the boys in the better land: Britpop is Back
If you walk into any party where a man is holding a guitar, chances are he’s about to play “Wonderwall,” the 1995 smash hit by the legendary Britpop band Oasis. And now that the Gallagher brothers have announced their long-awaited reunion tour, chances are you’re about to hear that song a lot more.
In 1991, Paul Arthurs, Paul McGuigan, and Tony McCarroll invited Liam Gallagher to replace the current singer in their band, The Rain. Liam agreed and pitched to change the band's name to Oasis. Soon after, his brother Noel, who saw the band as an opportunity to use the lyrics and other creative material he had been writing, joined as the head songwriter. Three years later they released their first album Definitely Maybe, which became the fastest-selling debut album in history at the time. The release of their second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? catapulted the group into superstardom. It’s safe to say that, by 1995, there was not a single young person living in the United Kingdom who did not know at least one song by Oasis.
Fifteen years ago: despite their immense success on the charts and in pop culture, Liam and Noel were having a hard time putting aside their creative differences. Noel took Oasis very seriously and made the prosperity of the band his top priority, while Liam was caught up in the rockstar life: drinking heavily, snorting cocaine, missing rehearsals, and canceling concerts to go on benders. During their first North American tour, Noel ended up temporarily quitting the band after a terrible show on September 29, 1994, at Los Angeles’ Whisky-a-Go-Go, where the concert ended early after Liam (who was high on crystal meth) threw a tambourine at Noel’s head and promptly walked off stage. The event caused the concert to be known as one of the most disastrous shows of all time. Oasis was a band that was notorious for being in feuds, both within the band and outside of it. Their public smackdown with Damon Albarn’s band Blur was dubbed “The Battle of Britpop” and captured the attention of the youth and media of the United Kingdom as they fought for the number one spot on the charts, which only continued to increase their popularity (after all, the public does love tabloid drama). In 2000, the brothers ended up in a fistfight after Liam questioned the legitimacy of Noel’s daughter with his ex-wife, Meg Matthews. And in 2009, Noel officially left the band, writing in a statement posted to the band’s MySpace page that he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
Their reunion is coming at the perfect time, as the 90’s and early 2000’s are exceedingly relevant in current popular culture: reboots of old television shows and movies seem to keep coming, low-rise jeans are a closet staple again, and Cher from Amy Heckerling’s 1995 classic rom-com Clueless is a Halloween costume you cannot escape from seeing every year. The Union Jack is also making a sudden reappearance, even garnering attention from Dazed Magazine, which published a full article taking note of how “Union Jacks are slowly trickling back into young people’s fashion lexicon, appearing on shrunken baby tees, beaten up messenger bags, and knitted woolen beanies across the land.”
To commemorate this resurgence, I’ve developed a playlist of iconic bands and artists from the UK and Ireland ranging from classic Britpop to alternative rock and ethereal wave. Some artists include Oasis and Blur (of course) to Gaelic rap group Kneecap, whom Noel Gallagher himself has called “unbelievably enjoyable.” Be sure to pay special attention to Dublin post-punk band Fontaines D.C., who, after the success of their recent album Romance, are rumored to be opening for Oasis on their legendary comeback tour.
Note: This playlist was arranged in a specific order, shuffle at your own discretion.