#that was a fun and quite nostalgic third period to tune into

[periodicavocation]

career high in saves!

utah @ canes | 13.11.2024

[michaelharttwrites]

Fookin’ hell! Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? is 20 years old

http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/fookin-hell-oasis-whats-the-story-morning-glory-is-20-years-old/849912

It was 20 years ago this month that OASIS released their world-concurring second album, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? To mark the anniversary of one of the ’90s most era-defining albums, MICHAEL HARTT spoke to some Aussie acts – You Am I’s Davey Lane, Emma Swift and members of The Preatures, The Laurels and Alpine – who found inspiration in the Gallagher brothers’ magnum opus.

Coming just a year on from their debut album Definitely Maybe, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? elevated Oasis to a level of popularity few groups manage to achieve in such a short space of time or, in fact, ever. The album’s brash, anthemic tunes emitted a far poppier sheen than those of its predecessor and spread their appeal far beyond the British indie scene to the point where it stayed in the top three in the UK non-stop for seven months and held the #1 spot here in Australia for five straight weeks. It’s now the fifth highest-selling album in the UK of all time (third if you take out best ofs).

The numbers are only half the story, though. For many, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? has been a gateway album that’s contributed in some way to their push towards a life in music. In the two decades since its release, the influence of (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? has gone far beyond acts that simply try to sound, act and dress like the Gallaghers. The album’s spirit and ethos is alive in all manner of acts who’ve each taken something different out their Morning Glory experience.

These are some of their stories.

When did you hear (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? for the first time?

Davey Lane (You Am I, Davey Lane & The Pugs): I’d heard ‘Whatever’ on the radio before Morning Glory came out and loved it, but never knew it was Oasis. I walked into K-Mart in my hometown of Boronia and they were playing the album, I remember hearing ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ into ‘Hey Now’ and it just flipped me out. I had to go and pester my Dad for the $28.95 or whatever it cost right away.

Luke O’Farrell (The Laurels): In primary school. My neighbours bought the CD and I asked to borrow it after I heard ‘Wonderwall’. I accidentally ripped the CD booklet and they didn’t let me borrow anything else from them after that.

Lou James (Alpine): I first got introduced to Oasis when they performed ‘She’s Electric’ on the English show Top of the Pops. My older sister loved them and got the cassette for Christmas. We used to play it in the car and sing along whenever my family drove between London and Nottingham to visit my grandparents. Our British road trip soundtrack!

Emma Swift: I first came across this record how I came across all music in the ’90s, on the radio in my bedroom in Wagga Wagga. I lived in a shitty granny flat out the back of my parent’s house. In that room, lit with cheap candles and strewn with corduroy and velvet clothes, I strummed my guitar, did some customary teenage sulking, learned Sylvia Plath poems by heart, dreamed of moving anywhere else and heard this gem, over and over again. First the singles on the radio, then the whole CD, which I probably bought from our local record shop.

Gideon Benson (The Preatures): About 13, I raided my brother’s CD collection and found it. I put it on and for a good year it was my soundtrack and introduction to everyone that Oasis had borrowed from.

How has it influenced the music you make now?

DL: Well I guess it influenced my writing to keep the hooks big and brash, and to inject a sense of familiarity into a song (whether or not it’s familiar because it’s been plagiarised – that’s another thing entirely). I used to make music that wore an Oasis influence on its sleeve to a point but as I’ve gotten older I’ve stepped away from it a little. I like what I’ve heard of the DMA’s but if I made the same sort of music they do I’d be laughed out of the fuckin’ country.

LO: It definitely played a big part in inspiring me to start making my own music growing up, so I guess Noel is partly responsible for my second rate knocks offs. ‘Manic Saturday’ is one of the poorest attempts at writing an Oasis song ever.

LJ: Not one bit! It just made for those nostalgic ’90s Brit Pop vibes I really loved when growing up in England.

ES: It taught me that there’s nothing wrong with nostalgia.

GB: I don’t think it has had a huge influence on the music I make now. What it has educated me on, is the importance of song structure and how certain chord sequences are pretty timeless and belong together.

What does the album mean to you?

DL: It’s as strong a trigger for childhood memories as anything – school, getting drunk for the first time, having unrequited crushes on girls at school… some memories happier than others but records like Morning Glory gave me a hell of escape whenever I needed it, music like Oasis’ was just completely a tonic for me, and it pretty quickly dawned on me that I needed to pursue music and find a way to make it my life.

LO: My Dad bought it along with Be Here Now in the early 2000s and I listened to it obsessively for the next several years. It’s not an album I revisit much these days, but I’m listening back to it on YouTube now and reminiscing about jamming to ‘Champagne Supernova’ in my bedroom as a wee lad and tearing up a bit. That was way more fun than playing in an actual band!

ES: The album was a great record to grow up with. I’m glad it was a hit. We heard almost nothing but hit records in Wagga Wagga in the mid-90s. We didn’t even have triple j until 1996. Oasis wrote real songs with beautiful melodies, something I loved as a young singer. The whole Britpop world was very enticing to my young ears. Play any of the songs enough to a teenage girl and what they mean is the promise of something else, something bigger, brighter, more romantic. At least, that was a huge part of my love of music when I was younger. This record reminds me of feeling like that.

LJ: It’s been a while since I’ve listened to the album, yet it’s as familiar to me now as when I was smashing it through my cassette player as a youth (youf, innit). Listening to it now I still know all the words, and can better appreciate the instrumentation and what made these songs so iconic. I love this album because it’s bold and gritty, humble and sincere, all the good things.

GB: This album really opened my eyes to writing music and gave me hope that one day I could do the same.

What do you think it can teach musicians in 2015?

DL: As I said before, I guess it could teach musicians to be unabashed about making things big, dumb and obvious yet fun, euphoric and infectious. If it’s awesome but it sounds a bit close to T Rex, fuck it, who cares! Make it sound more like T Rex! There’s a musical sense of humour to it that really appeals to me. People love to rag on Oasis for it, but I think they’re just missing the point y’know? It ain’t high art – it’s terrace anthem rock ‘n roll music.

LO: That it’s OK to include other people’s hooks in your own songs, just as long as the hook wasn’t written by Gary Glitter.

ES: I don’t like the idea that records have lessons for others embedded in them. I think we find what we need in our own listening. Maybe the lessons are more for Oasis than anyone else.

GB: Fake it till you make it!

Favourite song and why?

DL: Hard to narrow down – ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ is right up there but if I wanna get total nerd about it I’d pick one of the B-sides – ‘Flashbax’ or ‘I Got The Fever’ are great. There were also some blinders on the last record – ‘Bag It Up’ and ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ are rippers, and the production on that record is top notch.

LO: Does it have to be off Morning Glory?. ‘Gas Panic!’ is most definitely the greatest Oasis song there is, quite possibly the greatest song of all time. If I had to pick one off Morning Glory though it’d be ‘Hello’. Why? I dunno, the tom rolls are pretty good… ‘Bonehead’s Bank Holiday’ would be a close second because it Noel’s greatest achievement as a lyricist.

LJ: ‘Cast No Shadow’. I’ve always felt this was one of the more underrated tracks from the album. The strings are beautiful and I love that you can clearly hear the difference between Noel and Liam’s vocals. There are rad moments that make me swoon, gorgeous etherial harmonies (etherial/Oasis – whoda thunk it!). The track’s interesting because although the Gallaghers were known as wild arrogant alcoholic hooligans, the song exhibits sensitivity and hardship. Today as an artist I really relate to this song, especially when going through periods of doubting whether our music is really reaching people and being heard.

ES: ‘Champagne Supernova’ is my favourite but it’s hard to choose. I thought I never wanted to hear ‘Wonderwall’ again but when Ryan Adams released his version I fell for it all over again. ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ is the song most likely to be sung drunkenly by my sister in the late, late hours. ‘Roll With It’ makes me want to dance. I’ll stick with ‘Champagne Supernova’, but don’t hold me to it.

GB: On this record ‘Dont Look Back In Anger’. It’s the song I kept coming back to, and the first one I learnt how to play on guitar.

Would you like to see Oasis get back together?

DL: I would only like to see Oasis reform if they really wanted to and if they were gonna make some new music – I’m happy seeing Noel do his own thing. I’d be interested to see what Liam does next, he should make a truly whacked out experimental psych record.

LO: Only if they get the original early line-up back together. Yes, of course including Tony McCarroll!

LJ: A come back tour for sure! But another album? Nooooooo, that would be the worst. I’m cringing even thinking about it. It’s such a different time now.

ES: I would love to see the band get back together.

GB: Not really, I’ve seen them after a breakup and I feel like there has been too much damage done for the chemistry to still be there.