VH1.com:Noel, are you a big fan of Behind the Music?
Noel: Yeah. I only tend to watch it every time I come to the States, to
be
honest. The Glen Campbell one was fuckin' amazing.
The Milli Vanilli story is very popular.
Noel: Pity there wasn't any music to get behind. [Laughter]
There is something about Behind the Music that tends to cast people in
the
past tense. I mean, there's bands like Poison, Milli Vanilli, Quiet
Riot ...
Noel: I wonder what they were trying to say. When we were doing it, I
thought bands that usually do that were either dead or splitting up.
Maybe it is a closed chapter since your guitarist Paul "Bonehead"
Arthurs
and the bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan have left and now Gem and Andy
Bell
are on board. On Giants it sounds like there's a new Oasis.
Noel: The people that are in the band now never actually made it onto
the
record. There's only me, Liam, and [drummer] Alan [White] that were on
the
record. But the next time we go in the studio and make a record it will
be
the new Oasis. This is a weird situation that we're in at the moment,
that
we'll have been around as this lineup for two years before we make a
record.
It'll all probably have less of an impact. But it's going to be very
interesting to see what transpires in the studio. I, for one, am
looking
forward to it very much.
You now have four songwriters in the band. Gem's led Heavy Stereo, and
Andy
Bell was the creative force behind Ride. Liam's written "Little James"
on
the new album. In the past it's only been you, Noel ...
Noel: Well, that's because there was no other songwriters in the band
then.
Nobody expressed any particular desire to get involved in the
songwriting
process. Now everybody's expressing a desire. As long as the drummer
doesn't
start writing songs, we'll be all right.
You've also said you've been working on solo material.
Noel: I've got four [songs] finished for a solo record. But that's not
a
project that - you know, it's not like I'm writing it, and I've got a
date
to put it out. If I ever get to record them - well, I will get to
record
them - but whether it ever comes out is another thing altogether. I
might
just record it and listen to it for my personal pleasure - just to
annoy
everyone.
You have a new daughter, Anais. Have you written any songs about her
yet?
Noel: I've not written any songs about her, as such. I've written maybe
a
couple of sentences in a song that could be attributed to a very young
person. But I never mention her name in a song. Because I think it just
makes it so personal to that person that nobody else can relate to it.
Well,
I suppose that every song I write from now on will have - I mean, I
don't
know...But I won't be writing one, you know, with her name in the
title.
Mostly 'cause it's impossible to find anything to rhyme with Anais.
"Little
Anais" just doesn't have that same ring to it, does it?
One of the things that seems overlooked when your songwriting is
considered
is the sampling aesthetic. You approach melodies and hooks much like a
hip-hop artist would.
Noel: I'm glad you mentioned that. Because [Be Here Now's] "D'You Know
What
I Mean?" actually started off as a hip-hop type
of
thing. Until we all went to the pub one night and came back, and it
turned
into a rock song.
It's difficult when you're in a band with four other people who've got
no
concept of black music, who just can't see anything further than the
Beatles. When we're working with that particular producer, he was into
the
Beatles as well. It can get a bit soul-destroying in the studio, you
know,
trying to play somebody a drum beat from an N.W.A record. And
everyone's
just looking at you like you're fuckin' speaking French or something.
Hopefully the element of that in the band is gone, and the two people
that
have joined have got more of an understanding of that kind of music;
it'll
be translated better on the record, hopefully.
Do you have a favorite rap song?
Noel: "Straight Outta Compton" is one of my
favorites, and "Don't Believe the Hype," I suppose, by Public Enemy.
But I
don't know - I like 'em all. Well, I must say, I don't like 'em all.
Not the
Beastie Boys.
Noel, in concert and on record you always seem to be thinking about
Oasis'
songs and your own place in rock's tapestry. It's as if you mean it,
man. Do
you mean it, man?
Noel: I really could not give a flying fuck about anything. [Laughter]
That's my headline.
Noel: Put me on the plane, show me where the stage is - I'll go and do
it.
But don't ask me to care about any of it. All I'm arsed about is
looking
good. And as long as my guitar's louder than everybody else's, I don't
give
a fuck. It's every man for himself once they get on there. And I'm a
loud
bastard, and that's all there is to it.
Are you a bit worried that guys like Gem move around on the stage a bit
more
than Bonehead and Guigsy did?
Noel: No, 'cause I've got a double-necked guitar if he starts getting
too
flash. And then I'll get a triple-necked guitar. And then I'll start
wearing
platforms, so at least I'll still be the biggest member of Oasis. Then
I'll
get platforms with fishtanks in the bottom.
Gem, are you gonna intend to upstage that display in any way?
Noel: I did see him packing his cape on the way in. Gem: Whenever he
bends
down, you'd better duck. Noel: No, 'cause I don't shoot flames out of
me ass
.... or anything like that. Gem: I was meaning when you go for your
knobs.
(Laughter)
So I take it, asking you if you ever find new meanings in your songs
over
time is not a really good question.
Noel: Well, sometimes. You know what? The other night I was playing
"Live
Forever," and I've been playing that song since
I
wrote it in 1994. It was the last gig we'd done in Cologne, and while I
was
playing the guitar solo, it suddenly clicked. I actually got that song.
I
just said to myself: "I fuckin' get it now." There weren't dancers in
the
front - 'cause we do that song last in the set, and everyone was
knackered.
And you could just see the look on the people's faces. And this is
seven
years after I [first] played it. And I just went: "Fuck, I just get it
now
.... and that's it." But I better not mention that over here. Because
Liam
will say, "Well, why didn't you get it the first time I sung it?"