Elastica

Artist: Elastica
Released: 1995

Elastica’s debut album can easily turn into a game of “Spot the Music Reference.” Actually, it’s more than just a “reference.” How about “Spot the Stolen Song?” Wire’s “I Am the Fly” is turned into “Line Up,” while their “Three Girl Rhumba” serves as the basis for “Connected.” The Stranglers also appear in the form of “Waking Up,” which employs “No More Heroes” as a melodic base. This could have been disastrous for the band. Luckily, the songs rocked, and their listening audience was too young to remember when The Stranglers battled both the Bee Gees and Cliff Richards for chart domination.

Elastica has held up better than most albums from the Britpop era, primarily because it looked forwards while looking backwards, instead of looking backwards. While big guns like Blur and Oasis, not to mention dregs like Hurricane #1 and Embrace, borrowed liberally from the ‘60s while hewing closely to a ‘90s sound, Elastica looked to ‘70s punk and ‘80s post punk for inspiration. With the rise of dance-punk, post-post-punk, and indie rock, one could argue that bands like Wire, Blondie, ESG, and the Slits have been far more influential over the past five years than some of the more classic rock combos. The jerky disco rhythms of “Hold Me Now,” the primal punk of “Annie” and “All-Nighter,” and the noise-fest that is “Connection” don’t sound out-of-place next to Franz Ferdinand, the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, or the Arctic Monkeys.

A lot could, and certainly has, been written on the re-use of musical ideas along the pop spectrum. While the birth of sampling ended the debate in hip-hop, rock still finds itself struggling with issues of originality. At this point, the deciding factor seems to be a subjective opinion on an artist’s influences. Copying from the Velvet Underground, the Pixies, Glenn Branca, or Orange Juice? You’re in. Copping moves from Korn or Days of the New? Try again. Elastica made the right choices, therefore keeping their “cool” tag for future generations.