thing about OCS that everyone forgets: they completely changed their sound! They weren't always this plodding, retro band with no feeling to their music. Their first album was quite different and the song "Sway", a single from it, was pretty good! But it didn't sell and so they went and did something a bit more obvious, which worked for them, but was hell for us (or me, at least).
Wener as a personality was awful but I like some Sleeper singles. V much a singles band tho. Could never maintain consistency across an album.
Reef don't belong here. They prolly belong less than 3 Colours Red to be honest. Sure they may be contemporary with these other bands but they have no real connectivity with them otherwise. I think they had no illusions that they were doing anything at all original, they even called themselves Reef coz it was an anagram of their fave band, Free.
― Grandpont Genie, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 16:09 (fifteen years ago) link
As I remember, the "nazi thing" was that a/crispy had been in a band with some dude who was in a far right org and b/some swastika-redeemer type comments from crispy in an ill-advised NME interview + ooh the nazis, they were into their dark okkult/magick blablabla. Also c/lol, the britishes and their funny class system.
oops x-x-x-post
― Pashmina, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 16:10 (fifteen years ago) link
* 9 Lazy 9 * Airborn Audio * Ammoncontact * Amon Tobin * Animals On Wheels * Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra * Blockhead * Bonobo * Chris Bowden * Cabbageboy * Chocolate Weasel * The Cinematic Orchestra * Clifford Gilberto * Coldcut * Daedelus * DJ Food * DJ Toolz * DJ Kentaro * DJ Vadim * DK * The Dragons * Dwight Trible * Dynamic Syncopation * Fink * Flanger * Fog * Funki Porcini * Ghislain Poirier * The Herbaliser * Hex * Hexstatic * Hint * Homelife * The Irresistible Force * Jaga Jazzist * Kid Koala * Loka * London Funk Allstars * Max & Harvey * Mr. Scruff * Neotropic * One Self * Pest * The Qemists * Rainstick Orchestra * Roots Manuva * Sixtoo * Skalpel * Spank Rock * Super Numeri * The Poets of Rhythm * Treva Whateva * Up, Bustle and Out * Wagon Christ * Yppah * Zero db
xpost
― Free Peace Sweet!, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 16:10 (fifteen years ago) link
Supernaturals deserve a vote just for that Smile song always being used in a bank advert.
― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 16:19 (fifteen years ago) link
What about "At the Link it is easy" by Shed Seven?
― Colonel Poo, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 16:20 (fifteen years ago) link
HAhahahahahahahaa that was hilarious!
― ledge, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 16:26 (fifteen years ago) link
Ultimate sub-Britpop sellouts: Hurricane #1 for allowing a song to be used in an advert for The Sun.
Although, to be fair, most of the members of these bands would be swiftly back to their day jobs, so you can't really blame them for cashing in.
― Neil S, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 16:30 (fifteen years ago) link
OCS FTW FFS
there are some OK bands on this list.
― CharlieNo4, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 17:04 (fifteen years ago) link
i wonder if every band will get 10 votes each or if stereophonics will be runaway winners?
― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:21 (fifteen years ago) link
space
that fella's voice over their horrible keyboard-preset music, yikes!
― jeremy waters, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:26 (fifteen years ago) link
gomez sucked too, tho.
didn't they do a tune about how much they hated contemporary r'nb?
― jeremy waters, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:30 (fifteen years ago) link
I thought other bands would be hated more than Space.
― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:32 (fifteen years ago) link
Space combined being a shite Britpop band with being a shite Novelty band with having a singer dude with a hugely annoying face tho.
― Noodle Vague, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:34 (fifteen years ago) link
The one Stereophincs song I heard was indescribably bad.
― HI DERE, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:34 (fifteen years ago) link
none of these groups are any good, imo. but space take the biscuit. although i was probably listening to happy hardcore at the time, so i can't really talk.
― jeremy waters, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:35 (fifteen years ago) link
Nice to see the Zutons keeping this torch aloft.
― Noodle Vague, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:35 (fifteen years ago) link
Elvis Costello used to love Sleeper, so...
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:36 (fifteen years ago) link
I like Space more than most of the eejits in that list.
― Frogman Henry, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:38 (fifteen years ago) link
Space. i really hated them - even at the time. some of the other bands were actually ok for a few weeks.
― mark e, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:45 (fifteen years ago) link
I don't know that anyone in the US had any conception of Space as a band that would generate this much ill will!
― HI DERE, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:47 (fifteen years ago) link
Most of these bands at least had the decency to bugger off after a couple of singles (Bluetones, Reef, Longpigs). I liked Space - most of the others blow. Voted for Stereophonics, because they managed to reach semi-Oasis levels of twatishness and unjustified arrogance in relation to their actual ability. But Menswear (Menswe@r?) come in a close second as a really crap boy band version of Suede.
― snoball, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:49 (fifteen years ago) link
also, "the glory years of Cool Britannia 1990-98" is stretching a bit far - six months in 1997 is more like it.
― snoball, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 18:52 (fifteen years ago) link
i think of britpop as 94-95
at a push maybe 93 for nwonw/auteurs/suede as precursors, and 96 for its fag-end lad rock era.
― jeremy waters, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Space were at least quite funny,in a point and laugh kind of a way. And I like that one with the xylophone in it, cos xylophones are generally good.
― chap, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:03 (fifteen years ago) link
if i had to pick one word to describe pop culture in this era in the uk it would be "cosy".
― jeremy waters, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:08 (fifteen years ago) link
i am vaguely related via marriage to an ex-supernatural. they have at least one good song, and a couple of passable ones. Cast, Reef and the Seahorses are all unremittingly dreadful.
― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:09 (fifteen years ago) link
(none of these passable songs were singles, btw)
Reef, because they tried to "rock" and couldn`t. Space, though awful, at least had some kind of musical personality. All those BluetonesGeneCastLongpigs types just blurred into one for me.
― Matt #2, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:17 (fifteen years ago) link
The New Smiths™
― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:21 (fifteen years ago) link
Can't wait for the equivalent mid-late 00s poll in ten years time. Seems to me the current glut of same-sounding guitar bands is even more widespread than it was back then.
― chap, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:24 (fifteen years ago) link
so mant awful music but i really hate kula shaker.
― Zeno, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:28 (fifteen years ago) link
Which era has the worst bands?
― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:41 (fifteen years ago) link
british indie rock is bad,generaly speaking, since 1990 at least.
― Zeno, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:44 (fifteen years ago) link
It looked as though something was happening, but actually nothing was happening.
― snoball, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:57 (fifteen years ago) link
Cast make me so very very angry with their incomparable shite-ness, so no contest for me.
― krakow, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:07 (fifteen years ago) link
Make sure every band gets one vote minimum!!
― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:39 (fifteen years ago) link
This was touched on briefly a while ago here - no idea which thread - and I said that the current bands seem even more cynical. I don't think most of the bands in this here poll formed with as self-evident a scene or scenes to assimilate themselves into, and some (Stereophonics, probably Reef) probably spent a lot of time being completely baffled by their success. None of which means the music is actually any better, of course
― DJ Mencap, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:43 (fifteen years ago) link
Bluetones were alright for awhile, but in general yes, these bands were as dull as ditchwater.
― Bimble, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:49 (fifteen years ago) link
-- snoball, Wednesday, May 28, 2008 8:57 PM
after the left/right antagonisms of the 80s had faded into memory, people just got used to high unemployment, low social mobility, etc... the economy recovered to a degree but yeah, nothing fundamental changed.
― jeremy waters, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:49 (fifteen years ago) link
Seriously, nothing any of these bands did quite comes close to the sheer awfulness of the 'rum old slapper' bit in Love Is The Law by the Seahorses. Except maybe the 'kick-ass angels' bit in Avenging Angels by Space.
If anyone has a vote unswayed, here is the Seahorses doing Love Is The Law at Glastonbury, containing one of the most hilariously bad vocal performances I have ever seen.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:58 (fifteen years ago) link
This isn't that bad oh shit I just got to the chorus hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
― HI DERE, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:00 (fifteen years ago) link
OKAY WHY HASN'T THIS STOPPED YET
― HI DERE, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:06 (fifteen years ago) link
Who the fuck does Chris Helme think he is?!
― Scik Mouthy, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:08 (fifteen years ago) link
Good grief, I'd managed to blank out all memories of that song. I didn't think I could remember anything by the Seahorses but they might have just won for me.
Always thought it was "romo slapper" and I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.
― a passing spacecadet, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Thing is, every note of that bit is composed to fuck. It's not jammed or improvised. That's EXACTLY the same as the album version. Squire never made up a note onstage in his life.
― Scik Mouthy, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:10 (fifteen years ago) link
This is like the first time I heard "EMU".
― HI DERE, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:12 (fifteen years ago) link
We lived in a dogfish eggcase you could barely call it home Sorry little lot no roof on top But the fish left us at home Try a little more said the girl next door it's time to roamMad Lizzy Crumbs blind cobblers thumbs were a sight to behold She was a rum old slapper and we always tried toget her pants off when she phoned Left her cap by the sink it's not what you think Oh take me homeNow we know where we are going baby We can lay back and enjoy the ride Take in the sights and drown in our senses Love is the law so take me deep insideStrap on Sally chased us down the alley We feared for our behinds Oasis was a shop with shoes so hot They were sure to blow your minds Running so fast I can take the past Oh take homeThese waters run deep it's clear my little one Blue velvet star sky not a sound The light in your eyes the smile on your ruby lips Tells me my lost soul is found
Mad Lizzy Crumbs blind cobblers thumbs were a sight to behold She was a rum old slapper and we always tried toget her pants off when she phoned Left her cap by the sink it's not what you think Oh take me home
Now we know where we are going baby We can lay back and enjoy the ride Take in the sights and drown in our senses Love is the law so take me deep inside
Strap on Sally chased us down the alley We feared for our behinds Oasis was a shop with shoes so hot They were sure to blow your minds Running so fast I can take the past Oh take home
These waters run deep it's clear my little one Blue velvet star sky not a sound The light in your eyes the smile on your ruby lips Tells me my lost soul is found
o_O
― HI DERE, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:14 (fifteen years ago) link
There's a poll there Dan, ya gotta go for it.
― Billy Dods, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:18 (fifteen years ago) link
Strap on Sally chased us down the alley We feared for our behinds <--- this would win, though
― HI DERE, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:19 (fifteen years ago) link
There definitely weren't enough songs about huge nipples in the Britpop canon. Just this and '3 in Across Her Beautiful Tit Flesh' by Northern Uproar as far as I know
― DJ Mencap, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 21:22 (fifteen years ago) link