Lions (Dire Straits) (LP 2388 - 2389)

Dire Straits  Live At The BBC (CD, Vertigo Records, 1995) ****  

Dire Straits  Making Movies (CD, Mercury Records, 1980) **** 

Genre: Pop rock

Places I remember: The Warehouse in Cambridge for the BBC one, Fives in Leigh-on-sea for Making Movies

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Solid Rock

Gear costume: Sultans Of Swing

Active compensatory factors: These are the only Dire Straits albums I own, because I've never been a fan of Mark Knopfler's band and the only reason I own Making Movies is my school mate, G Knowles esq, was a huge fan who tried hard to get me interested in them (he still does actually - a recent weekly choice of his was a Knopfler solo album).

When he played the album to me back in 1980, I enjoyed most of the rock songs (hated the last track, Les boys, and still do). So, for nostalgic reasons, I decided to grab a copy when I lived in England.

A few years later I also bought the Live at The BBC CD. Mainly because I was keen to hear more stripped down, comparatively raw versions of things from their early days.

That strategy worked - it's really good to hear the band before they became mega. Mark's stage introductions lend a much needed human element to DS proceedings. It's from a 1978 concert.

Where do they all belong? All good, but I have zero inclination to go beyond these albums in their catalogue.

Hear yer head a-banging on the door (Oasis)

Liam and Noel Gallagher's band, Oasis, broke up their soap opera existence a while ago (2009) and the brothers now find themselves in opposing camps.

Liam is an iconoclastic front man (even though he sings with his hands behind his back and his head tilted up so that he's singing to the pigeons on the enormo-stadium roof) and Noel is the iconoclastic guitarist and songwriter (Liam's songs are pretty naff).

Now Liam fronts Oasis without Noel - same members but now called Beady Eye (a really naff band name) while Noel is going solo with an album coming out in October (why so long?). I bought the Beady Eye album like I've bought all the Oasis albums on release. I've only listened to it once right through so far. It's okay but the Mojo review was full of unjustified praise. It's an okay Oasis lite album (I'd slot it in about 9th equal place in my favourite Oasis album list with their last two studio albums).

• (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
• Heathen Chemistry (2002)
• Be Here Now (1997)
• Definitely Maybe (1994)
• Masterplan (1998)
• MTV Unplugged (Noel solo) (1996)
• ...There and Then (1996)
• Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000)
• Beady Eye (2011)
• Dig Out Your Soul (2008)
• Don't Believe the Truth (2005)

As you can tell I am inclined towards the Noel camp, although both of them can be pretty obnoxious. However, anyone who writes songs like Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger gets my vote. They both make good copy though and their interviews are always worth reading.

The sibling rivalry aspect is pretty interesting. At the end of the day blood is thicker than water but you wouldn't know it from the way brothers have tiffs in bands.

Dire Straits, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Kinks are three that immediately spring to mind. In each one a dominant song writing brother, who was the main singer (Mark Knopfler, John Fogerty, Ray Davies) outshone and clashed with the other guitarist brother (David Knopfler, Tom Fogerty, Dave Davies). Egos went into overdrive and being stuck together in a pressure cooker environment and having a baseline of sibling rivalry clearly added up to a potent brew.

In the Gallagher's case it turned ugly early on and ended in violence. Not a good recipe for sustained success.

I'm looking forward to Noel's solo album. In the meantime I'll have another listen to Beady Eye.

Getting crazy on the waltzers but it's the life that I choose (Dire Straits)

Confession is good for the soul I'm told. So here goes. I am a rock snob. I'm not proud of it but there we are.

If you read these posts this will be old news - I've managed other true confessions about my dark side - Peter Frampton, Carpenters, and John Denver, but I've never admitted to rock snobbery before.

My friend Greg is not, nor has he ever been a rock snob which is something I've always liked about him. He happily listens to, collects and has lent me non cool items along with the cool. He never seems to discriminate between - say - Dylan and Denver or Mark Knopfler for instance.

Me - I've had a problem with Mark and his band Dire Straits for years.

I loved the single Sultans of Swing when it came out but I could not really move beyond that (an exception was the Making Movies album which I love and, back in the day, used with students in English classes). I'm not really sure why. The only thing I can point to is rock snobbery. When they became mega with Brothers in Arms I turned away. Too slick, too embarrassing, too commercial, too broad in it's appeal.

That's something we rock snobs hate - when a little known band (or low level one) makes it huge. Don't wanna know anymore. Daft innit?

I bought a live Dire Straits at the BBC CD recently and I'm proud to say it has not left the car stereo system yet.

Speaking of little known bands - I can't see Black Sheep Boy pulling off a Brothers in Arms but you never know do you. My cuz sent me a copy and it's been the soundtrack for a few days now. And is further proof that Tom Waits and the Velvet Underground have forged an alternative career path for musicians. This is fractured deconstructionist-put-together-with-glue-and-scissors -a-la-Swordfishtrombones type of music.

Dr Dog is another of my favourite exponents of this genre where The Beatles sensibility is put through a blender, roughed up and held in front of circus mirrors.

I can tell why Black Sheep Boy appeal so much - there is a Killers vibe at work here but rather than chiming rock anthems we have vignettes and the guitars are replaced by pump organs. Interesting and it definitely burrows under the skin.