Maybe it’s the fact that there are so few real rock bands around anymore, or maybe because I’ve been obsessed with Oasis as of late, but “Don’t Stop”, a hidden gem discovered by Noel Gallagher yesterday, lived up to the hype. According to Gallagher (the band’s lead songwriter, guitarist, and co-lead singer), the song was recorded in Hong Kong during a soundcheck around 15 years ago.
— Noel Gallagher (@NoelGallagher) April 29, 2020
Oasis released a ton of great music back in the day, but it’s still surprising to me that “Don’t Stop” didn’t make the cut on any albums. However, it’s almost better that it was released now because it’s the perfect song to give us some optimism about the situation we’re currently in.
“Don’t stop being happy, Don’t stop your clapping, Don’t stop your laughing, Take a piece of life, it’s alright”.
I’m sure these lyrics are in reference to a lost love, but the great thing about music is that you can interpret the lyrics any way you want! I’m sure I can speak for the entire quarantined world in saying that the days have grown monotonous, and we’re just counting the days before life goes back to normal. Similarly, there’s not a whole lot to be optimistic about right now. Sure, it looks like sports will make a comeback in a few months, but nothing significant is changing in the immediate future. Having said that, the lyrics in “Don’t Stop” should be uplifting to those that have grown tired and annoyed about the situation we’re in.
For those of you who are relatively unfamiliar with Oasis’s work aside from “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova”, let it be known that they’re a top 3 band of the last thirty years. Their first two albums Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? are two of my favorite albums ever, even though I just recently listened to them both in full. My obsession with Oasis started a little over a month ago when I stumbled across their Netflix documentary, Supersonic. I had always heard that there was friction in the band, but the doc fully immersed you in the chaos. My biggest takeaway from the film was how surprised I was that they stayed together as long as they did. Noel and Liam Gallagher fought (what seemed like) 24/7, so the fact that they were able to make eight albums together seems like an impossibility.
Oasis is also apart of a dying breed – the rockstar. They trashed hotel rooms, had drug addictions, and didn’t give a fuck what people thought about it. I’m in no way condoning that type of behavior for the average person to mimic, but let’s be honest…when rockstars do it, it’s badass. Today’s music mostly consists of pop and hip-hop artists, which is fine, but I sincerely miss good old fashioned rock bands like Oasis. If Liam can somehow smooth things over with Noel and get the band back together, I’d be first in line for concert tickets.
Rite sick of pleading begging etc no more olive branches I DEMAND an oasis reunion after this is all over all money going to NHS c’mon you know As we were LG x
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) March 24, 2020
Since you’re already here, these are the Oasis songs you need to hear before you die (in no particular order):
- “Live Forever”, Definitely Maybe
- “Supersonic”, Definitely Maybe
- “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, Definitely Maybe
- “Wonderwall”, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
- “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
- “Morning Glory”, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
- “Some Might Say”, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
- “Champagne Supernova”, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
- “Fade Away”, The Masterplan
- “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”, Heathen Chemistry