British bands are better than American bands

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Mon May 09, 2005 8:19 am

Here's a good way to start a fight!

According to the Sydney Morning Herald - when it comes to producing big-time rock and roll bands - Britain shits all over the USA!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Music/Rule-B ... click=true

I thought this sounded a silly thesis at first - especially as the article starts off using Coldplay as an example (Coldplay !?! please - give me a break) - but maybe there's something to it. Perhaps this is a small window into the collective psyches of the northern neighbours.

USA - supposed home of liberty and individual freedom has mainly given us the big solo names - Dylan, Presley, Springsteen etc... whereas England with it's traditions of loyalty to the Queen and the MCC and the systematic sodomising of young boys in Public Schools by bullies etc - has gone more for the team approach with the likes of Led Zepplin, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Who.

Anyway, having a foot in neither camp - I thought I'd just light the blue touch-paper and stand well back...

(as an aside though, I would like to add that Australian bands crap all over Canadian bands....Men Without Hats!, Loverboy!.. yeah, right!)

thehipcola · Post by **thehipcola** » Mon May 09, 2005 8:32 am

heh...Silverchair? I'd be proud of THAT one....

You forgot (on the Canuck tip) Platinum Blonde, Honeymoon Suite, April Wine...oh yah baby...we got it all sewn up!

Leaf · Post by **Leaf** » Mon May 09, 2005 8:43 am

uh... Psuedo Echo.

I DON'T even have to mention a single Canadian...you just read that and crawl away...

but... what the hell, can you match a comparable Aussie band to :

Rush
Triumph
April Wine
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Teh Guess Who
Trooper
Tragically Hip
Nickelback

I'm not sure to be proud or embarrassed by that list....but I have a feeling there are more internationally successful Canadian bands than Australian...

Let's see...

AC/DC
INXS
Midnight Oil
TISM\

and I'm spent.

I like your bands better.

Tonamel · Post by **Tonamel** » Mon May 09, 2005 8:51 am

Actually, I largely agree with the article. I just couldn't pass up the chance to make fun of the Spice girls.

I think what he's talking about has a lot to do with the fact that music execs in the USA are afraid to try anything new, so they just go with tried and true, sure-to-sell-albums clichés instead of finding acutal artists whose music will endure. Trying to sell art is much too risky in their eyes.

Oh, and for people who don't want to register to read that article: Bug Me Not.

j$ · Post by j$ » Mon May 09, 2005 9:00 am

Tonamel wrote:Oh, and for people who don't want to register to read that article: Bug Me Not.

That is a very useful device. I shall try it out then pass on the word.

j$

WeaselSlayer · Post by **WeaselSlayer** » Mon May 09, 2005 9:08 am

Maybe if the UK didn't take all their musical cues from the US I'd be convinced. Ohhhhh snap.

erik · Post by **erik** » Mon May 09, 2005 10:14 am

Kiss rules. Their music resonates just as much today as that of Led Zeppelin. They were trying for different things, so to try and compare the two is ridiculous. You could just as easily slag Led Zeppelin for stealing blues riffs and writing songs about stonehenge or hobbit vikings or whatever.

Freddielove · Post by **Freddielove** » Mon May 09, 2005 11:53 pm

I have always thought of rock as an American art form that the British were better at.

I have always been amazed that a nation the size of New Jersey could have so much great music. But then I liked EMF, so there.

As far as Australia v. Canada.

Australia has The Church, INXS, Crowded House (we'll give you New Zealand) while Canada can boast The Tragically Hip, Bran Van 3000, and Barenaked Ladies, and current favorite, Feist. I think Canada gets the slight edge here.

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Tue May 10, 2005 3:45 am

Leaf wrote:uh... Psuedo Echo.
.

Ouch - that hurt

..but I'll see your Crash Test Dummies and raise you a Hoodoo Gurus

...and I'd shag Kylie Minogue before Celine Dion anyday (hell, I'd probably shag Leaf before Celine Dion...)

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Tue May 10, 2005 3:52 am

but back to the article - there must be some truth in it. Though Spinal Tap was made by Americans and starred Americans - it's impossible to imagine the band Spinal Tap could have been anything but English

Mogosagatai · Post by **Mogosagatai** » Tue May 10, 2005 4:58 am

erikb wrote:Kiss rules. Their music resonates just as much today as that of Led Zeppelin. They were trying for different things, so to try and compare the two is ridiculous. You could just as easily slag Led Zeppelin for stealing blues riffs and writing songs about stonehenge or hobbit vikings or whatever.

Yowsa! I'm gonna have to go ahead and apologize to the gods on behalf of that statement. Kiss? To Led Zeppelin? So far apart, it's ridiculous.

I'm gonna hafta go mostly with Freddielove on this one. While I might wager that America has Britain beat in terms of density of rock above a certain level of goodness, the highest peaks of brilliance seem to have come from the eastern shore.

bz£ · Post by **bz£** » Tue May 10, 2005 5:49 am

Mogosagatai wrote:America has Britain beat in terms of density

Because when it comes to being dense, America will always win!

Justincombustion · Post by **Justincombustion** » Tue May 10, 2005 8:11 am

As far as pure numbers, UK per capita DOES kick everyone's ass in good bands. It's not nearly as populated as many countries and has given the Beatles, Stones, Zep, Sabbath, U2, Bee Gees (shut up!), Elvis Costello and tons more.
Those are some big names from such a small group of islands. Must be something in the water.
Granted Spice Girls and Sex Pistols are black eyes but hey, when you enjoy a good steak, it comes with a load of crap.

erik · Post by **erik** » Tue May 10, 2005 8:24 am

Mogosagatai wrote:
erikb wrote:Kiss rules. Their music resonates just as much today as that of Led Zeppelin. They were trying for different things, so to try and compare the two is ridiculous. You could just as easily slag Led Zeppelin for stealing blues riffs and writing songs about stonehenge or hobbit vikings or whatever.
Yowsa! I'm gonna have to go ahead and apologize to the gods on behalf of that statement. Kiss? To Led Zeppelin? So far apart, it's ridiculous.

Yeah, Led Zeppelin does kind of suck, but I was trying to be nice.

WeaselSlayer · Post by **WeaselSlayer** » Tue May 10, 2005 9:56 am

All I'm saying is The Beatles were no Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention or Velvet Underground, Eric Clapton was no Jimi Hendrix, and even Radiohead wouldn't be what they are now if it weren't for, say, Jeff Buckley. But I mean the UK did give us Tom Jones.

boltoph · Post by **boltoph** » Tue May 10, 2005 10:06 am

Freddielove wrote:I have always thought of rock as an American art form that the British were better at.

Yeah it is truly American. Niche America actually. African-American musical culture started it all. America ripped off itself. Britain then ripped off America and proved to be better at it. I kind of think that our "rock" and "pop" today is more of a fusion between European Classical and American Blues.
Up until that point, the closest thing that Britain had to rock may have been the Beggar's Opera

Now Canadians, on the other hand... seem to have done it all.

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Wed May 11, 2005 6:23 am

Justincombustion wrote: Bee Gees (shut up!).

Hold on there sonny jim - the brothers Gibb are my homies. I believe that they grew up in the Brisbane suburb of Pinkinba, and gazed out upon the serene waters of Moreton Bay dreaming of satin trousers - just as I'm doing right now...

It's very cruel to impose Englishness on somebody when they don't deserve it

oh,

and just to finish the silly Australian vs Canada debate (that admittedly, I started) - I just have 2 more words to say:

Bryan Fucking Adams

...game, set and match, Australia.

Justincombustion · Post by **Justincombustion** » Wed May 11, 2005 7:07 am

Caravan Ray wrote:
Justincombustion wrote: Bee Gees (shut up!).

Hold on there sonny jim - the brothers Gibb are my homies. I believe that they grew up in the Brisbane suburb of Pinkinba, and gazed out upon the serene waters of Moreton Bay dreaming of satin trousers - just as I'm doing right now...

It's very cruel to impose Englishness on somebody when they don't deserve it

Ahhh sorry, I was watching an interview or something and they mentioned their "home" outside London or something, I thought they meant their HOME home, not just a house they bought. Still some of the greatest hooks ever.

thehipcola · Post by **thehipcola** » Wed May 11, 2005 7:34 am

Caravan Ray wrote:....
and just to finish the silly Australian vs Canada debate (that admittedly, I started) - I just have 2 more words to say:

Bryan Fucking Adams

...game, set and match, Australia.

FINISH? I ain't even started...though thats a good finishing move. Nothing can explain Bryan Adams...so I won't try. Or Shania Twain...? But what about Donna Lewis? Natalie Imbruglia? Did I already mention Silverchair? Shania, Brian and Celine, while all sucking ass big time, represent boatloads of $$ for our record company friends, and helped put Canadian music on the hugely successful money-maker map. And tho Bryan really sucks now, he at least started out writing good ol' rock tunes and touring coast to coast at shit bars to get his career going. HA...to think that he and Corey Hart (where is he now) were going neck and neck at one point....and then Bryan pulled away and never looked back.

[shakes head...] ok...almost got sucked in to the Cdn 80's vortex there....

tonetripper · Post by **tonetripper** » Wed May 11, 2005 7:46 am

erikb wrote:Yeah, Led Zeppelin does kind of suck, but I was trying to be nice.

Your right Erik Kiss is waaaaayyyyyy better.

tonetripper · Post by **tonetripper** » Wed May 11, 2005 7:58 am

All I want to say is Cuts Like a Knife is a classic, Celine Dion rules, Shania's hot, Rush rip, Skinny Puppy distort, Run With The Kittens may be my new favourite live band. They put on the funniest live shows around here in Toronto although their site doesn't do them justice in terms of how good they are.

Hey and Broken Social Scene just plain rule and all of you other countries know it. Oh and who could forget Lighthouse.

For Australia you can't ever give up on Midnight Oil. They were pretty fuckin cool in their day.

Leaf · Post by **Leaf** » Wed May 11, 2005 8:36 am

Line 'em up:

The Ladies:
Celion Dion
Alanis Morrissette
Avril Lavigne
Sarah McLachlan
Joni Mitchell
Shania Twain
Nelly Furtado
Jane Siberry

And teh Gentlemen:
Bryan Adams
Bruce Cockburn
Matthew Good
Ronnie Hawkins
Gordon Lightfoot
Sam Roberts
David Wilcox
NEIL YOUNG

The BANDS:
Blue Rodeo
Big Sugar
Alexisonfire
Crahs Test Dummies
54-40
Triumph
Rush
Gob
Great Big Sea
Northern Pikes
Our Lady PEace
Saga
Sloan
Sum 41
Nickelback
VoiVod

number one songs, billions in cash, time altering music, chart topping, Aussie whippin, CANADIAN.

BRING IT ON!!!!!

I think only the Americans could field a comparable team. I can't think of as many female top artists from OZ or the British Isles.... but be warned... I've yet to mention:

SNOW.

Now who's playing with fire????