The Charlatans - Just When You're Thinking Things Over

I pretty much lost interest in the Charlatans after their debut album but this song, from their (self-titled) fourth, was nearly as good as their early material. It does the same kind of Stones-to-a-'90s-dancebeat thing that Primal Scream are so well known for, but without the self-importance that ruins the latter band for me.

From 1995.

Space - Female of the Species

Ha. Remember this one? Back in the day - 1996, to be precise - this song was, like, humongous. It was everybody's favourite song for a while, lavishly praised by the critics, a guaranteed dance floor filler notwithstanding that it was really quite difficult to dance to. I was thoroughly sick of it within weeks.

Watching this video now in retrospect, a few things strike me:

1. Who on earth cleared this video for release? It's appalling.

2. They had the most uncharismatic lead singer I've ever seen.

3. Their "fashion" sense. Oh my.

4. Still, it really was quite a catchy - and clever - little tune.

It appeared on their debut album, Spiders, which you can safely skip.

Blur - Intermission

Just a brief intermission for the blog as I have a million and one things to focus on over the next couple days. I'll try to make it back for Friday, but if not, Saturday definitely! See you soon.

Coast - Now That You Know Me

Also-ran Brit-poppers of the mid-1990s. They were actually really good live, but their recordings weren't really up to much which is probably why you've most likely never heard of them.

I think this was the closest thing they had to a hit, from 1996.

Pulp - Love Is Blind

Here's a great track from Pulp's third album, Separations, released in 1992. It's Pulp at their flamboyant, exuberant best...and they were only getting started, really.

This is a fan video. Quite nicely done.

Pulp - Babies

In which a teenage Jarvis Cocker watches an older sister (note: not his) having sex, ends up having sex with said older sister, and gets caught in the act by the younger sister, who was the object of his affections all along. Oops. I think this is probably my favourite Pulp song ever.

Blur - Top Man

From 1995's The Great Escape. It's kind of a silly song, like a lot of Blur from this era - well ok, like a lot of Blur full stop - but also undeniably catchy. I'll be humming it the rest of the day.

Blur - You're So Great

Blur's self-titled fifth album, from 1997, isn't their best but I absolutely love this track, which was written and sung entirely by Graham Coxon. Funnily enough I also like it better than any of his solo recordings, although some of those are pretty good too.

"City's alive, and surprise, so am I." That line always get me.

Blur - Clover Over Dover

Here's a lovely album track from Parklife, a perfect example of the greatness Blur were capable of when they weren't being overly clever or writing stupid songs about "characters".

Actually, this one sounds even better today than it did 16 years ago. Was it really 16 years ago? God, I'm old.

Pulp - Something Changed

A really underrated Pulp single, the last one from Different Class. It's basically just a simple straightforward love song, not necessarily the first thing you expect from Pulp.

Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

I've never been one for the cult of Radiohead, but I admit that I almost fell into that hole with the release of The Bends, which is really a remarkable album worth all the hype that surrounded it. It's not innovative or ground-breaking in any way; it is very mainstream and major-label sounding; but the sheer quality of the songwriting puts it miles ahead of most of what you'd consider its contemporaries. Put simply, nearly all of its songs are superb individually and when you put them together into a single package, well, you just have an absolute, utter classic of an album. I'll never get tired of it.

And I'll equally never understand why their later albums are so highly rated. To me, they just sound like a band whose ambitions got the better of them and led them to overlook the things that they were really good at. And Thom Yorke's voice has just seemed to get whinier and whinier. I still think as far as huge superstar "alternative" bands go they're one of the better ones, but The Bends is the only album I'd go out of my way to hear.

Here's an acoustic version of the song that I still consider to be their crowning achievement.

Coast - You Can Look

I saw Coast, a Scottish Britpop band based in London, a number of times in the mid-1990s and they always put on a pretty good show but they never really seemed likely to go anywhere. And indeed, they didn't. Their EPs (I don't think they ever made it to an album) haven't aged particularly well either, although I still enjoy the odd one from them.

This was a b-side to their first single, "Polly's Domain" from 1995.

Cast - Sandstorm

In the '90s, Cast were best known as the band John Power formed after the La's' acrimonious implosion but these days they seem to be better remembered as an example of the "mediocre" tier of Britpop bands. Which is fair enough. They certainly didn't set my heather alight, particularly in comparison to the sublimeness that were the La's. But they weren't atrocious or anything either.

Here's a demo version of their (IMHO) best song off their 1995 debut, All Change.

Blur - Bank Holiday

Yes it's a bank holiday weekend here in Ireland and I'm off to enjoy (what will hopefully be) a rare bit o' warm weather and sun. See you on Tuesday.

Elastica - Stutter

I wasn't a huge Elastica fan at the time, but listening to them now I actually think they were better then I gave them credit for. If they'd released the same records without all the hype that went along with the whole Britpop scene I'd probably have appreciated them more. Bit late now though.

This is possibly the best song ever written about erectile dysfunction, although Racecar's "Wonderment" gives it a run for its money. Sure it's not a coincidence that both of those were written by women.

Blur - Chemical World

Blur get a lot of stick for, well, being Blur, but at their prime (which admittedly was a long time before their demise) they wrote some really good songs. Like this one, from their second album Modern Life is Rubbish - just a great, irresistibly catchy pop song. What's not to like?

Oasis - She's Electric

In the great Blur v Oasis debate I came down firmly on the side of Blur, but Oasis did get their hooks into me every once in awhile. Most of Morning Glory is great, even if it was so overplayed I was sick to death of it within a few months.

Dunno why this was never a single, I would have had it out ahead of the somewhat inferior "Some Might Say" and vastly inferior "Roll With It".

Blur - Peach

I've posted before about how much I love the Blur b-sides. This is my favourite, from 1992's "For Tomorrow". Give it a listen even if you hate them - it's very un-Blurlike, I think. And also very good.

Octopus - Your Smile

For me this is a summer song. A song that will always take me back to a particularly pleasant point in time. 1996, if you were wondering.

Octopus were a Scottish band but based in London and for a very short while looked to be the next big thing on the Britpop scene but alas, it wasn't to be. One fine album which went nowhere and then they disappeared.

There was a proper video to this but it doesn't seem to be online anywhere. If anyone has it, please share it, it was nice.

Supergrass - Caught By The Fuzz

There isn't a bad song on Supergrass's debut, but this was my favourite single at the time and 15 years on (it can't be!) it still sounds every bit as fresh and exciting. The lyrics are absolutely brilliant. A perfect teenage rock'n'roll song, even if Gaz was, I think, the only actual teenager at the time.

Did I mention I love this song?