5. Oasis Supersonic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Or8QahwlC4 When The Stone Roses had their sabbatical between their debut and The Second Coming five years later, they left the door wide open for a guitar band with the right rock and roll attitude to come marching in and steal their thunder, and with their first single Supersonic Oasis did exactly that. Britpop officially started here, in the form of a post-modern mash up of three of the best British bands from the preceding three decades, The Beatles, The Sex Pistols and The Smiths. The template for Oasis was a very simple one, write catchy guitar music and deliver it with a vocal snarl that would channel John Lennon and Lee Mavers. And its all here on their debut TV performance on The Word Theyd been building a buzz before theyd released any music with intense live shows and getting themselves deported from The Netherlands, and whilst Supersonic was no Hand in Glove in terms of lyrical sentiment its intent was clear. It channelled the rush of cocaine and was imbued with a nonchalant swagger about feeling supersonic and drinking gin and tonic. It did what it said on the tin. The nursery rhyme lyrics were all about hedonism, She done it with a doctor, on a helicopter, she sniffed it through a tissue, selling the big issue. This wasnt the sound of a bunch of chancers, the master-plan for Oasis was just as calculated as that of The Spice Girls and the prize they were seeking was stadiums and platinum albums, with Noel Gallaghers line You can have it all, but how much do you want it? being a reminder as much to his band as his record label Creation. Many of their peers and predecessors made better records, but with Supersonic Oasis defined British guitar pop in the 90s with a steely ambition that would make them world famous millionaires.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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