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ive come around recently to the AUCKLAND DJ and former long-time BBC RADIO 1 RADIO PERSONALITY ZANE LOWE, especially with regards to his current THE ZANE LOWE INTERVIEW SERIES on APPLE MUSIC. ive watched and listened to his interviews for years and while he always came across as INFORMED and an ardent fan of his subject, there were times his PASSION seemed to stray into straight-up adulation. or so i thought. i believe the dude is fully aware of his role in the wider ecosystem of modern culture as a bridge of sorts for the global public to access emerging and established musicians, and i feel his ENTHUSIASM is a reflection of such. his queries are often the types a hardcore fan would want answered by a favored artist if given the opportunity and the nerve.
and that perspective of LOWE from that as a stand-in for the public was how i judged him until recently. i began to realize that, like HOWARD STERN, he is a great listener. and i think such may be an outgrowth of the long-form format of THE ZANE LOWE INTERVIEW SERIES of podcasts as it gives him time to weave and contextualize competing narratives and informed takes on his subject's career. in essence he isn't necessarily flattering his guests, instead he's creating a SAFE ENVIRONMENT for them to open up. and post-pandemic he is doing such physically as well, often meeting his subjects on their home-court. at their favorite spots. in their cities. sometimes even at their home or recording studio. i've also noticed that he is shrewd in his interviewing style as he allows his subject to TAKE THE LEAD, with him interjecting only to clarify or contextualize a point he found interesting or needing of clarification for the average viewer. LOWE is the type of interlocutor that is comfortable not being "in the know" at all times and lets it known when he finds something genuinely UNEXPECTED or COMPELLING. i've also noticed he is not afraid of silence. it reminds me of my teaching days where there were sometimes pregnant silences were students or myself were conjuring a response to a BOLD question hanging in the air. the silences in his interviews are ones where people are fully contemplating and thus fully ENGAGED. it took me a while to come around to the fact that the guy is just a fan of music and art and the processes/ALCHEMY from which such rise from the ether. in that sense it is almost inconsequential who the subject is, from DAVID BYRNE to MILEY CYRUS. i look forward to seeing where his long-form interview series leads him. hopefully he can interview some of my heroes like Q-TIP, JOHNNY MARR, SHANE MCGOWAN, JUSTINE FRISCHMANN, HUGH CORNWELL, MARK MOTHERSBAUGH, MIKE PATTON or even transcendent emerging artists like DRAB MAJESTY and CHELSEA WOLFE. one can dream.
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their catalogue speaks for itself.
the BRITISH indie label CREATION RECORDS during its run had some massively seminal and influential bands, everyone from PRIMAL SCREAM, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, TEENAGE FANCLUB, RIDE, SLOWDIVE and THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN to SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, THE HOUSE OF LOVE, SWERVEDRIVER, SUGAR, SAINT ETIENNE and, of course, OASIS. culturally the label is very much synonymous with the two BRITISH INDIE ROCK exports of the period, SHOEGAZE and BRITPOP. and while all of those bands get their spot in the documentary UPSIDE DOWN: THE CREATION RECORDS STORY (DOCUMENT FILMS, 2010), the focus is on its founder all around INDIE ROCK pied piper, ALAN MCGEE. the label is very much created in the image of MCGEE, who was a SCOTTISH punk who made his way down to LONDON with his band subsequently decided to put out music by his friends. and that tribal bond was basically the defining ethos of CREATION RECORDS throughout its run. in the film MCGEE even attests to the fact that he signed interesting, creative people and not bands. needless to say, thats an odd tactic but definitely describes the innovative people he brought into the fold including KEVIN SHIELDS, BOBBY GILLESPIE, GRUFF RHYS and NOEL GALLAGHER. what i found interesting is how the story of CREATION RECORDS mirrors that of other artistic-minded labels in their peer group, many that came out of the existing POST PUNK scene of the previous generation like FACTORY RECORDS. these INDIE ROCK labels were seemingly fronts for producing great art rather than being a functioning business with longterm economic targets and vertically integrated efficiencies. CREATION RECORDS pre-OASIS was in a constant state of owing money to recording studios, printing presses and the like and was under constant threat of being eaten up by a major. its ironic that the period that saw the label at its mid-1990s cultural zenith, the period around OASIS' second record WHAT'S THE STORY (MORNING GLORY)?, also marked their fall into eventually being consolidated and sold to SONY. MCGEE during the entire OASIS period had hit a wall with his drug use and saw him through a long recovery which meant his non-presence at the label allowed for the implementation of structural changes which in turn weakened his hand. this led to the label being swallowed up by a major, who of course had no idea what to do with its idiosyncratic and eccentric catalogue. but the fact that the label ended in 1999 doesnt reduce its impact. its arguable that the label nurtured the BRITISH INDIE ROCK scene post-SMITHS throughout the late 80s and 90s and laid the groundwork for what would be the last great global rock phenomenon in OASIS. once that genie is out of the bottle its arguable that their legacy was cemented and where do you go from there? i dont know. but growing up overseas this label's catalogue was essentially synonymous with my young adulthood, especially MY BLOODY VALENTINE and SLOWDIVE. i love the guy just for giving world those two bands. definitely check out this documentary if you have any interest in music history or ALTERNATIVE ROCK and INDIE ROCK bands from the 1980s and 1990s including SHOEGAZE and BRITPOP. thoroughly enjoyable and required viewing. 
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check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the criminally underrated BRITPOP band ELASTICA!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience!
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sadly in recent years there has been a series of documentaries chronicling the demise of the recording studio, most notably the DAVE GROHL-directed SOUND CITY (review linked HERE). inevitably the repeated narrative is about what has been lost with the advent and rise of powerful (and mobile) digital recording technology (i.e. PROTOOLS), such being the spontaneity, feeling and magic that happens when musicians make it happen in close proximity to one another.
ROCKFIELD: THE STUDIO ON THE FARM (IE IE PRODUCTIONS, 2020) follows the story of the notable WELSH residential recording studio, ROCKFIELD STUDIOS, that has been utilized by the likes of everyone from BLACK SABBATH, QUEEN, IGGY POP, DAVID BOWIE, ADAM ANT, JUDAS PRIEST, ROBERT PLANT and HAWKWIND to THE STONE ROSES, CHRISTIAN DEATH, OASIS, BAUHAUS, MANIC STREET PREACHERS, ROYAL BLOOD and even COLDPLAY among countless others. what is interesting about the studio is its isolation. when it was created in the 1960s by two brothers, it was completely unique in that all other studios of its caliber were owned by record labels and located in LONDON. atmosphere-wise many of them were effectively sonic laboratories and had the vibe of a dental office. ROCKFIELD was located far removed in the WELSH countryside on what was effectively a pig and dairy farm. artists could rehearse and record with little to no distractions and effectively no volume restrictions. this was the setting that bands like BLACK SABBATH and HAWKWIND perfected their decibel rattling sound. this isolation and lack of distractions also means that there is an intimacy to the experience of recording at all hours for an extended period of time. recording at ROCKFIELD came with cooked meals by the family that ran the studio and sleeping on the premises that they also maintained. apparently THE STONE ROSES famously stayed for 14 months straight during their peak creative and prolific period. it went the other way as well since some of the participants spoke of it as a prison, especially if your band was not clicking. given that DEER GOD ran a recording studio for a period that was deliberately removed from the hustle and bustle of NEW YORK CITY (we were located in a late 19th century victorian mansion in southern STATEN ISLAND), its always interesting for me to listen to the shared experience of working with artists. in all these films it seems that one gig leads to the next. with SOUND CITY there was a long dry spell in the 1980s until NIRVANA came which begot RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, TOOL, KYUSS, MASTERS OF REALITY, SLAYER and so on. same with ROCKFIELD STUDIOS with a similar trajectory in the 1980s followed by THE STONE ROSES who begot OASIS, THE CHARLATANS, THE BOO RADLEYS and several members of BRITPOP royalty. the recording studio as a destination is now an outmoded anachronism. which is sad. im glad documentaries such as ROCKFIELD: THE STUDIO ON THE FARM exist since it allows us to take stock in the moment of a period of transition as music and art "progress" forward with the advent of ever more powerful recording technology. its interesting to consider what lays ahead and how music production will shift and evolve moving forward. whether or not the human element in music will survive. its an endlessly captivating topic. 
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when my family moved to NIGERIA in the mid 1990s we would spend a few weeks each summer staying with a relative in ENGLAND in a suburb north of LONDON. its an era i really look back at fondly and, as it turns out, the timeframe coincided with can argued were the peak years of the BRITPOP movement. undoubtedly the biggest record of the period was (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? (CREATION, 1995) by legendary MANCHESTER band OASIS. tracks like "DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER," "CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA," "SOME MIGHT SAY" and of course "WONDERWALL" are celebrated milestones of an era that marker a distinct generational realignment in BRITISH culture and even politics.
there are so many touch points with this record. culturally (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? marked a shift away from the decidedly introspective and self-reflective SHOEGAZE movement of a few years prior and provided a more aggressive stance in the wake of NIRVANA and the stateside ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement. this was a record and a band that were unabashedly, uncompromisingly and unapologetically BRITISH. it was also a record that didnt hide behind characters and sophisticated literary ambitions which was the case with BLUR and their equally impactful and era-defining PARKLIFE (FOOD, 1994) album. lyrically what it did have were non-sensical, free-association, stream-of-consciousness lyrics a la THE BEATLES' "I AM THE WALRUS" by songwriter and guitarist NOEL GALLAGHER. the opaque and inscrutable nature of the lyrics counterintuitively for the listener put more emphasis on the performances of singer LIAM GALLAGHER and the melody within the music itself. its an interesting switch and bait. fairly or unfairly, OASIS politically was effectively the living embodiment of the working class in ENGLAND. this was in contrast to BLUR, who were portrayed as upper-class art school sophisticates. the rivalry was manufactured and kinda bullshit, much like THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES before them, but its an image that survives to this day. LIAM himself was the poster child of LAD CULTURE, which celebrated womanizing, excessive alcohol consumption and soccer hooliganism. so its interesting that TONY BLAIR tapped into BRITPOP and specifically OASIS in order to reach that desired younger and decidedly urban demographic. it worked and the LABOR PARTY regained control of government in 1997 in a landslide. the sight of NOEL at 10 DOWNING STREET in the aftermath is also seen as the jump the shark moment of the BRITPOP movement in general. when what was a youth movement now became BRITISH CULTURE writ large. their is no real analogue to the political significance of this record in an AMERICAN context. not ELVIS PRESLEY, not BOB DYLAN and not BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN. its still an interesting topic. like most people who are OASIS obsessives, what i love about this record are the melodies and song-craft of NOEL and the brash over-confidence and demonic chutzpah of LIAM. its not even up for discussion how powerful this combination of distinct forces found in THE GALLAGHER BROTHERS was during this period. lightning in a bottle. my favorite song on (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? has long been "MORNING GLORY" with its whirling, siren-like guitar intro to its opening couplet of "all your dreams are made when you're chained to the mirror and the razor blade." when that first chorus crashes in i am never in a bad mood. its empowering and intoxicating to take in. just like it was when i first heard it when i was eleven. is most definitely worth revisiting and checking out again. and for god's sake THE GALLAGHER BROTHERS need to just make up and regroup already. have COLDPLAY as your backing band, i dont care. the world needs to hear "ROCK 'N' ROLL STAR" in a stadium again! 
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from its inception, GORILLAZ was designed as a hybrid multi-media/art/music project meant to provide a creative vehicle with no historical or cultural antecedents for BRITISH collaborators DAMON ALBARN (BLUR) and cartoonist JAMIE HEWLETT (of TANK GIRL fame). in essence ALBARN had long felt confined by the expectations and parlor games of the fickle and often churlish BRITISH tabloid music press and sought a way of removing himself from the equation. the documentary BANANAZ (HEAD FILM, 2008) serves as a behind-the-scenes documentation of notable recording, touring and press circuit madness surrounding the GORILLAZ (PARLOPHONE, 2001) and DARK DAYS (PARLOPHONE, 2001) albums.
given that the presentation of the band was done through cartoon characters, this provided ALBARN with the opportunity to really pursue musical collaborations and multiple musical genres with gusto. this can be seen with his choice of producers in DAN "THE AUTOMATOR" NAKAMURA and DANGER MOUSE, studio musicians in JUNIOR DAN (BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS), SIMON TONG (VERVE) and DAVE ROWNTREE (BLUR) as well as the litany of notable participants including DAN "THE AUTOMATOR" NAKAMURA, DEL THE FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN, IBRAHIM FERRERA (BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB), KID KOALA, ROOTS MANUVA, BOOTIE BROWN (THE PHARCYDE), DANGER MOUSE, DE LA SOUL, MIHO HATORI (CIBO MATTO), D12, IKE TURNER, TINA WEYMOUTH (TALKING HEADS), NENEH CHERRY, MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD, SHAUN RYDER (HAPPY MONDAYS), MF DOOM and even DENNIS HOPPER. and that incredible eclectic list really expands on subsequent releases. it really is an ingenious front that has a definite PINK FLOYD lineage despite what ALBARN thinks of their music (which is a noteworthy scene in the film). for me the most interesting aspects of this film were not musical in nature and all centered around HEWLETT. watching snippets of his creative process was interesting given that this project arguably produced his most famous characters. just the thought and work that went into something that most people largely passively consume without a second's notice. a virtual band? sure, its not that different than JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS or THE ARCHIES, right? it is a deceivingly straightforward ruse that has a real depth behind it which makes this project continually interesting. you have both character development and an interest in seeing whom ALBARN feels worthy of collaboration. it was also interesting seeing HEWLETT doing press interviews to baffled AMERICAN DJs on an extended press tour and what total chore that seems. its funny because HEWLETT not being a musician, does not hesitate to take the piss out of them, not caring about alienating the music industry. watching that was beyond entertaining since you know that kids in the know about his career and artistic legacy would appreciate his antics. i cant imagine how lame that must be to talk to drive-time early commute DJs in the midwest. just writing that sentence makes me shiver. those first two records were especially great so BANANAZ was always going to be interesting no matter the quality. watching ALBARN having his guard down was a joy to watch given that the project was manufactured as a ploy to divorce his music from his public persona. im surprised more havent followed in his wake. because culture has only gotten more toxic and it has become more virtual. we are all GORILLAZ now. 
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE a special episode of DEER GOD RADIO on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC with a playlist dedicated to BRITPOP icons OASIS! one of my all-time favorite bands. episodes like this are why i do this show.
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
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its really cool the stuff that is being released on YOUTUBE these days. since 1987 the DUTCH television live performance series 2 METER SESSIONS has been film/recording/mixing one session a week of upcoming musical talent. as you can imagine, the variety and scope of these recordings has grown immeasurably over the years and there has been a slow trickle via their YOUTUBE channel releasing the more memorable performances.
everything from BURNING SPEAR, BECK and YEASAYER to SEPULTURA, NADA SURF and even NIRVANA. definitely look these vintage performances up if you have the inclination. definitely worth the effort. 
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when books get written about the 1990s BRITPOP movement it always seems that bands like OASIS, BLUR and PULP take up all the oxygen out of the room relative to other talented bands like ELASTICA, SUEDE, SLEEPER and SUPER FURRY ANIMALS.
WELSH singer-songwriter GRUFF RHYS of SUPER FURRY ANIMALS in my opinion has one of the most emotive voices from that whole period. paired with his unmatched ear for constructing melodies and you have a talent i would put right up there with DAMON ALBARN and NOEL GALLAGHER. definitely check out his celebrated work with SUPER FURRY ANIMALS as well as later projects like NEON NEON and his solo work. his first band FFA COFFI PAWB ("EVERYBODY's COFFEE BEANS" in WELSH, "FUCK OFF EVERYONE" phonetically in ENGLISH) is also worth looking into, but be prepared for lyrics sung exclusively in WELSH. 
parodies by nacrowe
join us tonight at 8PM EST for an all new episode of DEER GOD RADIO on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC dedicated to BRITPOP icons OASIS, one of my all-time favorite bands. this is gonna be fun.
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO as well as other MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC shows like MAKE HER SPACE, NOWHERE FAST, THE SYNTHESIZER SHOW and CLASSICAL-ISH WITH NUTMEG are available here at the DEER GOD website. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
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FROM THE BASEMENT was a live performance series produced by NIGEL GODRICH (RADIOHEAD, ROGER WATERS, BECK, R.E.M.) that lasted two seasons and aired intermittently on SKY TV from 2006 to 2009. shot and recorded without an audience, the bare studio room was an open canvas for the artists and directors, including SOPHIE MULLER, to present their music in manner they more or less had control over.
notable performances include those by PJ HARVEY, THE FALL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, THUNDERCAT, THE KILLS, RADIOHEAD, CSS, SONIC YOUTH, FLEET FOXES, THE WHITE STRIPES and JARVIS COCKER of PULP definitely worth checking out, especially for the quality of the live mixes, which honestly is a bit of a forgotten and under-appreciated art. enjoy. 
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filmed at a time when BLUR had reconvened with all original members after nearly a decade apart for a pair of comeback shows at LONDON's HYDE PARK, NO DISTANCE LEFT TO RUN (PULSE FILMS, 2010) finds the the band describing their journey as a band.
and what a journey it has been. BLUR is obviously a preeminent cultural force that found its root in the 1990s BRITPOP scene along with other groups like PULP, SUEDE, ELASTICA and of course, OASIS. in a familiar arc to many a successful INDIE band, they started out playing small clubs and then found incremental successes up until their breakout release PARKLIFE (FOOD, 1994) which found them playing large stadiums to new crowds they felt alienated from. the two big players in the story are DAMON ALBARN and GRAHAM COXON, the two main songwriters and their reaction to fame, not necessarily each other. ALBARN is shown to be rather workmanlike and very ENGLISH in his attitude of barreling through obstacles and suboptimal situations. he gets pegged as being careerist but i think he is just someone that wants to fulfill his potential and do everything in his power to make his creative efforts successful. in COXON you have a more sensitive, introspective presence (with every bit the equal creative force to his partner) who used alcohol as his way of dissociating from large crowds and screaming girls. its a unique dynamic that was bound to find that partnership eventually grind to a halt, which it did during the recording of THINK TANK (PARLOPHONE, 2003), when COXON failed to show up. not to get too much into the weeds of business speak, but ALBARN was hurt in that there was an opportunity cost to his involvement with BLUR. he could be doing other projects that interested him but made the record out of loyaly to his longtime mates. the fact that COXON didnt give him that same respect was crushing. and it shows because ALBARN went on to create the massively successful GORILLAZ as well as various eclectic projects that saw him working with AFRICAN musicians and members of THE CLASH and FELA KUTI's AFRICA 80 band and producing various projects. his post-BLUR career saw him spread his creative wings. COXON put out a series of INDIE / POWER POP albums in the vein of PAUL WELLER and conquered his substance abuse issues and the underlying coping mechanisms. both seemed happy with their position. the HYDE PARK SHOWS for this documentary were a one-off for the fans. except they werent in the end. after this documentary they did were scheduled to do some one-off shows in JAPAN in 2013, but those were cancelled and they found themselves in HONG KONG. so they did what any band does when they are waiting to play, they recorded. these ideas were done in a studio and forgotten about. that is until COXON took up the mantle of creating instrumentals that he sent to ALBARN. at this point ALBARN had a full plate and BLUR was not a priority. but the instrumentals were promising and in a sense it revitalized his creative relationship with COXON, who did the heavy lifting, something he failed to do on THINK TANK. THE MAGIC WHIP (WARNER BROS, 2015) is an iconic BLUR album which is up their with PARKLIFE and their best work. it remains to be seen if this is their last effort but now it really feels like an adequate end to their journey. this documentary was interesting but incomplete. the story is only 2/3 the way through. if you are a fan of BRITPOP or ALTERNATIVE ROCK in the 1990s this is required viewing. 
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OASIS: SUPERSONIC (MINT PICTURES, 2016) is easily one of the better documentaries ive watched in recent years, not least because strucurally it is an anomaly having two competing narrators in the GALLAGHER BROTHERS walking us through their story on separate tracks. recorded separately with no interaction, which seems as good a description as any for the dynamic within the group. this film shows how this highly dysfunctional pair of siblings rose to prominence with the BRITPOP movement and cemented their legacy as iconic BRITISH cultural exports on par with THE BEATLES and THE SEX PISTOLS from previous generations. its an amazing story.
you don't have to look very far in this film to see examples of singer LIAM GALLAGHER's loutish womanizing behavior that have made his king hooligan public persona the stuff of legend. but honestly that stuff bored me. what you really get at the heart of their relationship, and by definition the crux of this film, is this notion of an unbalanced division of labor. guitarist NOEL GALLAGHER comes off as the brooding, sensitive son of an abusive MANCUNIAN father who made himself into a songsmith whose innate sense of melody and human observation led him to write transcendent songs that put him in the pantheon of great BRITISH songwriters along with the aforementioned LENNON/MCCARTNEY as well as RAY DAVIES, MORRISSEY/JOHNNY MARR, ELVIS COSTELLO, ELTON JOHN/BERNIE TAUPIN, VAN MORRISON, IAN CURTIS and even DAMON ALBARN. but that only got him so far without the magnetism, charisma and straight-up sex appeal of LIAM in the vein of iconic BRITHS frontmen like JOHNNY ROTTEN, FREDDIE MERCURY, PAUL WELLER, NICK LOWE, JOE STRUMMER and of course (again) JOHN LENNON. with NOEL you got the substance of an older brother that took the blunt of the blows from their father and with LIAM the upstart baby of the family, shielded from such abuse, who wanted all the attention good or bad. super interesting family dynamic and expressions of warped masculinity that was probably also influenced by poverty, unemployment and the like in 1980s MANCHESTER. perhaps my favorite moment in the film is when NOEL is hard at work writing songs for their follow-up record in the studio while everyone else in the band has pissed off to the local pub, leaving him with all the creative control, but also the pressure. at some point he asks LIAM for ideas and his brother is totally dismissive, saying that he didn't have time for that right now. you really get the sense in this film, admittedly by both narrators, that this was NOEL's ship (despite the fact that he didn't start the band) and that LIAM was just in it for the fame, glory and the birds. it makes sense now that NOEL's solo career has blossomed into, for all intents and purposes, the second phase of OASIS' career given that the quality of the material has never diminished. this can't be said for LIAM's solo work or lackluster BEADY EYE efforts, the later of which saw the remaining OASIS members dismally attempt to recreate the magic sans NOEL to no effect. its super glaring and obvious now, but by watching this documentary you begin to understand that this trajectory was embedded in the very framework of OASIS and how it functioned and that LIAM seriously better set his ego aside and make nice with his brother. seriously, for all our benefit. make up and go conquer the world again. nobody died. you all survived. nobody took your throne so got out and kick ass again. please. i really want to hear "ROCK N ROLL STAR" in a stadium. just do it. 
parody by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO dedicated to iconic 90s BRITPOP / INDIE ROCK band BLUR.
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO as well as other MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC shows like MAKE HER SPACE, NOWHERE FAST, THE SYNTHESIZER SHOW and CLASSICAL-ISH WITH NUTMEG are available here at the DEER GOD website. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
parody by nacrowe
tonight's new streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO at 930PM EST on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC is all about 90s BRITPOP / INDIE ROCK outfit BLUR. soooooo very much looking forward to gushing about my admiration for DAMON ALBARN and GRAHAM COXON, who i first heard when visiting a relative in ENGLAND back in the mid-90s. hopefully i wont go on too long but this band basically is my childhood!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO as well as other MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC shows like MAKE HER SPACE, NOWHERE FAST, THE SYNTHESIZER SHOW and CLASSICAL-ISH WITH NUTMEG are available here at the DEER GOD website. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
parody by nacrowe
waaaay back in november 2018(!), BRIAN and i did our 20th episode of DEER GOD RADIO on the 90s BRITPOP movement, which is something near and dead to my heart.
growing up overseas in NIGERIA during the mid 90s, i had the pleasure of spending time in ENGLAND visiting extended family. being AMERICAN, its hard to relate how disorienting it is to be in a country that speaks your language (hell, they invented it) yet has few of your cultural references. people call that culture shock, but for me it was always the most exhilirating part of the process of being abroad since over time you acquiesce to their culture and these blindspots disappear. regardless it was around the mid 90s when i was introduced to ELASTICA, OASIS, PULP, BLUR, SUEDE, SLEEPER, LUSH, SUPERGRASS, PRIMAL SCREAM, RADIOHEAD, PLACEBO, SAINT ETIENNE, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS and various other groups from the BRITPOP scene as well as other electronic groups like MASSIVE ATTACK and PORTISHEAD from the coastal TRIP HOP scene. not to mention THE PRODIGY who emerged concurrently from the underground electronica scene at the time. it was quite the time and these bands were part of the soundtrack to my years living in NIGERIA with peers that were probably more indebted to the BRITISH sphere of influence than the AMERICAN one. this show i embedded below goes into the roots and legacy of the scene, which you can also read about in my BOOK REVIEW of JON HARRIS' BRITPOP: COOL BRITANNIA & THE SPECTACULAR DEMISE OF ENGLISH ROCK as well as past SPOTLIGHT features GRAHAM COXON and ELASTICA. i have future shows planned on exploring my favorite various groups from this period as well, so look forward to that as well. endlessly fascinating for me as it was a diverse period with top-notch songwriting all around and was arguably the last time ROCK N ROLL had any large scale cultural or political sway in the UNITED KINGDOM. 
photo manipulation by nacrowe
growing up in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in the mid-90s means i was very much aware of local legendary LOS ANGELES rock station KROQ 106.7FM. it is almost absurd to consider the amount of bands that have broke big internationally due to exposure at this single radio station. i still think its incredible that such a corporate entity still had room for the esoteric pursuits of legendary resident taste-makers like RODNEY BINGENHEIMER.
my problem was that in this pre-internet age (yep i am that old) i oftentimes didn't know who the bands were since the rotation of songs weren't often tagged by the DJs, which makes sense given how ubiquitous these songs must have been to their regular audience. as a child and later a preteen, i was definitely not that clued in unfortunately. it wasn't until years later in middle school abroad in NIGERIA that i realized songs i was familiar with were by bands like ALICE IN CHAINS ("MAN IN THE BOX"), NIRVANA (obscure b-side "SAPPY"), SPACEHOG ("IN THE MEANTIME") and THE BREEDERS ("CANNONBALL"). one of these bands was ELASTICA and the song was "CONNECTION." i distinctly remember hearing that song while waiting in line for SPACE MOUNTAIN at DISNEYLAND in elementary school. sadly, i didn't rediscover this band until high school in the early 2000s after relocating to SACRAMENTO from KUWAIT during my senior year. to me their debut album ELASTICA (GEFFEN, 1992) is a perfect album, easily the best thing to come out of the whole 90s BRITPOP movement (check out this BOOK REVIEW i did if you are unfamiliar with that scene). what i loved about it aside from JUSTINE FRISCHMANN's snarky, seductive crooning was angular guitar work which after further investigation introduced met to POST-PUNK bands that influenced them like WIRE and GANG OF FOUR. the inter-textual nature of art where different scenes, eras and modes are referenced and re-appropriated is something i've always appreciated. ELASTICA to me is an example of a stellar band that encourages me to stay curious, dig further and expand my ears to different sounds. i don't tend to fixate, if anything each new great band i learn about only serves as a new nexus point for other new discoveries. if you aren't familiar with ELASTICA, check out either of their two releases. along with THE SMITHS, they are on my bucket-list of bands i hope and pray to see play live on day. nobody is cooler than JUSTINE FRISCHMANN. no one. 
photo manipulation by nacrowe
because of my father's job, my family spent part of the 90s living overseas in NIGERIA. during the summers stretching from 1996-98 we spent time with a british relative in a northern LONDON suburb of HATFIELD. that community was home to the DE HAVILLAND AEROSPACE COMPANY that during WWII produced the MOSQUITO fighter jet, of which my relative was a part engineer. dude was one of the coolest guys i've ever met, but that's for a later post.
it just so happened that those years were at the tail end of the BRITPOP explosion which exposed me to all sorts of bands from OASIS and BLUR to ELASTICA, PULP, SLEEPER, LUSH, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, SUEDE, THE PRODIGY and beyond. one of my favorite groups from that era is BLUR, probably because aesthetically they were very much informed by the narrative songwriting of BRITISH INVASION bands like THE KINKS and THE WHO while also embracing the discordantly melodic and expressive qualities of more sonically experimental american INDIE ROCK music like PAVEMENT and DINOSAUR DJ. those two tendencies in BLUR's music undoubtedly is rooted in the tastes of their two main songwriters, DAMON ALBARN and GRAHAM COXON. ALBARN is widely celebrated, for good reason, as one of the great songwriters of his era, having genre-skipped with delight throughout his numerous solo and side endeavors including GORILLAZ, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE QUEEN and ROCKET JUICE & THE MOON, not to mention his production work with BOBBY WOMACK, AMADOU & MARIAM, THE STROKES, DE LA SOUL and numerous collaborations and film work. the vein through his work is his mercurial sense of songwriting brilliance that can navigate through seemingly any sonic texture or genre aesthetic. but i feel that the work of COXON is equally as compelling, only the palette much more limited and the scope of his music more controlled, confined and determined. his songwriting is more along the lines of SYD BARRETT or NICK DRAKE in that he uses sound and lyrics to give off a vibe rather than a clear perspective. it is at once deliberate yet paradoxically opaque. whereas ALBARN tends to use music and lyrics as a way to draw the listener into a particular character or worldview, COXON invites the listener to enjoy the visceral ride and not get caught up in red herrings like meaning and interpretation. i enjoy both songwriting traditions that each encompasses, but i just wanted to shed light on what a brilliant songwriter COXON has always been. if anything that push and pull of these two styles was a key element into what made BLUR such a creative and artistic force. BOOK REVIEW | "BRITPOP: COOL BRITANNIA & THE SPECTACULAR DEMISE OF ENGLISH ROCK" BY JOHN HARRIS6/14/2019 
photo by nacrowe
John Harris' BRITPOP: Cool Britannia & The Spectacular Demise of English Rock (DA CAPO, 2004) is a comprehensive exploration 1990s British musical culture and all that came with it: the rise of the Labour Party, Ecstasy, Kurt Cobain, Hip Hop and heroin. It covers every major band of the period from OASIS, BLUR, SUEDE, PULP, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, SLEEPER, RADIOHEAD, SPIRITUALIZED, MASSIVE ATTACK, LUSH, SUPERGRASS, PORTISHEAD and (my personal favorite) ELASTICA but ultimately the key narrative BRITPOP harkens back to again and again is how to express British identity in a modern context where the nation itself is becoming more diverse, jaded and fragmented.
Harris makes the argument that by actively seeking to shed NIRVANA's influence (in terms of their sound & aesthetic) and by becoming politically active (video of NOEL GALLAGHER at 10 Downing Street) with respect to the rise of New Labour, the movement marked itself as something new. something that had not been seen before in terms of political and cultural influence. as much as i love the music of this period, and i do (ELASTICA, MASSIVE ATTACK, BLUR & OASIS especially), i don't think they were that influential beyond the UK. the very fact that a lot of this music of this period was constructed in opposition to or in the tradition of something else marks it for me. What do I mean? DAMON ALBARN's early celebrated work with Blur uses fictional characters and settings meant to parody or mimic the narrative styles of RAY DAVIES, LENNON & MCCARTNEY, JOE STRUMMER, PETE TOWNSEND or countless other classic British songwriters of the 1960s & 1970s. He grew out of this and made exceptional work, but during this period he was consciously pushing himself to be in this musical tradition in opposition to american bands of the day. To mention the OASIS' indebtedness to 1970s Glam or THE BEATLES is beside the point. They fact that there was a blueprint that they kept so close to kinda shackles them a bit. The fact that they were such a strong band and that NOEL has largely transcended this as well to be in the greater aforementioned pantheon of great English songwriters (along with ALBARN), is a testament to his def ingenuity, craft and talent. Its just during this period he kept to the script, and why not? the one band from this period that exemplifies this push and pull of establishing a new identity by transcending its component parts is MASSIVE ATTACK. ethnically diverse, geographically remote, economically lacking and politically estranged, this group reinvented hip hop, reggae/dancehall/, film music, r&b and rock into a seamless concoction that perfectly reflected the emerging new face of Britain that came from the far reaches of rural council estates. their music still sounds fresh and it is hard to pin point an antecedent sound that predates it, given its surreal originality (in my opinion). listen, i love 1990s Britpop. even dedicated a radio show to it. i just don't think you can call something revolutionary if it is actively seeking to reimagine, re-contextualize, re-live something that came before. That ain't revolutionary. That's reactionary. But no doubt the music was still great. 
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