Abstract
This chapter provides analysis of two recent rockumentary texts—The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (Dir. Shane Meadows, 2013) and Oasis: Supersonic (Dir. Mat Whitecross, 2016). Thinking through the form and structure of the visual and sonic compositions, as well as the content, it considers the ways in which both texts use the revival culture of the present to look back at the past (1980s and 1990s), and situate the bands at their heart as authentic, Mancunian creatives. It also considers the female-centred stories and sociocultural alignments between the bands and the directors. In addition, the chapter suggests that while the place of Manchester is situated as an important and somewhat mythical starting point for the music that the bands produced, that the outlooks and outputs of the bands were, and remain, much broader and inclusive than white, working-class, English, male ‘scenes’.
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- 1.
As noted on ‘Britpop at the BBC’ (online): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1mpyWmdshwT3gGzhPwZ3JbR/britpop-at-the-bbc-whats-on.
- 2.
See, for example, John Robb’s description of ‘baggy’ in The Stone Roses And The Resurrection of British Pop: The Reunion Edition (2012).
- 3.
Pretty Green. Accessed at: https://www.prettygreen.com/discover/timeline/.
- 4.
Ian Brown in interview with Rolling Stone, accessed online: http://louderthanwar.com/stone-roses-key-figures-talk-about-the-band/?relatedposts_hit=1&relatedposts_origin=241426&relatedposts_position=0.
- 5.
‘Britpop at the BBC’ (online): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1mpyWmdshwT3gGzhPwZ3JbR/britpop-at-the-bbc-whats-on.
- 6.
Noel Gallagher cited in Eugene Masterson (1996) The Word on the Street: The Unsanctioned Story of Oasis. Edinburgh: Mainstream, p. 56.
- 7.
Shane Meadows speaking to Miranda Sawyer in The Observer, 26th May 2013.
References
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Gallagher, Noel cited in Masterson, Eugene. 1996. The Word on the Street: The Unsanctioned Story of Oasis. Edinburgh: Mainstream.
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Lawson, Mark. ‘Shane Meadows: Chronicler of England’s Public and Personal Stories’ in The Guardian 7 August, 2015 (online): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/07/shane-meadows-chronicler-england-public-personal-stories Accessed 02.06.16.
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Whitecross, Mat. 2006. “In Interview”, IndieWire: http://www.indiewire.com/2006/06/indiewire-interview-mat-whitecross-co-director-of-the-road-to-guantanamo-76530/ Accessed 23.02.17.
Whitecross, Mat cited by Tom Stroud. 2016. “This is History: Mat Whitecross on directing Supersonic” (online): http://www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk/?page_id=1947 Accessed 12.12.16.
Filmography
A Room for Romeo Brass (Dir. Shane Meadows, 1999).
Dead Man’s Shoes (Dir. Shane Meadows, 2004).
Moving to Mars (Dir. Mat Whitecross, 2009).
Oasis: Supersonic (Dir. Mat Whitecross, 2016).
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (Dir. Mat Whitecross, 2010).
Spike Island (Dir. Mat Whitecross, 2012).
The Road to Guantanamo (Dirs. Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, 2006).
The Shock Doctrine (Dirs. Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, 2009).
The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (Dir. Shane Meadows, 2013).
This Is England (Dir. Shane Meadows, 2006).
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Johnson, B. (2018). Don’t Look Back in Anger: Manchester, Supersonic and Made of Stone . In: Bentley, N., Johnson, B., Zieleniec, A. (eds) Youth Subcultures in Fiction, Film and Other Media. Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73189-6_8
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