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Post by matt on Jan 24, 2022 8:17:03 GMT -5
This may be the greatest bassline in pop/rock ever. How he plays that mad bassline and doesn't hit a bum note singing is genius.
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Post by matt on Jan 24, 2022 8:15:30 GMT -5
I can't imagine what the DIV sessions would sound like. Given that most of the songs worked on that session ended up on Don't Believe The Truth, I just can't hear what those songs would sound like in a different form. I'd be more fascinated if they were working with DIV and creating songs from the ground up rather than window dressing bog standard mid tempo rockers. I know what you mean, but I think some of those versions could've had a very different aproach. We know they recorded The Good Rebel with them, and knowing how DIV work I'm guessing it was a very different version to the one NGHFB released. Also there's a chance that there are some completely unreleased songs. Noel mentioned these ones during that year: "Stop The Clocks", "Longer", "Singin' Your Life", "You Wanna Feel My Shame", "Say It", "Revolution Man" and "The Good Rebel". Also an early version of Flick of the Finger called Velvet Building.That would have been interesting to hear, probably the only tune of interest from those sessions for me personally. I think DIV could have done something interesting with that. A bit of a producers dream that one, Dave Sitek took it on well though. As for Good Rebel, there's no way on earth anyone could make that abomination sound good!
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Post by matt on Jan 24, 2022 6:59:45 GMT -5
I can't imagine what the DIV sessions would sound like. Given that most of the songs worked on that session ended up on Don't Believe The Truth, I just can't hear what those songs would sound like in a different form. I'd be more fascinated if they were working with DIV and creating songs from the ground up rather than window dressing bog standard mid tempo rockers. Whatever was done to songs like A Bell Will Ring would only be polishing a turd.
The next thing I'm crying out for is an anthology of live performances, ideally from 1994-1998. We might have the Knebworth gig now but it isn't representative or anywhere near as great as performances either side of that gig (so many great Be Here Now performances for example). A proper live album that takes highlights from everything to Maine Road etc would be ideal.
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Post by matt on Jan 23, 2022 11:35:46 GMT -5
Went back to the Mustique demos this week, as part of my annual agonising-over-Be-Here-Now period. Some thoughts: - We still haven't heard the best version of D'You Know What I Mean? - It's out there, somewhere. With those spacey guitar effects and rhythm of the demo, with the bass-heavy and string-soaked cinematics of the rethink, and the all-consuming heaviness of the chorus and solo in the original. I don't think these things are mutually exclusive. To hear that chorus with heavy guitars layers, some space-y and some dark, plus Liam vocals and the string melodies, would be better than sex. - Noel was a crap singer at this point - It's shocking that he was being given lead vocals on any actual studio track at this point, when Liam was still on fire. Magic Pie would have been so much better with Liam vocals, as would Going Nowhere and literally everything they were coming up with. Even good songs just sound clapped with his shout-y vocals. - I Hope, I Think, I Know should have been more like the demo - I think more than any other song bar My Big Mouth, this one got dragged down the most by the studio recording. It's only a slight difference, but the richer/darker guitar tones and the bassier sound of the drums give it a coked-out power that became somewhat too Disney on the album. - The drums on the demos sound better than on the album half the time - I don't know much about drumming, and I don't know if Whitey's talent just got drowned out in guitars so only those tinny cymbals were left on the treble end, but whatever it is, the simple but bass-y sound of these drums sound a hell of a lot better than they do on the record. A similar thing could be said about the guitar tones: the intro/outro to Stand By Me sound so much sweeter, and the rhythm chords come through so much better when not baked in layers and distortion. - The songwriting of Be Here Now suffered for the pressure to come up with big choruses - It's remarkable how often in the tracks of this era that Noel comes up with a gorgeous verse, then sends you into heaven with an astonishing bridge, but fails to land the track with a perfect chorus, instead lumbering into something that feels self-consciously grand. The free-wheeling spirit of earlier Oasis songs like Hello, where golden melodies tumbled out of each other at will, is replaced by some stilted hooks that feel the need to be epic. The song-writing is still better than 99% of bands, but is a downgrade on the majesty that preceded it. - Be Here Now good. - The main takeaway, as always with this album, is that despite the million flaws and things I would change, despite how much better it could and should have been, it's still a top songwriter with complete confidence in his powers, and every track is just brimming with fun and melody and size. I maintain that, discounting the talent needed for DM/MG, Be Here Now is the only Oasis album that only Oasis could have made. What songs do you have in mind for this take? I'm thinking Girl In The Dirty Shirt fits that description well - chorus by far the weakest part of that song. And thinking about the song structures thereafter, but am I right in thinking a lot of Noel's songs post-BHN lacked bridges? I'm no musicologist but maybe that's what contributed to a lack of punch in the songs thereafter.
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Post by matt on Jan 23, 2022 9:55:34 GMT -5
The reason I can't listen to the Mustique demos is that Noel sounds awful singing guitar heavy rock songs.
I like him on the quieter and more eclectic numbers but he's never been a rock singer, even in High Flying Birds songs like Lock All The Doors sound embarrassing.
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Post by matt on Jan 22, 2022 10:11:10 GMT -5
Too “poppy“? What is his new shitty gayly mountain then??? 2017 was a wild time One thing I like about the forum these days is that sub-intelligent pricks like them aren't on here anymore. That is until the next major release...
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Post by matt on Jan 20, 2022 14:43:56 GMT -5
Still blows my mind in this day and age that Wonderwall is the most popular song of the 1990s. And that they have a song that has been streamed more times than any U2, Coldplay, Nirvana, Radiohead, (insert any alt rock band) number is amazing. When you think of all the radio hits of that decade - to the brilliant and the shite - it still amazes me how our ragtag chaotic bunch of heroes are at the very top. I still feel like they are an obscure band in some ways with that authentic, independent and reckless vibe. When you see them beating all that manufactured crap to a pulp in the midst of endless drink, drugs and brawls, it makes you proud of them in a weird way. Agreed, although to be fair, Coldplay has a more streamed song with Something just like this, but that's a very different era of course. I'm not going to count collaborations! It's cheating in a way because it brings both sets of fans together, Coldplay were savvy in latching onto an act like Chainsmokers. Albeit while they don't have a song that beats Wonderwall, the numbers for their other tracks are amazing, and not just what we perceive as their latter music that appeals to younger demographs. Wonderwall with its success, just out the circumstances and the origins of the band, is just unbelievable. It was all very much an indie crew in the recording process, no major label interference or mega buck producer on board. No committee meetings about particular songs, just the band beating the shit out of each other and producing the biggest song ever it seems.
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Post by matt on Jan 19, 2022 16:33:48 GMT -5
Noel said on Matt's podcast it's basically an interlude between two big tracks, so will make more sense in the context of the album I do pray he's gone Be Here Now style extravaganza with two consecutive 7 plus minute songs.
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Post by matt on Jan 19, 2022 16:32:31 GMT -5
Still blows my mind in this day and age that Wonderwall is the most popular song of the 1990s. And that they have a song that has been streamed more times than any U2, Coldplay, Nirvana, Radiohead, (insert any alt rock band) number is amazing.
When you think of all the radio hits of that decade - to the brilliant and the shite - it still amazes me how our ragtag chaotic bunch of heroes are at the very top.
I still feel like they are an obscure band in some ways with that authentic, independent and reckless vibe. When you see them beating all that manufactured crap to a pulp in the midst of endless drink, drugs and brawls, it makes you proud of them in a weird way.
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Post by matt on Jan 19, 2022 15:00:32 GMT -5
I think I've settled on this as my "ideal" Be Here Now. The big controversy will be in including a (retitled) Magic Pie while subbing off My Big Mouth for Stay Young. But I don't know, it felt wrong to take off any off those colourful, lairy, ambitious tracks like Fade In/Out or All Around the World, they make the album what it is. My Big Mouth is a great song, the chorus is mint, but it can only go at track two and it's just too badly-done to feel like it would have any chance of pleasing the massive audience Oasis had built by '97. And yes, The Masterplan should have been saved. It's one of the best things they ever did and the album badly needs another single. I like that this playlist is still a massive, lairy juggernaut of an album, but still packs in loads of potential singles and starts with a run of tracks that could all be played on the radio. Get Liam to sing all tracks, make the production richer, and I think this is the best Oasis could have done for that big, ambitious third record while still keeping that Be Here Now charm. It's a great tracklisting but I think it does need My Big Mouth for definite. It adds to the reckless feel of it. At first glance, it's a debate between the revised Magic Pie and My Big Mouth in this tracklisting. I can certainly imagine the 'reimagining' you posted earlier of Magic Pie, and I'm torn in taking it away. I know folk hate it but I see the silliness in it, and a major part of Oasis's appeal is that overblown silliness. But they would have had to make it even sillier. I think that revised version would work but with what we've got, I'd probably have My Big Mouth there. I'd be an awful A&R man because to be honest, the track I maybe least like is the commercial Don't Go Away. I think that's the one Oasis tune where maybe the overblown nature veered into saccharine sentimentality and I much prefer the more restrained version from Noel. It's not bad and my opinion is in the context of that album which is meant to be ridiculous, but it is a song for a different album. The main thing I take from Be Here Now is that sense of silliness which defines Oasis at their best. That's what made them stand out from your usual run of the mill indie band of that time. For example, if someone had heard Live Forever in its acoustic form first, they would say 'don't touch it' as it's perfect as it is. Noel did it full band version and added a couple of brilliantly over the top and epic guitar solos. 99.9% of acts would destroy such a song with that approach - it would be seen as a desecration of real beauty, yet Oasis made it even better. It's everything that post-Be Here Now Oasis wasn't. So restrained, so unambitious and so boring in their songs and recording. I missed the over the top guitar solos and I missed the brickwalled production, that sense of abandon in their recording approach. It's why I love Who Built The Moon, it has so many throw the kitchen sink ideas on it that Noel did during the 1990s. Although the songs don't sound like Oasis, it was fucking loud and had that sense of fun and silliness to it, it was unmistakably classic Noel approach. A shame then that I don't think he'll do that again anytime soon. I think that while he might dabble in a few sonic tricks here and there like he did for the EPs (which are too clean and polished in its sounds), sadly I can't see him throwing the kitchen sink at it and more likely than not, will be left with a feeling of disappointment once again in it's unambitious nature.
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Post by matt on Jan 16, 2022 17:27:07 GMT -5
It's not hatred, it's simply 'actions have consequences'. People are full of hate, don't pretend they aren't. Hatred is wanting him lynched from a lamppost, haven’t seen anything like that directed towards him. It’s anger towards him and his holier than thou diva like sense of superiority, when everyone else has had to make sacrifices and stuck to them.
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Post by matt on Jan 16, 2022 12:03:40 GMT -5
The Remains of the Day, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Don't be put off by it's staid and posh English stately home setting, it really is an ideal setting for this film. It's a very sad film about how status and principles repress people from being their authentic self. Christopher Reeve is also excellent as the American politician who sees through such facades. Brilliant film. Five stars. It's one of my all time favourite films. Brilliant above brilliant, yet as you mentioned, it's a quite sad story. I'm planning to read this novel written by Kazuo Ishiguro. Yep, so good I've ordered the book Mimmi. The film is faithful to the book I've heard. I watched it out of interest having read one of Ishiguro's novels over Christmas called An Artist of the Floating World. Great book, so looking forward to reading more of his.
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Post by matt on Jan 16, 2022 9:50:49 GMT -5
If your hate could be turned into electricity, it would light up the whole world — Nikola Tesla. It's not hatred, it's simply 'actions have consequences'.
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Post by matt on Jan 16, 2022 6:29:52 GMT -5
It's not good for any sport if a defending champion can't defend their title. But take away all the ramblings and dick swinging of the Aussie government, the basic truth is he's got nobody to blame but himself.
No sympathy whatsoever for him.
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Post by matt on Jan 15, 2022 20:23:44 GMT -5
The Remains of the Day, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
Don't be put off by it's staid and posh English stately home setting, it really is an ideal setting for this film. It's a very sad film about how status and principles repress people from being their authentic self. Christopher Reeve is also excellent as the American politician who sees through such facades.
Brilliant film. Five stars.
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Post by matt on Jan 15, 2022 14:44:49 GMT -5
I really hope this album comes out this fall. Let’s say Noel completes studio recording by end of February, is he really gonna sit on it until Feb/March/Apri 2023? Five full years since MOON dropped. Wild stuff. It better be fucking good!
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Post by matt on Jan 13, 2022 17:59:50 GMT -5
Boris Johnson is facing calls to quit after party apology by the Labour leader. And, the PM is also under pressure from his own MPs over the May 2020 party. Good it serves him right then. I remember when one government scandal would have brought a government down. One scandal is bad enough but one after another makes me blank out all this stuff now. I just can't be bothered getting angry about it. Standards have fallen across the country to constantly allow this to happen. From the government themselves to the media and finally the electorate who are as much to blame for voting this shite in and most of whom have as much moral fibre as the Conservative party, everyone's to blame. And still, we'll probably see the Tories rise in the polls. Such a cesspit of a country.
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Post by matt on Jan 6, 2022 8:24:23 GMT -5
Novak is there without wallet, in clothes that he arrived, without water in toilet, only with his mobile phone. So, you can fuck off with your comments. Aussie fascist government. Christ you make him sound like Bobby Sands... You can argue your point fine but throwing terms like fascism around is hysterical at best and extremely offensive at worst. Not allowing a pissy little diva into the country for reasons that he is partly to blame is not tantamount to a system that encourages mass genocide. Grow up.
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Post by matt on Jan 5, 2022 18:02:35 GMT -5
It doesn't matter if you agree with Novak, this is fascism. Somebody tries to enter the country without the required mandate that everyone is aware of, with self inflicted complications because of his anti-vax batshit ideas. But yeah, fascism. Riiiiight......
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Post by matt on Jan 3, 2022 12:24:54 GMT -5
Much like his earlier stuff, I can tolerate these standalone tunes on shuffle. But a whole album like this would be tedious like his first two albums so he definitely needs to mix things up. And by that I don't mean embarrassing dad rockers like Lock All The Doors or The Good Rebel. Better that than more festering turds like Black Star Dancing, Be Careful What You Wish For, Evil Flower or anything related. I'd rather listen to him fart for 60 minutes into a microphone than an album with more songs like that. I hope he continues with the vibes of "Trying To Find A World That’s Been and Gone" for this album. Who needs more "Love Is The Law" style songs, give us some heartfelt melody and some ATMOSPHERE Noel. What style is that? Because that's the stuff I'd like him to throw in the mix. I've always had that as classic Noel but with a motown influence. Certainly nothing meandering like Evil Flower. Far more energetic and vibrant that the tired lumpen sounds of the first two albums.
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Post by matt on Jan 3, 2022 11:54:30 GMT -5
I am hoping that Noel’s has a few more energetic tunes coming vocally. The last 4 offerings are what I describe as mid tempo cowboy Noel. We’re Gonna Get There In The End We’re On Our Way Now Flying On The Ground Trying To Find A World That’s Been and Gone Part 1 Much like his earlier stuff, I can tolerate these standalone tunes on shuffle. But a whole album like this would be tedious like his first two albums so he definitely needs to mix things up. And by that I don't mean embarrassing dad rockers like Lock All The Doors or The Good Rebel.
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Post by matt on Jan 1, 2022 22:25:59 GMT -5
It sounds like a perfect album opener, something restrained and a scene setter for something majestic.
I see it compared to the first album and Chasing Yesterday, but I don’t see how. The majority of those albums were all clunky plodding dad rock. This is anything but - it’s thankfully dreamlike and beautiful in a way those two albums aren’t..
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Post by matt on Dec 24, 2021 21:07:39 GMT -5
Merry Christmas everyone. Best wishes to everyone on the forum, past and present.
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Post by matt on Dec 20, 2021 17:27:25 GMT -5
Everyone likes The Beatles, even those who say they hate The Beatles. Because undoubtedly they will like something that The Beatles influenced, so they like The Beatles by proxy.
No getting away from it.
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Post by matt on Dec 18, 2021 19:17:18 GMT -5
I absolutely love, and am surprised, by Seventeen Going Under by Sam Fender though. I really fell for his music this year. He always said he owed a debt to Springsteen and as a fellow fanatic I just couldn't hear it myself in his first album. So I never got the hype.
But this album is incredible and I get the comparisons now, without him ripping off The Boss. What a gifted songwriter he is, all self written and the most authentic working class indie singer in music today. Does that thing Springsteen does great in tearing away the façade of masculinity to expose its vulnerabilities, but with a north eastern English flavour. But mainly, his songs are just heartfelt.
After years of self proclaimed 'working class hero' posers/losers like Jake Bugg, The Enemy, Kasabian, Catfish & The Bottlemen, British indie music finally has somebody who walks the walk. Brilliant album.
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