'exactly.'
'but, why? i mean, ive heard that "creep" song. it just sounds like alternative rock. . . good alternative rock, but still alternative."
'well, thats the thing. you can see how many different kinds of britpop there are. i would almost go so far as to say that no two britpop bands sound alike. if you wanted to, you probably could sub-group some of it under alternative, but most of it is out-and-out pop.'
'but what made it so popular? didnt english people like nirvana?'
i laugh, 'well, quite a few of them do. i think that maybe part of what made it so big was that it was their own. so many other musical movements had incorporated american bands, and this was the first in a while that was a uk thing, and a uk thing only. new wave was certainly mostly english, but not entirely. the mod's "english explosion" had been over for several decades, so the time had come for a revival of a british-only music scene.
'and keep in mind, this is pop music we're talking about! pop is what the media exposes us to, and the media at that time in the uk was all over britpop. it was, after all, the new thing. the thing is , though, like mod, glam, and post-punk, people still really care about britpop. most other new things just sort-of stop after the media stops caring. when people still care about something after the newness wears off, it shows that the original movement was really worth something to begin with. i hate to do this, but compare the beatles with the new kids on the block. the beatles are still famous decades after they break up, but try and find a kid just starting to get independent thoughts on music who buys a new kids cd!'
'i used to be a member of their fan club,' you giggle.
i grin, and shake my head. 'i am so, so sorry. . . so you see, there is quality to the music, it is in no way teenybopper.
'okay, so 1994 rolls around. oasis and pulp show up on the scene.'
'oasis! they did wonderwall!'
'yup, but not until the next year. so, 1994, we've got oasis' debut, and pulps first release to get media attention (the band had been around for over fifteen years by now). pulp is smart-pop. still pop, but far, far less mindless than most. . . not to say that britpop was mindless at all, it wasnt, pulp just tended to more literary than the other bands.
'but lets go back to oasis. they are quite similar to blur; both bands are in the regular-blokes with guitars category, and like the stone roses, oasis are from manchester. well, you cant have similar bands like that without there being some rivalry, and rivalry there was!! people were almost as obsessive over blur and oasis as they were about their football teams. oh! sorry. . . soccer teams.
'in 1995 both bands were vying for the number one spots on the charts, oasis' whats the story, morning glory is hitting it big time in the states, and pulp's single, "common people," goes directly to number two on the uk single charts and stays there for two weeks. not to mention, radioheads second album comes out, and is immediately dubbed a classic.'
'big year, huh?'
'oh yes, the biggest year, in fact. for two years after the climax, the english public's demand for britpop remains the same and mainstream americas demand is moderate, though, as you mentioned before, under the guise of alternative rock.
'both 96 and 97 both see the releases of incredibly important records from many bands, but the come down has begun. the big names are still big, but not nearly as shiny. its the beginning of the end. several bands break up over those years, even the stone roses lost two of its original members.'
'ouch!'
'ouch indeed. the britpop movement is basically over. what needed to be done with modern music had been done, and though many of the key britpop bands continued to put out albums to much acclaim and headline the uk music festivals, there were new bands popping up that were getting notoriety, and they just didnt have the same sound.'
'huh. post-britpop?' you ask, a little disappointed by the anticlimactic conclusion.
i nod. 'exactly. the new movement right now is nice-rock. mellow and mournful. sometimes its quite good, like jj72, doves and coldplay, other times its pretty boring. its a more on the post-punk end of the spectrum, but defiantly with britpop influence. theyve taken most of the good bits of britpop, but removed the standard pop-ness of it (which explains how it can be boring if it isnt well done!).'
'but you did say that people do still care about britpop itself?' you ask hopefully. 'all those bands still have lots of fans?'
'oh yes! they are all still quite popular, just not the new thing.'
'what about in the us?'
'something close to a cult following, though the genre is a bit more muddled. american britpop kids seem to like to call any uk band britpop, even if its technically not. like, belle and sebastian are indie, and smiths are post-punk, but some kids will call them britpop. americans didnt have the advantage of actually having been there when it was happening, so we got a filtered version of what britpop was. but yeah, there are a whole bunch of us in the states who still care. radioheads last album hit number one on the charts for a bit, even though the record sounds nothing, and i mean nothing, like anything that could be called britpop.'
'but, if its still so popular, then how can the movement be over?'
'good point. . .' i muse.
you begin to look excited, 'and you said yourself that musical history repeats itself! that just means there will be some down time, and then britpop again, only it will be different! maybe better!!'
i cock my head, thinking and smiling, 'yeah . . its quite possible. . .'
your face contorts, the expression on it is partly enlightened, partly embarrassed. 'so, which pulp album do you think i should start with?'
a bright smile spreads across my face. different class, i say, pulling it off the shelf. 'definitely different class. . . cheers!'
~fin~
take me back to
the beginning!!
