Music Appreciation

Johnny Marr: The Hindu Times

It may come as a surprise to people that I’ve chosen this song, but I think it’s a great example of Oasis doing the thing they do so well. Even though the chorus hook is “And I get so high I just can’t feel it” – a classic Oasis line that only Noel could come up with and Liam could pull off – the melodic hook that makes it so definitive is the bit that follows: “In and out my brain / Running through my vein / You’re my sunshine, you’re my rain.” A “post-chorus chorus” is something that Noel does often and I’ve never heard in other people’s songs. When they recorded The Hindu Times in Olympic Studios, I told Noel it was really good and he kind of shrugged. The next thing, it was No 1. At about the same time I watched from the side of the stage as they played it at the Manchester Apollo. I couldn’t work out if what I was seeing was a band totally at one with their audience or so elevated that they were on another plane. It was both, and I thought to myself, “This is what rock’n’roll means.”