Noel Gallagher has released a new album, Chasing Yesterday, which means there’s a media onslaught of witty commentary courtesy of the sometime songwriting force behind Oasis. The interviews are to promote Chasing Yesterday, but these days, the elder Gallagher garners more interest for his banter than his music. This is not to say that he hasn’t always been bitingly clever or eminently quotable, or even that Chasing Yesterday is not worth talking about. In fact, Chasing Yesterday, contrary to its title, has some gems in the form of the Johnny Marr-featured disco-flecked “Ballad Of The Mighty I,” the smoky, space-jazz number “The Right Stuff,” and the David Bowie-esque “Girl With X-Ray Eyes.”
But it’s more interesting to hear about Gallagher’s debauched night out in Los Angeles with his running mate, Russell Brand, and Morrissey, or to hear him rip on Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, or the possibility of his collaborating on music with onetime nemesis, Blur’s Damon Albarn. Gallagher’s website and Facebook fan page contain a hilarious missive that he penned, titled “Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere Vol 3: The Good, The Bad, And The Bubbly.” A tour diary of sorts, the occasional entry picks up where Gallagher’s 2012 Huffington Post U.K. column left off during tours for his debut solo album, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Vol. 1 of these posts originally started on the last Oasis tour.
For all his multi-millions, the self-assured Gallagher continues to use public transportation in London, his town of residence. Living right in the middle of the city, there is a good chance you’ll bump into the family man at the local grocery store, or a better chance of that at the corner store. He’ll never say no to an autograph or a selfie—but he might jokingly ask for a fee. During a 20-minute conversation, Gallagher says “fuck” in various forms 26 times and inserts a “do you know what I mean” at the end of every third sentence—deleted here for the reader’s ease.
The A.V. Club: You’ve had the same sense of humor and outspokenness from the start. Previously you were perceived as obnoxious and now you’re considered clever. Why do you think that perception has changed, particularly in America?
Noel Gallagher: The thing is, people often make the mistake of taking me as seriously as they think I take myself. When somebody puts a tape recorder in front of me, I’m sorry, I’m in a ludicrous situation. When somebody says to me, “Tell me your thoughts on Maroon 5?” To me, that’s a stupid question asking for a stupid answer. I’ve never taken myself too seriously. If I did, I would have grown facial hair by now and I’d have a tattoo and I haven’t so fuck all y’all is what I’m going to say.
AVC: Have you ever considered writing lyrics in the same manner as you speak? You could be writing Morrissey-like lyrics.
NG: Unfortunately there’s only one Morrissey. I write lyrics from the heart. I don’t think they’re one thing or another. They just fit the tune. I never put myself up there as a fantastic lyricist. I don’t care about lyrics. The music always comes first. That’s what you hum on the way to work or to school. The words, who gives a fuck about the words? I’ll tell you who care about words. Singers. That’s all they give a fuck about.
AVC: These days, artists have as many producers on their album as there are songs. You produced Chasing Yesterday yourself, but before that you searched for a sole producer.
NG: I’ve always done that thing where the album is a project and you share the responsibility with one person. You end up having a relationship with that person. I know now it’s not the done thing in the music business with major record labels. We’ll work with that guy and then we’ll work with that guy, maybe mix that guy, maybe we’ll marry those two things together and see if we can get a shit fucking song out of it. But that’s not the way I work. I work in a very traditional, old school kind of way. That’s the way I enjoy making records.