A thread for nothing

[Key]

Radiohead >

/thread

[SGR]

Radiohead >

/thread

I'd sooner vote for Blur than I would see Radiohead win a Battle of Britpop thread.

Manic Street Preachers would have more business being in that discussion than Radiohead would.

[Trollheart]

Radiothread

[Key]

I'd sooner vote for Blur than I would see Radiohead win a Battle of Britpop thread.

Manic Street Preachers would have more business being in that discussion than Radiohead would.

Can't disagree there. I'm mostly being facetious with the Radiohead fanfare but I do like Blur quite a bit. I haven't heard enough of MSP to form an opinion so maybe I don't fully agree. But that's more due to ignorance than anything else.

[Guybrush]

I don't consider Radiohead part of that Britpop wave as I kinda felt like they were a little on the outside of that scene, but others might disagree.. and I also don't really know if any fair criteria to omit them by.

[SGR]

I don't consider Radiohead part of that Britpop wave as I kinda felt like they were a little on the outside of that scene, but others might disagree.. and I also don't really know if any fair criteria to omit them by.

This feels like it could devolve into somewhat of a philosophical discussion. Does britpop (as its name would imply) need to first be 'pop' music? If so, could Radiohead fairly be described as 'pop' music? Is pop music defined more by how 'popular' it is, or by its adherence to conventional song structures meant for mass consumption?

[jimmy jazz]

Britpop is more of a cultural thing imo.

A certain group of British bands during the 90s. They may sound very different but they were all part of the same scene. Plenty of the same fans, who dressed in a certain way. 

[SGR]

Britpop is more of a cultural thing imo.

A certain group of British bands during the 90s. They may sound very different but they were all part of the same scene. Plenty of the same fans, who dressed in a certain way. 

So basically the British analogue to US '90s "grunge"?

[jimmy jazz]

So basically the British analogue to US '90s "grunge"?

Sounds about right to me.

[SGR]

Sounds about right to me.

If only US bands took more cues from Britpop than Grunge, we'd have gotten more songs like this:

And less songs like this:

[Saulaac]

Britpop is more of a cultural thing imo.

A certain group of British bands during the 90s. They may sound very different but they were all part of the same scene. Plenty of the same fans, who dressed in a certain way. 

Britpop did feel like a cultural movement which experienced a peak in the mid-nineties (but which had roots in the indie rock of the late '80s with Inspiral Carpets, Charlatans, Boo Radleys, Paul Weller etc, and stretched well into the 2000s with bands like Franz Ferdinand).

Other Britpop-type memories which come to mind are:
- Happy and patriotic songs on subjects of everday life
- Glastonbury headline acts
- Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Presenters like Mark Lamarr and Denise Van Outen
- Sideburns. Guys in polo shirts with the top button done up and their hair brushed forwards as if they had just walked through a hedge backwards
- Skinner, Baddiel and Lightning Seeds with their "Three Lions on a Shirt"
- Satire directed at the royal family
- Football. Blur's "Song 2" track on FIFA (playstation)
- Radio 1 shows which would play 90% British bands all day long.

The bands cited in the Britpop thread poll are probably the most appropriate (I mean I'm not an expert in the genre anyway), but somehow it felt that other bands were very close.

[jimmy jazz]

Song 2 was on FIFA 98. I played that game to death mate. Guessing you did too 

Great summary and I would also add Euro 96. The polo shirts were Fred Perry BTW. Probably with Adidas Originals trainers.

What about films? I know there are some but I can't think of any.

Also you can include the Spice Girls. I realised this recently. People say Oasis were so good because they defined that era. Well so did the Spice Girls. Maybe even more so. Oasis are the Spice Girls for British men aged 35 - 50 who drink beer imo.

Spice Girls 😎

[jimmy jazz]

Also remember those shit bands like Travis and Keane that seemed to pop up towards the end 😁

[Saulaac]

I liked Keane! I was keen for Keane.

Can't think of any quintissential Britpop films at the moment. Austin Powers maybe.
Around that time, lots of people seemed to watch Eastenders. Characters like Rickkaayyy! and Biancah. Pat Butcher's death stare should really have been broadcast after the watershed tbh.

[DeepMinder]