I know the big BritPop 'war' of the 90s and early 2000s was always pitting Blur fans against Oasis fans, but I'll take The Verve over both of them. And not just for the ubiquitous Bittersweet Symphony. In fact, their last (and final?) album, Forth is brilliant.
Generic, corporate rock for basic bitches.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | September 20, 2020 5:53 AM |
[quote] their last (and final?) album,
Oh dear.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | September 20, 2020 5:53 AM |
Please. I lived through the Nineties. Even straights thought the Verve were a joke.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | September 20, 2020 6:04 AM |
The Doves were better than all of them.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | September 20, 2020 6:52 AM |
They were not better than either. Oasis is the best out the three and Liam Gallagher has put out some really good solo music within the last few years.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | September 20, 2020 7:01 AM |
Pulp were classier than all of those.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | September 20, 2020 7:10 AM |
Stereophonics were best.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | September 20, 2020 7:11 AM |
Oasis!!!
Perhaps the best thing about
by Anonymous | reply 8 | September 20, 2020 8:22 AM |
Perhaps the best thing about Oasis fandom was Oasis fanfiction with LOTS of gay sex and, ummmm, 'brotherly love'.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | September 20, 2020 8:23 AM |
They’re very underrated,OP. I agree.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | September 20, 2020 8:27 AM |
Pulp were the greatest r6 is right. The Michael Jackson incident just made me love Jarvis Cocker even more.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | September 20, 2020 5:29 PM |
The Verve didn't have a hook. The Gallaghers were/are cunts, Jarvis Crocker had the whole louche vibe. Blur had pretty boy Damon Albarn. Richard Ashcroft is just a good singer/songwriter (I think his drug addiction was eclipsed by Pete Doherty). Noel Gallagher respects The Verve so obviously they're great. I think Noel even said he wishes that he had written "History".
by Anonymous | reply 12 | September 20, 2020 9:09 PM |
"This Time" by The Verve is on the March 1998 Gap In-Store Playlist!
by Anonymous | reply 13 | September 20, 2020 9:12 PM |
Loved The Verve. Interestingly, then lost the rights to all of their music in a lawsuit. They sampled a Rolling Stones song without permission and couldn't afford to fight in court so they threw in the towel and the Rolling Stones manager now owns their entire catalogue.
Here's a short documentary about it.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | September 20, 2020 9:20 PM |
The addendum to that story is that last year Mick and Keith relented and will retain the writing credit and pass the royalties to Ashcroft.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | September 20, 2020 9:27 PM |
Liam Gallagher is the greatest frontman ever!
by Anonymous | reply 16 | September 20, 2020 11:09 PM |
Agreed with those who loved Pulp. They were so damn good. Plus, The Stone Roses were far and away the best Brit Band of the 90s (even if they started in the 80s).
Oh, Blue kicked Oasis' arse.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | September 20, 2020 11:53 PM |
The Verve totally ripped off The Last Time.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | September 21, 2020 12:45 AM |
R17 Blue?!?
Blue was a fucking generic boyband, fyi. :-D
by Anonymous | reply 19 | September 21, 2020 5:52 PM |
r18 And the Rolling Stones ripped off another artist who is the original composer, so it was weird that The Verve got sued by them. So the Verve sampled an already sampled song.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | September 21, 2020 7:06 PM |
Honestly, fuck Muck and Keith R15. I was always a RS fan but their greed and pettiness over this issue soured me on them for life. No doubt they lost younger fans over it too (I'm in my 50s).
Too little too late as far as I can see. Magnanimous my arse.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | September 21, 2020 7:24 PM |
I mean, R21, Richard Ashcroft seemed very pleased with the end result, is it really worth holding a grudge over it at this stage?
by Anonymous | reply 22 | September 21, 2020 7:25 PM |
Yea, that song about the freshman is sooo good.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | September 21, 2020 7:26 PM |
They all thought they were going to be superstars but their egos got in the way. Now no one remembers them.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | September 21, 2020 7:27 PM |
The song The Verve supposedly ripped off, was from an orchestrated version of a Rolling Stone song. Isn't this the same as rappers 'sampling' rock songs?
Don't Mick and Keith have enough money?
by Anonymous | reply 25 | September 21, 2020 7:30 PM |
Please ring me when the time machine returns from 1998.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | September 21, 2020 7:34 PM |
The Verve, Oasis, Portishead and all the other British Invasion artists was the soundtrack of my 20's. It was my transition out of New Wave and into a whole new genre. I credit the public radio morning show Mornings Are Eclectic on NPR. I would listen every morning at work.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | September 21, 2020 7:48 PM |
[quote] Blur had pretty boy Damon Albarn.
Do you have a visual impairment?
Alex was pretty, even beautiful. Still is, really. Though of course he’s an enormous tosser with it. Damo was cute, at best, and not necessarily always more so than Gra.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | September 21, 2020 8:15 PM |
r27 - I think you're referring to Morning Becomes Eclectic from KCRW in Santa Monica/LA
by Anonymous | reply 29 | September 21, 2020 8:20 PM |
Me thinks, Alex James has lost his looks a bit? Karma?
by Anonymous | reply 30 | September 21, 2020 8:21 PM |
R8/R9 well, that’s Mancs for you. No-one else is going to have them gladly.
I hear tell they used to have gravel for breakfast and nick tyres for a living, as urchins living out of bins behind the Virgin Megastore on Market Street.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | September 21, 2020 8:23 PM |
R30 that is a fucking tragedy. Or a travesty. Perhaps both.
Moment of silence for Alex’s looks.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | September 21, 2020 8:25 PM |
r29 I stand corrected. I can't remember the name of the DJ. It's funny, at that time, I started turning off KROQ because they fell into a programming nosedive, constantly playing the same stuff every other hour. (see: FUCKING ALANIS MORRISETTE!!!). It made me fucking crazy and I was looking for something new, and a coworker turned me on to KCRW.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | September 21, 2020 8:27 PM |
R33 - Jason Bentley (who was quite cute) was the longtime host of Morning Becomes Eclectic until recently. He was preceded by Brit Nic Harcourt until 2008. It's now hosted by Anne Litt. And, yeah, it's undoubtedly one of the most influential alternative/indie music shows in the country and has been for decades. In the pre-streaming/on-demand age they were known for 'breaking' a lot of bands in the US. Not sure if they really have the same influence anymore, but they're definitely an institution.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | September 21, 2020 8:34 PM |
Dream pop, shoegaze, triphop, darkwave, and trance were all superior jandra.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | September 21, 2020 8:48 PM |
Wasn't Alex James the guy who literally blew about $2million on his coke habit? I remember a documentary about him which aired on BBCAmerica a few years ago.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | September 21, 2020 9:03 PM |
R37 that is he.
He also used to fight people while plastered (and he was permadrunk and permahigh for about a decade), and worse pressure very young Blur groupies into sucking him off (giving the practise the charming moniker of ‘Blurjobs’). He always would insist on getting chummy with the scummiest of Tory twits & twats in the press, as well as gay-bait though he’s about 85% hetero and closeted.
As for the music, he treated the whole endeavour like one big joke and never bothered to practise or rehearse, let alone write any sincere decent songs. What a real musician could have done with his break and his money...
But of course he’s beyond reproach as he’s a toff, and better yet now a family-man who does respectable worthwhile things like flogging overpriced deli food to Waitrose and writing columns for the Telegraph and going on those deathly boring and humble bragging contest shows like Opera Star. Upper middle-class people defend each other to the death, and he is still a Prince among them despite once graffitiing ‘Modern Life is Rubbish’ on a wall.
Must say I liked him better back when he was a sinner, and I didn’t really like him much then. At least he used to be honest. He was objectively fucking gorgeous as a young man, though. Carved by angels. Maybe that warped his sense of entitlement into something very ugly.
David Walliams absolutely skewered him in a Blur parody sketch on Rock Profile. And the demonic antagonist character Murdoc of Albarn’s band Gorillaz is apparently somewhat based on Alex.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | September 21, 2020 9:42 PM |
R38, that was hysterical. Jimmy Fallon looks a bit like Alex, he would probably do a great imitation.
This is one of the times Jimmy has parodied Sting,. here he's with Rachel Dratch as Cheb Mami.
This isn't clear, but it's damn funny.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | September 22, 2020 4:27 AM |
Mmmmm. Blur. They were sooooo hot! Young hot, hard, handsome, wasted boys.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | September 22, 2020 5:21 AM |
Those Lucas and Walliams "Rock Profiles" were hilarious! And Jamie Theakson was adorable as anything. Gosh, good times!
by Anonymous | reply 42 | September 22, 2020 5:28 AM |
R42 thanks to ROCK PROFILE I still call Jamie Theakston, “Thaxton”, to this day.
The Kylie & Danii sketch is another classic. And the immortal Shirley Bassey/Tom Jones 😂 “she doesn’t have the range”
by Anonymous | reply 43 | September 22, 2020 8:05 AM |
But Oasis was the best.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | September 22, 2020 8:14 AM |
Blur could be chav fun (Girls And Boys), experimental artsy Brit Pop (The Universal), and rock (Song 2).
Oasis (Liam & Noel) were rivaling cunts with no stage presence. The fight between the brothers were the most interesting part about them.
Pulp was glam rock. They were fun.
The Verve were just as boring as Oasis.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | September 22, 2020 8:52 AM |
Looking back, I believe Supergrass were as good if not better than the other Britpop groups of that era. Their music still sounds fresh, the other bands records sound dated.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | September 22, 2020 10:34 AM |
Say what you like, but The Verve’s ‘Love Is Noise’ is sublime, and eerily prescient.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | September 22, 2020 11:03 AM |
I just remember Dyke Spice calling them "The Vehv!" on some guest VJ shit back in the day.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | September 22, 2020 11:25 AM |
Liam Gallagher is basically in love with Rich.
They do have a very odd friendship, with Britpop, Northern roots, and a God complex the only common ground between them.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | September 24, 2020 11:33 PM |
I can only imagine the spirited debates OP has had regarding Nickleback vs. Coldplay while drinking wine coolers
by Anonymous | reply 52 | September 24, 2020 11:37 PM |
Regardless if you like the Verve, Oasis, Blur, etc., there simply is no comparing them to Nickelback or Coldplay....or Maroon 5 for that matter. The latter are just terrible with no redeeming qualities.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | September 24, 2020 11:39 PM |
Until this year, I lived a few towns over from where Ashcroft and his family live now.
It’s an obscure rural place where no-one is impressed by celebrities (I also lived a short walk from Richard Hammond, who all the locals hate, but that’s another story), and so I half-expected I’d see him once or twice out and about on walks or in the pub. However, it never happened in the fifteen years we were both in the area. No-one I know back home ever saw him beyond his house, either. Suppose he keeps to himself and his circle, and I can’t say as I blame him given how people are now.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | September 24, 2020 11:49 PM |
I was always more into Suede. Brett Anderson had such a bisexual dandy vibe to him that I couldn't help but love him. I've understood he was (is?) deep into heroin which is a real shame.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | September 24, 2020 11:51 PM |
R55, I love Suede too. I never thought Brett was addicted to drugs, but i could be completely wrong. To me, everything Brett did was manufactured to generate controversy. I was felt Suede was playing at being depressed/drug addicted versus The Smiths (who genuinely are depressed).
by Anonymous | reply 56 | September 24, 2020 11:54 PM |
Never understood how a man who carries around a gladiolus stem could be truly depressed.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | September 25, 2020 12:00 AM |
I had a crush on Damon Albarn when I was in middle school.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | September 25, 2020 12:01 AM |
Blur was the best, plus Damon gave us Gorillaz, so that's my pick.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | September 25, 2020 12:09 AM |
The rolling stones ripped off k.d lang
by Anonymous | reply 60 | September 25, 2020 12:22 AM |
I fucking hate Oasis. Cunts.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | September 25, 2020 12:22 AM |
The verve is still together? Richard ashcroft went solo right? Is he still fucked up on drugs?
by Anonymous | reply 62 | September 25, 2020 12:23 AM |
R56:
"The recording of Suede's Head Music was plagued with difficulties such as Anderson's addiction to heroin and crack cocaine which showed in his increasingly unpredictable behaviour and gaunt appearance, which contrasted with his previously healthy and androgynous appearance. He was addicted for two and a half years, but stopped in late 1999, when somebody very close to him became ill. He has been clean since. Speaking of his addiction, Anderson said, "Anyone who has ever tried crack will know exactly why I took it. It's the scariest drug in the world because the hit you get from it is so, so seductive. I wanted to experience that, and I did – repeatedly."
by Anonymous | reply 63 | September 25, 2020 12:34 AM |
R63, god, not just heroin but crack!? At least that explains why Head Music sucks in comparison to Coming Up.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | September 25, 2020 12:37 AM |
I agree, OP. Urban Hymns was amazing. Noel and Liam have also both spoken very highly of the Verve themselves.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | September 25, 2020 1:24 AM |
Aw. I LOVE Head Music, R64.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | September 25, 2020 2:16 AM |
R66, I think their debut through Coming Up was their peak. Oh, their album Sci-Fi Lullabies is amazing too (it's never released songs and B-sides).
by Anonymous | reply 67 | September 25, 2020 2:34 AM |
R54 + R55: if you like Suede and music memoirs, Anderson's two memoirs (the first ends just after Suede signed their first record deal, which is where the second one picks up) are worth reading.
R55: if we can believe Anderson (and I do), he is completely clean these days.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | September 25, 2020 7:34 AM |
r16 Bugger off, Liam!
by Anonymous | reply 69 | September 25, 2020 11:57 AM |
I actually thought Liam was hot for a quick second as a 90's teen.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | September 25, 2020 11:58 AM |
Fuck you, R61.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | September 25, 2020 8:08 PM |
[quote]I also lived a short walk from Richard Hammond, who all the locals hate, but that’s another story
When I think of Richard Hammond I just think of comedian Stewart Lee's take down of "Top Gear". Hilarious.
[quote]I was always more into Suede
I came into Suede by way of Bernard Butler's solo work. I prefer his solo stuff, but can see the appeal of Suede.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | September 26, 2020 8:25 PM |
Blur is my choice. I still love them.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | September 26, 2020 8:51 PM |
I liked Suede, Mansun, and the Stone Roses the most. Back in the day, I also listened to Placebo, but I outgrew them. I never, ever understood the hype around Blur and Oasis.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | September 26, 2020 9:04 PM |
R75 there are people who actually actively listen to Mansun in 2020? That’s like being a ride-or-die fan of Starsailor.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | September 26, 2020 9:43 PM |
[quote] Oasis is the best out the three
The most derivative of the three, you mean
by Anonymous | reply 77 | September 26, 2020 9:48 PM |
Massive and unapologetic Oasis fan. Could give a fuck less. EXCELLENT live band. Love them.
My favorites are Columbia, Don't Look Back In Anger, and Don't Look Back In Anger...
by Anonymous | reply 78 | September 26, 2020 9:51 PM |
Y'all can fight over those groups, but this song was one of THE songs of Britpop for me.
Bernard Butler and David McAlmont, an amazing vocalist. TRANSCENDENT.
by Anonymous | reply 79 | September 26, 2020 9:52 PM |
And R78 is fucked in the head!
I meant Colombia, Don't Look Back In Anger, and Morning Glory.
by Anonymous | reply 80 | September 26, 2020 9:53 PM |
Didn’t give a fuck about any of them, OP.
Spent the 90s growing up on actual quality British pop. I always have and always will favour the female-fronted acts of the period, such as bôa, theaudience, Curve, Lush, Moloko, and The Sundays.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | September 26, 2020 9:57 PM |
Wow, Richard Ashcroft's marriage to Spiritualized's Kate Radley has really lasted: 25 years and counting.
I suppose the only people who pay any attention to Ashcroft at all these days are his contemporaries (40s and up). Younger people are probably barely aware of him, even in Britain, to the point where he can lead a relatively anonymous life.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | September 26, 2020 9:58 PM |
This live performance featuring Jarvis and Pulp WAS my sexual awakening back in 1994. I was the only gayling I knew who had a crush on him; he seemed to appeal more to straight girls.
[quote]Wasps. Well, yeah, because they just sting people for no reason at all. If a bee stings you, it's got a reason, because it has a pay with its life, whereas wasps can just sting people for no reason at all, as many times as they want. And there are some people like that as well; in fact some people even enjoy stinging you as many times as they can.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | September 26, 2020 10:02 PM |
R81 Yes! Moloko, The Sundays, later Everything But The Girl, Echobelly, and so on.
by Anonymous | reply 84 | September 26, 2020 10:06 PM |
R83 I dated a guy who looked exactly like Jarvis, so yes, I get the love for the nerdy louche types.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | September 26, 2020 10:07 PM |
I loved Blur back in my teens but cannot really listen to them as an adult. The Gorillaz are better than they ever were. I’ve been listening to Pulp since I was 12 and their music has just become even more enjoyable.
by Anonymous | reply 86 | September 26, 2020 10:34 PM |
[quote] Spent the 90s growing up on actual quality British pop. I always have and always will favour the female-fronted acts of the period
You don't sound sexist at all. I hope you realize how silly you sound when you proclaim that that bands you listed are somehow musically above Oasis, Suede and others.
I vaguely remember only Time Is Now from Moloko. Guess why? Because most of their music was bland and vapid pop with forgettable melodies. I remember people loving the band around 2000 but it was always a bit of a mystery why. I watched Roisin's live stream Coachella concert and it still remained a mystery why people value her so high. BTW, I'm not saying she's a bad singer, not at all. I've liked all kinds of trash over the years so it's not like I don't understand that people like what they like. But next to people like, let's say, Kate Bush or Annie Lennox there's not much she can offer.
From the female fronted British bands I've liked Client and Ladytron, and Kate Bush is always my hero number one from any solo performers so it's not like I have a problem with female artists. Let's just not kid ourselves that hit songs with great melodies from the likes of Oasis are somehow inferior to Moloko. I mean please. And I say this as a through and through Depeche Mode and electro guy.
by Anonymous | reply 87 | September 26, 2020 10:40 PM |
R87 to each his own.
It’s just that I can’t imagine thinking the Gallagher schtick or Damon’s pretension could possibly hold a candle to the soaring breathless tones of Miki Berenyi, or the bone-chilling depth of Toni Halliday, or the sublime searing honesty of Harriet Wheeler...
by Anonymous | reply 88 | September 26, 2020 10:45 PM |
Harriet Wheeler is a GODDESS
by Anonymous | reply 89 | September 26, 2020 10:46 PM |
Always Blur for me, as well.
And Damon can still get it!
by Anonymous | reply 90 | September 26, 2020 11:05 PM |
Oasis reveal secrets behind (What’s The Story) Morning Glory on its 25th anniversary:
by Anonymous | reply 91 | September 28, 2020 5:45 PM |
Thanks r91. I miss those guys.
by Anonymous | reply 92 | September 29, 2020 4:30 AM |
Last week, I went camping in a pretty large camp. One night, there was a group of drunk millennials singing loudly and playing the guitar around the fire pit. Guess what they were singing? Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger. Millennials. Now that's legacy.
by Anonymous | reply 93 | September 29, 2020 4:35 AM |
R93, you realize the oldest millennials are nearly 40, right?
by Anonymous | reply 94 | September 29, 2020 5:44 AM |
It cannot be repeated often enough on this board, R94. And then still... Some people here seem to think it's still 2002 or thereabouts.
by Anonymous | reply 95 | September 29, 2020 5:59 AM |
[quote] My favorites are Columbia, Don't Look Back In Anger, and Don't Look Back In Anger.
We have really similar taste. For years, I was turned off by Oasis because of Wonderwall. It's as ubiquitous for Britpop as Teen Spirit is for grunge. But I recently listened to both Definitely Maybe and What's the Story all the way through and I have to say both are great albums. Columbia is the best song they ever did. On spotify, their is a deluxe (remastered?) version of Definitely Maybe and a live version of Columbia is on there. I didn't even know it was live, it sounded almost exactly like the studio version. That's the hallmark of a great rock band.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | April 3, 2021 7:37 PM |
Oasis were garbage.
by Anonymous | reply 97 | April 3, 2021 7:43 PM |
I fucking love Oasis. I will even give you more info against me!
My all time favorites?
1)Tori Amos
2) Father John Misty
3)Kate Bush
4)Oasis
5)Diana Ross
by Anonymous | reply 98 | April 3, 2021 7:47 PM |
I fucking love Supergrass.
by Anonymous | reply 99 | April 3, 2021 9:59 PM |
Oasis rules.
Don't Look Back In Anger is my life's song.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | April 3, 2021 10:10 PM |
R99 Agreed. Verve were pretty good, as were Oasis and Blur. But Supergrass was the best Brit band from the 1990s.
by Anonymous | reply 101 | April 4, 2021 2:20 AM |
Fucking hate Oasis, worst voice ever! so nasally!
by Anonymous | reply 102 | April 4, 2021 2:27 AM |
Oasis are special, I can't explain it, they just are
by Anonymous | reply 103 | April 4, 2021 2:43 AM |
R101
Excellent song.
I’ve been listening to a mix of the artists in this thread for the last few hours while I prepared for guests.
Thanks OP!
by Anonymous | reply 104 | April 4, 2021 4:54 AM |