defending the indefensible 4: ocean colour scene

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the lamest of the lame nineties brit-poppers. and i'm an american saying this!

but their records sold (in the UK, not over here -- we have enough home-grown boring crap, thank you very much). so someone bought the stuff. and chances are some of those someones were ILMers. so fess up and defend yerselves!

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 16 June 2003 18:33 (twenty-two years ago)

subtitle: geir come back!

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 16 June 2003 18:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Don't know if this counts, but I have the Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack, which has an OCS tune on it that is pretty good by comparison with the rest of the soundtrack (except Police and Thieves by Junior Brown and Spooky by Dusty Springfield)

― ham on rye (ham on rye), Monday, 16 June 2003 18:40 (twenty-two years ago)

they can play their instruments (if that helps any)

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Monday, 16 June 2003 18:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Did I say Brown? I meant Murvin. Damn it.

― ham on rye (ham on rye), Monday, 16 June 2003 18:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I really liked Hundred Mile High City. They also did a track with PP Arnold which wasn't that bad, if I remember rightly.

Yes, they did a lot of crap, but they are nothing like as bad as people tend to remember them (that said I never bought any of their records, probably never will...)

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Monday, 16 June 2003 18:48 (twenty-two years ago)

What, have we already done Kulashaker?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 16 June 2003 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

OCS are not well respected here, but I dig 'em. Good songs.
I could listen to "The Circle" and "The Day We Caught The
Train" a hundred times and not get tired.

― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 02:43 (twenty-two years ago)

"Sway" is still a fantastic record, even if it's absolutely nothing like their subsequent popular records.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 02:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I got given two t-shirt by this guy when I was working at an SF indie disko. one of them was dark blue & yellow & quite cool but it had this patch-thing near my left nipple saying OCS. figured out it was ocean colour scene a few weeks later. really like the shirt but have been paranoid about wearing it out where I can't hide it under a jacket (& WHAT if the jacket gets BRUSHED ASIDE & ppl think I like OCS oh no oh no oh no).
it's still a v.nice t-shirt, though.

― Ess Kay (esskay), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 09:24 (twenty-two years ago)

There are actually a couple of ILM'ers who will defend Kula Shaker. Ha-HEM! Can we find anyone to say anything nice about OCS? What about the Toploader bloke? I bet he likes them.

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 09:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I remember liking their cover of Stevie Wonder's Do Yourself a Favour.

ILM irregular tigerclawskank will still stand up for them. And Paul Weller, mind.

There's a question: in the long run did their stint as Weller's backing band around 93 do him or them more damage in the cool stakes?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 09:52 (twenty-two years ago)

OCS can occasionally knock together a decent riff (well, 100 Mile High City anyway), if not a song.

That's the best I can do.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 10:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Come on, there must be someone on this bitch with pisspoor enough taste to attempt mount a proper defence of these half-witted, pedestrian, dullard, britpop-lite, ripoff, hanger-on, schlock-merchant spanners.

― Alex K (Alex K), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I AM SPARTICUS!

― tigerclawskank, Tuesday, 17 June 2003 10:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Not sure if I'll defend Ocean Colour Scene other than to say that Mosley Shoals is a great rock/soul/retro album filled with cool riffs and great songs. The subsequent albums aren't quite as good but are all worth getting if you've already bought all the good albums by Weller and Traffic.

I amn't going to claim some particular unrecognised genius (liek jandek) or unacknowledged historical relevance (like A Certain Ratio) on their part, I just like their music a lot. I suspect the worst thing about them is their fans - having actually paid money to see OCS the crowd ain't a pretty sight. And I went straight from that gig to one by Autehcre, and enjoyed both equally in their own ways.

And unlike Cockloader OCS clearly cared about their music, otherwise they'd have given up and gotten proper jobs rather than spending 5 years on the dole writing songs.

― tigerclawskank, Tuesday, 17 June 2003 10:29 (twenty-two years ago)

the lock stock spinoff wz like the worst thing on TV ever while it lasted BUT if the themetune wz by OCS i quite liked it, a bit

the defence rests

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 10:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Their melodies and harmonies are actually very brilliant.

― man, Tuesday, 17 June 2003 11:00 (twenty-two years ago)

as opposed to just slightly brilliant?

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 11:00 (twenty-two years ago)

i've been waiting for just this chance to unburden myself

despite trying really, really hard not to, i like 'the day we caught the train' an awful lot.

worse than that, if it catches me off guard (which it inevitably does - i'm not going to , like, buy an OSC record am i?) i find it really quite *moving*.

my coat is got.

― adam b (adam b), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 11:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I dimly recall a not unsympathetic Simon Reynolds piece on them back in 1990 or so when ‘Sway’ was released, linking them in with the Madchester hype.

― stevo (stevo), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 11:09 (twenty-two years ago)

i also saw them supporting flowered up in 1990 or something, and they were alright though very different from trad rocking plague they later became

― adam b (adam b), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 11:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Fuck it. Yes, I own 'Mosley Shoals,' and yes I think it's a good record. "Pastiche" would be putting it politely perhaps, but there are lots of bands and records who get propped up around here with that particular problem. And the things they *choose* to pastiche are awfully beardy, which is unfortunate (nothing like pastiche to make an already self-serious mannerism even more so,) but that aside...MS is a fine record. Not a great one, but there's nothing about it (aside from lack of originality) I'd fault in particular. I wonder if (God, this is going to get me killed) The Rapture record, say, would be viewed any differently if its influences (it being no more original, and no more equipped with solid tunes) weren't passingly fashionable at the moment.

Not to say I'm not enjoying "Echoes" more at the moment (I dredge it up simply because it's an "it" record, so to speak,) but I think a lot of hatred for OCS--admittedly shitty post-Mosley Shoals output aside--comes down to image and fan-base more than the music itself. And that may be less a problem for a 'mercan like me, since no one gave a shit about them here. We don't have "dadrock," after all. (Alas, we've got problems of our own.) So...is that 'defense' enough here, then?

To boot, I not only bought Mosley Shoals, I bought it's successor (the one with "100 Mile High City" and no other decent songs on it,) at an import price. So have at me, folks.

― M Specktor (M Specktor), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 14:36 (twenty-two years ago)

They had some fantastic singles on Moseley Shores and Marchin' Already, but suffered from the fact that their records were never available in America (if you're American that is) and their muso-ness simply got the best of them.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 16:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I dimly recall a not unsympathetic Simon Reynolds piece on them back in 1990 or so when ?Sway? was released, linking them in with the Madchester hype.

If it was the piece I'm thinking of, he said something like, in connection with the indie-dance phenomenon "Perhaps those that will survive are those with a foot in both the rock and dance camps, such as Ocean Colour Scene". Since they disappeared off the radar shortly afterwards, this looked for several years like a very foolish prediction. Then it all went horribly wrong.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 17:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Just saw them on Graham Norton and they were painfully average.

― peter dee (peter dee), Tuesday, 17 June 2003 21:18 (twenty-two years ago)

>Come on, there must be someone on this bitch...

Weren't you listening, asswipe? Or are your ears full of shit?
OCS are primo.

― skwirl plise, Tuesday, 17 June 2003 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

"moseley shoals" deserves respect for bringing real music back to the charts, but it was "mechanical wonder" that twisted it into bold new shapes. another neglected gem. i would go so far as to say that without OCS, stereophonics and toploader may not have become so important.

― andy paltridge (andy), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 09:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes! I feel strangely prescient...

― kate (kate), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 09:25 (twenty-two years ago)

My eyes and ears are bleeding...

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 09:33 (twenty-two years ago)

"the day we caught the train" is a great song. it's a pop song. they should write pop rock more, and less ugly Authentic Rock. it's all a bit weller.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 10:24 (twenty-two years ago)

its 'pop rock'?

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 10:26 (twenty-two years ago)

yes. it sounds more like a band who make welcome re-workings of beatles songs, rather than a band who perform unwelcome drum solos at their concerts.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 10:41 (twenty-two years ago)

search: the day we caught the train, riverboat song, 100 mile city and some acoustic tracks.

― doom-e, Wednesday, 18 June 2003 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

The first track off Mechanical Wonder was really good... the rest was remarkably "eh."

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 12:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I remember thinking "the day we caught the train" was a great single and couldn't work out why they were so hated. Then I heard "Profit In Peace" and all became clear - that song is so plodding and boring, even Kelly Jones and co would have binned the tapes.

― edward o (edwardo), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 12:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree that Profit In Peace is one of their worst singles. I liked Mechanical Wonder (the song) a lot though.

Must pull it out when I go home.

― tigerclawskank, Wednesday, 18 June 2003 15:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I can tolerate "The Circle". I can't say any more. Really I can't. I'll die.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

seven months pass...

Great band. Great songs. Great production. May have gone on too long, but were fun during their prime. "The Day We Caught The Train" is one of the classic singles of the Britpop era. I also love their Queen-influenced sound.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 04:21 (twenty-two years ago)

ya ya rasputeen lover of the russian queen
that hongro is a cat who really is gone

― omg, Wednesday, 4 February 2004 14:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Queen-influenced? blimey

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 14:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Hongro is taking the hardline here: having a gay member makes you 'Queen influenced' now.

― Enrique (Enrique), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 14:33 (twenty-two years ago)

HAHAHAHA like the second time I saw EssKay he was wearing that shirt and I all too rightly called him out on it, luckily I was in my Tricky Maxinquaye shirt at the time

― Silly Sailor (Andrew Thames), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 14:37 (twenty-two years ago)

obv. by geir-logic, then pansy division is the MOST queen-influenced band ever.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 5 February 2004 03:33 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

How did I stumble on this rediculous debate over the brilliant Ocean Colour Scene? I have no idea.
This just highlights the ignorance and uncultured opinions of the vast majority of those from that unfortunate country you call "America" (I call land of wankers).
This from a country that churns out countless plastic rubbish bands and alows the facsit giant record companys to force the shit that is produced onto the youth of its neighboring countrys.
"we have enough home-grown boring crap" maybe you should give some of it a chance, you proberly listen to Creed or Nickleback dont you.
I am an Australian who was lucky to be introduced to this band whilst living in the UK. I've been to your country also, and i was amazed at the ignorance towards the rest of the world that you people have. You've heard of Australia yeah? Kangaroos and Mic Dundee right
To be honest, I'm happy for OCS not to break into the US market, you dont deserve them.

― TDM, Tuesday, 13 April 2004 06:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I have no surprise whatsoever that OCS should prove popular with Australians.

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 07:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Err, based on what?
To add to that, I have not come across one other Australian who has heard of this band, excluding those who have spent time in the UK

― TDM, Tuesday, 13 April 2004 09:55 (twenty-one years ago)

"you dont deserve them."

damn straight

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 09:58 (twenty-one years ago)

x-post

based on the Aussies' love of lumpen, sweaty, muscular, unimaginative plod-Rock, TDM.

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 10:11 (twenty-one years ago)

no-one deserves ocs.

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 10:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 35 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Worst band in the history of music. Had the misfortune to see them supporting bands 3 times and they are so fucking dull. I never thought i could hate a band more than M People,Dodgy and The Levellers til i had the misfortune to hear this mob.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Monday, 31 July 2006 21:54 (nineteen years ago)

Hmmm, I'll have to listen to M people before casting my opinion on them, but how is it possible to dislike OCS and the Levellers, they're two bands which I can play to ALL of my friends and get favourable responses (except one metal head friend, but he listens to Anal C*nt, so 'nuff said...)

Still trying to think of how to put into words Ocean Colour Scene's sheer greatness... They are just amazing!

― Rohan Chadwick (thelevellers), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:02 (nineteen years ago)

I think pfunkboy has misunderstood the concept of defending the indefensible*. You're supposed to find nice things to say!

(*I just spelt that indiefensible first time round = I am doomed)

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:07 (nineteen years ago)

But theres nothing nice you can say about them.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:12 (nineteen years ago)

I think a large number of people igonore that point, judging by the stuff I've read tonight...

Ahem, except the truth... they're great!

oooh, nearly did a 'tony tiger' great there.. stopped just in time!

― Rohan Chadwick (thelevellers), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:14 (nineteen years ago)

why lie ailsa?

why lie.....

Is relic rock a genre? Paul Weller/OCS = Relic Rock

I thought of something,
They keep some people happy, help pay the rent for certain venues (eg the Olympia in Dublin) and don't inspire any new bands to copy them.

― Major Alfonso (Major Alfonso), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:16 (nineteen years ago)

Theres far more chance of The Lex saying something nice about Ocean Colour Scene than there is of me defending them.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:20 (nineteen years ago)

Riverboat Song is fucking classic, 100 mile high city is close to as good. Why the hell do these guys bother with ballads? They are a lot better when they loosen up a bit.

― Sean Braud1s (Sean Braudis), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:32 (nineteen years ago)

they bother with ballads cause they are damn well good at them!

― Rohan Chadwick (thelevellers), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:39 (nineteen years ago)

One of the best-produced of the Britpop bands. Not as cohesive as Dodgy, but still a lot of great stuff. "The Day We Caught The Train" remains one of the best singles of the entire 1990s.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:53 (nineteen years ago)

Theres far more chance of The Lex saying something nice about Ocean Colour Scene than there is of me defending them

Ditto. Second-bottom only to the execrable Cast in the Britpop canon.

― Si.C@rter (SiC@rter), Monday, 31 July 2006 22:54 (nineteen years ago)

Geir, a word in your shell-like?

Kan det vaere sant at du er norsk? Har jeg lest din ".no" e-post riktig? Hvis du er det, det er altsa godt a hore en norsk mann som liker OCS!

Beklager for darlig norsk, men jeg er litt u-overet...

Sorry everyone else, couldn't resist...

Go OCS, Go OCS, now officially my Favourite band, possibly just to annoy people here... They were top 3 anyway...

― Rohan Chadwick (thelevellers), Monday, 31 July 2006 23:00 (nineteen years ago)

Catatonia were equally as bad.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Monday, 31 July 2006 23:04 (nineteen years ago)

One word: NOELROCK.

― zeus (zeus), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 06:29 (nineteen years ago)

>> They aren't as bad as the Stereophonics.

This is about the only defense I could come up with as well!

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 09:24 (nineteen years ago)

ocean colour scene, and all their fans, should be euthanised

absolutely vile and disgusting

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 09:35 (nineteen years ago)

Lex, the voice of reason. I wonder what the child would be like if he and Geir had a child together...

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 10:50 (nineteen years ago)

They are indefensible. I cannot think of a single good thing about them. Even Dodgy had two (2) tunes I thought were OK, not Ocean Colour Scene, though. Ugh.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 11:04 (nineteen years ago)

The only thing i can think of is that Simon Fowler doesn't have an irritating voice like Cerys of catatonia or that twat from the shittyphonics, or that twat from The Levellers.

Thats the nicest thing I can say.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 11:10 (nineteen years ago)

Ok, You are SO glad I don't know where you live! :P

I'll agree with Cerys of catatoniz, but I love El Levs to death, and Stereophonics are cool... Wow, you guys are so unfortunate to not be able to apprecite all these awesome bands... I really feel sorry for you... At least it means theres more tickets avaiable for the gigs!

Woo! guess what? I'm seeing Three of my fav bands this weekend:
Feeder, Graham Coxon and Stairsailor! YAY!

― Rohan Chadwick (thelevellers), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:31 (nineteen years ago)

HAHA ALRIGHT GUYS THIS JOKE ISNT FUNNY ANYMORE ; (

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:33 (nineteen years ago)

If only it was.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 20:10 (nineteen years ago)

What joke?!

― Rohan Chadwick (thelevellers), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 18:35 (nineteen years ago)

Lex, the voice of reason. I wonder what the child would be like if he and Geir had a child together...

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/137500/137836MRtq_w.jpg

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 18:55 (nineteen years ago)

that picture is amazingly accurate :P my first child is just like that!!! ;)

― Rohan Chadwick (thelevellers), Thursday, 3 August 2006 11:01 (nineteen years ago)

one year passes...

such lovely melodies ...

― Eisbaer, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 01:48 (seventeen years ago)

does nobody else like 'sway'??

― electricsound, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 01:56 (seventeen years ago)

Riverboat Song is fucking classic, 100 mile high city is close to as good.

Those are the two worst OCS tracks. They were at their best when they let the blues rest and consentrated on Beatles-influenced, more diatonic, melodies.

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 08:45 (seventeen years ago)

100 hms is Thin Lizzy.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 08:51 (seventeen years ago)

Sway was alright, but I got rid of the disowned debut pretty swiftly. The CD single of You've Got It Bad was more than enough to convince me that buying one of their other albums would result on homicide.

― Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 08:51 (seventeen years ago)

"You've Got It Bad" is great. Sounds more like The Beatles than any of their other stuff. Which is of course positive and nothing but positive.

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 08:52 (seventeen years ago)

ok, what did i say in this thread then

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 08:54 (seventeen years ago)

thank fuck

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 08:54 (seventeen years ago)

LOUIS ARE YOU A SECRET CUNT?

― Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 08:58 (seventeen years ago)

NONONO, I just saw the date of the posts before latest bump and thought "Oh God, that's just after I joined just like the Dodgy thread, I might have come on and in my naive idiocy said something like "Get Away is a great little tune!" or "You can't deny that Policemen And Pirates is a super little rock song!" or even "We used to listen to this all the time! Great little album!"."

Fortunately there was nothing.

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 09:01 (seventeen years ago)

I mean we did listen to this a lot back in the day but only because my parents were on a crappy Britpop tip. I will NEVER go out of my way to listen to OCS these days. They're not on my iTunes, for a start, and I don't want to unearth their CDs from our home collection.

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 09:03 (seventeen years ago)

I wonder what my Lex/Geir child pic was just upthread... this is like when the BBC taped over all those Dad's Army episodes :(

― DJ Mencap, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 09:52 (seventeen years ago)

Louis, how old were your parents!? I suddenly feel as aged as mature danish cheese.

― Thomas, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 10:11 (seventeen years ago)

Well they were born in 1953 and 1954 so into their early-mid forties at Britpop's height. My dad was into a lot of cool stuff too, but for some reason he tended to like the trad-rock-y Britpop bands that get so routinely (and often justifiably) slaughtered here.

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 10:20 (seventeen years ago)

OCS ARGHHHHHH GO AWAY GO AWAY

― Herman G. Neuname, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 10:50 (seventeen years ago)

"Get Away"...now there's a great little tune.

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 10:50 (seventeen years ago)

This is how Maoism started.

― Free Peace Sweet!, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 11:06 (seventeen years ago)

i believe hitler was a ocean colour scene painter.

― Frogman Henry, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 11:07 (seventeen years ago)

They soundtracked my teens and were my first ever gig experience. I never listen to them now but I'll always have a soft spot for them.

― Chris in Belfast, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 10:08 (seventeen years ago)

I saw them as support act 3 times. Horrid experience.

― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 10:11 (seventeen years ago)

I saw them as a support act for Oasis once, and they sounded almost as horrible as Oasis. I blame Oasis' audio engineers though.

― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 11:24 (seventeen years ago)

The 3 times I saw them they opened for Oasis. This was all pre be here now era. Cast actually blew OCS offstage at Irvine Beach.
The last time was Loch Lomond where Cast were utterly dreadful,ocs were boring (this was when they had a couple of hit singles before the album really took off).
Black Grape were the best band at Loch Lomond.

― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 11:27 (seventeen years ago)

Ah, Black Grape. That first album is the best thing Ryder's ever been involved with.

― Scik Mouthy, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 11:29 (seventeen years ago)

I agree!

― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 11:29 (seventeen years ago)

ocean colour scene, oh shudder. wet pap, and thoroughly indefensible

― Charlie Howard, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 15:00 (seventeen years ago)

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