October 5th, 2009
Aaron Matthews blogs for the money and the super grass.
Supergrass formed during Britpop’s ‘93 apex. Only in their early 20s, the Oxford-based trio of singer/guitarist Gaz Coombes, drummer Danny Goffey, and bassist Mick Quinn saw instant success with their Backbeat Records-released first single, “Caught By The Fuzz,” earning raves from the NME and Melody Maker, and earning them a deal with Parlophone. Their subsequent debut, 1995’s I Should Coco, a splattering loogie hocked at the-then Celine Dion/Bon Jovi domination of the charts, won them the Mercury Prize and three straight weeks at number one on the charts–even though in the United States their name remains little more than a synonym for the chronic.
Fast forward two years–the band’s self-produced sophomore effort, 1997’s In it For the Money expands beyond the bubbly glam and punk-pop of their debut to pay homage to their parents’ record collections. Supergrass’ British pop, glam and punk influences were salient on their debut, yet their second shows a greater reverence while artfully avoiding pastiche. The Who, Elton John, and the Beatles (particularly on the swirling “Going Out”) are some of the more transparent inspirations, but the band succeeds in creating a swirling diverse palette of sounds and moods, shifting from blistering quasi-grunge (“Richard III”) to exuberant sunshine pop (“Sun Hits The Sky”).
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Popscene, Aaron Matthews | No Comments »
September 4th, 2009
Aaron Matthews uses “lifts” not “elevators.”
Leading up to their 1997 self-titled triumph, pundits harped that Blur had won the battle of Britpop but lost the war to Oasis. After all, What’s the Story, Morning Glory was a critical and commercial success, going quadruple platinum in America when Blur could barely crack the Billboard 200. More damning was that 1995’s The Great Escape marked a stylistic dead end–the crisp, poppy Stephen Street production began to sound gaudy and forced, and the songs all bled into each other.
1997 found the pendulum shifting back to Albarn & Co after Oasis’s Be Here Now was received with critical opprobrium and a swift sales drop-off following a record-breaking chart debut. New Britannia was crumbling, they couldn’t sell a record to anyone who called Bobbies “policemen,” and Graham Coxon developed the drinking habits of Andy Capp. Somehow, this led the lads of Blur to take inspiration from Britpop’s antithesis – American indie rock. While their opposition to American grunge inspired Blur’s peak years, suddenly Beck and Pavement became key influences transmitted through Coxon, the resident indie obsessive.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Popscene, Aaron Matthews | 6 Comments »
July 29th, 2009
Aaron Matthews prefers this “lipgloss” to Lil Mama’s.
Pulp’s career trajectory seems distinctly quaint in the blog-bombarded, Hype Machined era. While modern times mean a disappointing sophomore effort is enough to make people forget you faster than you can say Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Pulp lingered in near total obscurity for 12 years before garnering commercial attention. Formed by 15-year old Jarvis Cocker in 1978, the Sheffield-based group didn’t release their debut, It until 1983, and it took a full decade working the pub and grub circuit to finally get themselves a deal with Island Records in 1993.
Their Island debut, His ‘N’ Hers, saw release the following year, and signaled Pulp’s coming-out-party. With Leonard Cohen the clear-cut inspiration for Cocker’s sex, love and class-obsessed narratives, and Scott Walker, David Bowie and Bryan Ferry, his obvious vocal progenitors, Cocker’s myriad influences finally coalesced into a cohesive sound and vision. Meanwhile, Pulp themselves settled into a definitive and seamless blend of glam-rock, post-punk and disco.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Popscene, Aaron Matthews | No Comments »
June 26th, 2009
When he’s not contributing to Metal Lungies, Hip-Hop is Read, or lecturing oblivious Ottowans on the meaning of Parklife, Aaron Matthews can be found at Canned Thinking.
Yeah yeah, the Auteurs never completely fit into the Britpop-as-cultural movement narrative, but by mining 60s and 70s English rock, their debut New Wave divined the future of the genre. But first things first.
Luke Haines toiled in C86 act, The Servants, for several years prior to forming the Auteurs in 1990. After gigging in and around London for a couple years, they got a deal with Hut Records. Their aforementioned debut saw the light of day in 1993, the same year of the dissolution of Madchester pioneers the Happy Mondays, the same year Oasis signed to Creation, the same year Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson died, the same year Sleepless in Seattle taught us how to love.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Popscene, Aaron Matthews | 3 Comments »
May 6th, 2009
Written by Aaron Matthews, Popscene is an attempt to re-examine records from the glory years of Britpop, specfically, ones that haven’t been analyzed to death by the North American press. If you’re looking for “Definitely Maybe,” the answer is “no.”
Super Furry Animals are either the best or worst starting point for discussing Britpop. Halilng from Cardiff, Wales, they spent quality time toiling in Welsh-language bands prior to forming SFA in 1993. Since then, they have released two Welsh language EPs, including 1995’s Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (In Space) and Moog Droog.
Following the release of those EPs, the band starting writing songs in English after being inspired by a tight-trousered, Tom Jones, bronze memorial (probably) and a desire to make their music more accessible (true). In 1995, after a gig in London–only their second, outside of Wales- Creation Records head, Alan McGee, signed SFA to his label, the one-time home of Primal Scream, Jesus and the Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Oasis.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Popscene, Aaron Matthews | 5 Comments »
