The '90s began with the sound of self-loathing, but others were interested in a more upbeat trip, writes Richard Jinman.

.........Trip-hop and drum'n'bass weren't likely to inspire tabloid headlines, however. That role was filled by the "Brit Pop" bands such as Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Sleeper. The theory goes like this. Disillusioned by American music, a new generation of British bands started to make defiantly British music. By the time Tony Blair's Labour won office in 1997, "Brit Pop" was acknowledged as the sound of "Cool Britannia" - a revitalised English art/design/fashion scene centred on a newly swinging London. The parallels with the halcyon days of the '60s proved irresistible to the media: polite, middle-class Blur were cast as the New Beatles; uncouth, working-class Oasis as the New Rolling Stones. It all came to a head in 1995 when the two bands released singles on the same day. Blur won the battle, but lost the war. Oasis's second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? - featuring the ubiquitous single Wonderwall - eclipsed Blur's self-conscious The Great Escape.

Brit Pop's importance was wildly exaggerated. Oasis and Blur failed to make an impact outside of Britain and bands such as Menswear and Gene became mere footnotes in the rock encyclopedia. America was more interested in the Spice Girls and the electronic beats of the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy and Fatboy Slim.......

complete article: www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/08/1089000289845.html?oneclick=true