Yesterday, I read this interview Chuck Klosterman did with Noel Gallagher on Grantland. I have more than a passing interest in Noel Gallagher though I’ve never been a fan of Oasis. He generally seems like he doesn’t go for the bullshit of fame although Klosterman points out that he was 43 minutes late to a 45 minute interview. When trying to explain Be Here Now‘s interminable songs Gallagher offers up this nugget:

When we had recorded (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, nobody from the label bothered us, and we hatched the Golden Egg. So the label was like, ‘Don’t bother those guys. They’re geniuses. Just let them do what they want.’ The producer was really just the recording engineer. There was nobody around to say, ‘These songs are too long.’ It was a good wake-up call, to be honest. I really wonder what would have happened if Be Here Now had sold like Morning Glory. What would we have done the next time? Just imagine if that album had sold 30 million copies. I probably would have grown a mustache and started wearing a fucking cape.

It’s a nice read and you’ll probably want to stick around for Klosterman’s summary.