May 1999
All of blur fandom was abuzz with speculations regarding "Swamp Song" on the upcoming CD "13," even before anyone got to hear it at the secret gigs, fan club gigs or listening parties, and even before it was released. The reason was simple. We were wondering if it would be anything like Oasis' "Swamp Song." Well, turns out it's something like it and not anything like it, at the same time. Here again we find blur, the great dichotomists, in fine form. (Applause...Applause...standing ovation..)
Let's begin with what the two songs have in common. Firstly, they share a common song title. Secondly, they're both hard rocking numbers. Thirdly, we've got the lead vocalists, damon and Liam singing in a drawn-out manner (it's an effectual effort on damon's part and an effortless habit on Liam's). Ooohh...and the wealth of lyrical references in blur's "Swamp Song" to Oasis' song titles and lyrics is enough to make me sali-vate! (Odd?!)
The distortion at the beginning of the song reminded me of "D'You Know What I Mean?" The "I'm a believer" line reminds me of Oasis' "Acquiese" where Noel sings "we believe in each other..." The "give me fever" bit reminds me of "(I Got)The Fever." "Give me insane?" Why, "mad fer it!,"Liam's catch-all phrase. "Why live forever?" reminds you too of "Live Forever," right? damon's "yeah" scream, very Liam, as is the expletive at the end of the song. Finally, "Don't leave me ever..." is reminiscent of "Don't Go Away." Wow!
How isn't blur's "Swamp Song" anything like Oasis' "Swamp Song?" Well, in comparison to Oasis' 44 seconds of lyric-less jamming, blur's "Swamp Song" is a completed masterpiece...Noel needs to go back to his proverbial drawing board with his version (No disrespect meant in this regard).
BRITGIRL
KNOCK, KNOCK. WHO'S THERE?
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