We are quite delighted to throw the spotlight on to our fourth Vinylist for The Vinyl Series, Mr Bob Murphy. When we were thinking of people we’d love to contribute to this series, there were a few strict criteria we had in mind:
1) MUST have played over 250 games for the Western Bulldogs and be a champion of the club.
2) MUST have a regular weekly column in The Age.
3) MUST appear on a specialist football show at least once per week, preferably on a Tuesday night.
4) MUST have a strong love of music and own record player.
5) MUST be a thoroughly decent chap.
Bob was, quite frankly, a perfect fit.
R. Murphy has been very good to us at Presentation Night. He agreed to appear at our first live show based on little more information than ‘it’s, like, two guys talking about music and footy live on stage, y’know?’ In exchange for his early support we’ve gone on to ask him to explain what those training bra things are that Buddy Franklin wears during pre-season, and if he could write something about his favourite albums for our blog. It’s been a slightly one-sided exchange to this point, so thanks Bob.
In this, his Qualifying Vinyl pick, Bob tells us what he loves about a classic album from two bickering brothers from Burnage who made their mark on the music world like champagne supernovas (whatever they are)…
Oasis (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
1995 was a great year for me. My team the Richmond Tigers made the finals for the first time in my life, I met the girl who would one day become my wife, and the biggest band in my world were a bunch of louts from Manchester, Oasis.
In the years that have ensued, I have become fascinated and infatuated with the established greats of rock ‘n’ roll from eras long ago, but nothing can be quite as special as being 13 years old and listening to your favourite band turned up loud and dreaming the great dreams. The second album from the Gallagher brothers, ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’ hit the cultural landscape like a giant meteorite, which was great for me because my hometown of Warragul was as mainstream as the middle of the Mississippi.
You don’t have to go too far to find a critic of Oasis; they’re often fobbed off as gobby Beatle heads with daft lyrics. Most of the criticism is pretty fair too! But I’ve always thought that to truly appreciate their music and this album in particular, you had to buy a membership to the whole club: the interviews, the haircuts, the hedonism, and the surreal sense of humour.
My good mate Paddy Walsh always says “there’s nothing wrong with dumb rock ‘n’ roll”, and there’s a bit of that on Morning Glory – “my head’s in a fish tank” being just one of many memorably baffling lines. We know about the huge hits: ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, ‘Some Might Say’ and ‘Roll With It’, but it’s got so much more than that. When I think about the best moments of Oasis, I think of ‘Champagne Supernova’, where the Liam/Noel chemical reaction makes perfect sense. Noels’ absurd lyrics (you know the ones) are sung by a seething Liam who spits the words out like it’s the most important thing any human has ever done in the history of humanity.
That’s what Oasis had in 1995: optimism and a quarry full of self-belief. To a 13 year old kid riding high on the optimism of his footy team and the prettiest girl in school, it meant the world. Still does.
RM