The Hindu Times

"The Hindu Times" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was the first single released from their fifth album Heathen Chemistry on 15 April 2002. It was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. Noel got the name "The Hindu Times" from a t-shirt he saw in a charity shop. The song was the band's sixth UK #1 single, staying on top for one week before being dislodged by the Sugababes' "Freak Like Me". The title has little to do with the lyrics of the song, which are more in the vein of Definitely Maybe's "Rock 'n' Roll Star". It has been speculated that the title refers to the main riffs' similarity to Indian music in sound, sounding as if they were played on a sitar. Gallagher himself says that it is because he had already named the song before any lyrics were written for it. The song, which combines the powerful fast rock of their earlier work with the psychedelic feel of their later work, was one of the first Oasis singles since the singles from the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? to receive almost unanimously positive reviews from the critics. The song was unveiled during Oasis' Autumn 2001 Noise and Confusion Tour. The song was due to be released commercially at the same time but Noel decided the track needed more work done on it to be suitable for release. Many have commented on the main guitar riff being lifted from the Stereophonics song, "Same Size Feet", which uses exactly the same, or at least very similar, guitar riff. In 2008 NME listed the song as one of the greatest indie anthems of the 2000s. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 143 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In 2010, XFM listed it in their ""1000 greatest songs of all time" list. The B-side, "Just Getting Older", was written at the time of the release of Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. The other b-side, "Idler's Dream", is the only Oasis song to not feature any guitars or drums; the song consists simply of Noel Gallagher's vocals and a piano accompaniment.