Noel Gallagher responds well to criticism

For much of the last decade, people with ears have been pointing out that most Oasis music after the second album was more-or-less without redeeming merit.

For much of the last decade, Noel Gallagher has angrily defended his band's output like a BP executive denying that the oil-covered seabirds had anything to do with their gushing ineptly-drilled well.

Lately, though, Gallagher has started to concede that, actually, he's spent much of his life treading water.

Has he learned his lesson, though? That perhaps it might be worth paying attention when people start to ask questions about quality control.

No, of course not. The Edinburgh Evening News has felt his wrath:

Noel Gallagher has thrown a strop following a bad review of his latest album by the Evening News’ chief music writer – and banned him from last night’s gig at Usher Hall.

News reviewer Gary Flockhart was told he had been black-balled for describing Gallagher’s new High Flying Birds record as a “letdown” and “big disappointment” in last Tuesday’s column.

Flockhart told, erm, his own paper that he was surprised to be told he couldn't get a press pass ("That piece you wrote about him last week didn’t exactly help your cause to be honest") because his review hadn't actually been especially scathing.

Trouble for Noel is, if he only wants to be reviewed by people who slavishly believe him to be the greatest thing since Mungo Jerry, he's going to find large swathes of the planet where his entire press guest list will consist of himself, wearing a false moustache and a hat pulled down low over his eyes.

Flockhart, at least, came out of it well: not only did he get a story making Gallagher look petty out of it, but he's also got an evening off that otherwise he'd have had to spend watching Noel Gallagher And The Easily Angered Chickens.