twat vs. prat: settling the score between Blur and Oasis

On October 23rd of last year Noel Gallagher announced that he would be leaving Oasis, ending a fifteen year run of consecutive #1 albums in the UK.  Only months earlier UK audiences were treated to multiple gigs by a reunited Blur, apparently taking their place as the Who for the Cool Brittannia generation.  Since so much water has passed under the bridge, with one band finally succumbing to sibling rivalry (apparently the final straw was Liam broke one of Noel’s guitars) and the other cashing in like the shrewd college boys that they are, let’s try and put it all to rest finally.  Considering that in the end they both really won, having sold countless more records thanks to a contrived media dust-up than without, nothing said here will really make much difference- Blur and Oasis defined Britpop in the same way that Bowie and T. Rex defined Glam and The Clash and the Sex Pistols defined British Punk.  But let’s do it anyway.

Since both bands released seven studio albums apiece, why not put each album head-to-head from first to last and see who turns out on top based on the merits of the work they produced?  So here it goes (a featured song from each album is provided below).

Leisure by Blur (1991)

Definitely Maybe by Oasis (1994)

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Released in 1991, Blur’s debut is an album of it’s time, and by that I guess I mean it’s a little on the derivative side.  Obviously taking their cues from the Madchester and shoe-gazing scenes, a lot of Leisure sounds like a band trying really hard to sound like the Stone Roses (among others; call me crazy but a lot of the more trancy guitar work reminds me of Gish era Smashing Pumpkins).  A few very good songs from a band that had yet to find it’s voice.                                  Released three years later and on the opposite side of the grunge, Definitely Maybe is Appetite For Destruction plus monobrows. Like Appetite, almost every song is a classic (only “Bring It On Down” stands out as a stinker), and as GNR did for the LA douche-metal scene, Oasis threw down the gauntlet in a way so huge we’d still be talking about Oasis even if they hadn’t released another decent album.

winner: Oasis

Modern Life Is Rubbish by Blur (1993)

(What's The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis (1995)

Winner: Draw

Parklife by Blur (1994)

Be Here Now by Oasis (1997)

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This one is pretty much a no brainer- pointless bickering, lackluster songwriting, celebrity cameos, this alone would sink an album.  Add to that enough cocaine to make Elton John blush and there you have Be Here Now.  I mean, it’s one thing if it’s the drummer, but you know you’re in trouble when the most coked up guy in the room is the producer (and that’s a room that has both Noel and Liam Gallagher in it!)  This album has the distinction of being the most returned album in UK history.  Not to mention that Parklife is almost a perfect distillation of what Blur was going for in 1994.  Be Here Now does have some decent tracks on it, but this ones not even close.

winner: Blur

The Great Escape by Blur (1995)

Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants by Oasis (2000)

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This is probably the most unfair match up.  The Great Escape was released in 1995 when Blur was at the height of their powers; Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants was released in early 2000, nearly two-and-a-half years after the disappointment of Be Here Now, and if I were talking about any other band I’d say the experience humbled them. That being said, The Great Escape wasn’t really designed to change anyone’s mind- everyone I know that doesn’t really like Blur finds this album annoying.  ”Best Days” and “Arnold Same” are just a little too adorable, and “Entertain Me” is a fairly cynical retread of “Girls & Boys”.  Then again, Shoulders has “Little James”, which is a real stinker, even by Liam standards.  It’s inclusion on the album could lead one to believe that the well was starting to run dry for Noel, the suggestion of which alone brings the album down a peg.

winner: Blur

Blur by Blur (1997)

Heathen Chemistry by Oasis (2002)

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Both of these are comparative departures from the norm for both bands (although neither as much as either band would claim)- Blur reportedly working under the influence of American indie bands like Pavement, Oasis (or at least Noel) switching the muse of the Beatles to the more psychedelic Glam of this and later albums.  Both also claim a certain place in the imaginations of sports fans in the UK and US- “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” for being featured prominently on British TV after England lost in the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, “Song 2″ now being the late inning rally song in ballparks across America.  The most difficult thing about this matchup is that, while about 40% of Blur is really good, 60% is really not, 100% of Heathen Chemistry is somewhere between inoffensive and decent.  Not only that, but two of the three Liam songs could even be considered good (or at least not bad).  Not yet at the bottom, both bands seem to be at the 2/3 dry mark on the barrel.

winner: draw

13 by Blur (1999)

Don't Believe The Truth by Oasis (2005)

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The most apples to oranges comparison yet.  13 is an album of experiments, half of which are breakup songs, including a track of noodling around on an Optigan.  Don’t Believe The Truth was considered a return to form by Oasis and quickly ran up the UK charts.  13 seems like an album made by a group of interesting people who were very sad and getting very bored with being in a band.  Don’t Believe The Truth seems, surprisingly,  like an album made by a band where all the members are contributing and are really gelling thanks to the addition of an inspired new drummer (Ringo’s son Zak Starkey).  I give this one to Oasis if for no other reason than “Lyla” qualifies as one of the best singles of their career, easily stacking up with anything from Definitely Maybe/Morning Glory period.

winner: Oasis

Think Tank by Blur (2003)

Dig Out Your Soul by Oasis (2008)

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At one point in the opening track on Think Tank a voice asks “Can we stop now?” and states, “I’m here because I’ve got no fucking choice”, both of which were apparently front and center in the mind of Graham Coxon, who by this point had pretty much quit the band and is only featured on one song.  Most of the album sounds like a workshop for musical ideas Damon Albarn wanted to do with his various other projects.  I wouldn’t even really consider this a Blur album.  They do get credit for the Banksy album cover.  Dig Out Your Soul features a song that sounds an awful lot like “5-1″ by the Doors (see the March 2nd post of this blog), and a song called “Soldier On” so plodding you really have to take the title to heart.  I also find it hard to believe that no one thought putting John Lennon talking in the song “I’m Outta Time” was a really awful idea.

winner: who gives a shit

Throughout their careers Oasis and Blur pretty much fit the description they had been assigned- Blur were cerebral college boys with a greater sense of musical curiosity; Oasis were a bunch of working class rock&rollers more interested in writing songs the whole stadium would sing along to than redefining rock music.  Both released a few classic albums, both went through periods of bloated excess, both ran out of steam fighting the good fight.  At the end of the day, Oasis fans will think Blur fans are a bunch of punters, and Blur fans will think Oasis is chav-rock.  But in the battle of Britpop, a winner must be declared, and that winner is…

Radiohead.  Although not considered part of the mainstream of Britpop, no band that came out of the mid nineties UK music scene better than Radiohead.  They did what neither Oasis or Blur could accomplish on their own.  Radiohead is as big as Oasis and as critically loved as Blur.  Everyone sings along with the chorus to “Karma Police”, and everyone agreed about how groundbreaking and genius it was to release Kid A and Amnesiac simultaneously.  I’m not even really a Radiohead fan and I can see how big these guys really are.  Plus Thom Yorke is more annoying than all the members of both bands put together.  He snaked them all.  Hail to the Thief indeed.

BLOG NOTE: sorry to everyone for missing last week.  Listening to this much Britpop took more out of me than one week would allow.  I’ll try harder in the future to stay on top of things.