Beginning this long yet enjoyable folly of creating a A-Z of Britpop are The Auteurs.Snobbery, Slander and a Rebel without a Cause.
Conveniently I've begun with a band whose front man Luke Haines has now made a name for himself as the antithesis of Britpop. Which is rather a shit deal for me unfortunately. Before I indulge you in any further Britpop contemporary commentary or opinion, lets spell out the band shall we?
n. The Auteurs - formed in the early nineties, released their debut record "New Wave" in 1993 and according to Last.Fm "amassed a reasonable cult following" up to their second record "Now I'm a Cowboy".
Best Single: Lenny Valentino
Best LP: "Now I'm a Cowboy" (although it could be argued that this was because it was simply more "commercial" than its predecessor)
...This should already be ringing a few alarm bells music fans. I don't think I've ever heard such a tepid reception from the usually fanatical Last.Fm. But its the truth. The Auteurs never reached the dizzy heights of fame as such household names as Pulp or Suede, and after listening to their first album, I can tell why. I wasn't expecting brilliance, but listening to the record was like being slavered on by Haines, whilst giving me some sort of slow, vile and
sickening lap dance. In short, its a revolting record. Its only saving grace is the very faint trace of a nod to the fathers of Britpop in "Show Girl" and "Junk Shop Girls".
Their second offering "Now I'm a Cowboy" was better, and is host to the brilliant "Lenny Valentino" - which believe me, is one of those "you'd know it if you heard it" ones. It peaked at number 41 in '93. This single is classic Britpop. It has the snarling vocals, the tambourines, obligatory distortion teamed with the trademark cutting yet melodic riff.
They released a further two records in '96 and '99 which were "After Murder Park" and "How I Learned to Love the Bootboys" respectively. Which sound like the kinda shite I was writing as a young ailing musician (at the age of 15).
I have a great deal of sympathy for washed up Britpop has-beens (John Power, if you're reading, put down the acoustic...), but Luke Haines is just something else. I have no idea why he bothered with a band, or how he managed to fit his ego in a tour bus.
The biggest puzzle is/was his refusal to associate himself with the Britpop genre. In a recent Mojo interview he stated Britpop "was just a short-lived, low level pest". What a massive arse. He also called Britpop artists "chancers with guitars" - which just smacks of jealousy. I don't know if he actually listened to his own records, but Haines must have been delusional. And the sad truth is, if he'd actually tried a little harder and not isolated his band from the rest of the emerging "scene", and not tried to promote himself as some form of 90's music apostle, he would have made a bit more money. Not that I'm endorsing artists to subscribe to a genre and become sell outs - its just that The Auteurs were no different to any other Britpop at the time, and they could have rivalled Suede if Haines had just pulled his head out of his arse.
Despite my attempts to slight the man, he went on to succeed with many more beautiful projects such as Black Box Recorder and made his name there.
So here rests The Auteurs. They could have been SO much better, and fizzled out before they made it big.
Created sometime in the blur that was '92 and '93, and whilst haven't officially split, haven't released anything since '99.
Haines has revealed plans for his solo album "21st Century Man". Oh do send me a copy.
n. The Auteurs - formed in the early nineties, released their debut record "New Wave" in 1993 and according to Last.Fm "amassed a reasonable cult following" up to their second record "Now I'm a Cowboy".
Best Single: Lenny Valentino
Best LP: "Now I'm a Cowboy" (although it could be argued that this was because it was simply more "commercial" than its predecessor)
...This should already be ringing a few alarm bells music fans. I don't think I've ever heard such a tepid reception from the usually fanatical Last.Fm. But its the truth. The Auteurs never reached the dizzy heights of fame as such household names as Pulp or Suede, and after listening to their first album, I can tell why. I wasn't expecting brilliance, but listening to the record was like being slavered on by Haines, whilst giving me some sort of slow, vile and
sickening lap dance. In short, its a revolting record. Its only saving grace is the very faint trace of a nod to the fathers of Britpop in "Show Girl" and "Junk Shop Girls".
Their second offering "Now I'm a Cowboy" was better, and is host to the brilliant "Lenny Valentino" - which believe me, is one of those "you'd know it if you heard it" ones. It peaked at number 41 in '93. This single is classic Britpop. It has the snarling vocals, the tambourines, obligatory distortion teamed with the trademark cutting yet melodic riff.
They released a further two records in '96 and '99 which were "After Murder Park" and "How I Learned to Love the Bootboys" respectively. Which sound like the kinda shite I was writing as a young ailing musician (at the age of 15).
I have a great deal of sympathy for washed up Britpop has-beens (John Power, if you're reading, put down the acoustic...), but Luke Haines is just something else. I have no idea why he bothered with a band, or how he managed to fit his ego in a tour bus.
The biggest puzzle is/was his refusal to associate himself with the Britpop genre. In a recent Mojo interview he stated Britpop "was just a short-lived, low level pest". What a massive arse. He also called Britpop artists "chancers with guitars" - which just smacks of jealousy. I don't know if he actually listened to his own records, but Haines must have been delusional. And the sad truth is, if he'd actually tried a little harder and not isolated his band from the rest of the emerging "scene", and not tried to promote himself as some form of 90's music apostle, he would have made a bit more money. Not that I'm endorsing artists to subscribe to a genre and become sell outs - its just that The Auteurs were no different to any other Britpop at the time, and they could have rivalled Suede if Haines had just pulled his head out of his arse.
Despite my attempts to slight the man, he went on to succeed with many more beautiful projects such as Black Box Recorder and made his name there.
So here rests The Auteurs. They could have been SO much better, and fizzled out before they made it big.
Created sometime in the blur that was '92 and '93, and whilst haven't officially split, haven't released anything since '99.
Haines has revealed plans for his solo album "21st Century Man". Oh do send me a copy.
