Sunday, June 24, 2012

Flashback: Oasis - Champagne Supernova

One of the most popular bands in recent British history, Oasis has a long string of influencial hits across the globe dating back to their 1994 debut Definately Maybe. A major influence on fellow English rockers Coldplay, the band struck gold in the U.S. with radio-only single "Champagne Supernova," the chill, epic and reflective closing track of their most popular album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?.

For those who were alive and of age during 1996 (that's a little too far back for me), there's no telling what type of memories you have associated with this song. Lines like "Someday you will find me/Caught beneath the landslide/In a champagne supernova/In the sky" evoke such strong daydreams in me. I can imagine if this song was played at someone's 1996 prom how easy it would be for him or her to visualize everything again. Noel Gallagher, the song's lyricist, was a mainstay of the British tabloids because of his tumultous relationship with fellow band member and brother Liam Gallagher, but the man's a genius at wordplay. The song's climax "'Cause we don't believe/That they're gonna get away from the summer/But you and I will never die/The world's still spinning around/We don't know why" is poetry at its best. It's a celebration of life and friendship, I think.

I don't believe I can get by without mentioning the song's most repeated line "where were you while we were getting high?" That's sure to get a lot of giggles from people who are just discovering the song.

"Champagne Supernova" remains one of the band's biggest hits in the U.S. after the top ten smash "Wonderwall," which has over 50 million hits on Youtube. It has become a fan favorite and was included on their greatest hits release Stop the Clocks. Although "Champagne Supernova" is not actually on my MP3 player, my friends have been asking me to feed my mp3 player with the song for quite some time. It is a deep record. If I were to get into the band heavily later in life, I'll definately say this song got me started.

Oasis - Champagne Supernova

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