Celebrate the Olympics with '90s Britpop
I'm a regular listener of Grantland.com's "Hollywood Prospectus" podcast, so I wasn't too surprised when hosts Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan busted out a Britpop reference when discussing the London Olympics.
Only, in typically creative Grantland fashion, Greenwald and Ryan -- using the news that Blur would close the Games -- took that news 10 steps further and shared separate Spotify playlists.
Their lists -- titled "Lorries, Torches and Flats" and "Handbags and the Lad Mags" -- highlight a very ripe period in British pop-rock history (and one that's a weak spot for me). You get the usual suspects like Radiohead, Blur, Oasis, New Order and Stone Roses, but there are lesser-known gems that hold their own. Greenwald even dips his toes into mainstream over-produced pop like Take That and Everything But The Girl, but their inclusion actually works.
It's great fun, and I think will make for a nice backing track to the Games themselves. I mean, how much blather from the announcers can one take anyway?
You can find links to both playlists here (scroll to the bottom).