The 8 Songs To Blame For Britpop
For the briefest moment in the 1990s, Britpop ruled the airwaves. Suede sighed out a romantically ambiguous soundtrack for elegant wastrels. Blur and Oasis were vying for number one. And everybody wanted to live like Common People. It was music that delighted in Britain’s pop history, taking the best bits of The Kinks, Jam and Smiths and reshaping them into anthems, the country’s most important guitar-based movement since punk.
But at the same time many of those who weren’t lifted by the rising tide of retroism found it tiresome, unoriginal and encroaching on jingoism. But how did Britpop happen? What were their influences, the vital steps along the way? And how did we get to the point where indie became pop? These are the 8 Songs to Blame For Britpop.
#oasis #britpop #musicdocumentary
Fact-checking by Chad Van Wagner.
00:00 Introduction
00:51 The Kinks
06:07 Mott The Hoople
11:35 The Jam
17:16 XTC
23:38 The Smiths
28:22 The La’s
33:08 Suede
36:29 Blur
40:37 Conclusion
Soundtrack
Luar – Citrine (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Luar – Anchor (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
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In Search For The La’s – A Secret Liverpool by MW Macefield, 2003, Helter Skelter Publishing
The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock by John Harris, 2004, Harper Perennial
Mozipedia: The Encyclopedia of Morrissey and The Smiths by Simon Goddard, 2010, Ebury Press
Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs by Miranda Sawyer, 2024, John Murray Press
“Kinks Don’t Mind ‘Formby Quartet’ Tag” Keith Altham, NME, Mar 1966
“Ray Davies: A Study In Frustration” Val Wilmer, Hit Parader, Apr 1968
“God Save the Kinks” Paul Nelson, Circus, Sep 1969
“David Bowie and the rise of glam rock” Martin Walker, The Guardian, Sep 1972
“Beat Godfather Meets Glitter Mainman: William Burroughs Interviews David Bowie” Rolling Stone, Feb 1974
“A Really Special Feeling” Phil McNeill, NME, Apr 1978
“Jam Today” Garry Bushell, Sounds, May 1979
“The Jam: The Revolution Will Start When Paul Weller Has Supped His Pint” Paul Morley, NME, Nov 1979
“XTC: Last Exit To Catalonia” Paul Morley, NME, 20 September 1980
“The Ecstatic Aesthetics Of XTC” John Mendelsohn, Creem, Jul 1981
“XTC: Toys in the Attic” Robert Sandall, Q Magazine, Apr 1989
“Suede The Best New Band In Britain” Steve Sutherland, Melody Maker, Apr 1992
“One Day, Son, All Of This Could Be Yours…” Steve Sutherland, NME, Mar 1993
“Suede – Gentlemen Time, Please!” Stuart Maconie, Select Magazine, Apr 1993
“Blur: We Can Be Eros… Just For One Day” Paul Moody, NME, Mar 1994
“Looking For A New England” Cliff Jones, The Face (May 1994)
“Noel Gallagher: The Greatest Songwriter of the 90s?” Phil Sutcliffe, Q Magazine, Feb 1996
“XTC – ‘Til Death Do Us Part” Chris Ingham, Mojo Magazine, Mar 1999
“Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher: Sex, Drugs, Rock’n’roll… and Babies” Barbara Ellen, The Observer, Oct 1999
“David Bowie – Interview” Paul Du Noyer, Mojo Magazine, Jul 2002
“That was the modern world” Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, Apr 2004
“Paul Weller: The MOJO Interview” Phil Sutcliffe, Mojo Magazine, Sep 2004
“Paul Weller: “The Jam? They were a way of life.”” John Harris, The Guardian, Feb 2006
“Tales of Ordinary Madness” Mark Paytress, Mojo Magazine, Mar 2006
“The Making Of “The Eton Rifles” by The Jam” Michael Bonner, Uncut, Sep 2006
“Andy discusses Respectable Street” Todd Bernhardt, Chalkhills, Feb 2007
“‘Ello ‘Andsome’” Mat Snow, Mojo Magazine, Mar 2008
“The Daydream Believer” Jon Bennett, Mojo Magazine, Feb 2000
“The Smiths make their Top of the Pops debut” Johnny Marr, The Guardian, Jun 2011
““It’s a very sensual song” – Suede on the making of “The Drowners”” John Robinson, Uncut, Jul 2012
“Suede: 10 of the best”
“The Smiths: 10 of the best” Michael Hann, The Guardian, Jan 2015
“How we made Waterloo Sunset” Dave Simpson, The Guardian, Jan 2016
“XTC’s Andy Partridge on Mocking Hypocrisy With ‘Respectable Street’” Ryan Reed, Spin Magazine, Aug 2024
“The Kinks On The Making Of Waterloo Sunset: “I’m the person staying behind…”” Andrew Male, Mojo Magazine, May 2025
@TrashTheory
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Every now and then I get people asking for a playlist of every song mentioned in my videos: Well here's a Apple Music link for this one:
https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/8-songs-to-blame-for-britpop/pl.u-KVXB2qPILpDmjze
and the YouTube Music one:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLooaZ33lSalcFT4ESr7zmuGRCQa_gBWNa&si=vy-jDNms7qHrgNJG
@juankiroga8470
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
The main source, admittedly or not, for Pulp's song "Disco 2000" is "Gloria" by Italian songwriter Umberto Tozzi.
@StudioFox33
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
On Don't Look Back in Anger they swiped the guitar turn around from All the Young Dudes. Oasis were not much more than magpies with attitude.
@Robinhickey2nd
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
I think the cure's poppy somgs had to have a big undpoken infulence on it too
@peterheinen6110
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
What a great documentary about the best sounds i witnessed growing adolesscent. Xtc didn't really impresss me, but the Dukes of Stratosphear lasted as lovely earworm. Could you lend us your knowledge to this phenomenom❤
@CalWareing
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Can u do a video on after britpop to now
@Sangria
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Since this video dropped near the Christmas season, I think it's appropriate to mention The Kinks "Father Christmas" as one of those dark Christmas tunes that still gets played on the radio alongside Mariah Carey because it still sounds so good.
@nationstolemyrobots
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
It was a rejection of the musical culture of just one country, exposing that of several others in a way that was long overdue. I remember going to places in Liverpool in 1996 and hearing DJs playing Brigitte Bardot!
@LonnieWard-g4s
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
I still think going underground is one of the best jam songs ….. A total middle finger to the music world
@johnebejer
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
That is more than 8 songs 🎵.
@bugsby4663
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
I loved Britpop. As a Brit it was not only great music but it made the change from the usual dirge that comes from the US, although in reality it was too diverse to be a real movement and as usual was co-oprted by the politicians (in this case Blair) and turned into parody in the same way that punk, rap and flower power was. Rebel movements especially if they are anti war or from the working class are usually ruined by a threatened establishment.
@marti2474
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Oasis, Blur…. nowhere near the class of xtc.
Blur wrote "City dweller successful fella" but he lived in a "very big house in the country" Lyrical mocnkey rubbish.
@DangerfieldChris
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
“The rancid stench of Nationalism” What’s wrong with Nationalism?
@VariousJams
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
The Andy Partridge versions of Coping & Sunday Sunday are on YouTube and theyre both great
@DrBingusCheeseburger
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Do you speak with that cadence on purpose or is that just what you sound like?
@Abidon88
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
The 700th comment is for the algorithm
@Matkorvin
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Да уж
Старички чувачки, помните время когда услышали это все в первый раз?
35:30 храню этот пожеванный выпуск мелоди мейкер как память)
@kevinnicholson7722
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
good video. It's more about British pop than Britpop. As a black Londoner I watched Britpop with amused detachment. The bands were quite disparate in the sound really.
@Batters56
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
You forgot the optimism of the 90s after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Thatcherism. Reflected in Britpop
@csoanes01
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Dude, how the fuck have you not mentioned to Pop Will Eat Itself yet?
@geraldpower5491
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Love it. As always. Knew nothing about XTC so many thanks for that. I take issue with some of the ideas here. The whole premise of 'blame' can be questioned. I think a lot of my generation think Britpop was great – a much needed positive antidote to the dreary nihilism of grunge and the banality of Euro-pop. A time when popular music was based around actual musicians, and songwriters were not afraid to revisit the canon of British music and use it for inspiration. I wonder if Suede and Blur should be considered more the Britpop outcome than the cause? I would include the Sex Pistols among the major templates – not just for the guitar sound but for the union flag use. The Stone Roses also need their own section, not just treated as an appendage to The La's. With 'All The Young Dudes' – you missed the obvious homage payed by Oasis to this song on their big hit 'Whatever'. Just my random thoughts – great video.
@yellowjackboots2624
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
The great forgotten band of the Britpop era (for me) are The Wannadies. Yes, I know they were Swedish but, my goodness, they were good. Their albums Be A Girl and Bagsy Me are perfect. Bagsy Me is such a GenX title 😄
@jez2466
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Joe Strummer's dad was not a diplomat, he was a very minor official
@Book2Master
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
Middle class wokes would hate Britpop because it was mainly white and male and god forbid, much of it was working class too!!! I suspect they are still sneering now, all this time later but just as the music snobs didn't get glam rock, they never got Brit pop either.
@InstallaFriend
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 am
The Kinks invented music
@jemwand2530
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
How can you cite "Rip It Up" by Orange Juice, without highlighting the reference to "Boredom" by The Buzzcocks?….. " My favourite song is boredom", followed by the guitar hook, from said song.
@finlaywightman7126
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
One of my favourite trash theory videos amazing
@THEChoinowski
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
excellent as always mate
@Meowwentthedino
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
I love britpop and the moment it captured, yes it got saturated but the moments of angst and pure this is britan, this is now, this is what we struggle with it really speaks volumes because songs like popscene, common people etc… the capture and portray a strong feeling of life is bleak but it is what it is.
@kielaurie
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
Before watching through, I'm expecting to see The Beatles, The Kinks, The Jam, The Cure, The Smiths and The Police. Be it specific sounds, direct music influence, lyrical sensibilities, or noticeably strong British accents, they all had a distinct influence on the sounds of rock in the 90s in the UK
Anonymous
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
Now Britpop would be sung in Arabic. How far the British people have fallen.
@lynnpehrson8826
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
Small faces Sunday afternoon should have be be mentioned
@TequilaToothpick
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
You mean 8 songs to thank surely? Britpop was incredible. So many incredible bands making so many incredible songs.
@simonvegas793
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
Here's 8 songs that defined Britpop (proceeds to play 300 seminal classics)
@T.E.S.S.
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
why is "blame" necessary
@johnglenn30csardas
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
Great video. Can’t believe I watched the whole thing.
“She Moves In Her Own Way” missing that.
And any reference to some of Elvis Costello. How do you exclude him?
Maybe I’m just an American, but… Get Happy? This Year’s Model? Glaring omissions—from the wellspring category. I think generally you’ve missed the punk, or pseudo-punk angle.
To me the biggest problem is that due to copyright restrictions, you only play five seconds of each song. I know this is not Desert Island Discs, but after 45 minutes of clips that short, and at the same time asking your audience to have a thoughtful opinion on your historical narrative, their is significant brain fog. Nonetheless, glad I watched.
@bkd69ster
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
No mention of Bedsitter, nor the Lightning Seeds?
This video is invalid!
@boaconstrictor3754
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
Can you make a video about Kirsty MacColl?
@robbie4406
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 am
Thank you for such a rich, cultural view of how `Brit Pop' came about. I have always had a love of electric guitar music with `quirky' riffs which British bands seem to do very well. Perhaps you can do a follow up on where we are now with the British electric guitar based sounds, such as Pastel `Your Day'
Comments are closed.