Things you should know by now: Noel Gallagher is a rock & roll star. He is no longer in Oasis. Although his little brother Liam was the face and main voice of Oasis, Noel was the leader. Noel only sang lead vocals on about 15 percent of the songs, but he wrote about 95 percent of them. Noel Gallagher is also one of the funniest guys you have never met.
So to honor the debut of Gallagher's High Flying Birds solo album (out Nov. 8 on Sour Mash/Mercury Records), here's 10 of the best songs Noel sang during his time with the band that made him famous.
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Now, some might see this list and think it was a poorly-chosen “best
of” Oasis list. Some might say that every Oasis song is a Noel Gallagher
song because he wrote almost all of them. But this list is for the true
Oasis fan who knows what the story is, and also for the-non Oasis fan
who stumbles upon this article and gets introduced to some of the
greatest songs to ever live on B-sides and deep album cuts.
I've
also included a list of his 10 funniest quotes to with each song. Kind
of like a two-for-one combo meal deal. Or a list within a list, Inception-style.
So sit back. Relax. Grab a cup of cocoa, or cocaine. Whatever you like.
If its wrong or right, it's alright. Listen up, and enjoy.
On Ambition: “You want to sell 5,000 limited-edition red vinyl 7-inches. That's fine. Make music for a closet full of people in Bradford
somewhere.but it doesn't mean anything to anyone. Phil Collins has got
to be chased out of the charts, and Wet Wet Wet. It's the only way to do
it, man, to fucking get in there among them and stamp the fuckers out.
If you don't want to be the biggest band in the world, you may as well
pack it in.” (The Guardian, Sept. 1994)
9. The Importance Of Being Idle
On Thom Yorke of Radiohead: “No matter how much you sit there
twiddling, going, 'We're all doomed', at the end of the day people will
always want to hear you play 'Creep.' Get over it.” (The Daily Telegraph,
February 2007)
8. Talk Tonight
On U2: “Play 'One', shut up about Africa.” (The Daily Telegraph, February 2007)
7. Take Me Away
On Coldplay: “The man has taken over the world. All the kids have to
look up to now are bland, faceless fucking trainee police officers. Liam
should be given a knighthood! You couldn't imagine Chris Martin from
Coldplay laying out a photographer for taking a picture of his kid! (NME, September 2001)
6. You've Got The Heart Of A Star
On the death of guitar music: “They've been saying it for 30 years,
ever since The Beatles split up, you know, that rock 'n' roll's dead.
When ever there's a boom there's always a bit of a lull afterwards. I
suppose that avant garde punk rock will come back for a while, and it
will all be shit again, an then guitar music will come back.” (Total
Guitar, December 1998)
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On credibility: “Jack White has done a song for Coca-Cola. End of. He
ceases to be in the club. And he looks like Zorro on doughnuts. He's
supposed to be the poster boy for the alternative way of thinking… I'm
not having that, that's fucking wrong. Particularly Coca-Cola, it's like
doing a fucking gig for McDonalds.” (NME December 2005)
4. Sad Song
On Jay-Z: “What did I think of Jay-Z doing 'Wonderwall' at
Glastonbury Festival? It was pretty funny. But I'm not sure one should
be seen in public with a white Stratocaster.” (Blender, August 2008)
3. Half The World Away
On Live8: “I'm not sure about this Live8 thing. Correct me if I am
wrong, but are they hoping that one of these guys from the G8 is on a
quick 15-minute break at Gleneagles and sees Annie Lennox singing 'Sweet
Dreams' and thinks, 'Fuck me, she might have a point there, you know.'
It's not going to fucking happen, is it?” (The Guardian, June 2005)
2. The Masterplan
On Playing Wonderwall: “The Who always play “I Can't Explain', and we'll always play
'Wonderwall.' People ask us if we get bored of it. You can't get bored
of 15,000 people shouting for 'Wonderwall.' Thats better than drugs.
You get a hard-on when you hear that.” (Q, December 1999)
On Playing Music: “I love playing music. It's a gift given to me by whoever dishes out
these talents to people… and as long as I believe I have something
valid to put out as a piece of music then I'll keep doing it. As long as
I feel its not, I'll stop and do something else like open a chippy or
work in a butcher's shop.”
