Gary Numan. The music press killed his career by getting into his head by constantly telling everyone he had no real talent and was killing music by substituting his "lack of talent and musicianship" with technology. But people all over the world loved what he was doing.
Oasis caught lightning in a bottle - the unstoppable force and the immovable object collided in a perfect storm at a time when we needed a band like Oasis. We needed positivity, snarl, pride, attitude, arrogance and they delivered - they were never boring.
"they were never boring"....have you ever listened to any of their music? Dreary, monotonal, plodding, dull and depressing. Also, a right pair of twats!
I lived between Europe and the USA in the 90s. I hated all the boring, passive, navel gazing grunge bands stuck in the late-stage dying rock dynamic compared to the vibrancy and attitude of Oasis and other UK acts at the time.
What I would point out is Noel Gallagher is a pushy blighter and has turned into a world class namedropping showbiz schmoozer. Liam is the goofy dreamer of the pair. I think what set Oasis apart from the other Brit Pop bands is they weren't self-consciously fey and they were making big anthemic singalong rock. They are often criticised as the most retro band of their generation, but they were the only one that looked and sounded truly contemporary with the wider young British male population of that era without trying. Oasis were a rock band for people who did not naturally gravitate towards rock. A lot of the rave audience liked Oasis.
They were the U2 of the 90s, U2 benefited from dissolution of punk, new wave and post-punk in the mid 80s and a mainstream audience who were finally ready to embrace what to them seemed cool, fresh and the new direction of rock. Oasis were similar for an audience in the mid-90s to whom the likes of the Stone Roses, Mondays, the late 80s early 90s indie bands and grunge went mainly under the radar or they were still kids at the time listening to Kylie and Jason, Madonna and Jive Bunny. Those bands had created the zeitgeist of the times and once all those bands had faded Oasis rode the wave of the energy they had created and brought it full on into the mainstream. Also as you mentioned a lot of rave crowd were ready to listen proper bands again by the mid-90s and Oasis benefited from that good fortune
"Take me out, tonight, where there's music and there's people and they're young and alive" This line from The Smiths came to my mind when thinking about normal people aspiring to something greater.
The breakthrough of rock music in the 50s and 60s ultimately depended on the rise in social mobility, certainly in the UK and Europe that was a big factor but also in the States. Working class kids having more opportunities and different avenues than before WW2, a more open and diverse educational system (art schools, colleges etc) - and lots of live venues, pubs (offering the option for live bands) and ballrooms mushrooming everywhere.´´That kind of dynamic closed down, bit by bit, in the 90s and 00s.´´´´´´´´´´´´´´
I remember an observation by Bill Bruford in his autobiography about how the British especially love the 'cult of the amateur'. Sort of the idea that the person strumming away in their bedroom in front of a mirror will be magically discovered and become famous without putting in the thousands of hours of application and repetitive practice necessary to approach mastery.
Nobody has the Manchester Sneer better than Noel G. The axe he grinds is the among sharpest and manifests itself in his unique talent. "Knowwhatimean"?
I actually found that very moving. I wasn't fully aware of Noel's story, and 'House Of The Rising Sun' makes total sense to me, way more so than the usual Beatles guff. Nice one Andy.
I’ve just been listening to “Acquiesce” and it’s a banger! Really rocks and steams along, both brothers delivering on the vocals in their respective ranges. Can’t help thinking it would make a very fitting first song (the chorus lyrics are also fitting) for when they hit the stages next year!
Jamiroquai, around the same time, is an even more striking example. Originally only Jay Kay was under contract, a gifted front man with serious raw talent and some ideas for songs but inexperienced and technically limited as a smucian (by his own admission, he doesn't read or write sheet music by himself, and barely plays any leading instruments). Once Kay and the manager realized that the guy needed a proper live band to work with, not just studio sidemen, Sony put in a great deal of extra work during the preparation and recording of their debut album; the first step was to find a songwriting partner who could translate JK's ideas for songs onto the note paper and flesh the stuff out (keyboardist Toby Smith, also unknown at the time). . The band were quite good musicians, but like JK; few of them had even been heard on a record or toured widely before - in music business terms they were rookies. Sony also paid up front for strings and brass on the album, and a fairly extended recording time. The entire process seems to have been quite organic, once they saw the direction it needed to go in, and they ended up with a powerhouse soul rock album and a very creditable live band that's paid back a hundredfold - but this kind of "launch strip work" by the label togethr with the band simply doesn't happen today with newly signed bands.
I used to believe everyone could be an artist; now I know better. Imagination is more important than knowledge. You can have all the skills and musical licks you want, but it is useless without imagination. Imagination can't be learned and with any kind of skill or innovation at an instrument, we see talent. I did not see much imagination in Oasis, just presentation, the idea of it. And the public imagination wanted to reclaim the British Rock glory of the past.
I work in media and it astounds me how many people in the industry and the press have zero understanding of creativity. They can't explain why something is good or inventive, they just all parrot each other. It's all branding to them. If you show them something innovative that is new and unknown you can see their discomfort. They only like new things when they are told it is ok to like them. It's really depressing .I feel the older generations had a better radar for true talent and things that were different.
I'm in Hollywood, the neighborhood, not the industry (big difference). Whenever I see a guy (always a guy) in full rockstar drag on the street I sing at the top of my lungs whatever comes up. ZZ Top, Hendrix, Beatles, whatever. I can't help it. I live two blocks from the GIT - Guitar Institute of Technology - keys, drums, bass and guitar lessons for 16 thousand per semester. Everytime I see a player (guitar always expensive and in a case) I shout "let's jam!" - for 33 years, not one taker. Yesterday's guitar student did find it amusing and he laughed. I always carry a guitar or ukulele or kalimba when I go for groceries. "It's in tune!" I shouted, "bare naked guitar in tune!" and he laughed and drove away. Posh kids, y' know? In the sixties and seventies total strangers actually jammed.
Hello, I have more than 100 songs, without lyrics but with all the arrangements, only on a cheap 1990 workstation a D-20 and recorded on Minidiscs. I still can compose but when my band stopped i wanted to start my own band. But i am an autist and a dare not make a band without help but my youngest brother (bass, keyboard, guitar player and singer) would not help me. So now i have already 27 years not composed a song. Only 2 days before my mothers funeral i composed and recorded a classical piece for cello and piano in 2016. Now I am old 62 and have cronic deseases and artritis in my hands and my life has been waisted. When my father was on his deadbed (90 years old) he said I have had a good life. He was a working class man. When i want no more of this life i will say i have had a useless life. And not because of my parents, everybody had musical educating paid by my parents. It's me being an autistic person and my youngest brother who didn't want to help me out.
How many times i reworked the lyrics above it did nothing. All the misspelled words are still there and what I wanted away is still there. I tried at least 10 times
The opinion here in the US is that Oasis is not important, and not particularly good. They are basically one hit wonders here. I always find it interesting to see bands that are huge in one or two countries, and either minimal or nothing in others. There you go, free topic for you.
I can't remember which music submission site it was, it may well have been the one you mentioned, but what I noticed in the comments was how determined people seemed to be to enforce some sort of sonic orthodoxy. There was a super-anal focus on the minutiae of production and very little attention paid to songwriting or performance. Someone I knew recorded a few songs and sent them in, only to have them ripped to pieces. So he decided to hire an outside producer, who persuaded him to hire another singer. So they recorded some new tracks and re-mixed the whole thing, submitted once more and his work was trashed once again. In the meantime the producer had stripped the songs of whatever distinction they'd had in the first place in order to conform to the standard they thought was expected. Networking, even on social media is hard work. I have more than 1200 followers on SoundCloud, it took several years to accumulate them, but no plays at all. You have to be running all the while, standing still really will get you nowhere. I ran out of breath.
At age 18 to 21 i functioned as my friends "Shaman" . We were all hedonist teens born around 1960 . We all rejected the sports and business paridym of America .and choose ART .. all of us had some innate talents and all went to Music & Art High School ( NYC) but I had discovered sts Peyote and the spiritual that hedonism had led to . ...anywho ANDY i thought it adjacent to what you talk about so much.. .p s. Thanks for you being you. P.S.S innate talents? Well those of us who are still alive All make and produce Art .but only a couple are world famous . Oh and Charles Ives ...is the best.
Great stuff . . . thought provoking, took me back to my own late '60s at home with a guitar and early '70s meeting a buddy doing the same thing, getting a hip cafe gig and a guy from Manchester saying 'you guys need a drummer', and a year+ in a rehearsal room and a band coming together (all originals) and the drummer, as it happened, had a job in the Polygram Warehouse and getting his boss to a show and this guy, a German in NZ for a 2 or 3 year contract as A&R Director 'getting' our Supertrampy / 10CC ish 'smart aleck pop rock' and signing us, then the first album and so on . . . fairy Godmothers seemed to turn up the more we wrote, rehearsed and performed. Funny that. That was the beauty of that post-Beatles era and it saw us thru the '70s and 'evolved' but by the end of the '90s it was a different landscape really wasn't it? The group had faded away and my buddy and I had formed a company writing soundtracks for anything from ads to movies after requests from local NZ film directors and editors who liked what we doing, and then the big move away from NZ, now with studios in HK, Singapore, Shanghai . . . all gone now as the ad industry collapsed for composers pretty much with the advent of companies cranking out cheap 'copyright free production music'. Managed a coupla dozen albums during that time loosely based on Costes model then another fairy Godmother in the early 2,000s made an introduction to EMI / Abbey Road that resulted in some fun 'Asian Remix Arrangements' for the likes of Bowie, Gorillaz, Robbie Williams, Placebo et al with a host of amazing Nepali, Chinese, Malaysian. Bombay musicians and singers contributing . . . great while it lasted. And so it goes on to this day . . . always evolving, change is a constant in the music biz for sure! Really enjoyed the rave - brought up lotsa memories, thanks for that - let's see what happens next!
Another brilliant Sunday conversation Andy. I so look forward to hearing from you every weekend. No one on RUclips has your insight or ability to communicate these deeper questions about the creative process. I wish I would have had you as a teacher/mentor in my youth. That experience would have helped me immensely. Bless you for all you do…
Thanks Andy your a great teacher really appreciate your insights and deep dives Music no longer means what it used to but perhaps because of this it is more precious and powerful But wtf do I know
I thought this was well put, as a creative bod myself, many of these things have occurred to me and had already come to the conclusion that there’s no thing as innate talent…..but audiences love that sort of thing, so we’re all guilty of feeding that myth. One person that’s often described as a genius is Jimi Hendrix, but apparently he was rarely seen without a guitar and would take it to parties etc….it’s not only practice, but being prepared for when the moment of inspiration strikes. Another aspect is that artistes have to tend their’stock’ or image. The Gallagher’s kept the idea of the Gallagher’s going for all these years and the brand is still intact. In the same way that the idea of Morrissey as the wronged person has been kept alive….but may have taken a right turn too far for most. The same with the idea of Dave ‘the nice guy rock star’ Grohl has been kept going (I never bought it by the way) ….and may now be at the knackers :) !
Great stuff. What you said about depression and anxiety being the flip side of creativity really underscores what has been going on in society medicating the depression and anxiety out of kids who would have otherwise been creative artists. I think it is one of the reasons the arts and pop culture have gone downhill so rapidly since the 90s.
Good advice, Andy. Very very few musicians who decide to craft and distribute their music have that necessary X or WOW factor. Sometimes no matter how long and hard you work, you may not get to that ‘success’ promised land. And that’s ok. I think our culture places too much emphasis on fame and celebrity (and social media analytics). If you enjoy playing and making music, don’t let unrealistic goals, expectations and outcomes get in the way of that! Hobbies are important for our mental health and creative growth. Moreover, music is important to our cultural fabric, and a big part of that fabric is folk who simply do music for fun.
Completely agree with you. Same with sports.The vast majority who play sports will never be good enough to be a pro, never mind a top pro. Just doing something which you love will bring joy into your life, so will be worth doing even if you never make a penny from it.
I think you're over mystifying the success of Oasis. It's the popular narrative that they connected with a movement or feeling at the time. But when I first heard Oasis on the radio in the US, with no knowledge of who they were, I instantly connected with the song. Why? Its melody and production. Oasis did what more so-called accomplished musicians can never do, that is write songs and melodies that strike an unconscious chord with people, that people want to sing along to. Steve Vai hasn't done that once in his lifetime. There's no message in Oasis. Many of Noel's lyrics are nonsensical (unless you consider two words like "live forever" as having deep meaning). But every syllable matches perfectly with the song. That's all you need. A singable and likable song is timeless. Musical talent is having the ear to pick out those things.
Yes, there are literally thousands upon thousands of better technical guitarists than NG, but they are unable to to simplify their technical abilities and get down to writing simple, catchy hooks and riffs like NG did so well. Just listen to the guitar solo in Love Forever. It's simple, but truly beautiful to the ear.
As an American you're not necessarily going to understand the British working class appeal of a band like Oasis. The aspirational 'gotta make it happen' message was a huge part of their mass appeal and explained why they became much bigger than Blur who won over the middle class students in huge numbers but came across like pretentious posers to so many Oasis fans.
Couldn’t agree more. I saw them before they had a record contract and no body had heard of them (including me). They were fantastic because of their music. They didn’t represent any larger idea… they represented them selves. Just like you said, it doesn’t matter how ‘talented’ you are it is what you produce and how it affects the listener. IMO Taylor Swift is just as good but for other people.
@@jamesgriffithsmusic Yes, I'm talking about why they had worldwide appeal. You know, for all those countries that don't understand British working class, although we all have working class people. You do sound like you're just parroting what all the music critics said at the time. It's kind of a cliche now. And I like Blur for Graham Coxon's innovative guitar playing.
I thought the songs were amazing in 1994, but then it was also short lived. It's like there was something related to the very existence of the band, the context, which made it impossible for Noel to keep writing good songs, as soon as they got rich and successful. It's a common thing in rock music, but rarely exacerbated as much as in Oasis. The second album was the most successful (it had all the hits), but the contrast with the first album is striking, and is not something that is mentioned enough, and on all accounts it was a conscious change of direction by Noel. It's like the second album was reaching the full extent of their potential for commercial success, while already showing signs of creative downfall. And the 3rd album was the end of Oasis (for me).
I thought their first album was a classic, but the only song I loved on the second was Champagne Supernova. I thought songs like 'roll with it' and ''don't look back in anger' we're ponderous and lacking the oomph of the first album. Don't even get me started on Wonderwall. I did like Whatever you want, but that was about it for me with Oasis.
@@Carboggg yes the second album had its fair share of songs that already were empty parodies of the Oasis sound, keeping a semblance of the form, devoid of any passion and drive, 'Roll With It' being the prime example. But then it was the sound that brought them international successful and that people associated with Oasis (when the first album was more of a UK phenomenon), and the momentum would carry on for at least another album, whatever they released, as long as it had guitars and Liam's voice doing Liam on top.
Reverent Andy ... this is a song about hope .... This was like a gospel session ... a great speech about life in general .. like on every philosophical sunday
House Of The Rising Sun is also the first song I learned, and don't think it has any other reason than the fact it was often the first song used in (old) guitar method books, as an introduction to finger picking (which used to be the first style of accompaniment taught for complete beginners since the 60's, up to the 80's). I think the reason is the same for Noel. Maybe if he didn't buy a guitar method book himself, someone would have showed the song to him.
Noel Gallagher auditioned for Inspiral Carpets, but was knocked back. They took him on as a roadie as a consolation prize. And as for writing songs- nobody does it just for themselves. When you write a good song, you want SOMEBODY to hear it and appreciate it.
@@henrydebruijn2259 I liked his voice on record and enjoyed listening to his interviews (Noel's were even better) but never got the hype about him being a great front man of a rock band. As you rightly said, he just stood there with hands behind his back and walked across the stage a bit. Zero energy or stage charisma if you ask me.Also his live vocals were as flat as a cheese board and live the whole band sounded very pub rocky to me. That said, their debut album was great enough for me to always have a bit of a soft spot for them.
@@paulhargreaves1497 I remember seeing some footage of them playing some festival in Europe. Apart from maybe a couple of hundred (at most) of people at the front, the rest of the crowd looked bored stiff by the performance. They simply couldn't engage non Oasis fans with their zero energy live show.
Interesting thoughts Andy. It is obvious where the actual talent lay in Oasis, Noel has still been able to have a career with High Flying Birds, and I know people who prefer that to Oasis. He's still writing hook laden songs that get crowds going, that's what he's good at, that is his talent. Liam on the other hand is making basic rock and roll records that others can do far better, and whenever he opens his mouth, all I can hear is Oasis, if it wasn't for Noel, he'd be nowhere. His latest album is interesting for John Squires excellent blues guitar playing, but the songs Liam has written; Liam Songs a Rainbow and Liam Talks to the Trees, utter fucking garbage 🗑️. I feel Liam needs the reunion more than Noel.
Oasis is great and all. This video is great as well. But Oasis the band was already overrated. Now they're old dudes and have no reason to reunite except for a cash grab. However, getting Noel out there expressing his hilarious opinion on everything would be worth it.
Nope! I remember that first album it was good. They never got close to that again. I have never played an Oasis album knowingly because they are absolute shite now. I don’t blame them for that most artists only have one thing to say. Dylan had four! Imagine art outside of capitalism… better subject. Imagine art without Capitalism. Imagine that. Imagine it. If mega fame is in that dream you are not imagining properly. Imagine!
Oasis were very mediocre and most of their songs were derivative (i.e crappy analogues of songs from 'Tommy' and other plagiarised 60s/70s R&B bland anthemic stuff). IMO they were 'talent-spotted' because of Liam's looks/attitude - had nothing to do with Noel and his songwriting - and turned into an indy boy-band. A bit like the Monkees ('The Northern Monkees' would have been a good name for them).
Noel Gallagher’s songs aren’t good. They’re illiterate, meaningless rubbish. If I’d written Wonderwall, I would’ve chucked it, for the excellent reason that it’s crap.
Interesting that George Harrison used to say that he believed Oasis would be better without Liam. Perhaps that was his down to his instinctive antipathy towards the chaos of the material world.
@@youarefreetodoaswetellyou1371 Lennon and McCartney wrote almost all the Beatles songs, so would the Beatles have been better without George> Band chemistry is more than just who writes what.
@@gauloise6442 Liam and his tambourine is a big stretch to Ringo mate nevermind George who wrote amazing songs and was always the lead guitarist. and a much better lead guitarist than noels pentatonic "solos"
Brillian! Andy you're like the older brother I never had.....Well except for Tommy of Course. Sorry Tom! All kidding aside You have a beautiful mind! My guru. Don't ever stop. We all need this.
Excellent podcast! I recall performing at a company function. For a few weeks I was a star among my coworkers. Sitting with others at a break, someone paid me a compliment and asked, “How did you become so good?” Before I could respond with a pseudo humble response, another coworker beat me to the punch. His reply was this, “Instead of being outside playing baseball he was locked in his room playing guitar for hours upon hours!” Although I knew this was true, I also grappled with the idea of what is talent. I think this video settled that question for once and for all. Thank you, Andy! Is this related to why it is difficult for adults to learn an instrument? Or is the question, are there any middle aged persons who after two years of learning an instrument, becoming famous?
Great insight into Oasis' success. The third factor that can't be overstated is how they appeared at the exact right moment in post-Thatcher Britain, when younguns were in a bleak situation and looking for some optimism and celebration. So much '80s synthpop and NME-approved was too clever-clever and arch. Remember when bands were criticized for being too 'rockist'? Oasis thankfully destroyed that frame.
You’re absolutely right about “it isn’t about what you know, it’s about WHO you know”. I saw Oasis at Glastonbury in 1994 and I thought they were bloody awful. I’m a big fan of Slade and the Three Stooges but Oasis to me are an unholy lobotomised combination of these two great acts and just don’t make the cut. Not in a million years. Most of their material is the result of plagiarism and the tunes they ripped off were already etched in the minds of a large percentage of the general public before they appeared. During the gig I heard them murdering “I Am The Walrus” and “Get It On” by T.Rex. A week or two later I found out that “Get It On” was actually the A-Side of their first single mentioned above but they’d changed the title to “Cigarettes And Alcohol” and NG’s name was on the label as the songwriter. Very creative. Beatles(?), Slade(6) and T.Rex(4) had a lot of number one singles. Apart from the hype they received this is probably the main thing that helped them. As for “House Of The Rising Sun”, funny how he chose that one because it’s a traditional song that caused the rift in the Animals because in the absence of a songwriter the royalties devolved to the arranger and Alan Price who somehow took credit for that job ran off with all the songwriting royalties. But crucially, the song was already in the public domain. What NG said about how all Oasis tracks are derived from this one song is a way of avoiding paying for breach of copyright, which is the same as Angus Young saying that all AC/DC songs are inspired by Chuck Berry rather than ALL the hard rock and glam bands from the UK that toured Australia in the early 70s. It’s just BS. I realise my opinion on their music is irrelevant but this is the other part of my theory as to how they made it big. At this point of their existence they had been tipped by Melody Maker as the next big thing and had a single out which I hadn’t heard so I thought I’d investigate and see what the fuss was all about. Apart from Supergrass (I think), most MM tips as to who would be the “next big thing” in the 90s were never seen again and I wrongly thought this would be the case with these guys. On the morning of the day they played I was struck by the sight of all these crazy mixed up kids in their early teens who were running around wearing black Oasis t-shirts which I thought was highly unusual because they hadn’t yet had that much airplay and a back catalogue rather too slender (one single) to warrant a range of t-shirts let alone the ENORMOUS job lot of shirts I saw wandering around that day. What I think happened was this: Oasis’s management showed up at Glastonbury and said: “hey kids, have a free t-shirt of this great band and by the way they’re playing at the MM stage this afternoon” and for me this was a hype job that actually worked. There must have been hundreds of kids who had NEVER heard Oasis or heard of them for that matter running around with these t-shirts on. Dreadful as I found it, this gig was definitely one of their breakthrough gigs and an exercise in hype that worked. That was largely down to Alan McGee, who also got lucky here - he had already promoted and later went on to promote other acts that went nowhere. As for Cain and Abel, Abel didn’t last very long and is already gone by the time you get to the end of the first few chapters of Genesis but these two clowns are still around. Heard the Liam Gallagher gig last night. He had a good band behind him that, apart from a couple of classy Pete Townshend moves from the guitarist, sounded just like Slade, but LG isn’t Noddy Holder and if he ever had a voice - and I didn’t notice it much in 1994 - it’s gone now. Anyone who didn’t manage to get a ticket for Oasis in 2025 would be better off buying “Slade Alive”, “Slade Alive Vol 2” and “Slade Alive At Reading 1980” and listening to them while watching a Three Stooges box set on silent on the TV and getting through a lot of beers, wines and spirits etc instead. You’ll have a better time without wasting anything near as much as £800 on a ticket for the next round of Oasis gigs.
Very good, Andi. I am a good cook, but not because of a big talent, just because I like to do it and do it every day. I am a good guitar player, because I have talent and I spent all these hours. Wich became my profession? I became a guitar player, now for 42 years and still practicing, playing, dreaming, writing....
Andy, if you keep repeating, keep praticing, keep working philosophy over and over again, and if you are telented at it, philosophy ( and you are ), you do get very good at it. You are!
Terrific analysis Andy. Suggestions for future videos: 1. The 'ripoff' one you mentioned. 2. Unlike Oasis - top 10 ex-bands that have steadfastly always refused to reform!
I never begrudge anyone their success. Virtually noone ever "lucks" into success. That said I never bought into Oasis. Maybe it's Liam. My favorite Liam moment was on an MTV awards performance where he dumps his beer on the stage as they walked off. The host Dennis Miller (sarcasticaly) "Wow, he's so cool- he dumped his beer on the stage!"
What a great video, you're one of the few youtube music creators I know that can actually tackle these genuinely deep issues connected to art and music. BTW since you've mentioned Rousseau, essentialism etc, I wonder if you've read ">The Dawn of Everything" by Graeber and Wengrow, I think you'd find it interesting.
But Cinderella is not the story of an ordinary person. Cinderella is the high born daughter who is then subjugated by her step mother and sisters and then regains her high status.
Hi Andy. Recently started watching your videos. I love the way you are looking at rock and pop with a more academic approach. It's not too dry though as you have a natural flare for communication (not just through repetition, though of course we all need to practise to get better!) And you inject it all with humour. Sometimes a bit muddled, as your enthusiasm takes you on various tangents. A bit like Ronnie Corbett in that big armchair back in the day! Keep em coming ❤
Well put Andy. I like Oasis as well, ever since playing their music as a college deejay back in 1991.But I somehow felt like I was always having to defend why I did. Especially here and to other Americans.
Andy’s trying to attract Oasis fans to his channel now that they have become relevant again. Never heard them mentioned before the reunion announcement. Can’t wait for the Keane resurgence!!
Say what you like about the bad attitudes of snarly Gallaghers, there's no denying their music is monumentally astonishing in its presentation as fingernails down a blackboard and its encyclopedic (just the one page) range in being derivative in 'borrowing' both writing and production from true talents. In the 90s I did believe that with a different writer and a completely different singer, Oasis could have been nearly listenable.
The music world was infected by grunge ..... and Oasis just fit into the template, the music industry applied at that time ... and of course those first records had these qualities as Andy mentioned
Freddie Mercury said it all in one sentence, talent will out. I'm not sure if the move to the new place has anything to do with things, but the quality of the material has taken a distinct dive.
Its self evident that innate talent needs to be developed. A three year old piano prodigy doesn't become a concert pianist without many factors coming together. Compose what you like and put it out there. If you want to aim at fame, study the charts, present your songs with someone who can really sing, and study media techniques, or consult a media publicist if you can afford one, or look out for free videos. Ignore esoteric distractions like class, chaos, order etc - they are things you risk using as excuses and to see youself as a victim. See yourself as an individual on your merits, which is what you are. Just because some creative people are self loathing doesn't mean you have to buy into such a stereotype that may hinder you. Non artistic people also suffer mental illness, and the teenage years have their difficulties for many. Dont rely on the perspectives of one person - no one is the repository of all wisdom, experience, and personality.
Art isn't produced in a vacuum of just the creator. That is a highly bourgeois narcissistic view. It is product of the times and a reflection of society. This idea that you can just buy talent, paint by numbers and be a success is why we have such awful music these days. People who would have been accountants in the 1960s are filling the art and music schools of today. And, of course non artistic people also suffer from mental illness, that is not the scope of this video.
@gauloise6442 How many of Andy's video's have you seen. He often rabbits on about class and privilege, like he may a chip on his shoulder, as well as the self loathing mentally ill artist. That may be his experience and his focus as the lens through which he sees artistic endeavour, but it isn't mine.
A. Stop using the term Judao-Christian. Jews killed Jesus. B. The reason we are talking about Oasis today is because they never went away. You can’t go a day without hearing Look back in anger somewhere. This and a handful of good songs, and the rise up til Knebworth that people remember gave an optimistic time. If Oasis do another record guaranteed it wont be as good. Craftsmen are supposed to improve with time. It’s not like they don’t have time to write. And yet, it can not be equalled by Noel. And it’s not like it’s rocket science.
Talking about talent, did you know that John Harrison, James Clerk Maxwell, and Michael Faraday [all devout Christians] suffered from severe mental health problems? In fact, the incredibly talented and staggeringly creative people responsible for the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution etc [all supporters of the Judeo-Christian worldview] were off their heads on mood stabilizers, and other assorted SSRIs.
Oh, and The Beatles. Also, did you know that Phil Collins of Genesis is a grammar school kid? So even the cheeky chappie 'working class' guy out of super-posh Genesis went to an upper middle class school.
Oh, and The Beatles. Also, did you know that Phil Collins of Genesis is a grammar school kid? So even the cheeky chappie 'working class' guy out of super-posh Genesis went to an upper middle class school.
Gary Numan. The music press killed his career by getting into his head by constantly telling everyone he had no real talent and was killing music by substituting his "lack of talent and musicianship" with technology. But people all over the world loved what he was doing.
The press sure did kill his career. A woman I use to work with, much older than me, proclaimed Numan was a "freak". Pretty deadpan dismissal of him.
Ironic how Numan had iconic, beautiful riffs to rival the 'Rock Gods'.
He can still bring in a decent crowd at smaller venues. He's a workhorse.
The Fairy Progmother 😂
Kate Bush ?
Oasis caught lightning in a bottle - the unstoppable force and the immovable object collided in a perfect storm at a time when we needed a band like Oasis. We needed positivity, snarl, pride, attitude, arrogance and they delivered - they were never boring.
"they were never boring"....have you ever listened to any of their music? Dreary, monotonal, plodding, dull and depressing. Also, a right pair of twats!
I lived between Europe and the USA in the 90s. I hated all the boring, passive, navel gazing grunge bands stuck in the late-stage dying rock dynamic compared to the vibrancy and attitude of Oasis and other UK acts at the time.
What I would point out is Noel Gallagher is a pushy blighter and has turned into a world class namedropping showbiz schmoozer. Liam is the goofy dreamer of the pair. I think what set Oasis apart from the other Brit Pop bands is they weren't self-consciously fey and they were making big anthemic singalong rock. They are often criticised as the most retro band of their generation, but they were the only one that looked and sounded truly contemporary with the wider young British male population of that era without trying. Oasis were a rock band for people who did not naturally gravitate towards rock. A lot of the rave audience liked Oasis.
They were the U2 of the 90s, U2 benefited from dissolution of punk, new wave and post-punk in the mid 80s and a mainstream audience who were finally ready to embrace what to them seemed cool, fresh and the new direction of rock. Oasis were similar for an audience in the mid-90s to whom the likes of the Stone Roses, Mondays, the late 80s early 90s indie bands and grunge went mainly under the radar or they were still kids at the time listening to Kylie and Jason, Madonna and Jive Bunny. Those bands had created the zeitgeist of the times and once all those bands had faded Oasis rode the wave of the energy they had created and brought it full on into the mainstream. Also as you mentioned a lot of rave crowd were ready to listen proper bands again by the mid-90s and Oasis benefited from that good fortune
@@roboi2241 I agree. That is how I saw it at the time. I really like D' You Know What I Mean. There is a huge crushing sonic scale to that single.
@@GlennSmith-m2e Yes that might be my favorite track of theirs, it's got a maturity about it lacking in some of the earlier stuff
You're looking very dapper today.
"Take me out, tonight, where there's music and there's people and they're young and alive"
This line from The Smiths came to my mind when thinking about normal people aspiring to something greater.
An example of what Andy was saying about folk traditions rehashing pre-existing ideas: in your example, The Smiths plagiarising ABBA.
@@mrinalkundu1521 Which song?
@@alternativepreacher4516 Dancing Queen.
@@mrinalkundu1521 Interesting take.
The breakthrough of rock music in the 50s and 60s ultimately depended on the rise in social mobility, certainly in the UK and Europe that was a big factor but also in the States. Working class kids having more opportunities and different avenues than before WW2, a more open and diverse educational system (art schools, colleges etc) - and lots of live venues, pubs (offering the option for live bands) and ballrooms mushrooming everywhere.´´That kind of dynamic closed down, bit by bit, in the 90s and 00s.´´´´´´´´´´´´´´
I remember an observation by Bill Bruford in his autobiography about how the British especially love the 'cult of the amateur'. Sort of the idea that the person strumming away in their bedroom in front of a mirror will be magically discovered and become famous without putting in the thousands of hours of application and repetitive practice necessary to approach mastery.
Nobody has the Manchester Sneer better than Noel G. The axe he grinds is the among sharpest and manifests itself in his unique talent. "Knowwhatimean"?
Leam surely
I actually found that very moving. I wasn't fully aware of Noel's story, and 'House Of The Rising Sun' makes total sense to me, way more so than the usual Beatles guff. Nice one Andy.
Oasis b sides are better than anything in the charts since 2009
...and better than Oasis a sides!
I’ve just been listening to “Acquiesce” and it’s a banger! Really rocks and steams along, both brothers delivering on the vocals in their respective ranges. Can’t help thinking it would make a very fitting first song (the chorus lyrics are also fitting) for when they hit the stages next year!
What a fantastic video have a great d5ay Andy ❤😊
Jamiroquai, around the same time, is an even more striking example. Originally only Jay Kay was under contract, a gifted front man with serious raw talent and some ideas for songs but inexperienced and technically limited as a smucian (by his own admission, he doesn't read or write sheet music by himself, and barely plays any leading instruments). Once Kay and the manager realized that the guy needed a proper live band to work with, not just studio sidemen, Sony put in a great deal of extra work during the preparation and recording of their debut album; the first step was to find a songwriting partner who could translate JK's ideas for songs onto the note paper and flesh the stuff out (keyboardist Toby Smith, also unknown at the time).
. The band were quite good musicians, but like JK; few of them had even been heard on a record or toured widely before - in music business terms they were rookies. Sony also paid up front for strings and brass on the album, and a fairly extended recording time. The entire process seems to have been quite organic, once they saw the direction it needed to go in, and they ended up with a powerhouse soul rock album and a very creditable live band that's paid back a hundredfold - but this kind of "launch strip work" by the label togethr with the band simply doesn't happen today with newly signed bands.
I used to love their interviews more than their music.
I used to believe everyone could be an artist; now I know better. Imagination is more important than knowledge. You can have all the skills and musical licks you want, but it is useless without imagination. Imagination can't be learned and with any kind of skill or innovation at an instrument, we see talent. I did not see much imagination in Oasis, just presentation, the idea of it. And the public imagination wanted to reclaim the British Rock glory of the past.
I work in media and it astounds me how many people in the industry and the press have zero understanding of creativity. They can't explain why something is good or inventive, they just all parrot each other. It's all branding to them. If you show them something innovative that is new and unknown you can see their discomfort. They only like new things when they are told it is ok to like them. It's really depressing .I feel the older generations had a better radar for true talent and things that were different.
I'm in Hollywood, the neighborhood, not the industry (big difference). Whenever I see a guy (always a guy) in full rockstar drag on the street I sing at the top of my lungs whatever comes up. ZZ Top, Hendrix, Beatles, whatever. I can't help it. I live two blocks from the GIT - Guitar Institute of Technology - keys, drums, bass and guitar lessons for 16 thousand per semester. Everytime I see a player (guitar always expensive and in a case) I shout "let's jam!" - for 33 years, not one taker. Yesterday's guitar student did find it amusing and he laughed. I always carry a guitar or ukulele or kalimba when I go for groceries. "It's in tune!" I shouted, "bare naked guitar in tune!" and he laughed and drove away. Posh kids, y' know? In the sixties and seventies total strangers actually jammed.
You're sat in an old mill wearing a cravat. I like it, but don't go mistreating any Victorian urchins. Make sure they get enough gruel.
Fascinating video, Andy - food for thought... ☝️😎
Hello,
I have more than 100 songs, without lyrics but with all the arrangements, only on a cheap 1990 workstation a D-20 and recorded on Minidiscs. I still can compose but when my band stopped i wanted to start my own band. But i am an autist and a dare not make a band without help but my youngest brother (bass, keyboard, guitar player and singer) would not help me. So now i have already 27 years not composed a song. Only 2 days before my mothers funeral i composed and recorded a classical piece for cello and piano in 2016. Now I am old 62 and have cronic deseases and artritis in my hands and my life has been waisted. When my father was on his deadbed (90 years old) he said I have had a good life. He was a working class man. When i want no more of this life i will say i have had a useless life. And not because of my parents, everybody had musical educating paid by my parents. It's me being an autistic person and my youngest brother who didn't want to help me out.
How many times i reworked the lyrics above it did nothing. All the misspelled words are still there and what I wanted away is still there. I tried at least 10 times
treed must be tried
The opinion here in the US is that Oasis is not important, and not particularly good. They are basically one hit wonders here. I always find it interesting to see bands that are huge in one or two countries, and either minimal or nothing in others. There you go, free topic for you.
I can't remember which music submission site it was, it may well have been the one you mentioned, but what I noticed in the comments was how determined people seemed to be to enforce some sort of sonic orthodoxy. There was a super-anal focus on the minutiae of production and very little attention paid to songwriting or performance. Someone I knew recorded a few songs and sent them in, only to have them ripped to pieces. So he decided to hire an outside producer, who persuaded him to hire another singer. So they recorded some new tracks and re-mixed the whole thing, submitted once more and his work was trashed once again. In the meantime the producer had stripped the songs of whatever distinction they'd had in the first place in order to conform to the standard they thought was expected. Networking, even on social media is hard work. I have more than 1200 followers on SoundCloud, it took several years to accumulate them, but no plays at all. You have to be running all the while, standing still really will get you nowhere. I ran out of breath.
Parts of Manchester can absolutely be called a ghetto.
So this one may get some traction! 40K just up on the horizon...
At age 18 to 21 i functioned as my friends "Shaman" . We were all hedonist teens born around 1960 . We all rejected the sports and business paridym of America .and choose ART .. all of us had some innate talents and all went to Music & Art High School ( NYC) but I had discovered sts Peyote and the spiritual that hedonism had led to . ...anywho ANDY i thought it adjacent to what you talk about so much.. .p s. Thanks for you being you. P.S.S innate talents? Well those of us who are still alive All make and produce Art .but only a couple are world famous .
Oh and Charles Ives ...is the best.
Great stuff . . . thought provoking, took me back to my own late '60s at home with a guitar and early '70s meeting a buddy doing the same thing, getting a hip cafe gig and a guy from Manchester saying 'you guys need a drummer', and a year+ in a rehearsal room and a band coming together (all originals) and the drummer, as it happened, had a job in the Polygram Warehouse and getting his boss to a show and this guy, a German in NZ for a 2 or 3 year contract as A&R Director 'getting' our Supertrampy / 10CC ish 'smart aleck pop rock' and signing us, then the first album and so on . . . fairy Godmothers seemed to turn up the more we wrote, rehearsed and performed. Funny that. That was the beauty of that post-Beatles era and it saw us thru the '70s and 'evolved' but by the end of the '90s it was a different landscape really wasn't it? The group had faded away and my buddy and I had formed a company writing soundtracks for anything from ads to movies after requests from local NZ film directors and editors who liked what we doing, and then the big move away from NZ, now with studios in HK, Singapore, Shanghai . . . all gone now as the ad industry collapsed for composers pretty much with the advent of companies cranking out cheap 'copyright free production music'. Managed a coupla dozen albums during that time loosely based on Costes model then another fairy Godmother in the early 2,000s made an introduction to EMI / Abbey Road that resulted in some fun 'Asian Remix Arrangements' for the likes of Bowie, Gorillaz, Robbie Williams, Placebo et al with a host of amazing Nepali, Chinese, Malaysian. Bombay musicians and singers contributing . . . great while it lasted. And so it goes on to this day . . . always evolving, change is a constant in the music biz for sure! Really enjoyed the rave - brought up lotsa memories, thanks for that - let's see what happens next!
Thanks for the above--you have outlined some music businees evolution that I did not know about--cool! 😎
Another brilliant Sunday conversation Andy. I so look forward to hearing from you every weekend. No one on RUclips has your insight or ability to communicate these deeper questions about the creative process. I wish I would have had you as a teacher/mentor in my youth. That experience would have helped me immensely. Bless you for all you do…
Listen to Space Engineer, To Be Loved, Lost in Time. Thanks. Melodic, indie , dream pop. 🎸💫🤟🏻✌️
"Fashion is what people wear who dont know who they are yet "...(Alan Watts)
“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.” Oscar Wilde.
Thanks Andy
your a great teacher
really appreciate your insights and deep dives
Music no longer means what it used to but perhaps because of this it is more precious and powerful
But wtf do I know
I thought this was well put, as a creative bod myself, many of these things have occurred to me and had already come to the conclusion that there’s no thing as innate talent…..but audiences love that sort of thing, so we’re all guilty of feeding that myth. One person that’s often described as a genius is Jimi Hendrix, but apparently he was rarely seen without a guitar and would take it to parties etc….it’s not only practice, but being prepared for when the moment of inspiration strikes. Another aspect is that artistes have to tend their’stock’ or image. The Gallagher’s kept the idea of the Gallagher’s going for all these years and the brand is still intact. In the same way that the idea of Morrissey as the wronged person has been kept alive….but may have taken a right turn too far for most. The same with the idea of Dave ‘the nice guy rock star’ Grohl has been kept going (I never bought it by the way) ….and may now be at the knackers :) !
Xanax killed Art!
Great stuff. What you said about depression and anxiety being the flip side of creativity really underscores what has been going on in society medicating the depression and anxiety out of kids who would have otherwise been creative artists. I think it is one of the reasons the arts and pop culture have gone downhill so rapidly since the 90s.
Good advice, Andy. Very very few musicians who decide to craft and distribute their music have that necessary X or WOW factor. Sometimes no matter how long and hard you work, you may not get to that ‘success’ promised land. And that’s ok. I think our culture places too much emphasis on fame and celebrity (and social media analytics). If you enjoy playing and making music, don’t let unrealistic goals, expectations and outcomes get in the way of that! Hobbies are important for our mental health and creative growth. Moreover, music is important to our cultural fabric, and a big part of that fabric is folk who simply do music for fun.
Completely agree with you.
Same with sports.The vast majority who play sports will never be good enough to be a pro, never mind a top pro.
Just doing something which you love will bring joy into your life, so will be worth doing even if you never make a penny from it.
Please do a philosophy Sunday on the role of ego in being an artist. Including, does one need to be an egomaniac or does that help?
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Mike Oldfield put it another way - 'It's bloody hard work '
So Prince Andrew is no genius.
I think you're over mystifying the success of Oasis. It's the popular narrative that they connected with a movement or feeling at the time. But when I first heard Oasis on the radio in the US, with no knowledge of who they were, I instantly connected with the song. Why? Its melody and production. Oasis did what more so-called accomplished musicians can never do, that is write songs and melodies that strike an unconscious chord with people, that people want to sing along to. Steve Vai hasn't done that once in his lifetime. There's no message in Oasis. Many of Noel's lyrics are nonsensical (unless you consider two words like "live forever" as having deep meaning). But every syllable matches perfectly with the song. That's all you need. A singable and likable song is timeless. Musical talent is having the ear to pick out those things.
Yes, there are literally thousands upon thousands of better technical guitarists than NG, but they are unable to to simplify their technical abilities and get down to writing simple, catchy hooks and riffs like NG did so well.
Just listen to the guitar solo in Love Forever. It's simple, but truly beautiful to the ear.
@@Carboggg Agreed!
As an American you're not necessarily going to understand the British working class appeal of a band like Oasis. The aspirational 'gotta make it happen' message was a huge part of their mass appeal and explained why they became much bigger than Blur who won over the middle class students in huge numbers but came across like pretentious posers to so many Oasis fans.
Couldn’t agree more. I saw them before they had a record contract and no body had heard of them (including me). They were fantastic because of their music. They didn’t represent any larger idea… they represented them selves. Just like you said, it doesn’t matter how ‘talented’ you are it is what you produce and how it affects the listener. IMO Taylor Swift is just as good but for other people.
@@jamesgriffithsmusic Yes, I'm talking about why they had worldwide appeal. You know, for all those countries that don't understand British working class, although we all have working class people. You do sound like you're just parroting what all the music critics said at the time. It's kind of a cliche now. And I like Blur for Graham Coxon's innovative guitar playing.
Love the dress!
Me too!!
I thought the songs were amazing in 1994, but then it was also short lived. It's like there was something related to the very existence of the band, the context, which made it impossible for Noel to keep writing good songs, as soon as they got rich and successful. It's a common thing in rock music, but rarely exacerbated as much as in Oasis. The second album was the most successful (it had all the hits), but the contrast with the first album is striking, and is not something that is mentioned enough, and on all accounts it was a conscious change of direction by Noel. It's like the second album was reaching the full extent of their potential for commercial success, while already showing signs of creative downfall. And the 3rd album was the end of Oasis (for me).
I thought their first album was a classic, but the only song I loved on the second was Champagne Supernova.
I thought songs like 'roll with it' and ''don't look back in anger' we're ponderous and lacking the oomph of the first album. Don't even get me started on Wonderwall.
I did like Whatever you want, but that was about it for me with Oasis.
@@Carboggg yes the second album had its fair share of songs that already were empty parodies of the Oasis sound, keeping a semblance of the form, devoid of any passion and drive, 'Roll With It' being the prime example. But then it was the sound that brought them international successful and that people associated with Oasis (when the first album was more of a UK phenomenon), and the momentum would carry on for at least another album, whatever they released, as long as it had guitars and Liam's voice doing Liam on top.
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. This book addresses some of your thesis.
Reverent Andy ... this is a song about hope .... This was like a gospel session ... a great speech about life in general .. like on every philosophical sunday
Selling the sizzle before the steak could only happen in Britain.
The most fickle music scene on the planet.
Wow 🤩👍
Nailed it there Andy
Bravo!
Thank you 🙏
House Of The Rising Sun is also the first song I learned, and don't think it has any other reason than the fact it was often the first song used in (old) guitar method books, as an introduction to finger picking (which used to be the first style of accompaniment taught for complete beginners since the 60's, up to the 80's). I think the reason is the same for Noel. Maybe if he didn't buy a guitar method book himself, someone would have showed the song to him.
Noel Gallagher auditioned for Inspiral Carpets, but was knocked back. They took him on as a roadie as a consolation prize. And as for writing songs- nobody does it just for themselves. When you write a good song, you want SOMEBODY to hear it and appreciate it.
Liam was a pain in the ass.
And what an energy always with his hands behinds his back...what a live performance. And singing out of tune.
@@henrydebruijn2259
I liked his voice on record and enjoyed listening to his interviews (Noel's were even better) but never got the hype about him being a great front man of a rock band.
As you rightly said, he just stood there with hands behind his back and walked across the stage a bit. Zero energy or stage charisma if you ask me.Also his live vocals were as flat as a cheese board and live the whole band sounded very pub rocky to me.
That said, their debut album was great enough for me to always have a bit of a soft spot for them.
...and mike stuck a foot above his head.....
@@paulhargreaves1497
I remember seeing some footage of them playing some festival in Europe. Apart from maybe a couple of hundred (at most) of people at the front, the rest of the crowd looked bored stiff by the performance.
They simply couldn't engage non Oasis fans with their zero energy live show.
You aren't from Stourbridge, or nearby, are you? You sound like guys I grew up with 🎉🙏🏾
Interesting thoughts Andy.
It is obvious where the actual talent lay in Oasis, Noel has still been able to have a career with High Flying Birds, and I know people who prefer that to Oasis. He's still writing hook laden songs that get crowds going, that's what he's good at, that is his talent.
Liam on the other hand is making basic rock and roll records that others can do far better, and whenever he opens his mouth, all I can hear is Oasis, if it wasn't for Noel, he'd be nowhere. His latest album is interesting for John Squires excellent blues guitar playing, but the songs Liam has written; Liam Songs a Rainbow and Liam Talks to the Trees, utter fucking garbage 🗑️. I feel Liam needs the reunion more than Noel.
So, the regular but talented High School Girl becomes the Role Model for all these Taylor Swift Fans?
Oasis is great and all. This video is great as well. But Oasis the band was already overrated. Now they're old dudes and have no reason to reunite except for a cash grab. However, getting Noel out there expressing his hilarious opinion on everything would be worth it.
Are you watching today?
wtf is the video about? wtf? Cain & Abel? 😵💫😵💫🤢🤢😹😹
Noel Gallagher is the most authentic musician alive.
This was such a masterclass! Andy, you should download the transcription of this post and make a book out of it!
It's really and idea of Plato who influenced early christian writers.
well well, it seems like Andy is indeed "mud ferret"!
Nope! I remember that first album it was good. They never got close to that again. I have never played an Oasis album knowingly because they are absolute shite now. I don’t blame them for that most artists only have one thing to say. Dylan had four! Imagine art outside of capitalism… better subject. Imagine art without Capitalism. Imagine that. Imagine it. If mega fame is in that dream you are not imagining properly. Imagine!
The first album is the best by far.
Oasis were very mediocre and most of their songs were derivative (i.e crappy analogues of songs from 'Tommy' and other plagiarised 60s/70s R&B bland anthemic stuff). IMO they were 'talent-spotted' because of Liam's looks/attitude - had nothing to do with Noel and his songwriting - and turned into an indy boy-band. A bit like the Monkees ('The Northern Monkees' would have been a good name for them).
Noel Gallagher’s songs aren’t good. They’re illiterate, meaningless rubbish. If I’d written Wonderwall, I would’ve chucked it, for the excellent reason that it’s crap.
@@67Parsifal you did and look where you are
👉🔥🚬🥸 great rant
Interesting that George Harrison used to say that he believed Oasis would be better without Liam. Perhaps that was his down to his instinctive antipathy towards the chaos of the material world.
Oasis wouldve been nowhere without Liam
Noel does it better and writes everything so yes, George was 💯 correct.
@@youarefreetodoaswetellyou1371 Lennon and McCartney wrote almost all the Beatles songs, so would the Beatles have been better without George> Band chemistry is more than just who writes what.
@@gauloise6442 Liam and his tambourine is a big stretch to Ringo mate nevermind George who wrote amazing songs and was always the lead guitarist. and a much better lead guitarist than noels pentatonic "solos"
Brillian! Andy you're like the older brother I never had.....Well except for Tommy of Course. Sorry Tom! All kidding aside You have a beautiful mind! My guru. Don't ever stop. We all need this.
Excellent podcast! I recall performing at a company function. For a few weeks I was a star among my coworkers. Sitting with others at a break, someone paid me a compliment and asked, “How did you become so good?” Before I could respond with a pseudo humble response, another coworker beat me to the punch. His reply was this, “Instead of being outside playing baseball he was locked in his room playing guitar for hours upon hours!” Although I knew this was true, I also grappled with the idea of what is talent. I think this video settled that question for once and for all. Thank you, Andy!
Is this related to why it is difficult for adults to learn an instrument? Or is the question, are there any middle aged persons who after two years of learning an instrument, becoming famous?
Great insight into Oasis' success. The third factor that can't be overstated is how they appeared at the exact right moment in post-Thatcher Britain, when younguns were in a bleak situation and looking for some optimism and celebration. So much '80s synthpop and NME-approved was too clever-clever and arch. Remember when bands were criticized for being too 'rockist'? Oasis thankfully destroyed that frame.
You’re absolutely right about “it isn’t about what you know, it’s about WHO you know”. I saw Oasis at Glastonbury in 1994 and I thought they were bloody awful. I’m a big fan of Slade and the Three Stooges but Oasis to me are an unholy lobotomised combination of these two great acts and just don’t make the cut. Not in a million years. Most of their material is the result of plagiarism and the tunes they ripped off were already etched in the minds of a large percentage of the general public before they appeared. During the gig I heard them murdering “I Am The Walrus” and “Get It On” by T.Rex. A week or two later I found out that “Get It On” was actually the A-Side of their first single mentioned above but they’d changed the title to “Cigarettes And Alcohol” and NG’s name was on the label as the songwriter. Very creative. Beatles(?), Slade(6) and T.Rex(4) had a lot of number one singles. Apart from the hype they received this is probably the main thing that helped them. As for “House Of The Rising Sun”, funny how he chose that one because it’s a traditional song that caused the rift in the Animals because in the absence of a songwriter the royalties devolved to the arranger and Alan Price who somehow took credit for that job ran off with all the songwriting royalties. But crucially, the song was already in the public domain. What NG said about how all Oasis tracks are derived from this one song is a way of avoiding paying for breach of copyright, which is the same as Angus Young saying that all AC/DC songs are inspired by Chuck Berry rather than ALL the hard rock and glam bands from the UK that toured Australia in the early 70s. It’s just BS. I realise my opinion on their music is irrelevant but this is the other part of my theory as to how they made it big. At this point of their existence they had been tipped by Melody Maker as the next big thing and had a single out which I hadn’t heard so I thought I’d investigate and see what the fuss was all about. Apart from Supergrass (I think), most MM tips as to who would be the “next big thing” in the 90s were never seen again and I wrongly thought this would be the case with these guys. On the morning of the day they played I was struck by the sight of all these crazy mixed up kids in their early teens who were running around wearing black Oasis t-shirts which I thought was highly unusual because they hadn’t yet had that much airplay and a back catalogue rather too slender (one single) to warrant a range of t-shirts let alone the ENORMOUS job lot of shirts I saw wandering around that day. What I think happened was this: Oasis’s management showed up at Glastonbury and said: “hey kids, have a free t-shirt of this great band and by the way they’re playing at the MM stage this afternoon” and for me this was a hype job that actually worked. There must have been hundreds of kids who had NEVER heard Oasis or heard of them for that matter running around with these t-shirts on. Dreadful as I found it, this gig was definitely one of their breakthrough gigs and an exercise in hype that worked. That was largely down to Alan McGee, who also got lucky here - he had already promoted and later went on to promote other acts that went nowhere. As for Cain and Abel, Abel didn’t last very long and is already gone by the time you get to the end of the first few chapters of Genesis but these two clowns are still around. Heard the Liam Gallagher gig last night. He had a good band behind him that, apart from a couple of classy Pete Townshend moves from the guitarist, sounded just like Slade, but LG isn’t Noddy Holder and if he ever had a voice - and I didn’t notice it much in 1994 - it’s gone now. Anyone who didn’t manage to get a ticket for Oasis in 2025 would be better off buying “Slade Alive”, “Slade Alive Vol 2” and “Slade Alive At Reading 1980” and listening to them while watching a Three Stooges box set on silent on the TV and getting through a lot of beers, wines and spirits etc instead. You’ll have a better time without wasting anything near as much as £800 on a ticket for the next round of Oasis gigs.
Cigarettes and Alcohol wasn't the first single. But it was based on T-Rex
@@darrenthornton-coates Thanks for putting me straight.
@@PaddyBaxter-ji8in It's not massively important lol, given his industrial level of musical theft. Sorry, I mean "inspiration" 🎶🎧🎸😂
@@darrenthornton-coates 🤣
Very good, Andi. I am a good cook, but not because of a big talent, just because I like to do it and do it every day. I am a good guitar player, because I have talent and I spent all these hours. Wich became my profession? I became a guitar player, now for 42 years and still practicing, playing, dreaming, writing....
Blur > Oasis
You've been watching the Gibson Icons documentary. Watched it myself this afternoon 👍🏻
Andy, if you keep repeating, keep praticing, keep working philosophy over and over again, and if you are telented at it, philosophy ( and you are ), you do get very good at it. You are!
Terrific analysis Andy. Suggestions for future videos: 1. The 'ripoff' one you mentioned. 2. Unlike Oasis - top 10 ex-bands that have steadfastly always refused to reform!
Andy Edwards, Jungian Analyst and Shamanic Drummer. Really interesting synthesis of some big ideas, mate.
I never begrudge anyone their success. Virtually noone ever "lucks" into success. That said I never bought into Oasis. Maybe it's Liam. My favorite Liam moment was on an MTV awards performance where he dumps his beer on the stage as they walked off. The host Dennis Miller (sarcasticaly) "Wow, he's so cool- he dumped his beer on the stage!"
Jean Jacques Rousseau? Isn’t he in The Stranglers?
What a great video, you're one of the few youtube music creators I know that can actually tackle these genuinely deep issues connected to art and music. BTW since you've mentioned Rousseau, essentialism etc, I wonder if you've read ">The Dawn of Everything" by Graeber and Wengrow, I think you'd find it interesting.
all Oasis albums are great. especially Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
But Cinderella is not the story of an ordinary person. Cinderella is the high born daughter who is then subjugated by her step mother and sisters and then regains her high status.
The fairy godmother get-up is quite flattering, Andy.
Hi Andy. Recently started watching your videos. I love the way you are looking at rock and pop with a more academic approach. It's not too dry though as you have a natural flare for communication (not just through repetition, though of course we all need to practise to get better!) And you inject it all with humour. Sometimes a bit muddled, as your enthusiasm takes you on various tangents. A bit like Ronnie Corbett in that big armchair back in the day! Keep em coming ❤
4K in title hilarious, Nicely dome bro
Superb video, I'm not an Oasis fan but the back story is great. It's nice to hear it intertwined with your philosophy
A very helpful video. Thanks.
The reason we listen you rant for hours is your essence which is you have none. Whatever rant itself is the essence.
Is that a recording console in the back there? What kind?
Ambition is the word and whence it comes no one can know.
Oasis is just Nigel farage in rhyme
but really just a generic poor copy of rock music
Well put Andy. I like Oasis as well, ever since playing their music as a college deejay back in 1991.But I somehow felt like I was always having to defend why I did. Especially here and to other Americans.
Oasis released their first album in 94.
94 stand corrected
Andy’s trying to attract Oasis fans to his channel now that they have become relevant again. Never heard them mentioned before the reunion announcement. Can’t wait for the Keane resurgence!!
Say what you like about the bad attitudes of snarly Gallaghers, there's no denying their music is monumentally astonishing in its presentation as fingernails down a blackboard and its encyclopedic (just the one page) range in being derivative in 'borrowing' both writing and production from true talents. In the 90s I did believe that with a different writer and a completely different singer, Oasis could have been nearly listenable.
Oasis... aaaagggghhh!
The music world was infected by grunge ..... and Oasis just fit into the template, the music industry applied at that time ... and of course those first records had these qualities as Andy mentioned
Freddie Mercury said it all in one sentence, talent will out. I'm not sure if the move to the new place has anything to do with things, but the quality of the material has taken a distinct dive.
Oh yeah, let's go back to clickbait listicles. This is much better content.
In search of the fourth chord.
oasis songs have atleast 6 chords.
@@bobsbigboy_ thats decent .
Its self evident that innate talent needs to be developed. A three year old piano prodigy doesn't become a concert pianist without many factors coming together. Compose what you like and put it out there. If you want to aim at fame, study the charts, present your songs with someone who can really sing, and study media techniques, or consult a media publicist if you can afford one, or look out for free videos. Ignore esoteric distractions like class, chaos, order etc - they are things you risk using as excuses and to see youself as a victim. See yourself as an individual on your merits, which is what you are. Just because some creative people are self loathing doesn't mean you have to buy into such a stereotype that may hinder you. Non artistic people also suffer mental illness, and the teenage years have their difficulties for many. Dont rely on the perspectives of one person - no one is the repository of all wisdom, experience, and personality.
Art isn't produced in a vacuum of just the creator. That is a highly bourgeois narcissistic view. It is product of the times and a reflection of society. This idea that you can just buy talent, paint by numbers and be a success is why we have such awful music these days. People who would have been accountants in the 1960s are filling the art and music schools of today. And, of course non artistic people also suffer from mental illness, that is not the scope of this video.
@gauloise6442 How many of Andy's video's have you seen. He often rabbits on about class and privilege, like he may a chip on his shoulder, as well as the self loathing mentally ill artist. That may be his experience and his focus as the lens through which he sees artistic endeavour, but it isn't mine.
A. Stop using the term Judao-Christian. Jews killed Jesus.
B. The reason we are talking about Oasis today is because they never went away. You can’t go a day without hearing Look back in anger somewhere. This and a handful of good songs, and the rise up til Knebworth that people remember gave an optimistic time. If Oasis do another record guaranteed it wont be as good. Craftsmen are supposed to improve with time. It’s not like they don’t have time to write. And yet, it can not be equalled by Noel. And it’s not like it’s rocket science.
19:10 they did pay off a lot of people for obvious copy and paste
Talking about talent, did you know that John Harrison, James Clerk Maxwell, and Michael Faraday [all devout Christians] suffered from severe mental health problems? In fact, the incredibly talented and staggeringly creative people responsible for the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution etc [all supporters of the Judeo-Christian worldview] were off their heads on mood stabilizers, and other assorted SSRIs.
And that's the conundrum, you have to sound different as an artist to make it but the listeners just want more of the same, even if it's boring
Oh, and The Beatles. Also, did you know that Phil Collins of Genesis is a grammar school kid? So even the cheeky chappie 'working class' guy out of super-posh Genesis went to an upper middle class school.
Oh, and The Beatles. Also, did you know that Phil Collins of Genesis is a grammar school kid? So even the cheeky chappie 'working class' guy out of super-posh Genesis went to an upper middle class school.
I think his dad worked in the City of London and while he might not have gone to a public school his family wasn’t short of money from what I gather.
I went to a Grammar school....and I am definitely working class scum!
@@Steve-i6p me too