What the world has missed without Oasis
This weekend saw Reading and Leeds Festival complete its 25th anniversary in its current guise. The big story: wind. Paltry fucking wind. A festival billed as a paragon for youthful rock ‘n’ roll and the main talking point: a few bucket hats being blown off and the odd set cancelled for minor safety concerns. There were days when music headlines would pertain to Liam Gallagher not turning up to Oasis gigs, only to be spotted in the front row heckling his own brother. In the words of Liam himself, ‘Bring back those fucking days, man’.
Even now, a wince might ripple among readers thinking that the troubling traits of rock ‘n’ roll’s dark past are being encouraged again. But that’s not what Oasis were ever about. Simply put, their tenets were drawn up on the premise that life can be tough and boring for the working-class, so we’ll be the opposite of that.
They staunchly entrenched themselves in this tenet. And they made a great big splash in doing so. With swagger and anthemic songs, they created their own little revolution—one that, in its own little way, rebelled against inequity and made a refreshing indictment for fun as the wheels were coming off the world. The associations of hedonism and antics are beside the point, but the vivid art at the core of Oasis was meaningful and needed.
Some amazing bands played Reading and Leeds Festival this weekend and they delivered some very solid sets, but the bulk of them were just that: solid. None could eclipse the wind. So, while there are myriad pros and cons to an Oasis reunion that have already been mulled over in the wake of an announcement that hasn’t yet come, there has been a great sense of reconciliation that the old Manchester band represent something rock ‘n’ roll has been missing, come what may.
The biggest comeback or a simple cash-in?
A year from now we might bemoan the shows as merely solid themselves, we might feel saddened that they released a flat new single to coincide with the concerts that only served to amplify the fact that the whole thing was, after all, just a cash-in. We might even realise that they have taken the spotlight away from young heirs, precluding future talents from getting their chance to bask in the sunshiiiiine. But, in truth, all of those things would be welcome wake-up calls, just as the scanty sniff of a reunion actually coming to fruition has already been a splash of cold water, highlighting what the world has missed.
Much will be learned from whatever comes of this latest chapter in Oasis’ chronicled story, and thankfully, it will all out-blow the paltry bloody wind. And whether it’s a farce of petty in-fighting, a comeback for the ages, or anything else in between, it’ll surely be fun.
Hell, even if it just brings about another quip like, “[Liam is] like a man with a fork in a world of soup”, it’ll have provided at least a smidgen of silly antidote to the over-serious modern world—a world that Oasis are not longed for, but perhaps they should be.
