20. The Verve “History”
Then there’s Richard Ashcroft of the Verve, who opens a song by stealing a string arrangement from John Lennon and lyrics from William Blake. It’s a miracle this isn’t the most pretentious song ever written, and is instead an epic sonic journey through misery, humanity, and drug addiction.
19. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life”
“A Design for Life” reportedly lifted Manic Street Preachers out of despair after bassist and spiritual heart of the band Richey Edwards went missing, which is funny for a song that references Joy Division, Nazi sloganeering, and has a chorus that goes “We don’t talk about love/ We only wanna get drunk/ And we are not allowed to spend/ As we are told that this is the end.”
18. Catatonia “Road Rage”
Welsh band Catatonia’s “Road Rage” has the single best, most ripping chorus that you’ve probably never heard. The lyrics are nonsense, and sometimes it feels like three different songs pressed together, but here’s the thing: all three songs fucking rock.
17. James “Laid”
We mentioned how Britpop is mostly about uncomfortable sexual situations and feeling like you’re a weirdo, right? That’s “Laid” in a nutshell, where every line like “This bed is on fire
With passionate love/ The neighbors complain about the noises above/But she only comes when she’s on top” lands like frustrated psychodrama with the best falsetto ever.
16. Pulp “Sorted for E’s & Wizz”
Jarvis Cocker is the kind of guy who was a sad old dude with a weird sense of humor even when he was in his 20s. “Sorted for E’s & Wizz” isn’t an anti-drug song, but it’s honest about the way that how cool everyone you met while high is… probably not that cool in a way few are. Plus “Keep on moving!”
15. Blur “There’s No Other Way”
Before it was the pseudo-intellectual, undeniably brilliant alternative to heavy-browed lad rock, Blur stirred the dying embers of baggy into an early Britpop classic. What’s baggy? Listen to the funky drummer beat and angular, psychedelic guitars of “There’s No Other Way” and you’ll figure it out.
14. Oasis “Champagne Supernova”
Oasis was never known for its sensitivity, grace, or ability to make it through an entire interview without breaking into violence. “Champagne Supernova” is the bleary-eyed exception to the rule, an indestructible jam for the ages with Paul Weller sitting in for the best guitar solo of the 1990s.
13. The Charlatans “The Only One I Know”
“The Only One I Know” happens when stoned Manchester dudes listen to Deep Purple, the Byrds, and the Supremes simultaneously and then stumble across musical instruments. It’s mysterious, kind of confusing, and a classic of the decade, fully transforming the remnants of Madchester into Britpop.
12. Suede “Beautiful Ones”
“Beautiful Ones” kicks off with Richard Oakes’ gloriously tangled guitar riff and descends into what Britpop does best: pat itself on the backhanded compliments. That’s a tortured metaphor, but terrible wordplay is what Britpop is all about, baby.
11. Pulp “Disco 2000”
Remember when the year 2000 was a long way in the future? Remember how school reunions seemed like they could be the place to finally say the things you always wanted to that one special someone? Remember how she got married and has a kid and you’re just kind of sad and alone, but maybe you could make it work? “Disco 2000” does.
10. Manic Street Preachers “Motorcycle Emptiness”
Manic Street Preachers were all about class warfare and rejection of consumerism, and their first album, “Generation Terrorists,” was not afraid to talk about it. Mix S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders” with some critique of feudal serfdom and some of James Dean Bradfield’s best vocals, and you’ve got a hit.
9. Blur “Girls & Boys”
“Girls & Boys” was inspired by a deep spiritual experience Damon Albarn and his then-girlfriend, Elastica singer Justine Frischmann, had in India. Just kidding, this meth-fueled top five dance number was inspired by watching people shamelessly fuck in Ibiza in every combination imaginable.
8. Elastica “Connection”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Elastica ripped off Wire’s “Three Girl Rhumba” so hard they ended up getting taken to court. That doesn’t mean Justine Frischmann’s supremely confident belting vocals and the grinding riff don’t make this one of the most iconic Britpop songs of the entire genre.
7. Oasis “Live Forever”
Nirvana had a B-side titled “I Hate Myself and Want to Die” that pissed off Noel Gallagher so much that he wrote the most beautiful song a son has ever written for his mother. It might be slight exaggeration to call this song a battering ram that shattered the remnants of grunge with its unwavering confidence, but only slightly.
6. Pulp “Do You Remember The First Time?”
Of course Jarvis Cocker wrote a hit song about how bad he was at sex when he lost his virginity. Of course he did. Could there be anything more quintessentially Pulp than an incredibly impassioned song with a tight hook about being nostalgic for how much of an idiot you were in the past?
5. Primal Scream “Loaded”
Perhaps more than anything else, Britpop was a near-perfect remix of 1960s guitar rock, Northern soul, Madchester, and arrogance. That explains why Primal Scream’s “Loaded,” a song that producer Andrew Weatherall essentially tortured out of the band’s failed single “I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have” sounds so eternally fresh and new, even decades later. It’s like nothing that came before it in rock or dance music, yet it reminds you of all of it.
4. Blur “End of the Century”
“End of the Century” is the most British of all things: a melancholy ballad about aging, how everyone is having sex except you, the trials of living with the person you’re pretty sure you love, and how the future always seems more important than what you’re doing right now. All that and a clarinet solo.
3. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony”
We’re not going to lie: “Bitter Sweet Symphony” probably has the best music video ever made, and it’s nothing but Richard Ashcroft not giving a shit who he walks into. But the music manages to even transcend that, a celestial triumph of strings, percussion, and Ashcroft’s philosophically stoned solipsism. It’s so good that it’s no wonder that the band got fucked over because of it.
2. Oasis “Don’t Look Back in Anger”
“Don’t Look Back in Anger” is the perfect Oasis statement. It’s an anthem that listeners can feel in their soul and know what it means, even if Noel Gallagher doesn’t. It’s the shameless homage to John Lennon and doesn’t give a fuck if you think it’s theft. It’s joyous, eternal, and the sheer distillation of being young, stoned, and optimistic in 1996.
1. Pulp “Common People”
The social conscience of Britpop is not often commented on, but “Common People” makes no bones about despising the rich, even if they’re a hot Greek art student. The pulse of Candida Doyle’s synthesizer and the song’s absurdly simple, unmistakeable hook combined with the righteous resentment, hopelessness, and, ultimately, pride of Jarvis Cocker’s vocal make this one the best of Britpop, the single glorious moment that mixed weird sex, class consciousness, rock n’ roll, and dumb young confidence into a perfect whole.
Listen to the full playlist: