artspolitics

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Oasis since I heard ” Live Forever” on the radio in 1995. I loved the song, but I hated hearing Liam Gallagher, the lead singer, or Noel Gallagher, the guitarist-songwriter, talk. No, I didn’t hate their thick Northern England accents that required subtitles when they were on MTV. It was their horrible choice of words from wishing a rival band would ” catch AIDS and die” to gratuitously describing relationships with girl group members. When I heard about Noel abruptly leaving the band, I thought, ” Here we go again”. But I soon realized that maybe these tantrums and outbursts are not bad behavior, but good PR.

The Gallaghers know that good news doesn’t make the papers and their fights make good copy, so I think this is a brilliant scam to keep Americans interested in the group 15 years after their last hit here. In England, where they’re still popular, this alleged break-up will surely sell more Rupert Murdoch tabloids. It’s like when divas like Cher and Tina Turner swear they’re not touring anymore to sell tickets and generate interest, then they change their minds. Noel’s hissy fit proves he’s the best hetero male drama queen in music today.

Whether the break up is real or not, I still love Oasis’ hard-charging anthems that inspire me to have fun and do what I want to be happy. Their songs were like a dysfunctional musical version of The Secret to me in high school with lyrics like, ” You’ve got to say what you say/Don’t let anybody get in your way”.  With this current ”news”, I’ll crank up What’s the Story ( Morning Glory), drink a White Russian ( or in tribute to them, spill it on someone), and just wait for Noel to come back after this latest greatest PR stunt.