I didn't like Oasis when they were big. I wasn't much for this song's nonsensical lyrics and watery, strummy sound. But in the months since I began this blog, I've radically altered my perspective on why music might be good. Everything I thought about "Wonderwall" is still true, as it remains true for a lot of the Oasis songs I know. But just as not everyone is going to love the music I do (although they should,) people are also going to love music I don't. I don't necessarily have a personal love for Oasis, but as a commentator, as an amateur critic, I give them props.
There's power in this song, a strange, wonderful, otherworldly power. You get it without really knowing why, and the clues aren't in the lyrics but the delivery. There's a reason any twentysomething a-hole can pick up a gutiar at a house party and start strumming this and the girls will flock to him. I see it now that I know it's there, that power to compel listeners. And that's as good a reason as any to acknowledge a song's greatness. Music is a form of communication, so as long as someone receives the message, it's validated, especially if the signal still comes through intact a decade and a half later. A simple pop hit will excite for a while then fade away, but we now know in 2011 the strength of a song like this is evergreen. I don't need to worry too much about how they did it or why they did it that way; they did it and they did it right, so good for them.
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