In which The Curmudgeons lovingly recall the latter edge of the Britpop era, covering the years of 1996 and 1997. Britpop, at this point, had become a defining cultural phenomenon in the U.K., leaving music fans to wonder what might come next. Yet while Oasis attempted to follow the smashing, overwhelming success of its first two albums by going even bigger and grander, other bands veered toward something else entirely--maturity. Oasis's chief Britpop rival Blur changed things up by embracing American indie rock and electronica, and crafted its best album in the process. The Verve toned down their shoegazing psychedelia and turned solemn and gorgeously melodic. And Radiohead portended the future of rock with the first of its two inarguable masterpieces. We discuss these albums and also cover a whole bunch of great, sunny Britpop singles.   Check out the great Britpop music of 1996 and 1997 bu accessing our special Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/515doUnbjJNx40O7kaBy1P?si=07858465088b45a8   Here's a handy navigation companion to this episode.   (00:52 - 03:06) - Arturo Andrade sets the parameters for our discussion of Britpop in 1996 and 1997   (03:24 - 14:39) - The Parallel Universe, featuring reviews of new albums from Big Thief and Curtis Harding   (15:38 - 48:32) - We engage in a lightning round discussion of 23 terrific Britpop and Britpop-adjacent singles, from Supergrass, Super Furry Animals. Sleeper and others   (49:57 - 01:23:48) - We analyze classic albums from Blur, Oasis, The Verve and Radiohead   Join our Curmudgeonly Community today! facebook.com/groups/curmudgeonrock   Hosted on Podbean! curmudgeonrock.podbean.com   Subscribe to our show on these platforms: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-curmudgeon-rock-report/id1551808911   https://open.spotify.com/show/4q7bHKIROH98o0vJbXLamB?si=5ffbdc04d6d44ecb   https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5fea16f1-664e-40b7-932e-5fb748cffb1d/the-   Co-produced and co-hosted by The Curmudgeons - Arturo Andrade and Christopher O'Connor