The 90s were a simpler time. No smartphones. No social media. And the best way to hear updates on the Oasis-Blur rivalry was from Carson Daly or some British creep on mIRC. That’s why we decided to go down memory lane and look back at the height of this Britpop feud because we just unearthed our brother’s old case of Zima hidden in our parent’s garage behind a cardboard cutout of Craig T. Nelson.
This made-in-Britain clash was a historic moment for both bands. The chart battle between the boisterous working-class Northerners in Oasis against the pretentious college-educated Southerners from Blur had music fans transfixed. Or so I think that’s how it went down because these twelve Zima’s I just chugged are starting to affect my cognitive function.
The Oasis-Blur rivalry came to a head on August 14, 1995 when Blur decided to move the release date of their single “Country House” to coincide with the day Oasis was dropping their new single “Roll With It”. Even though Blur would narrowly edge Oasis out, the bands would continue to fight for position on the charts over the next couple of months, which is what my insides are doing right now thanks to this god awful lemon-lime-flavored atrocity.
I guess it was this dusty box of bullshit drinks that reminded me of Britpop. Both peaked in the 90s and both left a sour taste in my mouth. Both suffered from overhype by marketing agencies trying to fool the consumer that a bunch of coked out Mancunians somehow represented everyday people, and that this glorified wine cooler was somehow not absolutely revolting.
I don’t know why my brother drank so much of it but perhaps he wasn’t the hero I always thought he was. I guess my dad was right that he was a disappointment to the family and we should pretend he was dead. Not sure if it’s all the expired alcohol I shouldn’t be drinking or just my traumatic childhood memories suddenly flooding back to haunt me, but maybe I’ll just go watch this old VHS tape of Jumanji I found instead.