Taking the Miki

With Rhino records releasing a compilation of British indie in the US, UnderTheRader took the excuse to track down Miki Berenyi, formerly of Lush, to catch up with what she's been doing since the band split. It's a lovely, nostalgic piece, where she rules out any chance of a permanent comeback:

UTR: Are you aware of the online Bring Miki Back/We Miss Miki campaign (www.mikiberenyi.com, www.myspace.com/mikiberenyi)? How do you respond to this?

Berenyi: I guess it’s flattering that anybody gives a shit. Not sure how enthusiastic the support would be if they realised that bringing back Miki Berenyi would deliver a 40-year-old office employee with graying hair whose still struggling to shift the weight from her last pregnancy.

... and she's a little dismissive of the Box Set, too:

I’m afraid I’m going to come out with the stock answer of anyone who’s ever been in a band and throw a tantrum about being labelled as part of a ‘scene.’ Britpop? I remember Blur hated Oasis and Oasis hated Blur. And that Blur won the battle but Oasis won the war. But then later Oasis won the battle and Blur won the war. Several people embarrassed themselves by shaking hands with Tony Blair.
I think our contribution was to stand at the sidelines (being ignored) with stunned bemusement at this desperate attempt to create an advertisable brand of Britishness that seemed to represent a minuscule stereotyped sector of the U.K.

...not to mention, of course, that Lush were - if anything - shoegazers/scene that celebrates itself rather than Britpop anyway.

It feels like it's been something of a weekend for old friends and old faces. Perhaps it's the onset of Christmas.

[via Chromewaves