Brilliant interview I read with Crispian Mills the other day where the first question was
Which band codenamed their seventh album “Kula Shaker demos” to prevent it from leaking?
“The Arsewipes?”
WRONG.It was Radiohead. According to bassist Colin Greenwood, to stop their 2007 record ‘In Rainbows’ being stolen, on the master they’d “write a name which probably nobody would listen to if we lost it; ‘Eagles: Greatest Hits’, ‘Kula Shaker demos’, ‘Phil Collins hip-hop covers”…
Diamond Head were good in the metal genre, the likes of Metallica rated them, but due to a combination of bad management and the usual temptations, they imploded.
Longpigs promised a great deal on the basis of their first album, I missed their second (in fact until I just googled it, didn’t even know it existed).
Let's be honest. (Almost) the entire Britpop/Britrock genre was a cavalcade of copycat dreary medicority and very little of it stands the test of time.
A few songs give me a sense of nostalgia for my childhood, but there isn't a single album from that ear that I would listen to now.
Good god there is a lot of shit being talked by philistines on this thread.
The LA’s debut is brilliant - a very rare what Lino said, and to say “cast weren’t much better” gtf!!!
Most of what people are saying don’t stack up now didn’t really stack up then. Kula Shaker, Cast, OCS, Sleeper, oasis from album 3 onwards, etc were all derided as indie landfill (if not using that term) one hit wonders then. Menswear were openly ridiculed!
Pulp really stack up even now. Gomez I’ve not listened to in years come to think of it so will do so this afternoon and report back.
Stuff I still listen to from that era - Chemical Brothers, Primal Scream, Manics (after they were famous), early Oasis, Pulp, the Sundays (not quite britpop but still great) - quite a bit actually.
Stuff I personally think has dated - The Stone Roses… *hides*
I agree with ZG's point that most of the Britpop genre was shit then and time has done nothing to improve it.
Obvs this thread is not just about Britpop, but I will make the point that none of Chemical Brothers, Primal Scream, Manics were part of that genre (but ofc Manics are still shit though).
I like The La's also. I would also excuse them from the Britpop genre on the basis that they split up in 1992.
Can anyone confirm whether Stereophonics have stood the test of time? They are supporting Pearl Jam on Saturday and I know nothing after their first album.
The cast/la’s thing reminds me of getting my hair cut once and the barber telling me that nirvana were overrated and that the Foo Fighters were the band that Nirvana should have been.
Now I love Dave and the Foos, but I struggle to think of a wronger take on music anywhere.
Stereophonics are shite, however the first album reminds me of a year 11 geography trip, the second getting to 3rd base with Lisa from York after a freshers fair.
Wouldn’t mind seeing them in support of Pearl Jam though
Bartender and the Thief was OK. Rest was as dreary as the rest of Wales.
Wombats, pidgeon detectives, gomez, Space, cast, The Las, echobelly, sleeper, ocean duller scene, Menswear: All gash.
Kula Shaker's "Hey Dude" has an amazing baseline. Otherwise: rubbish.
Longpigs: Echo what was said above. See also "Blameless", whose "Breathe a little deeper" was very good. Never heard from them again.
Bluetones Bluetonic and Are You Blue or Are You Blind were ace. Saw them live.
Mansun were fun.
Lush had one good song: Hypocrite. I bought that album based on that one song. Boy was i surprised. Bit like getting the James Iha album and thinking it would be like Gish or Siamese Dream. In retrospect, the crappy 70s style cover should have warned me something was awry there.
On the other hand, some bands excelled: Curve (Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia). And I was just thinking earlier how talented the fiddler in The Levellers was. He really carried the rest of them.
I saw Evan Dando touring at a small venue in Cambridge back in 2019. He was ace.
Trouble was always that his work ethic was rubbish, his fondness for drugs was excessive and he just fundamentally could afford to be a slacker rock star from the beginning. A bit like Gram Parsons.
The Lemonheads and his solo albums (even the covers albums, rather than when he could actually genuinely be arsed to write something new) are all enjoyable.
He should have done a lot better. But he just CBA.
Shooty my 16 year old self also rued the day I blew my paper round money on the James Iha album. With hindsight it should have been obvious he’d had nothing to do with writing or even playing on any decent SP song.
Does anyone actually consider Menswear a band of their youth, let alone feel disappointed in hindsight? They're really only remembered for being utter shite, aren't they? I didn't know anyone who liked them at the time.
Tattva, acintya bheda abheda Tattva. In Hindu philosophy tattva is a Sanskrit word meaning 'thatness', 'principle', 'essence', 'reality' or 'truth'. Likewise, acintya can mean 'the inconceivable', 'the unthinkable', or 'he who cannot be imagined', bheda translates as 'difference', and abheda translates as 'non-difference'. For this song, acintya might best be thought of in terms of apophatic theology, also known as 'divine darkness', a Christian notion whereby God is so far beyond our conceptions that we can only speak of what God is not.
Remember when Kid A and Amnesiac came out and the music press lost their shit. They seemed so abstract at the time. Both have aged well, but seen less out there than remember at the time.
Let's be honest. (Almost) the entire Britpop/Britrock genre was a cavalcade of copycat dreary medicority and very little of it stands the test of time.
A few songs give me a sense of nostalgia for my childhood, but there isn't a single album from that ear that I would listen to now.
——-
Strange - I started reading this post thinking ‘who is this pretentious arse; 90s Britpop was fab’. And got to the end thinking ‘you know actually - mans got a point’.
Lots of isloated good stuff/first albums but no real consistency and I cant remember listening to an album from that era in years, if ever, save for a few Oasis ones.
The La's. Bought their album on the back of one song and discovered that they only had one good song.
Cast weren’t much better than the La’s. That kind of thing would never fly now.
I was just about to mention Cast
Ocean Colour Scene, Bluetones, Menswear - pretty much any band that appeared on TFI Friday tbh
Indie Landfill
Brilliant interview I read with Crispian Mills the other day where the first question was
Which band codenamed their seventh album “Kula Shaker demos” to prevent it from leaking?
“The Arsewipes?”
WRONG. It was Radiohead. According to bassist Colin Greenwood, to stop their 2007 record ‘In Rainbows’ being stolen, on the master they’d “write a name which probably nobody would listen to if we lost it; ‘Eagles: Greatest Hits’, ‘Kula Shaker demos’, ‘Phil Collins hip-hop covers”…
Get wrecked Mills you tosser!
Sails’ 9.35 is absolutely the worst take in the history of this website.
Gomez
Crispian Mills is a city fan isn't he Tom?
Rialto
The Supernaturals
Gomez’s 1st album still stands up to scrutiny
Diamond Head were good in the metal genre, the likes of Metallica rated them, but due to a combination of bad management and the usual temptations, they imploded.
Longpigs promised a great deal on the basis of their first album, I missed their second (in fact until I just googled it, didn’t even know it existed).
Really Tom. There She Goes was ace but I only ever listened to the rest of the album once and regretted spending the money.
That was a vicious rumour, RR
None. If I thought they were great then, I still think they're great now. Always knew e.g. Razorshite were light.
Suggest you persevere with it, Sails. I wouldn’t praise scousers unless they deserved it.
Surpeisongly good musicians compared to their contemporaries - particularly their drummer.
Probably unfortunate that they were lumped in with the rest of the 90s indie bands of the time.
Am I right in thinking they're quite big in America due to the whole American 'College Radio/Jam Band' thing?
various gomez / longpigs have gone into politics, and tedious little f*ckers they are, too. I preferred them when they were takign heroin
(* or not actually takign heroin, you pair of tedes, just in case etc etc)
The longpigs singer is the son of a an ex senior Labour MP iirc
What FF said about Gomez’ first album. Objectively great even now.
Lots of 90s bands had debuts that stand the test of time, while everything else they did was arse. E.g Placebo.
RR it was that interview what had me listening to them again.
A bit like James Blunt, the banter doesn’t match the music.
Um, long-standing slightly obscure backbencher rather than senior in hierarchy terms - Mark Fisher (Stoke Central I think).
Who was succeeded by Tristram Hunt - more successful in terms of senior shadow cabinet positions but no relation.
Yeah I heard Tom Grey from Gomez on the radio talking about streaming - he is some sort of union bod now isn’t he?
I can't believe that I actually went to a Kula Shaker gig. What a load of pretentious claptrap.
Well they were quite different to most stuff at the time.
Ginster baker baker tattva
QED.
The below all fair badly with hindsight.
Echobelly
Oasis
Pulp
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr, WTAF
J Mascis is a musical genius, stone cold.
How did you find yourself listening to Kula Shaker Rex?
That Dinosaur Jr shout is way off.
As is Pulp. (Though anyone who pretends to like the early stuff on Fire Records is a liar)
Pulp were amazing. Behave.
Let's be honest. (Almost) the entire Britpop/Britrock genre was a cavalcade of copycat dreary medicority and very little of it stands the test of time.
A few songs give me a sense of nostalgia for my childhood, but there isn't a single album from that ear that I would listen to now.
era
Read an interview with Crispin and decided to check them out again. I mean they sounded ok at age 16.
Can confirm Mansun have stood the test of time
Good god there is a lot of shit being talked by philistines on this thread.
The LA’s debut is brilliant - a very rare what Lino said, and to say “cast weren’t much better” gtf!!!
Most of what people are saying don’t stack up now didn’t really stack up then. Kula Shaker, Cast, OCS, Sleeper, oasis from album 3 onwards, etc were all derided as indie landfill (if not using that term) one hit wonders then. Menswear were openly ridiculed!
Pulp really stack up even now. Gomez I’ve not listened to in years come to think of it so will do so this afternoon and report back.
Stuff I still listen to from that era - Chemical Brothers, Primal Scream, Manics (after they were famous), early Oasis, Pulp, the Sundays (not quite britpop but still great) - quite a bit actually.
Stuff I personally think has dated - The Stone Roses… *hides*
I assume most of the contributors to this thread are southerners come to think of it
I agree with ZG's point that most of the Britpop genre was shit then and time has done nothing to improve it.
Obvs this thread is not just about Britpop, but I will make the point that none of Chemical Brothers, Primal Scream, Manics were part of that genre (but ofc Manics are still shit though).
I like The La's also. I would also excuse them from the Britpop genre on the basis that they split up in 1992.
But I do not excuse John Power for Cast.
Can anyone confirm whether Stereophonics have stood the test of time? They are supporting Pearl Jam on Saturday and I know nothing after their first album.
I think what britpop in particular produced was loads of great singles but not very many great albums.
The cast/la’s thing reminds me of getting my hair cut once and the barber telling me that nirvana were overrated and that the Foo Fighters were the band that Nirvana should have been.
Now I love Dave and the Foos, but I struggle to think of a wronger take on music anywhere.
Most of the contributors to this thread were clearly 1980s/1990s teens.
There's your RoF demographic.
"I think what britpop in particular produced was loads of great singles but not very many great albums."
Yes, I think this is very true.
Presumably A&R execs would hear a band's demo (only good song) and think (hope) "ooooh next Oasis/Blur/Pulp" and basically throw cash at any old shit.
Cast is good solid Liverpool rock n roll. Why all the hate? I got both their cassettes.
Stereophonics are shite, however the first album reminds me of a year 11 geography trip, the second getting to 3rd base with Lisa from York after a freshers fair.
Wouldn’t mind seeing them in support of Pearl Jam though
Stereophonics are, indeed, shite.
Bartender and the Thief was OK. Rest was as dreary as the rest of Wales.
Wombats, pidgeon detectives, gomez, Space, cast, The Las, echobelly, sleeper, ocean duller scene, Menswear: All gash.
Kula Shaker's "Hey Dude" has an amazing baseline. Otherwise: rubbish.
Longpigs: Echo what was said above. See also "Blameless", whose "Breathe a little deeper" was very good. Never heard from them again.
Bluetones Bluetonic and Are You Blue or Are You Blind were ace. Saw them live.
Mansun were fun.
Lush had one good song: Hypocrite. I bought that album based on that one song. Boy was i surprised. Bit like getting the James Iha album and thinking it would be like Gish or Siamese Dream. In retrospect, the crappy 70s style cover should have warned me something was awry there.
On the other hand, some bands excelled: Curve (Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia). And I was just thinking earlier how talented the fiddler in The Levellers was. He really carried the rest of them.
The Conservative Party.
Strong 80s, although not my personal taste.
All went a bit wobbly and tried it out with a new lead singer from ‘92 to ‘97.
Wonder what happened to them?
For the non-youthclub members amongst us:
- Sonic Youth
- Ministry
- Therapy?
- Lemonheads
- Soul Asylum
- The Black Crowes
The front man from Ugly Rumours did some decent covers but it went a bit commercial.
I saw Evan Dando touring at a small venue in Cambridge back in 2019. He was ace.
Trouble was always that his work ethic was rubbish, his fondness for drugs was excessive and he just fundamentally could afford to be a slacker rock star from the beginning. A bit like Gram Parsons.
The Lemonheads and his solo albums (even the covers albums, rather than when he could actually genuinely be arsed to write something new) are all enjoyable.
He should have done a lot better. But he just CBA.
Never liked Therapy?
And Soul Asylum were overwhelmed by grunge bands they were the missing link to.
Sonic Youth definitely not disappointing.
Jack. They broke up.
Yeah? So did REM.
That doesn’t mean they disappointed.
Shooty my 16 year old self also rued the day I blew my paper round money on the James Iha album. With hindsight it should have been obvious he’d had nothing to do with writing or even playing on any decent SP song.
Thurston and Kim. Sad.
So many indie landfill bands from the 90s. Remember Northern Uproar? *grimace*
Two who have aged well IMO, Shed Seven and Salad. Don’t @ me.
I’ll tell you one 90s album that still really stacks up - Leftism by Leftfield. Nuts to think it is nearly 30 years old.
Hmmmm. Sad face.
We’re just old men.
Not innocent men.
That pretty much is [email protected] They had six songs when they got a deal with a major after about their second show. Right place right time.
Salad were good and I wood Marijne. Shed Seven were not.
Christ, just remembered Memswear.
Memswear.
Memswear.
For the sake of absolute fùck.
She left me on Fridaaaaadeh and ruined muh weeeeekeynd.
Shed Seven were haunting.
York's finest Euclidean.
It's a maximum high with my parallel lines.
Just listened to ‘Daydreamer’ by Menswear, to remember how horrible they were.
It’s poundshop Blur (Modern Life is Rubbish era). Actually painful to listen to.
Does anyone actually consider Menswear a band of their youth, let alone feel disappointed in hindsight? They're really only remembered for being utter shite, aren't they? I didn't know anyone who liked them at the time.
fook you wonckworth. Is nothing sacred?
Landfill would at least have been a prescient name. So much shite, so little room.
I used to love Kula Shaker so much I got a tattoo of Crispian Mills
Then my mum said
"What the hell'd you get that tatt for..."
2/10
Tattva, acintya bheda abheda Tattva. In Hindu philosophy tattva is a Sanskrit word meaning 'thatness', 'principle', 'essence', 'reality' or 'truth'. Likewise, acintya can mean 'the inconceivable', 'the unthinkable', or 'he who cannot be imagined', bheda translates as 'difference', and abheda translates as 'non-difference'. For this song, acintya might best be thought of in terms of apophatic theology, also known as 'divine darkness', a Christian notion whereby God is so far beyond our conceptions that we can only speak of what God is not.
Truth, Mystery, difference, indifference.
Unimaginable indifference
Kula Shaker have a new album out called 1st Congregational Church Of Love And Free Hugs.
Still a bit shit :(
I remember Q magazine rating Urban Hymns as one the best albums ever made. OK Computer was number one. Does anything think that still stands?
Urban Hymns wasn’t even the best Verve album.
They don’t go on a list of disappointing bands though. Neither do Radiohead. Does anyone think their albums have aged badly?
Kula shaker. Glasvegas. Sea horses
Remember when Kid A and Amnesiac came out and the music press lost their shit. They seemed so abstract at the time. Both have aged well, but seen less out there than remember at the time.
Omg glasvegas. Such a dirge.
Kingfaff05 Jul 22 11:35
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Let's be honest. (Almost) the entire Britpop/Britrock genre was a cavalcade of copycat dreary medicority and very little of it stands the test of time.
A few songs give me a sense of nostalgia for my childhood, but there isn't a single album from that ear that I would listen to now.
——-
Strange - I started reading this post thinking ‘who is this pretentious arse; 90s Britpop was fab’. And got to the end thinking ‘you know actually - mans got a point’.
Lots of isloated good stuff/first albums but no real consistency and I cant remember listening to an album from that era in years, if ever, save for a few Oasis ones.
A lot of the above is post-britpop.
High Britpop was 1994-95.
It died with the Spice Girls and Euro 96 and Tony Blair.
Yeah, pretty much. Pulp had one or two good songs (Common People, Something Changed), but that's about it.
But for me, all the old bands I loved as a kid - I still love them ... I listen to Dandelion Radio occasionally, and it is very good too.
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