Ok so here's some more of my analysis...
The Ordering of the Pages
As the pages have been cut from the notebook we no longer know the order in which they were originally arranged. This information could've been potentially revealing to us as statistically it's likely to have been written left-to-right (page-wise), with perhaps a handful of pages at the back being written right-to-left.
Luckily we can somewhat speculate as to what it was due to dateable pages, imprints of text, text showing through the paper, the pen used and distinctive folds which have affected numerous pages. Also some pages are clearly written in a certain order, i.e. The 'Draft Rebellious Jukebox Descriptions' 1-10 are obviously written numerically.
Here are the sections I have been able ascertain ordering information on:
The Front- Front Cover
- Inside Front Cover
Unfortunately none of the folds on the front cover perfectly align with any of the folds found on any of the pages within.
Batch A
- Lyrics - ‘On ’N’ On’
- Lyrics - ‘Feeling Like I Think…’
- Draft 'Rebellious Jukebox' List [Before 17/09/94]
- Draft 'Rebellious Jukebox' Descriptions - 1 [Before 17/09/94]
- Draft 'Rebellious Jukebox' Descriptions - 2 [Before 17/09/94]
- Draft 'Rebellious Jukebox' Descriptions - 3 [Before 17/09/94]
- Lyrics - ‘Starchild’ *
- Lyrics - ‘Callin’ All’ *
- Lyrics - ‘She’s Electric’ *
- Lyrics - ‘All Around the World’ *
- Lyrics - ‘Roll With It’ *
- Lyrics - ‘Hello!’ *
- Lyrics - ‘Going Nowhere’ *
- Lyrics - ‘Not Finished - Untitled…?’ [‘Bonehead’s Bank Holiday’] [Before 14/09/94] *
- Lyrics - ‘Rockin’ Chair’ *
- Lyrics - ‘Step Out Tonight’ [1] *
- Lyrics - ‘Rainy Summertime’ *
- Lyrics - ‘Step Out Tonight’ [2] *
Fortunately this batch of pages contains multiple overlapping folds that come and go with one being very impactful affecting all but the first page. The pages marked with an asterisk are in an approximate order based on the subtle gradual movement of the impacting fold. It's also worth noting that all of the pages (except 'Step Out Tonight' [2]) were written in a black fineliner pen with later marks being added in biro.
If this information is correct then it tells us that the two work in progress songs 'Step Out' & 'Bonehead's Bank Holiday' were likely written after Noel's draft 'Rebellious Jukebox' descriptions were produced. Back in 1994 Melody Maker was a weekly magazine and Noel was advertised as being the featured artist in 'Rebellious Jukebox' the edition before it came out (10/09/94). Of course we don't know how long Melody Maker gave Noel to do his homework but the last two times he was interviewed by the magazine (and therefore in definite contact) was on the 20/08/94 edition and the 06/08/94 edition. I'd hazard a guess it was written in August (+/- a week or so).
'Bonehead's Bank Holiday' was soundchecked on the 14/09/94 at Club Quattro in Tokyo, Japan (alongside 'Hey Now!', 'Some Might Say', 'Stand By Me' and 'Don't Go Away'). The soundcheck version seems to be a little more advanced than the handwritten lyric we have and contains the "La, la, la, la..." bridges featured in the final version and the "Shut your moaning..." middle-8 from 'Is That a Fact?' which later got replaced. I think the work in progress state that 'Bonehead's Bank Holiday' was in on the date of the soundcheck (and the fact we know that 'Callin' All', 'She's Electric', 'All Around the World', 'Hello', 'Going Nowhere' and 'Rockin' Chair' were all old songs written in 1993) helps bolster the accuracy that this "batch" of pages were indeed written on consecutive pages of the notebook.
(Edit) Additional note: 'Purple Parallelogram' was written by Noel and Evan Dando (of The Lemonheads) at the end of August 1994. The song uses the same Chorus melody as 'Roll With It'. We don't know which song was written first.Batch B- Song List & Unfinished Draft Tracklist
- Song List
A single A4 piece of paper with text written on both sides. Based on the songs included on each side these pages are chronologically indistinguishable. If you assume a left-to-right page writing bias then you'd order them as I have done above but this page could've very well been the last page in the notebook. The black biro asterisks (used to highlight songs) on the longer list could possibly have been written at the same time as the song list and unfinished draft tracklist was (also written in black biro). If true this would suggest the pages were written right-to-left and that the page was likely written at the back of the book.
Further analysis of the song lists and tracklist will be provided at a later date.
Batch C
- Doodle - ‘Me + Music 4 Ever’ [23/11/94]
- Note - ‘Teeth Falling Out…’
- Lyrics - ‘Champagne Supernova!’ [After 10/11/94]
- Unfinished Lyrics/‘Some Might Say' Note
- Draft Tracklist & Single
The reason reason why these pages are batched together are because they all contain a faint fold in the top left hand corner, presumably where the pages have come away from the notebooks seam.
You can see that the note of "Teeth Falling Out..." was written on the page after ‘Me + Music 4 Ever’ doodle because the pen imprinted onto the page below. Assuming a left-to-right page writing bias then this note was likely written after the date Noel kindly provided us with on the page above (23/11/94).
The guitar solo to 'Champagne Supernova' was soundchecked on 19/10/94 at Lee’s Palace in Toronto, Canada. According to Noel he had the music and melody to the song already but the lyrics to the song were influenced when he went over to visit Meg Mathews (before they were going out (presumably when he was dating Meg's flatmate Rebecca de Ruvo)) and they watched a documentary about Champagne in France whilst listening to the Pixies album 'Bossanova'. Apparently Noel met Meg on either the 10th or 11th of November of that year so if true this page was written after that date.
The tracklist and single is chronologically consistent with these other sheets (i.e. later than Batch A & B). Further analysis of it will be provided at a later date.
The Back
- Back Cover
No folds present due to the more rigid cardboard used. Further analysis of the page will be provided at a later date.
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5