Welcome to the second part of our tournament preview. Once again, to summarize, we made a NCAA style tournament and seeded some bands. Below is a simple comment about each band, and a song we’ve added to our playlist.
Have a read!
Matchup 9
Blur (2)
To go from being just another baggy (Manchester sounding band) to the kings of Britpop, wow. Suede may have kicked off Britpop, but “Girls & Boys” and “Parklife” both charting in the UK top 10 was when I knew this was something properly big. – Martin
Song: “Girls & Boys”
vs
Gene (30)
First time I saw Gene, I stood next to Justine Frischmann at the Sheffield Leadmill. Nothing particularly original about them, but, my god, their first few singles were amazing. – Martin
Song: “Be My Light, Be My Guide”
Matchup 10
St Etienne (14)
A proper pop band, with a great band name, in a fair and just world they would have had half a dozen number 1 singles. The intro to “Nothing Can Stop Us Now” is difficult to better. – Martin
Also – JOSH – we miss you. Talk soon.
Song: “Nothing Can Stop Us Now”
vs
Morrissey (19)
Morrissey’s stock has fallen faster than oil prices in recent years, but was anyone really surprised?” – Ricky
Song: “Everyday is Like Sunday”
Match 11
Ride (11)
My brother saw them sign to Creation Records with Alan McGhee backstage at a gig in Sheffield. “Leave Them All Behind” is 8 minutes of brilliance. – Martin
I also asked Frank to give me a few words, but he ignored me.
Song: “OX4”
vs
Stereolab (22)
My friend Caroline said they don’t belong here because they weren’t Britpop, but Stereolab were always kind of outsiders so this makes perfect sense in this imperfect world. – Ricky
Song: “French Disko”
Match 12
The Verve (6)
If the video for Bittersweet Symphony was released in the age of social media #vervesidewalkchallenge would exist. – Ricky
Song: “The Drugs Don’t Work”
vs
Sleeper (27)
Let’s be honest, you discovered these guys on the Trainspotting soundtrack. – Ricky
Song: “Inbetweener”
Matchup 13
Suede (7)
Ricky’s favorite band. He’ll be hurt when they get eliminated, because not enough people know about the record Dog Man Star. Shame on all of you.
Song(s): “New Generation” + “Beautiful Ones”, because I love Suede and I think there’s two iterations of them in the Britpop years (Pre/Post Bernard)
vs
Shed Seven (26)
Until recently Ricky Witter kept the Britpop torch burning with his radio show ‘Disco Down’ – Ricky
Song: “Disco Down”
Matchup 14
Supergrass (10)
As an Immature teen, I was always displeased that Supergrass’s breakthrough into North America was for their 1999 self-titled record, instead of I Should Coco. Why? Who knows. So young. So gone. – Ricky
Song: “Alright”
VS
Ocean Colour Scene (23)
Songs For The Front Row is the ultimate cottage soundtrack – Ricky
Song: “The Day We Caught the Train”
Match 15
Lush (15)
One of the few bands to transition from the early 90’s shoegazing scene to Britpop. Single Girl was one of the biggest tunes of the era. And I once danced with Miki Lush at the Sheffield Leadmill (as in danced vaguely near her). – Martin
Song: “Single Girl”
vs
Teenage Fanclub (18)
Norman Blake now resides in Kitchener ON, this alone will guarantee Canadian votes. – Ricky
Song: “The Concept”
Match 16
Radiohead (2)
We’ve got Radiohead on this list, even though Thom York once described Britpop as something that made him “fucking angry.” Other than that, no real flaws with Radiohead. – Paul
Song: “Paranoid Android”
vs
Stereophonics (31)
Often derided for writing shitty songs, Stereophonics became quite popular despite a lack of critical acclaim. Also- were notoriously large Tragically Hip fans. RIP Stuart Cable. – Ricky
Song: “Dakota”