Read this and be amused :

Oasis-Lyla

The often violent and abusive band considered to be the kings of brit poppas by some, Oasis, release their first single in 3 years prior to the release of their new album, 'Don't Believe the Truth'.

At the helm are the brothers Gallagher, song writer Noel, and his lil bro and frontman of Oasis, Liam. Right from the offset of their career and the release of their debut album, 'What's the Story, Morning Glory', the band have been 'offering out' literally anyone who's famous, including George Harrison, former Beatle and even Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet fame.




These boys are lucky they`re not on ASBO`s. (©NME)

Running alongside this at the time was the dispute between Oasis and Blur that was sparked by Damon Albarn offering to share the Best Band and Album awards Blur received in 1995. The feud erupted and was fuelled by the media frenzy and the easy comparosns to make with the Beatles/Stones alleged rivalry, especially with the direct comparisons that could be made musically.

10 years on, and things haven't really changed. The brothers are still willing to fight with everyone, as well as with each other, and at times have allegedly acted in ways that may have gotten the average guy on the street an ASBO.

It has been reported that although Liam respects his brother as a musician, as a person, he'd like to see him drowned. Liam's outspoken views and aggressive tactics for maintaining attention have now been turned on their modern Brit pop counterparts (Bloc Party, Keane, Kaiser Chiefs), strangely enough, just in time for the release of Lyla.

As with their attitudes and approaches to life the universe and everything, Lyla seems to be a par for the course Oasis song. The chords are banged out, it's really big on the drums, and Liam sings in possibly the way that only he knows and so many people have tried to emulate. It does appear to be a song of two halves though, with the song initially being presented very simplisticly with just vocals, guitars and drums that build into to the first chorus that sees the whole band joining in for Liam's cliched praises, confessions and pleas to 'Lyla'.

For some reason, Lyla really reminds me of Itchycoo Park, The Small Faces, but maybe it's because of the use of all the codes and conventions, of 60s British popular music that Oasis seem to favour so much.

Whilst researching this track, the majority of reviews that I came across seem to share a similar view to the one that I hold, which is that it's typical Oasis. If you're a lover of Oasis, then you'll probably love this track, because of it's adherence to what Oasis do.

However, I do think that Oasis is presented with a fairly interesting point in their career. This is the first single to be released in three years, at a point where many bands would consider releasing a greatest hits album, to a music buying public whose parents like Oasis.

The question I feel is presented, is are Oasis still seen as a viable bunch of musical rapscallions, or are they a dinosaur of an era long gone? Unquestionably, they have a gigantic fan base that should easily put this single into the top 10, but who's going to be buying it? Will today's youth fall for the aggressive attention grabbing antics, or will they snub it? Will this be the final offering from Oasis? Time will undoubtedly tell, but Oasis are possibly heading for the sort of superstardom that haunted the Rolling Stones in the 80s. Yes, they're good, they're getting bums on seats, and getting back in the charts, but I think, as far as many of my generation were concerned, it was all a bit sad.

Saying that though, given the choice of going to see the Stones or Oasis, I'd definitely plum for Mick and the crew any day, even if they do need a paramedic on standby.

Released 16/05/05 on Big Brother/Sony

2/5

What the score means

1-Taken out back and shot

2-10 in Solitary

3-2 years with early release for good behavior

4-6 months Community Service

5-All charges dropped, your own TV show, and a new car

www.newcriminologist.co.uk/news.asp?id=481341458