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kaisemic's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favourite books on rock and roll. Harris does an excellent job of tracing the genre's roots and sudden popularity to its inglorious end. It's also useful as a look at British popular culture as a whole during the period, covering the rise of 'lad mags' and 'working class chic'. Particularly interesting, to me, was the side story of New Labour's rise: I'd be interested in a volume on the subject in the same tone. All the more enjoyable that such a thorough treatment could be given to what is, despite my love of it, a somewhat slight genre.
thischarmingamy's review against another edition
4.0
I was hooked from the first chapter. Check out this cliff hanger from the end of chapter one: "In the midst of such mediocrity, however, lurked one group who aimed to create music of an altogether higher stripe. At its core were two architecture students named Brett Anderson Justine Frischmann."
captain_trips's review
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
A worthwhile read for fans of the major players in 90s British pop rock.
Harris provides an intimate and, often times, debauched overview of the very specific musical and cultural phenomenon known as Britpop. The shift was a perfect storm of growing weariness with conservatism, conscientious rejection of American alternative rock, and the arrival of Oasis - truly the X factor of what became known as Britpop for better or worse.
The book has the vibe and tone of an extended music magazine article. Harris follows the same handful of key players over the course of several years with lots of quotes and references to other articles and interviews.
The book maybe gets too bogged down in detailing interpersonal relationships among the various players. But it also serves to highlight how cliquey the circle was. My interest also dipped whenever the through-line of Tony Blair and New Labour was brought up. Britpop ended up being tangled up in the political zeitgeist and rebranding of Britain because both promised optimistic visions of the future for the country. It's definitely a major aspect of the larger Britpop story and offers a poetic parallel of rise and fall for both, but 20 years on from the book being written, I feel it was the most dated angle and I just kind of trudged through Blair's portions until we got back to more Oasis shenanigans.
Overall, I enjoyed it as a thorough exploration and post-mortem critique of one of the last great major Rock'n'Roll cultural movements.
Harris provides an intimate and, often times, debauched overview of the very specific musical and cultural phenomenon known as Britpop. The shift was a perfect storm of growing weariness with conservatism, conscientious rejection of American alternative rock, and the arrival of Oasis - truly the X factor of what became known as Britpop for better or worse.
The book has the vibe and tone of an extended music magazine article. Harris follows the same handful of key players over the course of several years with lots of quotes and references to other articles and interviews.
The book maybe gets too bogged down in detailing interpersonal relationships among the various players. But it also serves to highlight how cliquey the circle was. My interest also dipped whenever the through-line of Tony Blair and New Labour was brought up. Britpop ended up being tangled up in the political zeitgeist and rebranding of Britain because both promised optimistic visions of the future for the country. It's definitely a major aspect of the larger Britpop story and offers a poetic parallel of rise and fall for both, but 20 years on from the book being written, I feel it was the most dated angle and I just kind of trudged through Blair's portions until we got back to more Oasis shenanigans.
Overall, I enjoyed it as a thorough exploration and post-mortem critique of one of the last great major Rock'n'Roll cultural movements.
thebobsphere's review
5.0
Unlike most people of my generation (late 30's) I did not get into alternative rock via grunge. One day in March 1994, I saw Blur's Girls and Boys on television. It was a revelation and weirdly I started to notice a ton of British bands started to creep into my life: Pulp, Oasis, Supergrass, Radiohead, Sleeper, Terrorvision, Reef, Echobelly, Suede, Cast, Shed 7 (yeah I now they are joke but they did have a couple of great tunes) and so many more. These songs were played on national radio (for Malta that means a lot) and also, for the first time, loads of compilations had these songs so if you were willing to spend 11.00 LM they were yours. Personally the last half of 1994, the whole of 1995 and the first half of 1996 were great times to be a teenager and getting into alt music. Then The Spice Girls came along and ruined everything until 2001 when The Strokes gave music balls again but that's another story.
Now looking back and re-listening to britpop hits, I am noticing that they don't hold up very well. The exceptions being Suede, Pulp, Blur and the first two Oasis albums.
Anyway John Harris documents the Britpop phenomena in The Last party and it is fantastic. From the humble beginnings with Suede and Blur then the high points, drugs and record label excess. All culminating with Blair's election and the aftermath. If anyone wants some insight to this musical phase then this is the book to read.
Now looking back and re-listening to britpop hits, I am noticing that they don't hold up very well. The exceptions being Suede, Pulp, Blur and the first two Oasis albums.
Anyway John Harris documents the Britpop phenomena in The Last party and it is fantastic. From the humble beginnings with Suede and Blur then the high points, drugs and record label excess. All culminating with Blair's election and the aftermath. If anyone wants some insight to this musical phase then this is the book to read.
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