Oasis or blur

On the Music Trail of Oasis and Blur Introduction Oasis and Blur, as two distinct but unique bands, have contributed a lot to the British counter culture in general and the British music in particular. The influence of both the bands, especially of the Blur, has been particularly observed at the realm of the production and dissemination of alternative genre of British music. In other words, the Oasis and Blur have created a counter/alternative music culture itself, which radically redefines the very act of enjoying music itself. This paper intends provide a comprehensive review of the British music bands Oasis and Blur, by comparing and contrasting their spatial and musical backgrounds, influences and relations to the British alternate music genre. Differing trajectories of Oasis and Blur In 1991, Oasis as and came to existence in the city of Manchester. The group was composed of Liam Gallagher, Paul Arthurs, McGuian, and McCarrol, to be joijned later by Noel Gallagher and was earlier known as ‘ The rain’. Simplicity of music, crafted mainly by Gallagher brothers, was one of the hallmarks of the Oasis band. Also, the group started its triumph from nearly nothing. However, the group had faced several problems in the long run chiefly because of the in-fights and even accusations of plagiarism more than once which they had to pay damages. Especially, the tendency of Gallagher brothers to bring their petty sibling fights to the tabloid, compounded with the wild lifestyles has eventually led to the gradual erosion of the band’s popularity. Repeated live performances without substantial intervals have also taken the toll from the members of the band. The hedonistic lifestyle of the team members were major reason for the group’s downfalls. It is important to note that Oasis’s music style was heavily intertwined with that of The Beatles, up to the extent to be labelled as obsession by the media. Blur as an alternate music band was formed in London in 1989. Their debut album itself was characterized by the incorporation of sounds from a variety of previously unimagined sources such as shoe gazing. On the other hand, the Blur was very much part and parcel of the Britpop movement as against the complete lack of association of Oasis with the Britpop movement. One of the important reasons for it was the fact that BBC’s ‘ Britpop Now’ show was introduced by the Blur singer Damon Albarn and the Oasis were never invited to perform. Crucially the very popularization of the Blur itself was through the general popularization of their musical medium, the Britpop movement. Their mass popularity was heavily increased after the celebrated ‘ The Battle of Britpop’ with Oasis by both releasing singles on the sameday. It was presumably won by Oasis as the result of Americanization of British music, according to de Oliveira, ‘ it goes to show that hitting it big in America is the ultimate goal for any British rock act and arguably reflects the uneasy shift of power between the former colony and its down-at-heel coloniser’ (de Oliveira, 2004, p. 9). As opposite to the Oasis, Blur has been observed to be constantly reinventing their music style although without changing the group members. It was in sharp contrast to the Oasis as they always stick to their original music style even when the old members were replaced by the new. Also, contrary to the Oasis’s lifelong nearly obsession with the ‘ The Beatles’, Blur always was distinct in drawing their influences from a variety of sources ranging from American pop to African folk music. It is also important to note that still, Blur stick to and highlighted their British heritage even while experimenting with the American lo-fi sonic experimentations. Conclusion Both the Oasis and the Blur has contributed distinctively to the music culture of Britain. Blur’s lyrics are considered to be more in tune with the realities of then society they live in and more sensitive to the societal consciousness as opposed to the apparently individualistic style of Oasis. And, their similarities involve unfortunately the dysfunctional working style and constant feuds in between the team members. Contrary to the Oasis, the music of Blur was less Americanized and consequently they enjoyed less success in the United States. Work Cited de Oliveira, P., (2004) East-West, Perpetual Motion”: British-American Popular Music Exchange, Available at