This phone interview was apparently conducted in September. Since it is a bit different than the usual Noel interviews (e.g. Liam is not mentioned at all
) I did a quick translation. Again, Noel does not appear very convincing when talking about his (supposedly) wild youth. And I was a bit surprised he didn't catch the Wayne Rooney clue.
Noel Gallagher, speaking on the phone from his London home, does not want to discuss the Oasis split. Instead, he wants to talk about how difficult it is for him to find the right kind of clothes. “It’s fucking hard buying clothes. I never seem to find the right ones, since the world today is that of fat people. And I am not fat. And if I find something nice in size S, the clothes are too big for me. It doesn’t fit. It is made for small, fat people. It has no been made for small slender people like me. Maybe I should start using girls’ clothes. England is like fucking America. Full of fat people.”
When did you really start making your album?
“About a year ago (the interview was apparently conducted in September). Maybe 18 months ago. A long time ago… I don’t know, I’m writing songs all the time.”
How many of the songs in the new album were originally intended for Oasis?
“All of them! All those fucking songs were meant to be Oasis songs! We even tried some of them with Oasis, at least numbers five, nine and ten. Now let me explain… I’m writing songs all the time. I’ve never written songs for a specific project or album. When I’m writing songs, I haven’t got any fucking artistic concept in my mind. When I start recording, I usually have some 20 songs of which to choose from. I never sit in my study and think that I should make a new kind of album. I write songs for a living. That is my job.”
“I only analyze my songs when I’m talking with someone like you. I’ve got no answers to as to why I write certain songs. I only write them. It is your job to analyze them and to write about them.”
Do you ever discuss songwriting with other songwriters?
“No. It would be uncomfortable. And people who discuss songwriting analytically should not write songs at all. Because songwriting is magic. Keith Richards has put it so well: “The songs come from heaven and I just grab them.” And would Johnny Marr have made so many fucking great songs in such a short time if songwriting was analytical work? He fuckin’ wouldn’t have… I’m not at all interested in talking about songwriting. Because for me music has always been a magical, mysterious thing. And I want it to remain so.”
When I tried to discuss songwriting with Lou Reed, he got into a rage. He said he didn’t understand anything about songwriting.
“Really? I totally agree. I don’ t understand anything about songwriting. It’s just something that happens or doesn’t happen. And I think that sometimes I’ve done it quite well. Not everyone has written Live Forever.”
You have said that you no longer can write about your real life. Do you really think so?
“I’ve got a beautiful wife, beautiful house and beautiful kids. I’m driving a beautiful car. I’ve got more money than I ever can reasonably use. Do you really want me to write about those things? I don’t think many people could identify with that.”
But I think also you must sometimes be happy and sometimes sad. You must miss something…
“Yeah, yeah. Of course I can understand how it feels when you are not able to pay your rent. I know how it feels to have a shit job. I know what it is to be happy and to be sad. I can write about human feelings, but not about the life I now have. D’you know what I mean?”
Do you still listen to the same records as 20 years ago?
“Of course. And of course I listen to a lot of other kind of music too. I’ve always listened to 60s guitar music, but there are lots of other kind of music I’m interested in, too. I like all kinds of music: weird 70s German stuff, Ennio Morricone, even acid house. It is hard to talk about music. I like Sun Ra, but I don’t like jazz. I like Bob Marley but I’m not particularly keen on reggae. I love some Bob Dylan records, but he has also put out a lot of shit. When you get to a certain point, you understand every genre has some good stuff.”
Was the reason for the AA album your wanting to produce experimental music?
“Don’t know. Perhaps subconsciously. On the other hand, I’ve got no particular need to do anything. I was quite happy in Oasis. I don’t see myself as an artist. I don’t have any artistic goal. I’m just a songwriter, but sometimes I feel the urge to experiment a bit. Doesn’t everyone want to do that sometimes?”
The interview also contains a kind of "sub-interview" which does not involve music.
Noel: “The Smiths was the time of my real youth, not Oasis. The Smiths was the last unique British band and I’m lucky to have been the right age for them. I like Meat is Murder, The Queen is Dead and Strangeways Here We Come. I cannot choose between them. I love The Smiths.”
It seems a bit strange that Joey Barton (a footballer) is a Smiths fan.
“At least he says he is. I don’t know. I don’t know him particularly well. He’s a nice and quick-witted guy.”
Do you like his new Morrissey haircut?
“What the fuck… it’s quite good actually. I’m not commenting on his moustache, though.”
Isn’t it a bit funny that one of the best players of his generation is an Oasis fan but plays in ManU?
(Long silence.) “Who is it?”
Int.: “Wayne Rooney.”
“ Is he an Oasis fan? That’s a redeeming feature… Well, I must admit that he is a great player, but it’s just a real shame that he plays for United.”
You spent part of your youth with football hooligans. How deeply involved were you?
“Not very. I never committed any serious crimes. I was an expert on shoplifting, not on fighting. A large part of the time I was running around in shopping centers. Being part of a gang involved a strangely large amount of running around. With someone running after you most of the time.”