[Whatever] VH1 Noel Interview

[Matt Edgar]

I don't know if anyone posted this interview a while ago, but I thought it 
was interesting, so I thought I'd throw it out there...
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http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1500426/04192005/oasis.jhtml

Noel Gallagher Refuses To Watch New Oasis Video

Turbulent U.K. band gears up for sixth album, U.S. tour.

by Carolyn E. Davis, with reporting by William Maclachlan

Bombastic, brawling, brilliant ... there are many adjectives that have been 
used to describe Oasis — and many of the most flattering ones have come 
directly from the group itself.

As with anything the marble-mouthed Manchester lads put out, Don't Believe 
the Truth, their first album since 2002's Heathen Chemistry, is sure to earn 
them many more colorful descriptions.

"Lyla," the first single, will sate any hunger pangs for Oasis' familiar 
guitar jangles. But if you ask Noel Gallagher, he'll tell you the truth 
about the song: It wasn't his first — or even second — choice.

"We'd just forgotten about recording it, so we hastily cobbled together my 
original demo and did a bit more work on it, mixed it, and it's come out 
pretty well," he said. "But it's not a fair representation of the album to 
me. It's not even like the fifth or sixth best track on the album, but it's 
the most radio friendly. So we're basically saying we don't get to choose 
our own singles anymore; it's something I will be addressing before I sign a 
new record deal."

Alrighty then. The short-fused Gallagher let loose when asked about the 
recently shot "Lyla" video, as well.

"Let me clear that up," said Gallagher, who promises to switch off the telly 
when the video airs. "I f---ing loathe videos. This is not the reason why I 
started a band, to stand on a video stage all day and mime a song 500 times, 
knowing that when you get to the end of the 499th, you're thinking, 'I don't 
even f---ing like this song anymore, it's stupid.' But it's a necessary evil 
for me.

"I turn up, they put their little cross [of tape] on the stage, and they 
say, 'You stand there and do your thing,' and you do it as best you can and 
hope that the guy who's doing the video does a good job. There's only ever 
been one criterion, and that's to make us look 10 years younger. You get 
that right and I'm fine."

Perhaps the fact that the band recorded some of the songs for Don't Believe 
the Truth in California created a slightly sunnier experience for the group? 
Nah: crossing the pond to work at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles was a dicey 
deal, according to Gallagher.

"It's like they can't do without the doughnuts and the coffee and all of 
that," he said. "So we got into a huddle in the corner [and said], 'Do we 
really wanna go?' Because it's like that scene in 'Star Wars' when the 
little ship flies into the Death Star. It's kinda like that with us."

On the other hand, the two months spent in the U.S. were "actually the 
longest time I've spent in America without anything going t--s up, which was 
incredible."

All four members wrote for the album. It opens with Andy Bell's "Turn Up the 
Sun" and Liam Gallagher's "Love Like a Bomb," then delves into "The Meaning 
of Soul" and "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel," a title that perplexed Noel when 
he figured out how to spell it.

"For about three months, we all thought that song was called 'Guess God 
Thinks I'm Able,' as in an able-bodied man," he explained. "So we're coming 
to write the track listing one day and [Liam] goes, 'It's not f---ing 
"Able," it's "Abel," ' and he wrote it out and we were all kinda looking at 
each other, going, 'Hmmm.' I had to go back and listen to it, and then I was 
just sat down thinking about it and the story of Cain and Abel."

After some contemplation, he added, "I'm thinking, 'Well, that's very 
religious and biblical and it's a bit deep.' But ... the first line of the 
song is 'You could be my lover' which ... you'd have to speak to Liam about. 
He has a religious fixation with [Abel] and Jesus, I think. It's very 
strange."

Oasis plan to tour the States later this year, but fans awaiting the June 
and September dates might want to light some candles and pray for the rowdy 
group to ensure all goes to plan. Gallagher is already predicting some 
mayhem. "There's gonna be us and Jet and [Kasabian]. That's gonna be f---ing 
mental. I'm gonna need to have a liver transplant when I get back. It's 
gonna be good, though, I can't wait."

As for whether the relationship between the brothers Gallagher will hold up 
for the entire trip, "It's always the same," Noel said. "It starts off great 
and then somewhere, usually in America, I don't know why ... probably the 
sight of cactus plants or something like that ... [it] freaks [Liam] out. 
Then he oversteps the mark a little bit and ... it degenerates from there. 
It starts out great, then it just ends up being a bit of a shame, really. 
We'll see what happens this year."

Don't Believe the Truth is due May 31.

This report is from MTV News.