I would say probably not. More of a scene than a genre. There's quite a lot of diversity in the sound and influences oon bands considered Britpop and some things strike me as being quite Britpop just becuse of the attitude of the bands and because they were around at the time.
I think Britpop was about making distinctively British sounding pop-music (well, duh!) and the bands clearly wanted to make upbeat, catchy music and get famous. It's often seen as a reaction against Grunge and Shoegazer and I think it is a reaction against the "seriousness" of a lot of the late 80s and early 90s alternative bands in general.
You've hit the nail on the head, mate. It's not a genre, it's a lazy way for people to pigeonhole British (usually independent) guitar music of the period. It's easy to give it a timeline (death of Kurt Cobain to New Labour and release of OK Computer) but that's probably because I (like you) lived through it and whilst I had a blast (first two years of university, on the lagers, etc.) I don't really look back on it with rose-tinted specs from a musical point of view. Especially when you've got all those 'fodder' bands like Menswe@r, Northern Uproar, Hurricane #1 to name but 3. Add Shed Seven, Dodgy, bloody Kula Shaker (I loathe that album Bobby mentioned - utter tosh, hipster Indian-influenced poshboy stoner shit before being a hipster was a thing) and Ocean Colour Scene to the mix and you've got a period which rightfully gets a bad press.
Then again there are some corking British guitar albums that came out around the time, such as:
The Trainspotting soundtrack is an interesting pick, which shows that amidst all the Camden wankery were acts like Underworld who kind of infiltrated the Britpop cultural melee (with "Born Slippy") but in being a 'rave'/EDM/electronic/dance outfit (call them what you will) maintained their credibility. Same with The Chemical Brothers. But less so with The Prodigy - I was made up when "Firestarter" was rightfully no.1, but then heard Fat Of The Land and thought it was total pish.
My biggest guilty pleasure of the period is by far this - strange really as it staggers a pretty unstable middle ground between Oasis and The Verve, but I still think holds up well although at the time it felt like "Britpop-by-numbers":
Don't forget the Inspiral Carpets, a very underrated band.
Yeah, Inspiral Carpets was a good one. And also Gorky's, as someone mentioned above.
Then there's some that I don't remember if people called them Britpop or not, but they were from the same time period. Like Pale Saints, Catherine Wheel, Lush. I'm not sure what people called them but I liked all those groups.
Jimmy DreadOld skool like Happy ShopperModeratorProfile 555 Dub Street
Then there's some that I don't remember if people called them Britpop or not, but they were from the same time period. Like Pale Saints, Catherine Wheel, Lush. I'm not sure what people called them but I liked all those groups.
Unless you count that insipid Lush album with “Ladykillers” on it these are all pretty much lumped in with the showcase/dream pop genre.
Then there's some that I don't remember if people called them Britpop or not, but they were from the same time period. Like Pale Saints, Catherine Wheel, Lush. I'm not sure what people called them but I liked all those groups.
Unless you count that insipid Lush album with “Ladykillers” on it these are all pretty much lumped in with the showcase/dream pop genre.
What Gorky’s do you like, Bob?
I only had two, but I've heard some earlier ones. The ones I had were Gorky 5 and Introducing, which I did not know was a compilation for the longest time. I found out years later it was a compilation but I didn't know it at the time. Heh heh
Never really a bad time to listen to Gorky's. Same with Super Furries. My favourite Gorky's album is Spanish Dance Troupe. I'm tempted to revisit Barafundle though s that one was a lot of lot of fun. Not Britpop to me, but at least during the same time period.
Don't forget the Inspiral Carpets, a very underrated band.
Yeah, I don't really know their stuff so please let me know if you think a specific album is best. I'm guessing this is in the Baggy/Madchester vein of things.
Supergrass-In it for the Money Love this one. Saw them live in 97 not long after this was released. Maybe my favourite gig I've ever been to. Incidently they were supported by...
.... your Britpop favourite : Spacehog. I dont think I've heard that one before but just played a few tracks. Sounds promising to me. Likin' the guitars. Very glam indeed. The vocalist is a bit like Axle Rose maybe?
Boo Radley's-Giant Steps I keep hearing this is amazing. Definitely need to listen.
Kula Shaker-K I have heard this a few times. But probably not since 96! I remember quite liking it at the time but not sure if I still will do. Worth another shot though.
Charlatans-Tellin Stories Liked the singles from this and I like one of their other albums (Us and only Us). I'll put this one on my list too.
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bobbyb5
Jimmy Dread
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