4

Don’t Look Back In Anger
Oasis
1995

I think I can sum up my absolute fanaticism for Oasis by telling Charlie and Max last week that one of my life regrets is not naming them Liam and Noel.  Now that was (mostly) tongue-in-cheek, but it is truly one of my life’s biggest regrets that I did not see this band live before the brothers self-combusted and the band broke up.  What can I say, some people regret career decisions or not pursuing a romantic interest, I regret not making it to an Oasis concert.  🤷‍♂️ 

I mean, what more can I say about this band?  Their first two albums deserve a place in a museum somewhere because it’s art of the highest caliber, but I love everything they did all the way to the end.  Noel’s brilliant songwriting with absolutely perfect melodies, coupled with Liam’s sneering, us-against-the-world showmanship, was perfection for me.  My friend Trent is one of my oldest friends and we’ve had a lot of great moments together, but he may have done nothing greater than to introduce me to this band. Trent, I’ve had to put up with your love for the Dodgers, Lakers, and Rams for almost 40 years but that is all forgiven for connecting me with the Gallagher brothers in 1994.

I’ve always bristled a bit at the comparisons between Oasis and The Beatles (and I really bristle at the rubbish that Blur was a better Britpop band).  Yes, The Beatles were an obvious influence on the Gallaghers and there are definite similarities, but this band stands on its own and has its own place in the pantheon of greats.  And I also think sometimes we forget how massive this band was in the mid-90s.  And when I say massive, go and watch footage from the Knebworth Festival in 1996.  I mean, the band had to take a freaking helicopter just to arrive at the venue because 250,000 people (!!!) were in attendance.

All of that leads me to what is hands-down the best Oasis track of all time and, for my money, one of the top 10 songs ever written, period.  Listen guys, I have my own website now, I have my own merch, I’m an authority on this stuff.  As one of the YouTubers says in the comments, “This masterpiece is no longer a song…it is a hymn.”  Amen, brother or sister.  Bloody hell I love this song.

Other Songs Considered:
Here are my Top 50 Oasis songs.