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Post by mrose on Nov 10, 2017 7:30:26 GMT -5
I'm not sure where to post this but here's an interview Noel did with i-D.
“i’m over here doing my thing, you’re over there doing my thing” – noel gallagher on liam, scissors and his most joyful record yet Matthew Whitehouse NOV 10 2017, 7:06AM As i-D’s week exploring the north of England draws to a close, we meet Manchester’s most famous son to talk revolutionary new music, revolutionary old music and the small matter of the man he calls “the singer”.
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There was a moment about halfway through Noel Gallagher’s hour-long set at York Hall last week that just about summed up being a northerner. As you may well have seen, Noel and his rotating cast of High Flying Birds are releasing a new record this month. It’s called Who Built the Moon? one of those pleasingly vague album titles the 50-year-old songwriter has been knocking out since 1994, when Definitely Maybe announced the arrival of that band with an abundance of certainty and a healthy dose of possibility. So far so Noel. What you wouldn’t have put your money on, however, was Noel Gallagher -- he of real, no nonsense rock and roll™ -- arriving on stage that night with a French woman playing a pair of scissors.
Ah, yes, the scissors. If Bob Dylan had going electric and John Lennon had banging a nail into a ceiling, then Noel will always have the scissors. The moment when the whole of Longsight turned on him, as the hitherto down-to-earth musician disappeared up his own arse with a pair of hand-operated shearing tools (ouch). In fact, never has a pair of scissors created such division (unless, of course, you count the reason that they were invented). “This is cutting edge music,” he joked to the crowd. It felt like a very northern way to frame it -- a self-awareness that, on the one hand, it’s really fucking cool to have someone playing the scissors in your band, and on the other, it’s a little bit daft. You probably wouldn’t make that joke if you were a trendy five-piece from Peckham, would you?
“When Holy Mountain came out, one of the girls in the office said, ‘Oh, there’s been quite a bit of negative reaction to the video.’ I was like, really? This might be a laugh then. If people are getting upset about it, this might be a laugh from here on in.”
“If you were from Peckham, you would be obliged to intellectualise it,” says Gallagher today, holed up in the mezzanine of a swanky Covent Garden restaurant with the purpose of promoting solo album number three. “You would be at the mercy of intellectualising it. Plus she’s French and she’s eccentric to say the least. I said to her, can you play the tambourine? She said, [adopts French accent] ‘I cannot play the tambourine.’ I said, ‘Oh right. Shaker?’ ‘Non. I can play the scissors.’ She brought them in and I was looking at my bass player going, if that’s not the greatest thing you’ve ever seen then tell me what is. A French bird in a cape playing the scissors? It doesn't get any better than that does it?”
Such is the enthusiasm Gallagher has for his new record that you find yourself agreeing with him, despite the lingering sense that, yeah, there probably are on balance better things than a French person playing the scissors (penicillin, space travel and squeezy Marmite to name but three). That’s not the point though -- what matters is the mood, the vibe.
Who Built the Moon? is Noel Gallagher’s most playful album to date; a rock and roll pop record about hope and joy preceded by a bonkers, glam-stomper that is said to have been met with frosty silence when first played to his record label. Gallagher’s done experimental before, sure -- see 1997’s Chemical Brothers collab Setting Sun; 2009’s Falling Down (A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Mix) or 2015 Chasing Yesterday album track The Right Stuff to name but three -- but only ever as one-offs or B-sides, and never in such a concentrated fashion.
“It just seemed like the right thing to do,” he suggests of a record that flits between French pop psychedelia and Spector-esque Wall of Sound. “There’s no master plan behind it. When Holy Mountain came out, one of the girls in the office said, ‘Oh, there’s been quite a bit of negative reaction to the video.’ I was like, really? This might be a laugh then. If people are getting upset about it, this might be a laugh from here on in.”
If you have even the most passing knowledge of Noel Gallagher, you will know that he is a man not entirely bothered by what you think. For him, the chance to make a record written solely in studio for the first time in his career was an “adventure”, one in which Northern Irish producer David Holmes encouraged him to step outside of his comfort zone (case in point, the album’s largely instrumental opener, Fort Knox, which references Kanye West’s Power as an influence).
“David’s whole thing was, you can sit there for the rest of your life with an acoustic guitar and do what you do and you’re the best at it and no one will argue. But you know, why don’t you try something different?” describes Noel. “Do we wear the same clothes every day? No. Do we get dressed up to go out? Yeah. Do you like fancy dress parties? I fucking hate them but it’s a thing. So it’s like, why make the same fucking record every few years?”
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“Do we wear the same clothes every day? No. Do we get dressed up to go out? Yeah. Do you like fancy dress parties? I fucking hate them but it’s a thing. So it’s like, why make the same fucking record every few years?”
Well, for starters there are an awful lot of people who still like scissor-less Noel Gallagher records (his second solo album, 2015’s Chasing Yesterday, went easily platinum). “Yeah, but it’s only a moment in time, it’s only a record,” he shrugs. “As a band we might look back in five years and think, what the fuck were we thinking? But it’s better than looking back on some benign success in five years time and thinking, well, that was just the same as what we do all the time.”
He offers a story as an example. “I sat at home one afternoon and I wrote Cigarettes and Alcohol after listening to T. Rex. I took it into the rehearsal room and I got the same silence as I did after playing people Holy Mountain. The singer, in particular, was jumping up and down on the spot like fucking Michael Palin in the Life of Brian saying, ‘You can’t do that! People are going to laugh at us! I can’t sing that.’ And I was like, calm down dear. It’s going to be fine. So I had the same spirit of adventure then, playing Cigarettes and Alcohol to six people in Manchester, some of the most cynical people in the fucking world going, that riff’s just T. Rex, mate. ‘Is it? No shit? What? That one?’ It’s like, really? I wasn’t expecting anyone not to notice. And I get the same feeling now.”
At least someone brought the singer up. As you may well have seen, Liam Gallagher also has a new record out, readers -- the properly excellent As You Were. The brothers haven’t been seen eyebrow to eyebrow since Noel stamped on a guitar or Liam threw a plum or something like that in a Paris dressing in 2009, ending the band formerly known as Oasis -- but does he still care what he thinks of the album?
“I don’t give a fuck as long as he promotes it on his twitter feed,” laughs Noel. “It’s like, I’m over here doing my thing, you’re over there doing my thing, and never the twain shall meet, thank you very much.”
“For me, it’s freedom to do what the fucking hell you want. I’m not owned by anybody. I’m not owned by the whims of a fan base or the bank balance of a record company. I do what I want when I want to do it. And I live and die by the consequences.”
Come on, you must have listened to his. “I’ve heard Wall of Glass and the one that sounds like Adele shouting into a bucket,” he replies. “But I’m not a fan so I wouldn’t listen to it.” His voice sounds good, we offer. “But we’re not striving for good are we? We’re striving for great.”
He continues, warming to the theme: “I’m not sure I can be arsed formulating an opinion on a record that’s written by an army of songwriters. Isn’t the one from One Direction doing that? The little Irish fella with the acoustic? At least he has the decency to play a guitar. I’m not a fan. I have nothing to say about it.” Not even on a brotherly level? “No. I think at the beginning, from this side of the fence, there was a lot of good will as in, yeah, man, I fucking hope it works. It’s about time. But that’s all gone now because it got personal. So it’s like, fuck what he does. As long as he keeps promoting my record, there’s a good boy.”
Alright, back to the business of Noel then. For all the wibbling rivalry that may or may not ensue in the coming weeks, what’s important right now is that big brother has proved himself capable of creating a record that carries ideas previously only hinted at, over an entire 11 tracks. At a time when, as he puts it, “anyone who straps on a guitar is almost obliged to write about the news”, he’s made an album that successfully boils down what pop and roll should be: an escapist sweet spot where the sublime and scissor-playing ridiculous fuse as one.
“Look, I know what I’m doing,” he says. “I’m not about to get on stage and play an arena with a bird in a cape playing the scissors, unless it’s great. I’m not a fucking idiot. The record will stand up. I have no doubts about that. I’ve listened to it enough, I know what it is. It’s a great record. And it’s a great rock and roll record and I’ll tell you why. I go round the world and I do interviews a lot, and the term ‘rock and roll’ is banded about usually 40 times a week. And a lot of people, I find, have a pretty weird idea of what rock and roll is. It’s usually the leather jacket and the shades and the booze and the cigs and all that. For me, it’s freedom to do what the fucking hell you want. I’m not owned by anybody. I’m not owned by the whims of a fan base or the bank balance of a record company. I do what I want when I want to do it. And I live and die by the consequences.” He pauses. “It’s only a record man. I’ll make another one in a few years. That one might be worse.” As a wise man once said, (it’s good) to be free.
Who Built the Moon? by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is released 24 November.
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Post by dadrocker on Nov 10, 2017 7:39:47 GMT -5
“I’ve heard Wall of Glass and the one that sounds like Adele shouting into a bucket,” he replies.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 7:41:36 GMT -5
At least the insults are funny again.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 7:43:28 GMT -5
“No. I think at the beginning, from this side of the fence, there was a lot of good will as in, yeah, man, I fucking hope it works. It’s about time. But that’s all gone now because it got personal. So it’s like, fuck what he does"
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Post by Lennon2217 on Nov 10, 2017 7:46:24 GMT -5
Noel loves his album so much he barely wants to Talk about it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 7:47:38 GMT -5
“No. I think at the beginning, from this side of the fence, there was a lot of good will as in, yeah, man, I fucking hope it works. It’s about time. But that’s all gone now because it got personal. So it’s like, fuck what he does" when was it not personal with those two...
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Post by AubreyOasis on Nov 10, 2017 7:53:23 GMT -5
I'm not sure where to post this but here's an interview Noel did with i-D. “i’m over here doing my thing, you’re over there doing my thing” – noel gallagher on liam, scissors and his most joyful record yetMatthew Whitehouse NOV 10 2017, 7:06AM As i-D’s week exploring the north of England draws to a close, we meet Manchester’s most famous son to talk revolutionary new music, revolutionary old music and the small matter of the man he calls “the singer”. SHARE TWEET There was a moment about halfway through Noel Gallagher’s hour-long set at York Hall last week that just about summed up being a northerner. As you may well have seen, Noel and his rotating cast of High Flying Birds are releasing a new record this month. It’s called Who Built the Moon? one of those pleasingly vague album titles the 50-year-old songwriter has been knocking out since 1994, when Definitely Maybe announced the arrival of that band with an abundance of certainty and a healthy dose of possibility. So far so Noel. What you wouldn’t have put your money on, however, was Noel Gallagher -- he of real, no nonsense rock and roll™ -- arriving on stage that night with a French woman playing a pair of scissors. Ah, yes, the scissors. If Bob Dylan had going electric and John Lennon had banging a nail into a ceiling, then Noel will always have the scissors. The moment when the whole of Longsight turned on him, as the hitherto down-to-earth musician disappeared up his own arse with a pair of hand-operated shearing tools (ouch). In fact, never has a pair of scissors created such division (unless, of course, you count the reason that they were invented). “This is cutting edge music,” he joked to the crowd. It felt like a very northern way to frame it -- a self-awareness that, on the one hand, it’s really fucking cool to have someone playing the scissors in your band, and on the other, it’s a little bit daft. You probably wouldn’t make that joke if you were a trendy five-piece from Peckham, would you? “When Holy Mountain came out, one of the girls in the office said, ‘Oh, there’s been quite a bit of negative reaction to the video.’ I was like, really? This might be a laugh then. If people are getting upset about it, this might be a laugh from here on in.” “If you were from Peckham, you would be obliged to intellectualise it,” says Gallagher today, holed up in the mezzanine of a swanky Covent Garden restaurant with the purpose of promoting solo album number three. “You would be at the mercy of intellectualising it. Plus she’s French and she’s eccentric to say the least. I said to her, can you play the tambourine? She said, [adopts French accent] ‘I cannot play the tambourine.’ I said, ‘Oh right. Shaker?’ ‘Non. I can play the scissors.’ She brought them in and I was looking at my bass player going, if that’s not the greatest thing you’ve ever seen then tell me what is. A French bird in a cape playing the scissors? It doesn't get any better than that does it?” Such is the enthusiasm Gallagher has for his new record that you find yourself agreeing with him, despite the lingering sense that, yeah, there probably are on balance better things than a French person playing the scissors (penicillin, space travel and squeezy Marmite to name but three). That’s not the point though -- what matters is the mood, the vibe. Who Built the Moon? is Noel Gallagher’s most playful album to date; a rock and roll pop record about hope and joy preceded by a bonkers, glam-stomper that is said to have been met with frosty silence when first played to his record label. Gallagher’s done experimental before, sure -- see 1997’s Chemical Brothers collab Setting Sun; 2009’s Falling Down (A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Mix) or 2015 Chasing Yesterday album track The Right Stuff to name but three -- but only ever as one-offs or B-sides, and never in such a concentrated fashion. “It just seemed like the right thing to do,” he suggests of a record that flits between French pop psychedelia and Spector-esque Wall of Sound. “There’s no master plan behind it. When Holy Mountain came out, one of the girls in the office said, ‘Oh, there’s been quite a bit of negative reaction to the video.’ I was like, really? This might be a laugh then. If people are getting upset about it, this might be a laugh from here on in.” If you have even the most passing knowledge of Noel Gallagher, you will know that he is a man not entirely bothered by what you think. For him, the chance to make a record written solely in studio for the first time in his career was an “adventure”, one in which Northern Irish producer David Holmes encouraged him to step outside of his comfort zone (case in point, the album’s largely instrumental opener, Fort Knox, which references Kanye West’s Power as an influence). “David’s whole thing was, you can sit there for the rest of your life with an acoustic guitar and do what you do and you’re the best at it and no one will argue. But you know, why don’t you try something different?” describes Noel. “Do we wear the same clothes every day? No. Do we get dressed up to go out? Yeah. Do you like fancy dress parties? I fucking hate them but it’s a thing. So it’s like, why make the same fucking record every few years?” ADVERTISEMENT “Do we wear the same clothes every day? No. Do we get dressed up to go out? Yeah. Do you like fancy dress parties? I fucking hate them but it’s a thing. So it’s like, why make the same fucking record every few years?” Well, for starters there are an awful lot of people who still like scissor-less Noel Gallagher records (his second solo album, 2015’s Chasing Yesterday, went easily platinum). “Yeah, but it’s only a moment in time, it’s only a record,” he shrugs. “As a band we might look back in five years and think, what the fuck were we thinking? But it’s better than looking back on some benign success in five years time and thinking, well, that was just the same as what we do all the time.” He offers a story as an example. “I sat at home one afternoon and I wrote Cigarettes and Alcohol after listening to T. Rex. I took it into the rehearsal room and I got the same silence as I did after playing people Holy Mountain. The singer, in particular, was jumping up and down on the spot like fucking Michael Palin in the Life of Brian saying, ‘You can’t do that! People are going to laugh at us! I can’t sing that.’ And I was like, calm down dear. It’s going to be fine. So I had the same spirit of adventure then, playing Cigarettes and Alcohol to six people in Manchester, some of the most cynical people in the fucking world going, that riff’s just T. Rex, mate. ‘Is it? No shit? What? That one?’ It’s like, really? I wasn’t expecting anyone not to notice. And I get the same feeling now.” At least someone brought the singer up. As you may well have seen, Liam Gallagher also has a new record out, readers -- the properly excellent As You Were. The brothers haven’t been seen eyebrow to eyebrow since Noel stamped on a guitar or Liam threw a plum or something like that in a Paris dressing in 2009, ending the band formerly known as Oasis -- but does he still care what he thinks of the album? “I don’t give a fuck as long as he promotes it on his twitter feed,” laughs Noel. “It’s like, I’m over here doing my thing, you’re over there doing my thing, and never the twain shall meet, thank you very much.” “For me, it’s freedom to do what the fucking hell you want. I’m not owned by anybody. I’m not owned by the whims of a fan base or the bank balance of a record company. I do what I want when I want to do it. And I live and die by the consequences.” Come on, you must have listened to his. “I’ve heard Wall of Glass and the one that sounds like Adele shouting into a bucket,” he replies. “But I’m not a fan so I wouldn’t listen to it.” His voice sounds good, we offer. “But we’re not striving for good are we? We’re striving for great.” He continues, warming to the theme: “I’m not sure I can be arsed formulating an opinion on a record that’s written by an army of songwriters. Isn’t the one from One Direction doing that? The little Irish fella with the acoustic? At least he has the decency to play a guitar. I’m not a fan. I have nothing to say about it.” Not even on a brotherly level? “No. I think at the beginning, from this side of the fence, there was a lot of good will as in, yeah, man, I fucking hope it works. It’s about time. But that’s all gone now because it got personal. So it’s like, fuck what he does. As long as he keeps promoting my record, there’s a good boy.” Alright, back to the business of Noel then. For all the wibbling rivalry that may or may not ensue in the coming weeks, what’s important right now is that big brother has proved himself capable of creating a record that carries ideas previously only hinted at, over an entire 11 tracks. At a time when, as he puts it, “anyone who straps on a guitar is almost obliged to write about the news”, he’s made an album that successfully boils down what pop and roll should be: an escapist sweet spot where the sublime and scissor-playing ridiculous fuse as one. “Look, I know what I’m doing,” he says. “I’m not about to get on stage and play an arena with a bird in a cape playing the scissors, unless it’s great. I’m not a fucking idiot. The record will stand up. I have no doubts about that. I’ve listened to it enough, I know what it is. It’s a great record. And it’s a great rock and roll record and I’ll tell you why. I go round the world and I do interviews a lot, and the term ‘rock and roll’ is banded about usually 40 times a week. And a lot of people, I find, have a pretty weird idea of what rock and roll is. It’s usually the leather jacket and the shades and the booze and the cigs and all that. For me, it’s freedom to do what the fucking hell you want. I’m not owned by anybody. I’m not owned by the whims of a fan base or the bank balance of a record company. I do what I want when I want to do it. And I live and die by the consequences.” He pauses. “It’s only a record man. I’ll make another one in a few years. That one might be worse.” As a wise man once said, (it’s good) to be free. Who Built the Moon? by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is released 24 November.Good interview. I totally understand he wants to try something new and for me, so far so good. About the scissors thing, it is obvious it is ironic. I would kill for seeing Noel's face the moment when Charlotte says, "I cannot play tambourine, but I can play scissors". And btw, the tambourine has the same influence in the final sound as the scissors (nil), and nobody complains
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Post by OasisFan199 on Nov 10, 2017 8:07:52 GMT -5
Noel is sounding defensive. No longer saying it is the greatest. Saying it’s different. And pushing on the one thing he can try and hold above LG: he wrote himself....but did he? Also what’s with booking larger venues? If the label wasn’t excited, who imagined the US market buying up more seats then ever? Gawd his management stink.
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Post by freddy838 on Nov 10, 2017 8:14:15 GMT -5
“I’ve heard Wall of Glass and the one that sounds like Adele shouting into a bucket,” he replies. Yeah I LOLed, that's much better from Noel
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Post by tatomoon on Nov 10, 2017 8:31:11 GMT -5
I don't get why so many are hating on Noel all of a sudden... yeah he's a dick but it's been that way since about 2002 1994 the U2 love-in is pretty cringey but has little bearing on this album musically considering it was probably mostly made in 2015
and as for Liam, how could anyone in their right mind expect him to be nice about him, ok Liam has had a lot of success this year and I think it's great and everything. but he threw Noel under the bus repeatedly on twitter etc. to generate press, sometimes in extremely cynical and antagonistic ways (One Love) that I didn't think he'd resort to before
if only this ridiculous feud would end because frankly, it's all getting a bit boring now.
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Post by AubreyOasis on Nov 10, 2017 8:32:01 GMT -5
Noel is sounding defensive. No longer saying it is the greatest. Saying it’s different. And pushing on the one thing he can try and hold above LG: he wrote himself....but did he? Also what’s with booking larger venues? If the label wasn’t excited, who imagined the US market buying up more seats then ever? Gawd his management stink. If he said it's the greatest, then someone would complain also about that ("he is bragging", "he is obnoxious", "he has been saying the same thing since SOTSOG", etc.). Don't overanalyze, it's about the music, not the interviews. And I would say more: it's about the music you like. All indicates I am going to like this album, but if finally I don't, it's not the end of the world, I will move on: I loved CY and maybe I will love the next one. Meanwhile, there are tons of great music out there
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Post by mrose on Nov 10, 2017 9:30:25 GMT -5
The only thing I've become annoyed at is the assumption that if you don't like Noel's new music then it's for one of the following reasons: You don't have good taste in music and you're not smart enough to get it, you're stuck in the 90's, or you're a Liam super fan. Noel has always been arrogant and claimed anything he has done or is doing is the best thing since sliced bread, and Noel has always made fun/belittled Liam in interviews. I can understand where people are coming from because there is a different air about his interviews that are slightly off putting, I couldn't say what it is though. That's just my take.
On a side note, I'm not too crazy about what Noel's released so far- none of it has really grabbed me yet, so I was interested to get another opinion. I asked my sister what she thought of both Fort Knox and Holy Mountain without telling her who it's by. She only listens to rap, hip-hop, and pop (and she doesn't like Oasis so that was a plus), so I thought these newer songs would be more tailored to her likes, especially Fort Knox. However, she thought Fort Knox was only alright and she couldn't get through the whole song, and she thought Holy Mountain sounded like someone was trying to make a punky song for a coming of age Disney film. It's not that important but it's interesting to hear people's opinions on his new stuff by people who had no interest in his solo work or Oasis. I'm curious to see where the rest of the album will go, I'm sure it'll be entertaining if not for the music then for people's opinions on it.
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Post by ninestonecowboy on Nov 10, 2017 9:46:04 GMT -5
I'm not sure where to post this but here's an interview Noel did with i-D. “i’m over here doing my thing, you’re over there doing my thing” – noel gallagher on liam, scissors and his most joyful record yetMatthew Whitehouse NOV 10 2017, 7:06AM As i-D’s week exploring the north of England draws to a close, we meet Manchester’s most famous son to talk revolutionary new music, revolutionary old music and the small matter of the man he calls “the singer”. SHARE TWEET There was a moment about halfway through Noel Gallagher’s hour-long set at York Hall last week that just about summed up being a northerner. As you may well have seen, Noel and his rotating cast of High Flying Birds are releasing a new record this month. It’s called Who Built the Moon? one of those pleasingly vague album titles the 50-year-old songwriter has been knocking out since 1994, when Definitely Maybe announced the arrival of that band with an abundance of certainty and a healthy dose of possibility. So far so Noel. What you wouldn’t have put your money on, however, was Noel Gallagher -- he of real, no nonsense rock and roll™ -- arriving on stage that night with a French woman playing a pair of scissors. Ah, yes, the scissors. If Bob Dylan had going electric and John Lennon had banging a nail into a ceiling, then Noel will always have the scissors. The moment when the whole of Longsight turned on him, as the hitherto down-to-earth musician disappeared up his own arse with a pair of hand-operated shearing tools (ouch). In fact, never has a pair of scissors created such division (unless, of course, you count the reason that they were invented). “This is cutting edge music,” he joked to the crowd. It felt like a very northern way to frame it -- a self-awareness that, on the one hand, it’s really fucking cool to have someone playing the scissors in your band, and on the other, it’s a little bit daft. You probably wouldn’t make that joke if you were a trendy five-piece from Peckham, would you? “When Holy Mountain came out, one of the girls in the office said, ‘Oh, there’s been quite a bit of negative reaction to the video.’ I was like, really? This might be a laugh then. If people are getting upset about it, this might be a laugh from here on in.” “If you were from Peckham, you would be obliged to intellectualise it,” says Gallagher today, holed up in the mezzanine of a swanky Covent Garden restaurant with the purpose of promoting solo album number three. “You would be at the mercy of intellectualising it. Plus she’s French and she’s eccentric to say the least. I said to her, can you play the tambourine? She said, [adopts French accent] ‘I cannot play the tambourine.’ I said, ‘Oh right. Shaker?’ ‘Non. I can play the scissors.’ She brought them in and I was looking at my bass player going, if that’s not the greatest thing you’ve ever seen then tell me what is. A French bird in a cape playing the scissors? It doesn't get any better than that does it?” Such is the enthusiasm Gallagher has for his new record that you find yourself agreeing with him, despite the lingering sense that, yeah, there probably are on balance better things than a French person playing the scissors (penicillin, space travel and squeezy Marmite to name but three). That’s not the point though -- what matters is the mood, the vibe. Who Built the Moon? is Noel Gallagher’s most playful album to date; a rock and roll pop record about hope and joy preceded by a bonkers, glam-stomper that is said to have been met with frosty silence when first played to his record label. Gallagher’s done experimental before, sure -- see 1997’s Chemical Brothers collab Setting Sun; 2009’s Falling Down (A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Mix) or 2015 Chasing Yesterday album track The Right Stuff to name but three -- but only ever as one-offs or B-sides, and never in such a concentrated fashion. “It just seemed like the right thing to do,” he suggests of a record that flits between French pop psychedelia and Spector-esque Wall of Sound. “There’s no master plan behind it. When Holy Mountain came out, one of the girls in the office said, ‘Oh, there’s been quite a bit of negative reaction to the video.’ I was like, really? This might be a laugh then. If people are getting upset about it, this might be a laugh from here on in.” If you have even the most passing knowledge of Noel Gallagher, you will know that he is a man not entirely bothered by what you think. For him, the chance to make a record written solely in studio for the first time in his career was an “adventure”, one in which Northern Irish producer David Holmes encouraged him to step outside of his comfort zone (case in point, the album’s largely instrumental opener, Fort Knox, which references Kanye West’s Power as an influence). “David’s whole thing was, you can sit there for the rest of your life with an acoustic guitar and do what you do and you’re the best at it and no one will argue. But you know, why don’t you try something different?” describes Noel. “Do we wear the same clothes every day? No. Do we get dressed up to go out? Yeah. Do you like fancy dress parties? I fucking hate them but it’s a thing. So it’s like, why make the same fucking record every few years?” ADVERTISEMENT “Do we wear the same clothes every day? No. Do we get dressed up to go out? Yeah. Do you like fancy dress parties? I fucking hate them but it’s a thing. So it’s like, why make the same fucking record every few years?” Well, for starters there are an awful lot of people who still like scissor-less Noel Gallagher records (his second solo album, 2015’s Chasing Yesterday, went easily platinum). “Yeah, but it’s only a moment in time, it’s only a record,” he shrugs. “As a band we might look back in five years and think, what the fuck were we thinking? But it’s better than looking back on some benign success in five years time and thinking, well, that was just the same as what we do all the time.” He offers a story as an example. “I sat at home one afternoon and I wrote Cigarettes and Alcohol after listening to T. Rex. I took it into the rehearsal room and I got the same silence as I did after playing people Holy Mountain. The singer, in particular, was jumping up and down on the spot like fucking Michael Palin in the Life of Brian saying, ‘You can’t do that! People are going to laugh at us! I can’t sing that.’ And I was like, calm down dear. It’s going to be fine. So I had the same spirit of adventure then, playing Cigarettes and Alcohol to six people in Manchester, some of the most cynical people in the fucking world going, that riff’s just T. Rex, mate. ‘Is it? No shit? What? That one?’ It’s like, really? I wasn’t expecting anyone not to notice. And I get the same feeling now.” At least someone brought the singer up. As you may well have seen, Liam Gallagher also has a new record out, readers -- the properly excellent As You Were. The brothers haven’t been seen eyebrow to eyebrow since Noel stamped on a guitar or Liam threw a plum or something like that in a Paris dressing in 2009, ending the band formerly known as Oasis -- but does he still care what he thinks of the album? “I don’t give a fuck as long as he promotes it on his twitter feed,” laughs Noel. “It’s like, I’m over here doing my thing, you’re over there doing my thing, and never the twain shall meet, thank you very much.” “For me, it’s freedom to do what the fucking hell you want. I’m not owned by anybody. I’m not owned by the whims of a fan base or the bank balance of a record company. I do what I want when I want to do it. And I live and die by the consequences.” Come on, you must have listened to his. “I’ve heard Wall of Glass and the one that sounds like Adele shouting into a bucket,” he replies. “But I’m not a fan so I wouldn’t listen to it.” His voice sounds good, we offer. “But we’re not striving for good are we? We’re striving for great.” He continues, warming to the theme: “I’m not sure I can be arsed formulating an opinion on a record that’s written by an army of songwriters. Isn’t the one from One Direction doing that? The little Irish fella with the acoustic? At least he has the decency to play a guitar. I’m not a fan. I have nothing to say about it.” Not even on a brotherly level? “No. I think at the beginning, from this side of the fence, there was a lot of good will as in, yeah, man, I fucking hope it works. It’s about time. But that’s all gone now because it got personal. So it’s like, fuck what he does. As long as he keeps promoting my record, there’s a good boy.” Alright, back to the business of Noel then. For all the wibbling rivalry that may or may not ensue in the coming weeks, what’s important right now is that big brother has proved himself capable of creating a record that carries ideas previously only hinted at, over an entire 11 tracks. At a time when, as he puts it, “anyone who straps on a guitar is almost obliged to write about the news”, he’s made an album that successfully boils down what pop and roll should be: an escapist sweet spot where the sublime and scissor-playing ridiculous fuse as one. “Look, I know what I’m doing,” he says. “I’m not about to get on stage and play an arena with a bird in a cape playing the scissors, unless it’s great. I’m not a fucking idiot. The record will stand up. I have no doubts about that. I’ve listened to it enough, I know what it is. It’s a great record. And it’s a great rock and roll record and I’ll tell you why. I go round the world and I do interviews a lot, and the term ‘rock and roll’ is banded about usually 40 times a week. And a lot of people, I find, have a pretty weird idea of what rock and roll is. It’s usually the leather jacket and the shades and the booze and the cigs and all that. For me, it’s freedom to do what the fucking hell you want. I’m not owned by anybody. I’m not owned by the whims of a fan base or the bank balance of a record company. I do what I want when I want to do it. And I live and die by the consequences.” He pauses. “It’s only a record man. I’ll make another one in a few years. That one might be worse.” As a wise man once said, (it’s good) to be free. Who Built the Moon? by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is released 24 November. And btw, the tambourine has the same influence in the final sound as the scissors (nil), and nobody complains Really? The tambourine plays a big part in many great songs. It's very important to the Phil Spector wall of sound. A tambourine can add great impact to a song if done correctly. I'm not talking about Liam just shaking a tambourine now and again. It's an important instrument in producing music, it really adds to the feel of a song and can also be used to give a sense of space in dense mixes. Go listen to some Ronettes or Righteous Brothers songs, the tambourine is driving the song. Or Kinky Afro by The Happy Mondays, the tambourine is creating a lot of the groove.
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Post by queenblougaredoc on Nov 10, 2017 9:47:17 GMT -5
Best interview yet. Good job Noel!!!! Cum on man!!!! Who built the moon men? Was it Morgan Freeman, Andy Bell? Let's built the hype men, cum on!!! THE LEAK IS IMMINENT!!!!
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Post by neila83 on Nov 10, 2017 10:00:00 GMT -5
I've said I don't particularly like how Noel is coming across a lot of the time at the moment, but I think this is a good interview. And I hope it helps people understand why he's doing something different. Who on earth wants to do the same thing for their entire lives? Not me, not any of you, and not Noel.
And I think his explanation of the Liam situation is perfectly reasonable. What can anyone expect when Liam spent years publicly insulting him and his family. While for us lot here it might be a laugh, you can hardly expect the people it's directed at to feel that way. If a member of my family was behaving like that to me, well firstly I'd be rather confused and upset, and then eventually I'd get to 'well fuck you'. Liam is like someone who's been in a relationship and still can't accept it's over. I've been there, I understand it, but seriously man, how longs it been now? Hopefully now his solo career is going well he'll finally be able to do so...
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Post by aesthetic on Nov 10, 2017 10:16:51 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 10:16:54 GMT -5
I've said I don't particularly like how Noel is coming across a lot of the time at the moment, but I think this is a good interview. And I hope it helps people understand why he's doing something different. Who on earth wants to do the same thing for their entire lives? Not me, not any of you, and not Noel. And I think his explanation of the Liam situation is perfectly reasonable. What can anyone expect when Liam spent years publicly insulting him and his family. While for us lot here it might be a laugh, you can hardly expect the people it's directed at to feel that way. If a member of my family was behaving like that to me, well firstly I'd be rather confused and upset, and then eventually I'd get to 'well fuck you'. Liam is like someone who's been in a relationship and still can't accept it's over. I've been there, I understand it, but seriously man, how longs it been now? Hopefully now his solo career is going well he'll finally be able to do so... And Noel spent years publicly insulting Liam. Do people think the things he said about Liam in interviews never hurt him? I'm not defending what Liam has said, but they are both guilty of throwing insults.
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Post by AubreyOasis on Nov 10, 2017 10:22:28 GMT -5
And btw, the tambourine has the same influence in the final sound as the scissors (nil), and nobody complains Really? The tambourine plays a big part in many great songs. It's very important to the Phil Spector wall of sound. A tambourine can add great impact to a song if done correctly. I'm not talking about Liam just shaking a tambourine now and again. It's an important instrument in producing music, it really adds to the feel of a song and can also be used to give a sense of space in dense mixes. Go listen to some Ronettes or Righteous Brothers songs, the tambourine is driving the song. Or Kinky Afro by The Happy Mondays, the tambourine is creating a lot of the groove. Since you have already heard the album, is the tambourine very important in it ?
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Post by Mean Mrs. Mustard on Nov 10, 2017 10:23:16 GMT -5
Well that was pretty good. And the joke as in the title of this thread made me laugh out loud.
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Post by pickupthebase on Nov 10, 2017 10:23:20 GMT -5
I’ve heard ‘Wall of Glass’ and the one that sounds like Adele shouting into a bucket,” Noel told i-D. “But I’m not a fan so I wouldn’t listen to it.
“I’m not sure I can be arsed formulating an opinion on a record that’s written by an army of songwriters. Isn’t the one from One Direction doing that? The little Irish fella with the acoustic? At least he has the decency to play a guitar. I’m not a fan. I have nothing to say about it.”
Incredible when most people agree wal of glass is vocally very good.....
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Post by liamgallagher1992 on Nov 10, 2017 10:28:54 GMT -5
Poor Noel. Said weeks ago that the next tactic would be attacking vocals.
Write on your own and get Holy Mountain or co write and get Wall Of Glass?
The fact he is still pretending not to have listened to the album is laughable too. Does anyone on here genuinely believe he hasnt listened to it in full?
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Post by garys on Nov 10, 2017 10:30:27 GMT -5
C'mom Noel - you know the voice is better than good ...
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Post by liamgallagher1992 on Nov 10, 2017 10:31:05 GMT -5
Nice that someones promoting your album for you anyway Noel. Lets try and break the top 70 with the next single yeaj?
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Post by pickupthebase on Nov 10, 2017 10:31:13 GMT -5
Poor Noel. Said weeks ago that the next tactic would be attacking vocals. Write on your own and get Holy Mountain or co write and get Wall Of Glass? The fact he is still pretending not to have listened to the album is laughable too. Does anyone on here genuinely believe he hasnt listened to it in full? He has definitely listened and is scared his won’t be a popular as Liam’s. He has his excuses ready, number one being he wrote all of his own!
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Post by liamgallagher1992 on Nov 10, 2017 10:33:31 GMT -5
Poor Noel. Said weeks ago that the next tactic would be attacking vocals. Write on your own and get Holy Mountain or co write and get Wall Of Glass? The fact he is still pretending not to have listened to the album is laughable too. Does anyone on here genuinely believe he hasnt listened to it in full? He has definitely listened and is scared his won’t be a popular as Liam’s. He has his excuses ready, number one being he wrote all of his own! Can you imagine if he defended the backlash to Be Here Now like that in 1997? Yeah but Madonna and Michael jackson have an army of songwriters, i wrote Magic Pie all by myself. Noel describes the new album process as going in a studio with nothing and playing with ideas. Guess what? No ones turning around saying wow really? Everyones saying it fucking sounds like that too.
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