Do you hear that? That’s the sound of 10,000 Swan Fungus readers slowly backpedaling away from this website.
So…I had a pretty eventful and expensive day today! I can’t tell you what I purchased, but I’ll say it’s an original copy of one of the rarest albums I’ve ever posted on this website. No more frivolous spending until October. I’m putting a moratorium on anything that isn’t food related. Sorry Nicci, it’s up to you to pay for us to be entertained now if you ever want to go out on the town. It’s my own damned fault, I know, but that’s just the way it’s going to be for the foreseeable future.
Hey, the kindhearted folks at Sony sent me an amazing package filled with promotional materials in advance of the upcoming (or has it already been officially released?) Oasis Time Flies compilation. 26 of the band’s A-sides gloriously put together on in a single package! And I have CDs and a copy of the ridiculous LP box set to give away to you! Just answer this week’s poll question and one random registered Swan Fungus user will receive a care package filled with Oasis ephemera and the LP box set. Second prize will be a copy of the Time Flies CD. Pretty awesome, right?
In case you didn’t know, I had a pretty hardcore Oasis obsession during my middle school years into early high school. One of my overnight camp counselors was named Colin, and he hailed from a far-off land called Scotland. He introduced me to Oasis. He let me dub all his UK CD singles onto cassette tape and I fell in love with the band. He gave me a t-shirt from the band’s first tour, which I eventually gave away to a girl (why!? WHY!?) who didn’t even suck my dick in exchange for that amazing shirt. I saw Oasis live in ’98. I owned all their live concert VHS tapes. I owned all the US and UK CD singles. Multiple articles of clothing. Books. I had about as much Oasis memorabilia as a 14 year old could have. At one point in my life I knew how to play every Oasis song (album cuts as well as B-sides) on guitar. To say I was well-versed in the band’s recorded output would be a gross understatement. So, what better way is there to share with you the highlights of the Oasis oeuvre than to present you with a list of the band’s best songs. And so it begins…
The Top Ten Oasis Songs
10. “Masterplan” – This song first appeared on the “Wonderwall” single in ’95, but it eventually became the B-side de jour for Oasis fans, and these days you’d be hard-pressed to find a difference between this track and any of the band’s hit singles. It was played live during the MTV Unplugged filming (remember that awesome harmonica solo!?), it was the title of the band’s B-side collection, and it was a staple of the Oasis live show for a long time. I’d go so far as to say this song is lightyears beyond “Wonderwall,” but I know there are a ton of people who actually think that “Round Are Way” is the best of the four tracks on the single. I love the deep strings and Noel’s voice here. When the brass section kicks in at the chorus, you can’t help but feel energized. I might like Noel’s voice more than Liam’s. Blasphemy? You tell me. [Listen to “Masterplan”]
09. “Take Me Away” – This was always my favorite Oasis song to play on guitar. It’s also one of the only few I still remember how to play. “Take Me Away” first appeared on the “Supersonic” single in ’94. The lyrical content is a bit on the downer side, but the acoustic guitar still manages to sound hopeful. Noel sings this one, too. [Listen to “Take Me Away”]
08. “Morning Glory” – For years I would skip over this song because I was convinced that “Cast No Shadow” was the final song on (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? I really hated Champagne Supernova so I would get nervous as I approached that song, and usually just stopped listening halfway through the album. The lead riff is simple as hell but effective. The pre-chorus is kinda stupid but the chorus takes off in an entirely different direction and it’s great. Totally cheesy found-sound clips and a goofy guitar solo halfway through the track, but considering the song pretty much exists as a mirror image of itself, I can handle 30 seconds of stupidity if it’s book-ended by awesomeness. The helicopter sound at the end is useless. [Listen to “Morning Glory” (MTV Unplugged)]
07. “Whatever” – I once read somewhere (and I could have some of the details wrong, as this was about 12 years ago or more) that this song was written by the band really early at the start of their career, but Liam and Noel had designs on making it the lead single off the band’s third album (this quote, mind you, was given before the band even released Definitely Maybe). In the end it was released between the band’s first two studio albums as a stand-alone single. What’s crazy about that prophesy put forth by the band was that they had also envisioned a B-side collection (which they’d jokingly tentatively titled B-side Ourselves) as their fifth full-length release. The Masterplan turned out to be the band’s fourth release (although not technically a studio album). Say what you want about the brothers Gallagher, but they sure had a plan they wanted to see through right from the start.
06. “Listen Up” – For at least a year — maybe two — this was my absolute favorite Oasis song. I think I just fell in love with the vocal melodies. So catchy! The fact that Liam was barely hitting the notes just before the chorus made it that much cooler. I liked the grit and the rasp. I imagine it didn’t make the cut for Definitely Maybe because it’s pretty-damned similar to “Supersonic,” but it’s still a kick-ass song. [Listen to “Listen Up”]
05. “Some Might Say” – One of only four studio album tracks included on this list, “Some Might Say” was the song that sold me on Oasis. I knew “Live Forever” and “Supersonic” from the radio, but when I heard this song I think my obsession began to really take shape. In the Brit-Pop documentary Live Forever plenty of praise is heaped upon this song, as some of the British journalists stated that this is the song that truly catapulted Oasis into a new stratosphere of popularity both in Britain and abroad.
04. “Slide Away” – The third album cut on this list is the penultimate track on Definitely Maybe. It also appeared as a B-side on the “Whatever” single for who-the-fuck-knows what reason. I’m not entirely sure what’s so charming about it, I can’t quite classify what it is that makes me like the song so much, but I’m happy whenever I hear it. Maybe because it’s not-so-conspicuously about sex? I don’t know. I just like it a lot.
03. “Cast No Shadow” – This song could just as easily have been number one on the list, but instead it’s number three! It’s also the fourth and final full-length album cut on this list, meaning that the majority of my favorite Oasis songs are ones that you can’t find on any of their studio albums! How weird is that!? Not weird? Okay fine, fuck you. Another anthemic ballad, this one from (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?. Was it just a rumor that this song was written about the guy from the Verve? I don’t think when I was digging this album the Internet was around to fact check, and I don’t really care to look it up now.
02. “Acquiesce” – After “Listen Up,” this was my favorite song for the longest amount of time. It’s held up pretty well but it’s also barely considered a B-side considering it’s been played to death both live and on Oasis compilation albums. Hell, in the US it was released as a radio single! This was the encore performed live when I saw the band in ’98, and I remember leaving the arena (yeah, I once went to a concert in an arena — actually I went to a few) feeling like I’d heard every single song I wanted to hear. And I was most happy I got to hear this one.
01. “Talk Tonight” – In the long run, though, this has proven to be the song that still gets me, even though I haven’t listened to much (if any) Oasis in the last ten years. For those of you who aren’t counting, this is the third song on the “Some Might Say” single to appear on this list! That’s pretty impressive, considering there’s only two songs from Definitely Maybe and two from (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?. But there are three from one single! It’s another acoustic Noel song, which you can clearly tell I have a soft spot for, as there are a few of them on this list. I don’t know what it’s about, but it’s sad, and it’s pretty, and I like it. The best Oasis song? Why not!? [Listen to “Talk Tonight”]
