Familiar to millions (and then some)

All right, let me get straight to the point: I am a failure as a fan. Oasis is the only band that I’ve ever adored enough to actually choose over the wonders of free Internet download, and yet, I’ve somehow managed to completely bypass the mind-blowing news of their split. When I think about how it’s been almost exactly three months (from Aug. 28) since Noel Gallagher (only one of the greatest songwriters of all time) said that it was “with some sadness and great relief” that he quit the band… I feel like shaving my head bald. Or jumping off a cliff — whatever works best for my self-preservation. The thing is, I continue to live under the mass delusion that iconic bands such as Oasis are supposed to literally live forever (incidentally, their 1994 single Live Forever was voted “Greatest Song of All Time” in an international poll last September... and I don’t really care about the list being retarded in general), which is why you’ll have to excuse the excessiveness of this tribute in the midst of oil price hikes and dubious presidential wannabes. At least for now.

I won’t even bother sugarcoating the fact that Oasis’ popularity here in the Philippines is second-rate at best. This would be fine with me, really, if the reason for their relative obscurity was due to a fiercer devotion to our own local artists — instead of a mindless fealty to acts like Miley Cyrus, for instance (heaven forbid). But I digress. For the benefit of the majority who has little to no idea of who I’m raving about, Oasis — arguably one of the best British bands of the last two decades — was a record-breaking, chart-topping, last-song-syndrome-inducing Britpop/alternative rock act heavily influenced by the likes of The Beatles, The Smiths and The Who, and fronted by the inimitable Gallagher brothers, Liam (vocals) and Noel (lead guitar). Over the years, Oasis has had massive changes in their lineup, starting from when the three founding members — Paul McGuigan (o “Bass guitar” bass guitar), Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs (rhythm guitar) and Tony McCarroll (o “Drum kit” drums) — all left within the first half of the band’s career, basically leaving the G brothers as the standard bearers of the Oasis legacy. I once read an article where Liam was described as the soul and spirit of Oasis while Noel was the heart, and I could not agree more. Of course, I’ve read articles where both Liam and Noel were essentially described as cheeky, arrogant, insolent bastards, and I couldn’t agree with that more, either. Their egos, along with their violent and well-publicized brawls, put me at a loss for words. On the other hand, it’s this kind of refreshingly candid, devil-may-care, in-your-face attitude that has been the cornerstone of their image ever since, and I must admit that the formula works. They’re quotable quotes are exceptionally unfounded, but hey, you’ve got to admire the people shameless enough to say these with a straight face:

• “My band doesn’t need some corporate fat pig who wears a dicky bow and thinks Sting and Phil Collins are the cutting edge of music to tell me how good my f*****g group is.” — Noel

• “Lennon was right. And we are bigger than Jesus. We will be as big as the Beatles, if not bigger.” — Liam

• “Of course I love Liam. But not as much as I love Pot Noodles.” — Noel

• “It’s a good thing we won, because we were going to thrash the place if we didn’t.” — Liam (after receiving an award)

• “The thing about us is we’re honest. If we’re asked whether we take drugs, we say yes. I was brought up by my mum not to be a liar.” — Noel

• “We should be judged as musicians, and bloody fine ones at that.” — Liam

• “They should be shot.” — Noel (on the Backstreet Boys)

• “Americans want grungy people, stabbing themselves in the head onstage. They get a bright bunch like us, with deodorant on, they don’t get it.” — Liam

• “If you don’t want to be as big as The Beatles then it’s just a hobby.” — Noel

Their pleasing personalities can probably be attributed to a turbulent childhood peppered with abuse from an alcoholic father and erstwhile bouts of juvenile delinquency — but enough about the Gallagher brothers. In terms of their music, it’s true that Oasis hasn’t introduced anything ground-breaking in terms of sound; with their critics (and there are a fair number) having lambasted the group for the predictable beats, formulaic chord progressions, and passé melodic styles — not to mention the blatant lifting of Beatles tunes found in hits such as Don’t Look Back In Anger (the intro is a nip from John Lennon’s Imagine). However, Noel has always maintained that the “lifting” is done purely as homage to his favorite artists, and that he never had any intention of passing it off as otherwise. Furthermore, in their defense, outdated musical approach or whatnot, I think any band that can so stirringly define an era, charm millions, and basically encapsulate greatness in general (especially with haircuts like those), are already legendary in my book. Case in point; among the various nominations and awards they’ve received over the years, Oasis has been honored with two spots in the Guinness Book of World Records, previously entering the book in 2005 for being “The Most Successful Act of the Decade” from 1995 to 2005, and entering the book for the second time in 2009 by achieving the “Longest Top 10 UK Chart Run By A Group.” Terrifically enough, to most people here, they’re just that obscure, Beatle-esque band with the bad haircuts… or even worse, the American dudes responsible for those erstwhile hits, Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova. And if you’ll excuse my continued indulgence, for the sake of spreading the Oasis love and portraying their brilliance above and beyond two ambiguously named songs, here’s a list of my top five:

5. Live Forever (from the 1994 album “Definitely Maybe”) because “we’ll see things that they’ll never see.”

(Fun fact: Live Forever was written as a tribute to the G brother’s mom, Peggy, and is viewed as a tribute to the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.)

4. Fade Away (from the 1998 album “The Masterplan”) because “we’ll only get what we will settle for.”

3. Supersonic (from the 1994 album “Definitely Maybe”) because “my friend said he’d take you home… and he lives under a waterfall…”

(Fun fact: Noel claims that the song is basically a nonsensical ramble written in a matter of minutes.)

2. Cast No Shadow (from the 1995 album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”) because he was “bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say.”

(Fun fact: Cast No Shadow was written for the G brothers’ good friend, former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, who was suffering from depression during that time.

1. Little By Little (from the 2002 album “Heathen Chemistry”) because “my god woke up on the wrong side of his bed.”

Note that you’ll have to actually listen to the songs to make sense of those phrases.

A final word before I end; let me just say that Oasis was not as big as The Beatles, and they probably never will be in this lifetime even if they did get together again. As a lover of many different genres of music, I wouldn’t say that they were revolutionary artists in the music industry, but I wouldn’t count them out as anything less than stellar either. I wish I could say the soundtrack of my childhood consisted of listening to their swagger and arrogance, their escapist melodies and working-class political stances, but sadly, I got into them just a bit too late for my taste. Maybe they’ll reform the band, maybe they won’t. Bottom line is, you don’t get to sell that many records without having that certain something. And whether it was their wearing the last vestiges of a bygone era on their sleeves, well, at least that was still something. Live forever, Oasis!

(Fun fact: The title of this column is from one of Oasis’ live albums recorded at Wembley Stadium in July 2000.)