My hot take nostalgia piece on the news that Oasis are reforming
Why yes, I was an avid music fan during the peak of Rule Britannia. I had1 the mandatory copies of Different Class, I Should Coco, and The Great Escape. I was there for Jarvis' arse-waggle at a pompous Michael Jackson, there for "the Battle of Britpop"2, there for the hidden booklet in Kid A that tore into Mister Tony Blair.
Naturally, you come to me for my thoughts on the rekindling of Oasis.
Ok, internet friend. Here is my Oasis story. Brace yourself.
On Saturday 23rd August 1997, aged thirteen, I went to Tesco in Newbury with my aunt and uncle.
This was not a regular occurrence - I've no idea why I was there with them and no memory of ever doing any kind of shopping with either of them at any other date. Were we there with my parents and happened to bump into them? Were they babysitting me? No idea.
But I know I was there with them on that day because two days previously Oasis' third album Be Here Now had been released, because there was a big display for it in the big entertainment section in the middle of the store3, because I bashfully asked if they'd consider buying it for me, and because they said yes.
...and that's my Oasis story.
(Oh, opinion as well? Oasis are kind of rubbish. I've still got my copy of Be Here Now along with (What's The Story) Morning Glory and haven't listened to either in twenty years or more. I very quickly got tired by their bombast, their incredibly meaningless lyrics, their insecurity masked as aggression. They indisputably have very catchy songs which, coupled with their very clear delivery, makes for a fun singalong, but it's all just meaningless noise.)
Still have them, as it goes.↩
Although I was a massive Blur fan, it's definitely the case that the wrong song won. Country House is a bit of a stinker.↩
My brothers and I would habitually abandon my parents during the weekly shopping expedition to mooch around the CDs, videos, toys, and books in the middle of the shop. We rarely purchased anything, we just browsed. My other vivid memory of that department came just a month later when a big group of slightly morose people were looking for something in that section and couldn't find it; dumped into the book display was a large pile of CD singles of Candle in the Wind 1997, one of which I took back to my mum who very surprisingly chose to purchase it. What an odd year 1997 was.↩