I was exactly the right age when this stuff came out, which is almost certainly the only reason I've actually even heard most of these bands. I actually had to play a couple of Oasis songs in the band I was in at the time, which certainly wouldn't happen now.
I definitely agree with Blucey that the previous generation of
middle class cunts brit rock was much mure interesting with it's dancey influences.
Brit Pop is like an alternate reality where the (inaccurate) critisism of the Beatles encouraging banality was correct because in that reality Oasis really do sound like the Beatles.
My opinions (aka definitive FACTS):
- Oasis did have some good songwriting on their first 2 (or 1.5) albums, although in every other way they are awful. The production is diabolical, and this is coming from someone who likes listening to audience bootlegs. From memory, the second album is half a semitone sharp. This is clearly not deliberate because it sounds so utterly sludgy and muddy, like they dropped the tapes in a ditch, that it's clearly incompetence. They also play songs like they are acoustic songs on noisy overdriven guitars. You don't play an electric guitar the same way as an acoustic, idiots. You also don't need two guitarists if that's all you're doing. Also, Noel Gallagher is one of the most souless, half-arsed guitarists ever.
- The Bluetones were pretty good, although purely because they just nicked Led Zeppelin chords and played them very slowly.
- I remember that I hated the girl from Sleeper, but can't remember why. I heard one of their songs about a year ago and it's funny how bad stuff sounds without the rose-tinted effect of trendiness.
- Conversely, I quite liked Catatonia, but entirely because I quite fancied her at the time (don't now though). Can't remember the music, and frankly, don't really care.
- Echo Belly were another band that people only liked because of the fit singer.
- To me, Blur went from being utterly hateful toffee-nosed wankers to being pretty fantastic on their later 'post brit pop' albums. I suppose they just grew up. Actually there was an intermediate period in between where they went all easy listening, which I hated even more.
- The first half of the first Supergrass album is truely special and timeless.
- What I've heard from Pulp (Different Class, basically) is excellent. Notably, the non-single tracks are really good.
- Are the Cardigans brit pop? Wait - no, they aren't because they aren't British.
- Also remember that band who had one number one single and disappeared into obscurity? I think they had a jeans ad, and then their moronic singer announced that they were going to change the face of music. I thought it was Space, but reading this thread, that's the wrong band.
There's loads of bands that are really terrible, but as with any genre there's no point in using them to discredit it if there's good bands too. On the other hand, you could argue that the genre's success led to even more banality in the form of Coldplay and the Verve etc. Music to sleep to!
EDIT - due to my inability to write a coherent sentence.