blog
Noel and Liam Gallagher / Photos by Alex Crick
Why America Needs Oasis
Coldplay may be bigger, but Chris Martin can't touch the Gallaghers when it comes to being a rock star, says SPIN's David Marchese.
By David Marchese 10.10.08 9:07 AM
Noel and Liam Gallagher / Photos by Alex Crick
Following their mega-successful debut double shot of 1994’s Definitely Maybe and 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, Oasis were poised to rule the rock game. But 1997’s underwhelming Be Here Now put an end to that.
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Ever since, the band has been stuck in rock'n'roll Triple-A. Not quite major leaguers on par with Coldplay, the Chili Peppers, or Radiohead, but able to fill arenas nonetheless. And even though the new Dig Out Your Soul is a welcome return to the supersonic guitars and straightforward songwriting of those early albums, Oasis’s cultural moment has passed. The brothers Gallagher won’t be getting called back to the bigs anytime soon.
But for sheer entertainment value, they deserve better. It doesn’t matter that Noel has no longer got a multiplatinum platform, he still talks like everyone’s listening, whether that means beefing with Jay-Z or ragging on Radiohead.
I love it.
And Liam is no quote slouch either. Take, for example, the following Wildean zinger, leveled at the fool who tackled Noel in Toronto: “If it were up to me, I’d have cut his dick off and made him eat it.” Not exactly something Chris Martin would say. Come to think of it, what is something Chris Martin would say? Only Gwyneth knows for sure.
And that’s why we need Oasis. Slagging people in the press, public intra-band squabbling, releasing albums of tunefully kickass guitar rock, speaking in a British accent -- this is what rock stars are supposed to do! Now, it just so happens that rock stars are a little like dinosaurs these days, but guess what? Dinosaurs are awesome.
COLDPLAY listen mate i agree that oasis are a must have band but in the uk coldplay are nowhere near as big as oasis or as good and i dont know why the U.S just dont get it with them
I bring you my love.
Every moment
I try to remember
the light af
an hidden report,
when my memory
outshines, when
your love disappears....
Francesco Sinibaldi
You’d think journalists would do their homework and have a bit better view of things than the general public, but that is sadly not the case. The way Oasis is thought of in the US is nowhere near how they’re treated in the UK. They’re practically a national institution in England! Why does this matter, you ask? Because England has a long standing tradition of producing better bands and having better music taste than America. They sell out whole tours in under a minute & all of their albums go to #1. Noel is seen as an elder statesman of rock these days and is generally revered by audiences and fellow musicians alike. I was hoping this article would articulate my feelings of the past 14 years, but instead you relied on the old Oasis standbys. There hasn’t been much public intra-band squabbling for many years and their slagging off of other bands pales in comparison to their earlier days (that whole Jay-Z thing was blown way out of proportion). Oasis are far from dinosaurs. Their new music is still considered relevant and can compete with the best (as if any such thing exists) of today’s new music. I wish Americans could realize that Oasis makes damn great music (much of which can be found elsewhere from WTSMG). America needs Oasis because they’re true real rock & roll stars and they make better music than everything currently played on American radio and featured in idiotic US music magazines like Spin.
I remember back when Oasis was the biggest band in the world, and wasn't really a big fan. But what turned me onto oasis was their b-sides, which really shows how great of a band they are. Songs like Whatever and acquiesce are two perfect songs that lesser band could only wish they could call their own. Within their catalog, there are more than a dozen perfect songs and all their albums are quality. I can't speak from experience, but in my opinion what makes it more difficult for bands to stay relevant in the US is that there are so many different genres of popular music compared to the UK (country, Rap, Alternative/indie rock, hard rock, nickleback type rock, pop, etc). There are so many great bands in England that do not get the recognition here in the states, there are even some great American bands that do not get the recognition here in the states that they deserve. The yeah yeah yeahs, ryan adams and interpol are three artists that I think do not get the recognition they deserve.
Hutchitl-Oasis has at least 2 quality albums of b-sides that could compete with their first two releases. You're right, Oasis' b-sides are the stuff other bands wish they could produce as singles and albums. England has all of these genres as well. What do you think they are, a nation of Brit-Pop? Yes, they even listen to country music over there. They happen to have radio shows that play a much wider array of music than American radio plays. US radio is mainly about ratings, and everyone usually has to play Top 40 or the most popular stuff in whatever genre the station plays. The problem is that the US has trouble putting many different things into a genre. Nobody seems to know where to put Oasis. The only place you hear Oasis often, as well as bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Ryan Adams are on independent stations that can play what they want/college stations. Anyway, these artists don't get as much exposure as easily classifiable, mainstream artists do, meaning they're less accessible to the average American. I love British music, and I had to find the majority of it on my own, but so many people don't seem to know how to do that.P.S. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ryan Adams, and Interpol are all shite and I'd turn it off if they came on the radio!
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