A conversation with Liam Gallagher of Oasis from 2000
Our Kid sounds off on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the media, becoming a dad, and the fine art of doin' it proper
Welcome to stübermania, where I dig into my box of dust-covered interview cassettes from the ‘90s and ‘00s and present bygone conversations with your favourite alterna/indie semi-stars. This is a newsletter in three parts: The Openers (links to recent writings, playlist updates, and/or other musical musings), The Headliner (your featured interview of the week), and Encores (random yet related links).
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THE OPENERS
So when I unearthed my 1999 interview with Gene Ween a few weeks back, there was a bit of an ulterior motive at play: I was getting into a suitably brown headspace to write my Pitchfork Sunday Review of Ween’s 1994 classic Chocolate and Cheese, a.k.a. the Sgt. Pepper’s of bad taste.
Also at Pitchfork this week: I go all-in on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ majestic new album, Wild God, which could very well be their Soft Bulletin (complete with a radiant Dave Fridmann mix job).
Notes on the latest additions to the stübermania 2024 playlist:
Mercury Rev, “A Bird of No Address”: The new Mercury Rev album, Born Horses, is out tomorrow, and in a career defined by unpredictable left turns, this ranks among the most surprising: It’s essentially a spoken-word album that sets Jonathan Donahue’s melody-averse storytelling to a psychedelic-jazz drift. But once you key into its surrealist wavelength, you realize this is some of the most daring and divine music this band has ever produced. “A Bird of No Address” is its exquisite centerpiece, recalling the night-sky reveries of 2001’s All Is Dream.
Tucker Zimmerman, “Burial At Sea”: Tucker was among the legion of folkies lining up to be the next Dylan in the late-’60s, but despite having a debut record that was produced by Tony Visconti and championed by a young David Bowie, he never came close to reaching the star status of that other Zimmerman. Now, at the age of 83, he’s been coaxed out of semi-retirement by another cadre of well-known admirers, Big Thief, who serve as his backing band (complete with Adrianne Lenker duets) on Zimmeran’s upcoming album, Dance of Love (out Oct. 11). If you’re drawn to the quirky-hootenanny end of the Big Thief songbook, you’ll find much to love here, including this sweetly swaying single.
Gus Englehorn, “Thyme”: This guy has called everywhere from Montreal to Maui home, but his heart seemingly belongs to ‘80s Austin. His upcoming album, The Hornbook (out in January 2025—yes, 2025 preview season has officially begun!), forges a spiritual kinship with Texan weirdoes like Roky Erickson, Daniel Johnston, and Butthole Surfers (whose Paul Leary actually mixed the album). Full disclosure: I wrote the press bio for this record, but I would say exceedingly positive things about it even if his label didn’t hire me to do so.
Cold Cave, “Hourglass”: If, like me, you hadn’t been keeping tabs on Wesley Eisold’s long-running darkwave outfit since the early-2010s, let this strobe-lit synth-pop anthem provide all the, ahem, temptation you need to rejoin him at his never-ending Goth Night.
Seefeel, “Multifolds”: Did you hear about the beloved mid-’90s U.K. act that’s reunited after more than a decade away? Okay, so they may not be generating Oasis-level headlines, but the surprise return of ambient post-rock pioneers Seefeel is certainly worth celebrating, and this highlight from the new mini-LP Everything Squared shows they’re still masters of gently rippling electro-psych odysseys that you wish could go on forever.
Click here for the Apple Music version
And speaking of Oasis…
THE HEADLINER:
A conversation with Liam Gallagher
The date: April 12, 2000
Location: Phoner—I was at my apartment in Toronto, Liam was in a hotel in Cleveland
Album being promoted: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
The context: Oasis are charter members of what I like to call The 2.5 Club—i.e., I love their first two albums, but started to lose interest about halfway through their third. (Other members of this exclusive fraternity include Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, and The Strokes.) Following 1997’s infamously overblown Be Here Now, 2000’s Standing on the Shoulder of Giants carried the promise of a course correction—new label, new logo, new members, and for the first time, a songwriting contribution from new dad Liam Gallagher (who, at the time, was embracing a less-inebriated lifestyle—sorta.)
Alas, despite topping the charts back home in the UK, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants pushed Oasis off a cliff in the U.S.—the album sold a mere 200,000 albums stateside, just one fifth of what they moved for Be Here Now. (Let’s face it: the autopilot lead single “Go Let It Out” wasn’t exactly the corker required to get the noncommital masses back onside, and the album was weighed down by a few too many po-faced power ballads—though “Gas Panic” is one of their all-time best in that department.) However, in the Anglophile hotbed of Toronto, Oasis retained their godlike status—this interview with Liam for Eye Weekly occurred a week before the band were scheduled to headline Maple Leaf Gardens, the only arena date on a spring North American tour of theatres. And even though he was lazing about his hotel room, yawning through his answers, Our Kid was still on top of his game, setting a Guinness World Record for f-bombs in a 20-minute phoner.
So, you’re in Cleveland—are you going to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while you’re there?
No, fuck that. It’s for dicks, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Who the fuck agrees to put you in the fuckin’ Hall of Fame? Fuckin’ cheeky bastards. “Today, we’re going to put you in the Hall of Fame!” Fuck off, I’m already in the fucking Hall of Fame. It’s bollocks. Fucking wankers.
Your show in Toronto next week is the biggest one on the current tour—you’re playing Maple Leaf Gardens for 16,000 people. Do you have any theories as to why Toronto loves Oasis so much?
I don’t know. But I’m glad they like us. They’re more European, aren’t they, in Canada than America. I quite like that.
Well, we’ve got your queen on our money…
Yeah, well, fuck her.
So what’s it like taking Travis on their first big American tour?
They’re a really good band, man, they’re great people. It’s nice having them put on a great show—it makes us play even better. If you’ve got some young lads up there going, “alright, let’s fuckin’ ‘ave it,” then I’ve got to walk up there going, “alright, you little cunts, then you fucking watch this, then!”
Right now, you’ve got everything a man could want in life: a beautiful wife, a baby boy, a mega band. What keeps you inspired at this point? What more to do you want to?
Write better records. I just want to keep moving. There’s a lot of things to do, you know what I mean? I’ll keep making music. I want to see my kid grow up.
When you first sang “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” six years ago, did you imagine it would turn out like this?
Yeah. I wouldn’t have sung it otherwise. I was totally confident in one’s self.
So everything’s turned out as you hoped?
I’m still alive, and I’m in a band and I fuckin’ love it. It’s fuckin’ rockin’! I can’t complain.
Having a kid now, does being in a band seem as important to you? Have you changed your priorities?
It’s probably more important now that I have a kid. I just love making music. That’s all I can do, so I’ve got to do it for my kid.
Now that you’re getting a little more domestic, do you find people still want you to be the crazy character they read about the press?
If people think for one minute that I’m just a fuckin’ nutter all the time, they must be fuckin’ tripping. I’m not like that every fucking day. If people think I walk around my house going, “Mad for it! Mad for it!,” then you’re fucking sniffing glue. I’ve always been domestic, I’ve always loved my family, I’ve always loved being around the house. But when I’m onstage, I’m me. And if they want anything else, then they can suck me cock. I love my family, I’ve always loved my family. I’m a polite kind of guy, but if someone pisses me off, then they’re dead. The reason why you see me telling everybody to fuck off is I’m surrounded by fucking idiots, you know what I mean? Like press people... If you’re surrounded by fucking idiots, it’s going to rub off on you, innit?
This is the first Oasis album where you’re singing a song you’ve written yourself, “Little James.” Did you want to write songs before this?
I always want to get better at music—singing and playing. This [song] just popped up. It could’ve been about anything. I just put the melody down pretty quick and finished it and that was it. I’ve always been writing bits and bobs, but this is the first song I actually finished that I was quite pleased with. It’s not a hard song, you know what I mean? And I like that.
It feels like it’s been taking longer and longer for Oasis to put out records—it’s been almost three years since the last one…
We’re going to do the next record this September, and record everything in two weeks and mix it in about a month. We’re going to do it really quick and it’ll be top. We had two years off, so we’re ready to go, man. We needed that time off, just to think about where we want to go, but now we’ve had the time off and I’m ready to fucking rock ‘n’ roll, with albums coming out of my ass.
What kind of sound are going for on the next one?
We don’t know yet… the songs are written. They’re great songs, with great melodies, and it’s a bit more fucking upbeat than this one. It’s proper anthems and that. We had to get this one out of our way and now it’s gone. It’s more upbeat, but we don’t know what we’re going to do until we get in there. But the band’s sounding great—great melodies, great words, fuckin’ hallelujah!
Does it feel like this band has turned a new leaf? You’ve got a new label, new members, new logo…
Oh yeah, totally. I’m happy with everything. All the dust has settled and we’re ready to go. The people who didn’t want to be there have left, and the people who want to be here are here. If you carry on with people that don’t want to fucking do it, it shows.
At this point, do you feel like you’re weeding out the audience for the true Oasis fans and shedding the people who jumped on the bandwagon for “Wonderwall”?
Yeah, I think so. What people are seeing now, or what you’ll see in Toronto, is how I want this band to be and how it should’ve been since day one. It’s fuckin’ rocking now! It’s a natural thing now, everyone knows what they’re doing, you don’t have to be fucking spelling it out for people. I know what I’m doing, Noel knows what he’s doing, Whitey [Alan White] knows what he’s doing, and Andy Bell and Gem [Archer] know what they’re doing. Everyone’s good at their jobs—we’ve never had that before. I’m well happy with it, it’s fuckin’ rocking.
One of the things that differentiated Oasis from a lot of other British bands is you guys toured your asses off over here and kept coming back…
We’ll always come. As long as people buy records… I like playing our music to people, whether it’s a million people or fucking 20. So we’ll always come.
But at the same time, Oasis has burnt out on the road in the past…
Yeah, I know, and I’m sure we’ll burn out again. But we’re fresh. All I know is that we have not done anything for two years, and I’m fucking feeling fit. And I’m ready to go for another three years solid. Three albums, and then I’ll have another break. I’ve got it all planned out.
What do you do on your breaks? Do you have any hobbies?
I just go on holiday with my kids, man, and relax.
Do you plan on taking a big role in shaping your kid’s taste in music?
Not really, nah.
So you’ll let him listen to Steps if he wants to?
Oh, I don’t know about that. With certain things, I’ll be fuckin’ pulling back on. But you can’t force music upon people. Music comes and finds you, you know what I mean? You can’t just go, “Right, Lennon, you’re going to listen to The Beatles, and you’re going to listen to this and that,” because it’ll just go in one ear and out the other. You’ve got to let him do what he wants. But there are certain things that will just be getting thrown out the window: “You’re not fucking to listen to this, I’m sorry—that’s fucking rubbish!”
Why weren’t you on the Jay Leno show a few weeks ago?
Why? Because they were doing [Noel’s song] “Where Did It All Go Wrong.” There was no point in me being there. Had a nice day off. I just sat at the beach.
It’s no secret that’s not your favourite track on the record. But does Noel give you a crack at each song he writes, and then handles vocals on the ones you reject?
No. “Sunday Morning Call,” my voice is too high for it, so I passed on it. “Where Did It All Go Wrong”—I couldn’t be arsed for that. And all the others I sang.
Is it true Noel put “I Can See a Liar” and “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” on the record just to please you? I read in Uncut that you wanted some more rockers on there…
Yeah, fuck yeah. I love the Pistols, you know? I don’t like all that fuckin’ [slower, serious stuff]. I mean, I like it, but you can’t have it all the time. We’re not about that. We’re about everything. We’re about rocking and chilling.
Do you find you get on better with Noel on the road or in the studio?
We get on alright everywhere really, but we don’t really spend that much time together. We just do the gig, and then he does his bit and I do my bit. That’s the way it is.
The impression we get is that the studio is a lot of hard work and the road is one big party…
I have a good time everywhere, every fucking night.
Are you still partying until 5 a.m.?
Sometimes. Depends what city I’m in.
So rumours of your clean-living are greatly exaggerated?
Oh yeah, totally. I’m just holding back a bit, you know? I’m not doing it every fucking night, and I used to do it every night, and I don’t want to do it every night. It’s boring doing it every night. I never used to think it was boring, I used to think it was great. It catches up on you. I can’t do it every fucking night. But when I do it, I fucking do it proper.
Was there a specific moment where you thought to yourself, “I’ve had enough”?
I just thought, “I can’t be fucking doing it every night. I don’t want to sit in the bar, I don’t want to be fucking talking to these fucking idiots.” It’s boring. But I do it every now and again, and when I do it, I do it proper.
So Gem says the reason he got the gig was that you approved of his footwear…
Really? Is that what he said?
He said when he walked into the room, you looked him up and down, and said, “alright, you’re fine.”
Yeah, you got to do that, man.
What sort of fashions or haircuts are no-nos?
You just got to look pretty much the same as me, you know?
So no beards…
I don’t mind a beard, actually. As long as you’re not fucking scruffy.
Rumour has it that Johnny Marr is joining you on tour in Spain.
Oh, with his band The Healers? That’ll be nice, that’ll be cool.
There were also rumours that he was up for the guitarist job that Gem eventually got…
No, I don’t think that would’ve worked. He should be making his own music, and we should be making ours, and that’s the way it is.
How’s Andy handling being in this band, since he wrote so many songs for Ride?
Andy Bell’s handing it well. Andy just wants to play bass and fucking rock, man. He’s writing his own songs, and that’s keeping him happy… whether they’re Oasis ones, we’ll see.
So I read you had a chance to meet Yoko Ono recently…
Yeah, she invited me to the Dakota building, so I went up and had tea and biscuits. It was cool. She’s very nice to me, so I’ve got no bad words about her.
I heard she gave you baby clothes—were they weird avant-garde baby clothes?
No, no, no, just normal little bibs.
What records are digging now?
Same old stuff. I’ve been listening to a lot of early Fleetwood Mac. And Pink Floyd. Wish You Were Here, and “Comfortably Numb” and stuff—I love it. I don’t listen to anything new because it’s shit.
ENCORES
So as you may have heard, Oasis got back together last week and broke the internet (and then Ticketmaster). In honour of their (totally inevitable) return, I hereby present my countdown of the Top 5 greatest pieces of Oasis-related online content:
5. Liam vs. A$AP Rocky:4. Liam gives Noel a new nickname:
3. Liam makes a cup of tea, reluctantly:
2. Liam responds to fan Tweets about whether he’ll follow Noel’s lead and get someone to play scissors onstage:1. “Wonderwallafel”:
If, like the majority of North Americans, you stopped buying Oasis records sometime in the late-’90s, let this playlist of post-Glory glories get you up to speed:
You thought Oasis reunion-tour tickets were expensive? According to the Amazon listing I scraped for a .jpg of the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants cover seen above, Oasis’ sixth best album can be yours on vinyl for a mere $1,329.99.
Next week’s headliner: Jarvis Cocker
This is a free newsletter, but if you really like what you see, please pay a visit to my PWYC tip jar!