The rock band that Michael Stipe called “boneheads”
Rock and roll has never been short of a few verbal sparring sessions. For every band that seems to be friendly with everyone they come across, there will always be a few trying to knock their detractors down a few pegs whenever they decide to speak to interviewers or have a camera in front of their face. Although Michael Stipe had been known for keeping the peace most of the time, he didn’t really have time for Oasis’ hooligan behaviour after going on tour with them.
When Oasis were first cutting their teeth, though, Stipe had already been known as one of the main godfathers of alternative rock. Even though R.E.M. had gotten their start all the way back in 1982 with the release of their first EP, Chronic Town, their choice to be on the fringe of rock and roll throughout their career led to them becoming mainstays of the alternative genre once Nirvana hit it big.
After the afterglow of grunge came to an abrupt end, though, the space was open for someone like Noel Gallagher to come to the forefront. Since the Stone Roses had already gotten the ball rolling for Britpop, Gallagher seized the opportunity when joining a band with his brother, Liam, creating songs that stood in stark contrast to the kind of depressing sounds of grunge.
Whereas Kurt Cobain was singing about hating himself and wanting to die, Gallagher was making songs that felt like you could take on anything you set your mind to, making songs like ‘Live Forever’ in response to Cobain’s way of thinking. While Stipe could appreciate from afar, he didn’t seem to have as much compassion for the band once they saw their interviews.
As opposed to the level-headed mindset of most alt-rockers from the US, Oasis carried themselves as if they were the second coming of rock and roll Jesus, which didn’t always click with R.E.M.’s audience. Although Stipe had initially asked for the band to join them when they were headlining Slane Castle in the early 1990s, things quickly turned hostile as the decade wore on.
Outside of firing a few jabs towards Stipe for not being punk enough, Gallagher would eventually make his own retort to R.E.M. in song, writing the song ‘Morning Glory’ based around the riff from ‘The One I Love’. Though Stipe took it in stride, he didn’t seem to have as much love for the band by the late 1990s.
When asked by Jon Stewart about whether he hangs out with Oasis, Stipe said that he didn’t really have that much in common with them, saying, “Maybe it’s a British thing, but they’re just a particular breed. They’re just kind of boneheads”. Stipe would even fire back at them on the song ‘New Test Leper’, saying in the liner notes of their compilation album Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage that it was about “when people who wrote maybe four good songs get big heads”.
While both bands would eventually keep things fairly cordial when coming across each other on the road, they weren’t willing to kiss and make up, either. This was Noel Gallagher, and if anyone thought of him as one of the most obnoxious rock stars ever in his prime, that may as well be a compliment.
