Last Party
John Harris
Drawing on interviews from all the major bands of the Britpop era - including Oasis, Blur, Elastica and Suede - and from music journalists, record executives and those close to government, John Harris charts the rise and fall of this cultural movement.
Posted by billyfisher1977 (1 year ago ) I agree with David.
It's okay, but nothing special. Harris doesn't really manage to bring anything alive about the period the book covers and the book often reads like a magazine article writ large.
I dunno, maybe I have to high expectations for rock and pop books. Raised on a diet of Jon Savage, Simon Reynolds, Greil Marcus and even Julie Burchill and Charles Sharr Murray, if it says pop and politics on the cover, I really DO want the politics bit.
Also, for something so near in recent memory, there is often a feeling of remove, with Harris relying on chart placings and NME clippings, as if Brit Pop happened a hundred years ago not ten.
I also second David about Magpie Eyes: The Creation Records Story, now there's a real book about pop and politics.
Cheers,
Billy
Posted by davidfloyd (1 year ago ) This is a good, easy enough to read, story of Britpop. If you're starting to feel nostalgic for the 1992 to 1999 period and want a reminder of how Suede, Blur, Oasis and co came and went, this'll hit the spot.
The 'Blair' element is pretty ridiculous. Beyond a diverting but throw away section on Blair's university exploits in a band called Ugly Rumours, Harris fails to illustrate a cultural link between Blair and Britpop's key players beyond the fact that they were both quite famous and quite popular in the mid-1990s.
The music industry stuff is good, though and if you like it, it's worth moving on to the much better but much longer "The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize" by David Cavanagh.
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I've read all of Pauline Rowson's books... said tego