Dig this, man.
I had no kind of treacherous notion lurking around in the back of the skull, no sort of optimistic whisper whatsoever, with regards the first single from the upcoming Don't Believe The Truth, i.e., the first Oasis album in however long it's been since Heathen Chemistry. Far as I was concerned I'd be lucky if it was listenable. If it managed to offer some shit along the lines of the pleasant-enough stomp of, say, The Hindu Times, I suppose it'd be a victory of some sort or other.
What occurred was that this very eve I find myself in such a position as to press play and to hear this new single, the cheekily titled Lyla, and to see what the hell the result of all this stopping and starting and re-recording and so on and so fourth might be, anyroad.
Here's a scenario I just this very second ripped out my stinking face for to illustrate the plight of the Oasis fan.
Let's imagine a fella is having an affair with a married lass. Or vice-versa, depending on ones anatomy. Those first few illicit passion-drenched filth-displays, they leave a fella high as a man cracked to the teeth on the white and the brown for the very first time. Next thing he knows, though, he finds that he doesn't really like all this hiding around and pretending there ain't no shit going on. She claims it's "fun", it's "dangerous", but to him it's just a pain upside the rectal cave. He has to sit in pubs with groups of deviants chortling and hollering about so-and-so and the slime-enveloped sessions what they summoned in the toilets. They look at our protagonist, and they suddenly change the conversation.
We can't yack about the filthing, they collectively assume. He's gonna feel left out. When was the last time he had a poke, anyroad?
But fuck you, thinks our slighted hero, I been getting up to the kindsa things they don't even let you import on VHS. I been doing things you folks don't even get time to think about before you've gone and cracked one off over the morning paper.
And yet he has to pretend. Yeah, you're right. I'm pathetic, is all.
Now and again the lady-friend says shit like "I'm gonna tell him", and maybe even "We'll be able to hold hands in the street", and maybe you stay up to five in the morning plotting her confessions. When she arrives on the doorstep the next night, your heart jumps up into the back of your right nostril. Has she done it? Has she revealed all and here she is ready to set sail on the good ship Legitimacy?
Article comments
1 - DJRadiohead
Cheers, Duke! Great review and great news. I like Oasis... a lot. But I was very nervous about this album because of all the trouble they seemed to have making it. And I will be honest... the title "Lyla" made me groan just a bit. I thought it was gonna be a shit song. You have given me hope. God help you if the album blows (I'm kidding, we'll blame Gem).
2 - Mark Saleski
the Duke can be elevated to the status of MiracleWorker if i like this song.
(can't stand Oasis...though i have to admit that all of that "we're the world's greatest band" crap really soured me)
3 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
hey folks
honestly, i was smiling like hell through this thing. The last thing i expected was even a half-decent single. Especially after that apparently hideous glastonbury performance. This was worth the wait. Lyrically, there ain't much to it, but it just sounds great. catchy. wonderful.
And DJRadiohead if the album sucks, well, i'll be with you in the queue at Gallagher senior's front door.
And Mark, i suddenly feel very nervous. I'm sure you'll be convinced of the wonder herein though.
4 - Phillip Winn
Duke, you manage to have some of the longest intros to simply statements I've ever seen.
And, um, keep 'em up!
5 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
heh yeah, i know. and then by the time i reach the end of the intro i've forgotten what the stement was in the first place.
6 - Eric Berlin
Duke, I'll have to check this out.
It looks like Oasis might have longevity in them afterall... I think that's a good thing for the music world.
7 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
i hope so, man. it'd be great to have another Definately Maybe. Mind you, Noel say's this is the best they've done since then. And he's usually pretty honest about these things. If it's shit, he usually owns up.
8 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
heh just thinkin... i shoulda put it on podcast 6. the lawyers would've loved me, i'm guessing.
9 - Vern Halen
Hey, if this album is any good, maybe Oasis will qualify as an IMPORTANT BAND on that other thread!
10 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
vern, eight years ago they'd have been the first choice, i'm guessing, especially here in the United UK.
11 - grogan
Hey Lyla!!! the world around us make me feel so smaaaaaaaaaallll!!!! Thank God for the Gallagher brother
12 - Vern Halen
So, Duke, what happened to them - how did they lose their momentum? I kinda lost track of them - they seemed to disappear from prominence, as it were.
13 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
well, far as i could tell, i think Be Here Now, the third album, de-railed them. I thought it was a great record, but it was also a result of mountains of cocaine and ego. The reviews yacked about it was the best thing ever crafted by anyone, then suddenly a month later they all decided, no, wait, turns out we hate it.
There was a vast come-down, man. Plus, the well of N.Gallagher compositions that had served them since the debut started running awfully dry.
Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants arrived, and bar a handful of great moments, it was a serious dissapointment, a half-arsed Oasis record. unthinkable. seemed like they settled on acting like The Greatest Band In The World, as opposed to making music that justified it. The Muse left, it would appear. Plus, Liam's songwriting offering on that album, Little James, was diabolical. the tune was grand, but the lyrics were SO bad a fella couldn't past them.
plus, when the brit-pop bubble burst, Oasis suddenly didn't sound so exciting anymore. They weren't. But the fact that all sorts of bands were arriving, folks like The Beta Band and the like, who were crafting incredibly inventive pop music, didn't help matters.
Oasis seemed to grind into a rut. One mid-paced plodding dirge after another, and then a couple "psycadelic" numbers. The choruses were uninspired, the lyrics were dull as hell. Liam's Songbird on the last record was the best thing on there. Beautiful, simple.
Even the B-Sides started to suck, and they were always brilliant, usually better than stuff on the albums.
They jsut got boring. Going through the motions.
What Lyla seems to indicate, is that they got inspired again.
14 - Vern Halen
Thanks - I'll have to take an interest in them again.
15 - Ian
"Lyla" is a brilliant song. Jeez. I'm looking forward to the album.
16 - kazz, uk
when i first heard the song i though o dear oasis are finished which would be a great disapointment as i think they are the best band in the world.
However after a few listens the song has grown on me. it is so catchy i cant stop saying hey lyla. i hope the album is great as then oasis can have world domination again, even the usa.
17 - tooljones
good song, needs a cello and a longer solo.
18 - Paperback Writer
and Noel said it´s not even the 5th best song on the album!
19 - Bill
as someone who got to hear the record early. everyone is going to be very pleased, it is a terrific return to form and as a album i would rank it along side the first two. which i guess makes it a classic in the waiting, doesn't it?
20 - zibblu
Let me add in on saying Lyla is great and I'm excited to hear the new album. I review "Lyla" on my mp3 reviews site. WWW.MP3-Reviews.Blogspot.com Also I agree that "Songbird" was the best thing on Heathen Chemistry (which I overall dislike quite a bit.) I've always felt Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants & Be Here Now were a bit underrated but they both have some serious flaws too - so understandable.
21 - visualsimplicity
I've heard "Lyla" a few times now and I can't say I remember a single tune or lyric in it. It didn't seem that catchy to me but rather ordinary musically and on the forgettable side. Then again, I've never been an Oasis fan. Even so, I recognized that they had some catchy songs in the mid-late 90's. This just doesn't seem like it's at that level. I'll see if I can pay more attention the next time I hear it though.
22 - David
This song rawks! Nice to hear some feel-good rock music rather than feel-mopey rock music.
23 - DJRadiohead
All right, Duke. It's official. My hopes are officially up in regard to the new Oasis disc. I just checked the video at NME.com. It sounds a little like "Hindu" with the simplicity of "Songbird." I like it. I am ready for this album now.