Noel Gallagher & The Beach Boys

[buddhahat]

There's a reason every Oasis album since What's The Story sounds like cod sgt pepper rubbish - The Gallaghers have sh*t taste, and this comment only confirms that.

Maybe his mate Paul Weller (a big Friends fan) should work a little harder on him!

[Rocker]

What's got everybody against barbershop music ? It's beautiful. Why does  it always get used as a bad description ?

[Chocolate Shake Man]

When (more likely if) Gallagher has a decent body of work, maybe we can discuss this. If you think so little of Brian and the Beach Boys, why post here? Why not stare at your Noel poster and give your typing hand something better to do?

I think the point he was making (effectively, in my view) is that these things are subjective. Clearly, he doesn't feel that way about The Beach Boys. The fact is Oasis have more than proven their worth, just like The Beach Boys and it is equally frustrating having to defend both bands and the people in them from people who think their personal taste has some kind of objective weight.

[The Heartical Don]

What's got everybody against barbershop music ? It's beautiful. Why does  it always get used as a bad description ?

I love the Comedian Harmonists and wonder what Brian would think of them.

[SMiLE Brian]

What's got everybody against barbershop music ? It's beautiful. Why does  it always get used as a bad description ?

Barbershop music has awesome harmonies.

[filledeplage]

What's got everybody against barbershop music ? It's beautiful. Why does  it always get used as a bad description ?

Barbershop music has awesome harmonies.

Agreed, and Brian took it to another level...

Frankly, I was unimpressed...

[Freddie French-Pounce]

My question is - How can you buy Pet Sounds 20 times? 10, maybe, 20, no.

[guitarfool2002]

What's got everybody against barbershop music ? It's beautiful. Why does  it always get used as a bad description ?

Through decades of having the image projected by various media of white-haired men wearing cheap straw hats, bow or string ties, handlebar mustaches, and fake canes, the music got tagged with that image of the groups people assume are behind the music. It's unfortunate, but it's nothing which hasn't happened to The Beach Boys in light of the Kokomo video and others.

I'm also not sure how to take a group like Phish who could do a barbershop harmony bit like "Sweet Adeline" or "Carolina" or whatever they riffed on a cappella at their live shows. They were either doing out of a love for the music and harmonies, or they were being sarcastic, I'm not sure...and did the fans take it as they should love the music if it moved them, or they should laugh at the music? I don't know.

As far as other musicians tagging what Brian did as "barbershop", or whatever, they don't get it and probably never will. Of course some alternative/underground music writers have also heard a group of shaggy-bearded folk/rock devotees doing a group vocal harmony and immediately rushed to compare it to Brian Wilson, so that sword has two edges...

[Smilin Ed H]

Oasis are a bar band made good.  Give me John Hiatt anyday.

[b00ts]

When (more likely if) Gallagher has a decent body of work, maybe we can discuss this. If you think so little of Brian and the Beach Boys, why post here? Why not stare at your Noel poster and give your typing hand something better to do?

I think the point he was making (effectively, in my view) is that these things are subjective. Clearly, he doesn't feel that way about The Beach Boys. The fact is Oasis have more than proven their worth, just like The Beach Boys and it is equally frustrating having to defend both bands and the people in them from people who think their personal taste has some kind of objective weight.

The Beach Boys and The Beatles were innovators who changed popular music forever. They did things their own way and spawned legions of imitators. Like Oasis, they wore their influences on their sleeve, although perhaps not to the same extent as Oasis. They pushed beyond their influences and created new sounds.

In my opinion, Oasis were a not a bad band and they had some good songwriting. Objectively, however, Oasis were almost proudly derivative and didn't bring a lot "new" to the table. There is a place for that in music, certainly. I think this is the reason that a lot of people are turned off by their music, though.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Objectively, however, Oasis were almost proudly derivative and didn't bring a lot "new" to the table. There is a place for that in music, certainly. I think this is the reason that a lot of people are turned off by their music, though.

I don't think it's objective at all - in fact, I think it's flat out incorrect. It doesn't take much to identify bands who copied the Oasis sound (if you'd like a list of at least 20 or so bands that came in their wake, I can list them). In that case, I would say they certainly constructed their own particular "language" in the same way that, say, The Beatles and The Beach Boys did. You could probably identify an Oasis song within a few seconds. I think that means they brought something new to the table - which many bands, particularly British ones, recognized. But Hall of Famers like Townshend recognized it too.

[hypehat]

Not denying that. I mean, we're not having vehement message board discussions about Ocean Colour Scene, right? They're a successful pop band.

However, one thing I dislike about the group is the fact they've pretty much destroyed 'rock' music for smart or 'feeling' people. Whilst the blame does not lie solely at their door by any means, the cult that surrounded Oasis and the subsequent wave of blokish, self consciously stupid British rock has made it so unattractive to be a rock group. I think that sort of reductive approach that Oasis, and the surrounding britpop scene, used - even if you like to approach it as a 'postmodern' move of appropriating other art into your own, it's a fairly depressing move for what had been up until the nineties a constantly evolving medium like pop - really sent pop musicians into exploring other avenues, and now we have rock being essentially dead in the marketplace. It's great, really, but if you're invested in the idea of rock, not so much. Most British 'rock' post-britpop has been invested in the idea of thuggish boorism and musical exclusion, which makes it hard to try and attempt 'rock' if you happen to want to write songs that aren't either vague cliches strung together or about ''aving it', and I think Oasis and britpop are to blame.



I've been in essay writing mode for the last three days, so apologies for the overly long post.  

Oh, and I just realised we're arguing about Oasis again, rocknroll. It's really nothing personal!  

[willy]

The Beatles' 'Rain'... "Shhhhhheeeeeiiiinnne..." Oasis made the same album several times based on that line. Let them be. But most know different.

[Smilin Ed H]

Absotively.

[Jay]

Like him or not, you have to admit the "fork in a world of soup" comment was rather brilliant. 

[runnersdialzero]

I don't think it's objective at all - in fact, I think it's flat out incorrect. It doesn't take much to identify bands who copied the Oasis sound (if you'd like a list of at least 20 or so bands that came in their wake, I can list them). In that case, I would say they certainly constructed their own particular "language" in the same way that, say, The Beatles and The Beach Boys did. You could probably identify an Oasis song within a few seconds. I think that means they brought something new to the table - which many bands, particularly British ones, recognized. But Hall of Famers like Townshend recognized it too.

+1

Like him or not, you have to admit the "fork in a world of soup" comment was rather brilliant. 

YES. Countless brilliant quotes out of he and Liam, all totally off-the-cuff. These kids could've been pretty decent standup comics or something had the band thing not worked out.

[Runaways]

i love noel gallagher, and this is how i've figured he looks at the beach boys. 

[The Heartical Don]

i love noel gallagher, and this is how i've figured he looks at the beach boys. 

 

[Tristero]

Not denying that. I mean, we're not having vehement message board discussions about Ocean Colour Scene, right? They're a successful pop band.

However, one thing I dislike about the group is the fact they've pretty much destroyed 'rock' music for smart or 'feeling' people. Whilst the blame does not lie solely at their door by any means, the cult that surrounded Oasis and the subsequent wave of blokish, self consciously stupid British rock has made it so unattractive to be a rock group. I think that sort of reductive approach that Oasis, and the surrounding britpop scene, used - even if you like to approach it as a 'postmodern' move of appropriating other art into your own, it's a fairly depressing move for what had been up until the nineties a constantly evolving medium like pop - really sent pop musicians into exploring other avenues, and now we have rock being essentially dead in the marketplace. It's great, really, but if you're invested in the idea of rock, not so much. Most British 'rock' post-britpop has been invested in the idea of thuggish boorism and musical exclusion, which makes it hard to try and attempt 'rock' if you happen to want to write songs that aren't either vague cliches strung together or about ''aving it', and I think Oasis and britpop are to blame.

I don't disagree with your assessment of Oasis at all--always thought those guys were derivative, overrated and unreasonably arrogant for band who cribbed their hits from their idols--but I think you're painting with too broad of a brush here.  I've always found their main 'britpop' rivals, Blur, to be far more enjoyable and inventive, continuing to develop their sound with each release, even when their experiments occasionally went awry.  (Damon Albarn may be arrogant too, but at least he has the talent to back it up.)  Other peers like Pulp and Supergrass delivered some high quality songwriting as well.  It could be argued that rock music has essentially been eating its own tail since the 70's, but some of the British bands at least injected some fresh new energy into the scene, and they certainly weren't the only ones to appropriate the ideas of their forerunners.

[willy]

Still don't mind Oasis, all said.

Er, has anyone mentioned the uncanny similarity between the choruses of 'While my Guitar Gently Weeps' and 'She's Electric' yet?

[Mike's Beard]

Noel has never really got beyond the whole "The Beatles are the best band of all time" crap the UK music media still spouts to this day. It colours every critical and creative thought that passes through his skull.

[Tristero]

Noel has never really got beyond the whole "The Beatles are the best band of all time" crap the UK music media still spouts to this day. It colours every critical and creative thought that passes through his skull.

As opposed to the American music media?   We willingly surrendered to the British Invasion and crowned the Beatles kings, to a large extent.  It's also worth remembering that the British taste makers have been very favorable towards a lot of Brian's work over the years, often more so than their American counterparts.

[SMiLE Brian]

Noel has never really got beyond the whole "The Beatles are the best band of all time" crap the UK music media still spouts to this day. It colours every critical and creative thought that passes through his skull.

As opposed to the American music media?   We willingly surrendered to the British Invasion and crowned the Beatles kings, to a large extent.  It's also worth remembering that the British taste makers have been very favorable towards a lot of Brian's work over the years, often more so than their American counterparts.

I was about bring that up, our media acts there was a blackhole of no music from 1959-1964.

[cablegeddon]

Here some people (and music journalists) claim that Led Zep and the Stones were better/more important than Beatles. I'll rather take the british sentiment over that.

[B-Rex]

I think Mr. Gallagher should grow out his hair and 'stache and get back to what he does best-- smashing watermelons on stage.