There's something very freeing when you wake up one day and realize you're so hopelessly uncool that any effort to attain any level of cool is not only a waste of time, it's downright stupid. I write this column every day not because I think I'm cool, but because I've got spectacular taste in music. I'm not cool. The music is. That said, I take more shit for being Oasis fan than probably any band I've ever liked. Ever.
For any number of reasons, it's not cool to like Oasis anymore. It was for about five minutes in the U.S., but that didn't last long. They were the band of the moment for a moment and then it passed. I got the memo. I just didn't give a fuck.
Last year, Oasis released what is likely to be their last album. They went out on a high note and Noel Gallagher penned one of the best songs he's ever written. To some, that's not saying much because they don't "get" Oasis. For me, I've been waiting for a Noel Gallagher solo album for 15 years and while I wish Oasis didn't have to die it's a small price to pay to finally get one. If he's still writing songs like "Falling Down," we're all in for a classic even if the cognoscente choose to ignore it.
In the DVD accompanying the release of Dig Out Your Soul, Gallagher said "Falling Down" sounds like it's coming from someone in outer space. The protagonist sounds untethered and disconnected, whether they're literally isolated or sitting in a room full of people. He also said — and there's no hope of accurately transcribing the actual quote because Gallagher can be completely incomprehensible -- it's about comfort zones. He said, in effect, he doesn't understand breaking out of one's comfort zone. I'm sure some of the Oasis bashers have all sorts of responses to that, but they can kiss my ass. He continued by saying that's what comfort zones are there for, and he doesn't see much use in trying to break out of them.
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Article comments
1 - JP
Couldn't agree more. Noel is an under-appreciated, under-recognized talent in the states. Nice work.
2 - Joe
I've been waiting on that solo album for 15 years as well!
3 - Alan
Have you heard the FSOL/Amorphous Androgenous remix of Falling Down that Noel described as f****n awesome, 22 minutes long, it's wonderous
4 - Aidy
Great article, I'm a musician and I listen to a fairly expansive range of music from jazz to movie soundtracks to indie to hip hop etc.. and yet I still seem to get a lot of grief for my love of Oasis...