What Is It About Oasis In America?
The British giants inspire a visceral reaction from music fans in this country and I try to understand why.
There we were, now here we are. In 1996 as an 11-year-old kid, I spent a healthy chunk of time watching MTV. The grunge phenomenon was at its end with Kurt Cobain’s death. Alice in Chains disappeared from the public due to drug addiction. Then Soundgarden broke up. Luckily there was something new on the horizon.
I saw a music video for an extremely catchy song called “Wonderwall,” by a band named Oasis. Even in the infancy of my music appreciation, I could tell they were unique.
You could hear the singer’s British accent and they looked like The Beatles which made them stand out amongst the other alternative groups. They then released “Champagne Supernova,” and the accompanying video with its psychedelic, acid-drenched aesthetic. The songs’ refrain, “where were you when we were getting high?” added a bit of edge to the song for a kid that was green to rock and roll and frightened by drugs.
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, the band’s second album, was a huge success, going 4x platinum in the US. They received massive amounts of airplay and even more publicity. While that was my introduction to the band it was also where they ended…
