THis article orginates from a Meadville PA. Highschool Ezine :
www.my.highschooljournalism.org/pa/meadville/mash/article.cfm?eid=1966&aid=25131

Discover Britpop!

By Brittney Neff
Pulp, Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, Travis, Feeder, Muse, Manic Street Preachers, Charlatans UK- what do all of these bands have in common? Besides being above par musically, they are also all from the great land of Great Britain. That fact combined with their very obvious alternative rock sound makes them all components of the musical genre known as Britpop.
While somewhat of a subdued highlight of the 90’s alternative rock scene in the United States, Britpop was the mainstream of the United Kingdom. The most popular of the British acts were Pulp, Blur, and Oasis, with Oasis being the biggest thing since the Beatles in England. In fact, Oasis’ debut Definitely Maybe became the biggest-selling debut in British history and their second release, What’s the Story (Morning Glory)? became the fastest selling record in England since Michael Jackson’s Bad album. The success Oasis found in England carried through to the rest of the world, making the band a worldwide hit and the most recognizable of the Britpop bands.

Rivaling Oasis for Britpop glory was Blur, whose album Parklife was considered not just a success monetarily, but also culturally, since the album embodied common British life. Unlike Oasis, Blur resented the newfound god-like position they had in England and changed their sound, which ultimately led to their acceptance in America (most notably on college radio).

“Blur or Oasis- who’s better?” was one of the most common questions in Britain during the mid 90’s, but in 1995, the band Pulp came along with a top-selling album, Different Class, that made people reevaluate their question. Pulp was a more established band that had been around since the 1980’s but who didn’t catch on with the British public until the release of the singles “Lipgloss” and “Babies.” They took the British music audience by storm with their single “Common People,” which was a portrait of a common British worker (hence the title of the song).

Besides the music, one of the characteristics of Britpop is that one popular Britpop band must have a feud with at least one other popular band. Oasis, or more specifically members Liam and Noel Gallagher, seem to be at ends with every single artist in England. In fact, the brothers were often fighting each other in highly publicized drunken brawls. Notably, feuds with rivals Blur and pop singer Robbie Williams gained the band a belligerent reputation. Other feuds between Robbie Williams and the Manic Street Preachers and to a lesser degree, Elastica and Blur also add a little character to an already colorful genre.

Granted, Oasis has slid from its former days of grandeur, Blur has become more indie-sounding, and Pulp hasn’t released an album in two years, yet, Britpop continues to flourish. Bands like Ash, Feeder, and Muse have taken the reins and produced a different yet still exciting version of Britpop that is a little harder sound-wise and beckons to American grunge as much as it does to 90’s Britpop. When Clear-Channel controlled American radio gets you down, college radio is featuring Celtic classics, and MTV is… MTV, give Britpop a chance. After all, it will make you seem musically intelligent and pretentious at the same time, and who doesn’t love that?