Hey all
If there's one thing I will always respect about Oasis it's the fact that they have always made great fuckin tunes with an absolute depth to the songwriting. Many people view many different albums in many different ways, and I guess the purpose of this thread (and others to hopefully follow) will be to get peoples different interpretations of the albums our boys put out. I'm known for analysing or putting too much thought into stuff, but hey, it's what I do. With the new album, I see a clear concept, which i will discuss later on, but for now I thought i should share my thoughts on the most disputed Oasis album of them all: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants; disputed as many see it as an amazingly brilliant piece of work (ie. me) and equally as many see it as a load of wank.
Ok, here goes....
The album in my view is a look at Noel's life in the light, but it looks more towards the shadows; all the Oasis albums prior to it were semi-autobiographical looking at these concepts to some degree, but none ever looked at the darkside, or negative reverb of the fame. We start with Fuckin in the Bushes, a song of chaos and utter dismay; great tune, but the romp and chainsaw guitars has no ground, it's sound and fury, which right away pointed to the Chaos that often comes with it. Go Let it Out is all in the name; when yer high, yer good, and Noel's life was great, so its a really positive tune. Drug references and a psychedelic feel really hint towards the whole 'produced happiness' vibe i get. Next is Who Feels Love; a spiritual journey of yearning for 'God's Love' (not necessarily God, but some sort of power, whether it be a person or an idea); we all search for something to fill the void of emptiness inside of us, this song is about that. When it fails (as apparently it did with noel), you go into a fit of self destruction, hence 'put your money where your mouth is'; its no coincidence that this song refers to judgement day a lot, and borrows the lyrics and vocal melody from the doors, a band that is known in infamy as having the most self destructive of all front men.
I'm sure Liam wrote more tunes than Little James, but there's a reason its on the album: its about family. Isn't that what helped Noel out in his darkest moments (at that point of his life anyways); his daughter, and that battleaxe of a wife. Noel allowed this song to be used because it represented that feeling. Gas Panic is an easy one, a clear reference to the panic attacks that crippled his life, and its also transitional from Little James to the more darker side of the album, given the fact that it is a release from the joyous concept of family (my family dont seem so familiar....). Where Did it All Go Wrong is another relatively easy one; its straight up about the darkside of fame; the fakes, the drugs, the fact that you lose yourself for something that aint real; its all in the title man. Sunday Morning Call, a hang over song, but also the metaphorical end to the first 'half' of the album. See, it ends with the question 'will it ever work out right?', which is quite the rhetorical question. It ends off that whole part of the album, which kick starts I Can See a Liar; hence the reason why a really fast and furious song would be in the dead center of a heart of darkness. The song is also about fame, mentioning how a metaphorical king sits all alone on his throne, a liar; I imagine its a reference to how Noel felt about himself. And finally, Roll it Over; the name itself entails a kind of end point to and endless cycle; the album ends, but just to begin again, to roll over (kinda like what Sunday Morning Call did with the rhetorical question). The song is obviously about fame yet again, an attempt to be real in a fake world. There's a gospel feel to it, absolutely great song. But yea, it ushers the end of the album, and a continuation of the cycle.
Like I said, I read way too much into things, but that's what I got from the album. I know ppl out there will probably think I got it wrong, or that I'm just full of shit, so feel free to put forth your thoughts, cuz it would be interesting to hear em.
cheers