Monday, November 25, 2013

Britpop - 20 years old and still kickin'

There are differing opinions on when "Britpop" (the genre, movement, and/or way of life) started.  Some go with 1991, following the releases of Primal Scream's Screamadelica and Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha.  Others go with 1993, after the release and subsequent Mercury Music Prize win for Suede's self-titled debut. (I think everyone agrees that Britpop's demise was the release and backlash against Oasis' Be Here Now.)

For our purpose, we'll go with the latter.  I'm noting this anniversary because NPR recently reminded me of it - they have a great discussion of the origin and life of Britpop and its associated acts.  And a fantastic stream too - all the usual suspects (Blur, Oasis, Suede, Stone Roses, Pulp, Elastica), but some other more obscure acts (Echobelly, Gene, Bluetones, Dodgy).  Nice work with the tracks selected - not just the hits, but items like Suede's "Whipsnade" (possibly my favorite Suede track), The Verve's "Weeping Willow," Echobelly's "Dark Therapy," Elastica's "Hold Me Now," and Lush's "Outside World" (still amazes me that Lush, my favorite "shoegaze" act, is lumped in with Britpop acts).  Basically, NPR put my iPod (and music collection) on "random" and just started playing.  Love it.


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