Conclusion – A Different Class

Abstract

In the introduction to this work, the music journalist Anthony Thornton was quoted as saying that in British pop music culture ‘no one likes a smart-arse’ (2004). Certainly, contemporary British rock bands have had a difficult time when trying to be ‘clever’ about their music making. Radiohead, despite their propensity for less than conventional arrangements, have tended to receive more praise for their rock/guitar-based work at the expense of the electronica of their later albums, particularly the albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001).¹ Even Oasis’ decline can be linked to the album Be Here Now (1997),² an album that has often been criticized for being overly long and sonically self-indulgent.