Jenna Ortega weights in on the never-ending Blur vs Oasis debate: “Can I be honest?”
The world has undoubtedly been getting more and more polarised over the last few years, you have to believe in one thing or another, one person or the other, one party or another. There’s no in between and you struggle to find middle ground without being shouted at.
But then it is human nature to pick a side, and always has been – it’s tribal, probably. Either way, you’re told you have to like The Beatles or The Stones, United or City, a shower or a bath, Oasis or Blur, as Jenna Ortega can tell you.
That’s because the Wednesday and Beetlejuice star was one of the many, many celebs asked which of the rival ‘90s bands she preferred after the Manchester brothers launched their recent mega-reunion world tour that broke records and attracted every movie star you can think of, including the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio.
According to Ortega, she was verbally dragged over the coals in that annoying “Oh my god what do you mean you’ve never seen…” way that boyfriends have for not knowing about the Oasis vs Blur head-to-head back in the day, despite the fact that it happened in 1995 and she wasn’t even born until 2002.
Plus, listening to her, it’s evident she’s not even a fly-by-night fan, let alone someone who will drag you into a corner at a party and talk at you about which Oasis B-side was better, ‘D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?’ or ‘Round are Way’.
Ortega said: “Can I be honest? I actually just heard ‘Wonderwall’ for the first time a month ago. I actually sat down and listened to the whole thing. It was a whole thing that I got attacked for not knowing about it by an ex. I listen to Blur. I haven’t really gotten into Oasis.”
Of course back in the day, the way the rivalry panned out in the end was that essentially Blur won the battle but lost the war, which in all honesty wasn’t too surprising when you consider Albarn’s lot were probably putting out the worst material of their career at that point with the dreadful ‘Country House’ and the not very good album The Great Escape going up against the behemoth that is What’s the Story (Morning Glory).
Blur’s best work would really come in the years both before and after, when they were putting out some superb songs and albums like 13 and Parklife, while Oasis did a load of coke and made every guitar solo 34 minutes long on Be Here Now. Back in 1995, though, you were forced to choose one or the other; you were either a southern softy or a northern oik, and you had to dress and act accordingly, god forbid that you might actually appreciate both.
Ortega, for her part, has the right idea in saying: “I don’t partake in taking sides,” which is something we could all learn a lesson from, really. Having said that, I hated Blur for years for no other reason than I liked Oasis so much, so what do I know?
