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Old 05-09-2011, 04:56 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Default It's Britpop Week!

As you all know, britpop is a name associated with the British alternative scene of the 90s. It emerged somewhere in the late 80s, early 90s, only then it was more of a phenomenon than a genre, an influx of fresh sounding British bands and a kind of reaction to grunge in US. It's usually said that britpop was heavily influenced by 60s British pop, but influences from glam, punk and 80s guitar pop music were just as prominent. In the early 90s the scene was more varied than later when it became a mainstream genre.

Here's what allmusic says:
Quote:
Originally Posted by allmusic
The Beatles established a long-running British tradition of tuneful, guitar-driven pop bands, a tradition that was refreshed and updated every so often by new musical movements. Britpop, however, refers to the legion of '90s bands who drew more consciously from that tradition than ever before. Although the movement originated in the U.K. indie scene, Britpop was unabashedly commercial - its bands prized big, shiny, catchy hooks, as well as the glamour of mainstream pop stardom and the sense that they were creating the soundtrack to the lives of a new generation of British youth. And it was very definitely British youth they were aiming at; Britpop celebrated and commented on their lives, their culture, and their musical heritage, with little regard for whether that specificity would make them less accessible to American audiences. Britpop's youthful exuberance and desire for recognition were reactions not only against the shy, anti-star personas of the early-'90s shoegazer bands, but also the dourness of American grunge and the faceless producers behind the growing electronic-dance underground. Musically, Britpop drew from the Beatles, of course, but also from the pastoral sound of late-'60s Kinks, the mod movement (the Who, the Small Faces), '70s glam (David Bowie, T. Rex, Roxy Music), punk and new wave (the Jam, the Buzz****s, Wire, Madness, XTC, Squeeze, Elvis Costello), and the alternative guitar-pop of the Smiths. All those artists were quintessentially British -- they crafted their images, lyrics, and sounds from a distinctly British frame of reference, which was why few of them became anything more than cult artists in the U.S. (and why Britpop functioned much the same way). Apart from those influences, Britpop had its most immediate roots in the Madchester scene, whose emphasis on good times and catchy tunes pointed the way around the shoegazer aesthetic. The Stone Roses' effortless pop hooks and rock-star attitude were the most important part of the foundation, but the true founding fathers of Britpop were Suede. Released in 1993, their self-titled debut became an unexpected smash with its fusion of glam-rock majesty and Smiths introspection. Suede opened the doors for even bigger breakthroughs in 1994 by Blur (Parklife) and Oasis (Definitely Maybe), who quickly became Britpop's two most popular superstars. With their success came a giddy explosion of similarly inspired bands; Elastica, Pulp, Supergrass, and the Boo Radleys were among the biggest. In 1996, Oasis became the only Britpop band to become genuine mainstream stars in the U.S. 1997 brought the first signals that the Britpop boom was beginning to run out of steam, namely Oasis' poorly reviewed third album and Blur's move toward American indie rock, along with the rise of $Radiohead in the wake of their third album, OK Computer. Soon, newer bands merged the moodiness of Radiohead with the workingman stance of Oasis -- a combination heard in everything from Coldplay to Kasabian -- and that became the British Alternative sound of the new millennium."
Explore: Britpop | AllMusic

Britpop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


As for me personally, I never fully, deeply explored britpop, mainly because in the 90s, along with grunge, I was sick of it. But I did and do like some stuff, and maybe even a lot of it, if I go beyond the generic genre. And so, I'll post some of it:

The Stone Roses - 'I Wanna Be Adored' (S/T, 1989) This is simply an amazing song from a great album. If I would to make a list of my all time favorite pop songs, this one would be pretty high


The Boo Radleys - 'Barney (...and Me)' (Giant Steps, 1993) Not sure if this is considered britpop. But why not? It's from the 90s, it's British and it's guitar pop. They were initially a shoegaze, dream pop, psychedelic band, but this album has some great, catchy pop songs


Teenage Fanclub - 'December' (Bandwagonesque, 1991)
I still remember how hard for me was to get into this album initially, and then it just clicked. Listening to it now is like a time trip


Suede - 'So Young' (S/T, 1993) I was never really a Suede fan, but I like their first album
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Old 05-09-2011, 05:13 PM   #2 (permalink)
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This band should have been huge
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Old 05-09-2011, 05:18 PM   #3 (permalink)
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Any album recommendations for britpop? I've never been a huge fan of the genre, but I should at least give it a chance.
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Old 05-09-2011, 05:25 PM   #4 (permalink)
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The Auteurs & Delicatessen are 2 bands who were great but never get the credit they deserve.

So get New Wave & After Murder Park by The Auteurs
& Hustle Into Bed by Delicatessen.
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Old 05-10-2011, 08:38 AM   #5 (permalink)
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Here's a lost gem, as is their self-titled album:

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Old 05-10-2011, 10:58 AM   #6 (permalink)
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The song that pretty much started it all. Modern Life Is Rubbish is my favourite Brit album of the 90s.
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Old 05-10-2011, 11:01 AM   #7 (permalink)
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No britpop thread is complete without...

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Old 05-10-2011, 01:16 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Belle & Sebastian were never as good as when they made britpop.





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Old 05-10-2011, 01:19 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Ahhh, The Life Pursuit. Been listening to that a lot lately.

As well as a shameless bit of Britpop revival.

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Old 05-10-2011, 02:32 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Few more underated bands....









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