Oasis: Live Forever

Oasis made two videos for their hit song "Live Forever": a 1994 version better known in UK and this 1995 version made to attract American audiences, and here in Brazil end up being the most familiar version for MTV addicts back in those glorious days of video clip on TV. In it, the band performs the song inside of an office room with Liam Gallagher seated and behind him a huge wall filled with portraits of famous people who died too young, such as Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and others. Hard not to feel moved with such idea, and with the powerful guitar and lyrics by Noel Gallagher, as brilliantly sung by Liam Nick Egan's clip is one of the finest of Oasis career and certainly one of the most unforgettable, and I never understood why it failed to generate interest of American audiences, not just the clip but the band as well.

All is well and fine, the video has a great editing, never excessive and far from being a corny, melodramatic tribute to the artists on the portraits - not to mention that the song isn't for or about them, it's actually a gathering of childhood memories from the Gallagher's that form a different whole. But...I've seen this kind of homage before in video clip, though not necessarily better employed but certainly creative for the time. The band in question is Legião Urbana and the clip was "Tempo Perdido", released in 1986, a black and white video with the group performing a very potent sad song about the lyricist call it as youth's wasted, lost time. Between the band's act...there goes pictures of artists who died young, Hendrix and Lennon were there too, Sid Vicious I think (a tabloid announcing his death is present in "Live Forever") and Janis Joplin, forgotten in Oasis clip. Conspiracy theory here but who knows: both bands are part of the same company/catalog, EMI. Maybe I'm looking too much into it, it's not like this whole tribute concept is unseen and original but I know that the music industry tends to grab ideas, even sounds from lesser bands and provide it to bigger ones - for instance, "Sweet Child O'Mine" intro was altered from a song made in the early 1980's but an Australian group, who happened to be part of Geffen just like Guns N'Roses were (the lawsuit came many years later). I'm a little over my head with this but it was just a clip idea that was recycled and worked, in fact a lot better with Oasis since they had technology/effects on their side - but Legião's clip is not to be dismissed, check it out if possible.

Liam & Noel & troupe made here one of the finest music videos of the 1990's, and this one is my favorite of the "Live Forever" versions made; the Brit one looks so silly and with amusing situations that don't fit the song's nostalgic, almost tragic mood. Now, this one made to world wide audiences will definitely live forever in our minds. 9/10 Beatles reference: the photo of Lennon.