If I Had A Gun

Sometimes, most times, ok, ALL THE TIME, Oasis songs are the soundtrack of my life. They're relentlessly singable for a guy who spends most of his time with some kind of song in his head, and probably coming out his mouth to the endless joy of those within his blast radius.

When they split up a few years ago, a part of me was kinda gutted. Since then, they've gone their separate ways. Liam and the rest of the band are doing the Beady Eye thing, which, let's face it, is just ok. I mean, it's not bad, but a lot of Different Gear, Still Speeding sounds like a bunch of subpar Oasis B-sides. Do love The Beat Goes On though.

Noel, on the other hand, has been biding his time, prepping his songs and putting them out a little at a time. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds is due to drop October 17, and I liked the first single, The Death of You and Me, even if it did seem a bit like a knockoff of The Importance of Being Idle.

Today, it all changed.

Today, he dropped a doozy.

One of the next singles is going to be this little song called If I Had A Gun. It's been around for a while and has enjoyed some popularity online, mostly through this bootleg someone recorded at a soundcheck. It's a nice tease, but left me utterly unprepared for the glory that is the final track. I sat on the couch, getting in some iNet time before heading off to work, and found myself drinking it in through my headphones, wondering if I was going to cry. It's the kind of song someone would sing after just realizing that the person they were with was someone with whom they wanted to spend a forever.

Enjoy.

Is passion always a good thing?

This bit from Lady Gaga made me think about a few things.

“I have attention. Is it that you believe that I am attention-seeking or shock for shock's sake, or is it just that it's been a long time since someone has embraced the art form the way that I have? Perhaps it's been a couple of decades since there's been an artist that's been as vocal about culture, religion, human rights, politics. I'm so passionate about what I do, every bass line, every EQ. Why is it that you don't want more from the artist, why is it that you expect so little, so when I give and give, you assume it's narcissistic?"

Is she right? Is the general public/media hypocritical where she’s concerned? Do we only want recording artists to be bigger and better in a way defined by the box we’ve created in our consciousness for art to go into?

I’ve often criticized Gaga. I really like her music, but find her continuous attempts to surprise/shock the public with her crazy costumes tiresome.

My usual line goes something like this.

• Lady Gaga’s mistake is in thinking that she’s the second coming of Andy Warhol when she’s really just an entertainer.
• Her material isn’t as cutting-edge as she thinks. It’s just really good dance pop music, but that’s OK. We need more really good dance pop music.

Now, I’m wondering if I’m the one in the box.

The dream is over

I learned on Saturday that Oasis, one of my favorite bands, had broken up. More properly, Noel Gallagher, guitarist, occasional vocalist, and principal songwriter, left the band on Friday. Apparently, he found himself at a point where he was no longer willing to deal with his brother, Liam, the band's lead singer. Being somewhat familiar with Liam's past and present antics, I can sympathize, but that doesn't diminish the sadness that I felt when I heard the news.

There have been times when either Noel or Liam wouldn't show up for a gig or left the band temporarily, but this really seems final. I'm very glad that I was able to see them live last year before all this happened. Now, I guess, Noel's finally going to put out that solo album, and Liam's probably going to try keep Oasis going without him. For me though, it's over, and that's a terribly tragic thing.