Anyone who has made even my passing acquaintance will know that I harbour more affection than is strictly right and proper for the much-maligned musical phenomena known as Britpop. Actually, when I refer to Britpop what I really mean is the halcyon era of British indie music between 1993-96, before the rot set in and the genre was comprehensively hijacked by the lumpenprole Luddite morons. The Britpop era was definitively chronicled by John Harris in his book The Last Party. However, for all his meticulous research and invaluable first-hand reccountals, in my opinion Harris clearly missed a trick: namely, the opportunity to turn the whole memorable saga into an all-singing, all-dancing musical revue...
Bear with me, the idea is not as ludicrous as it first might sound. Think about it, all the conventions of musical theatre are ticked: the belligerent factionalism (Blur and Oasis squaring up menacingly รก la the Sharks and the Jets in West Side Story), the torrid love triangle (Justine Frischmann as feisty femme fatale, toying with the affections of Britpop's alpha males like Sally Bowles in Cabaret), even an iconic-but-misunderstood martyr figure finally coming good after a largely misspent twenties (Jarvis Cocker Superstar anyone?)
I plan to make amends for Harris' glaring oversight by writing a vaudeville-influenced high farce based around the epoch, but am desperately scrambling for a winning title... Any ideas? A pun would be good, but failing that a suitably obscure lyric will suffice. Best suggestion wins a These Animal Men 'Speed King' skinny-fit tee...
On a related note, one of my favourite anecdotes from Stuart Maconie's Blur biog 3862 days: Graham Coxon's first encounter with a young Damon Albarn was watching him perform a gleefully exuberant 'Gee, Officer Krupke' in a school production of West Side Story. Don't know why, but this image never fails to make me smile...
Ten Great Moments in British Pop, 1993-96
1) Trouble in the Message Centre - Blur
2) Stutter - Elastica
3) Sofa of My Lethargy - Supergrass
4) Pink Glove - Pulp
5) Lenny Valentino - The Auteurs
6) Like A Motorway - Saint Etienne
7) Wishing I Was Skinny - The Boo Radleys
8) Insomniac - Echobelly
9) Metal Mickey - Suede
10) Come Out 2Nite - Kenickie
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I know you hate it, but I still think "Of Bis and Menswear" is an amazing title.
Anyone got any title ideas for the Rick Witter biopic I'm working on?
Carry on up the Witter?
I have brazenly airbrushed Bis and Menswear out of Britpop history for my musical, so the title will bear no relevance... Same applies to Heavy Stereo, Thurman, Sleeper, Powder, Dodgy, Symposium, Bennett, Salad, Gene, Shed 7, Fluffy, the Bluetones and Kula Shaker (I know you'll be especially disappointed with that last one!)
Salad! Remember "I Want You"? Pop genius.
Can't you just call it 'Justine & Jarvis: A pop story'
To airbrush Bis out of the Britpop musical is akin to airbrushing Jesus out of the Last Supper.
In my opinion Jesus' role in the Last Supper has been grossly overstated... All he did was turn up, throw a hissy-fit and spoil an otherwise perfectly pleasant and enjoyable meal.
Post a Comment