Damon Albarn, 2003[1]
Mark Beaumont, 'NME Originals', June 2005[2]:
...Britpop was a wonderful period for British music. For a few brief years in the mid-'90s, the charts were full of gloriously confident, upbeat, humourous, glamourous music, portraying everyday tales of common people, parklife, beautiful ones, cigarettes and alcohol and inbetweeners. Bellowing along to Blur was all the sweeter when your parents asked why the mad cockney from Quadrophenia was on the radio[3], even if your dad did like Oasis "because they sound like T-Rex!". For a few brief, wonderful years, it didn't matter that we were fucked, as a nation, because we had Jarvis and Damon and Liam and Luke and Brett to write songs about it. And what made the whole thing so wonderful was that they didn't make the same mistakes their predecessors had, and try and change the world with their songs. They just made music because they loved it, and they did it so well that, for a few brief years, they ended up changing the world anyway...
...Perhaps it was inevitable, the way Britpop collapsed in on itself in a blizzard of cocaine and funeral bouquets. It certainly wasn't a surprise, although the tragedy which precipitated it was a horrifying shock. Britpop became so linked to New Labour's cause that, after May 1997, the end was only a matter of time. Its time had passed, and we may not see anything like it again - and certainly nothing quite like the Battle of Britpop...
*****
[1] As far as I know, this isn't an OTL quote, but Albarn's a moody fucker, so I wouldn't put it past him.
[2] 'NME Originals' appeared in OTL, but they were mostly collections of NME and Melody Maker articles from the relevant time periods. ITTL, they include more biographical information about relevant figures, as well as more editorial input. Mark Beaumont's an NME journalist IOTL too, though his writing style's a bit different. Put it down to quantum.
[3] Phil Daniels, who starred in Quadrophenia as well as appearing on the Blur single 'Parklife'. Last seen in Eastenders, fatally crashing a car into a lamp-post.
So yeah, comments welcome. Next update should have more of the interesting material I just know you're crying out for...