British musicians?

cecilia wrote:

mdma wrote:

cecilia wrote:
ALL "pop" music sucks: it doesn't matter where it comes from.

The Beatles made "pop" music and they don't suck. :-D

no no no, that was a different time. that was before the horror of corporate "pop" music.

sure, The Beatles made popular music as opposed to classical or blues or Gilbert and Sullivan light opera. AND SO ON.

and, yes, they were brilliantly talented - the difference between them and this crap that is sold as "pop" music is that john, paul, george and ringo got together when they were kids, wrote their own music, played thier own instuments, sang with their own voices, etc.

and when being interviewed showed their own personalities - their true selves. not some calulated, corporate construct.

what made them a phenomenon is that they were having SUCH a good time, everyone wanted to join in. their joy, talent and passion was infectious.

Unfortunately, when untalented business sharks see something like this, all they see is an opportunity to make money. So they put together "acts" looking for one or more that will generate $$$$$$$$$.

the music is souless and crap.

That's capitalism for you! ;-)

[SyrTran]

@cecilia

no no no, that was a different time. that was before the horror of corporate "pop" music.

I was a little young at that time, but let's see...

Pat Boone
The Four Freshmen
Frankie Vallee (sp?) and the Four Seasons
Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello

Corporate "pop" music has been around since there has been corporations selling music.  The Beatles changed everything by forming their own record company.  All of a sudden, the suits had to play catch-up to the artists.  

From about 1966 to around 1975, the record companies had to try lots of different genres all at the same time, just to keep up.  You could hear George Bensen, Foghat, The Beach Boys, Queen, Todd Rundgren, and even (for some of us) Slade, all on the same radio station within a couple hours.

FM radio came into it's own as "album-rock" with the likes of Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, and Led Zeppelin.  All thanks to the ecclectic tastes of DJs on college radio stations.

Somehow, though, by the late '70s, the suits started catching up.  FM went commercial.  Disco got foisted on us.  Record companies started getting better control of distribution.  "They" started winning.  New Wave started pushing back, but, in the end, even that didn't help.  The suits won.

It would be very tough for a talented band like the Beatles to appear nowadays (yes, there _are_ many talented acts nowadays) with the kind of freedom that was available in the '60s.  Internet radio started to help, but the suits managed to get that avenue closed down.  That's the whole point of the RIAA lawsuits.  It isn't about money, it's about control.

Sorry, I got carried away.  I'll just go sit in a corner now and be quiet.  I promise.  :-)

[cecilia]

The Beatles changed everything by forming their own record company.

sure, AFTER they started APPLE. before that the suits were still in a state of shock that four "mop tops" could make this kind of furor. People JUST don't understand the power of the female sex drive :lol: :lol:

It would be very tough for a talented band like the Beatles to appear nowadays (yes, there _are_ many talented acts nowadays)

I know. I've seen many of them myself. That's what the Hardcore movement in NY was all about. They gave themselves names that could NEVER possibly be used by suits to make money. They had lyrics that were so bold and in some cases nasty so that they could not be exploited. it was great. the Anti-success bands! I love them!

SIRIUS Satellite Radio may be the big wave of the future. who knows?

cecilia wrote:

The Beatles changed everything by forming their own record company.

sure, AFTER they started APPLE. before that the suits were still in a state of shock that four "mop tops" could make this kind of furor. People JUST don't understand the power of the female sex drive :lol: :lol:

It would be very tough for a talented band like the Beatles to appear nowadays (yes, there _are_ many talented acts nowadays)

I know. I've seen many of them myself. That's what the Hardcore movement in NY was all about. They gave themselves names that could NEVER possibly be used by suits to make money. They had lyrics that were so bold and in some cases nasty so that they could not be exploited. it was great. the Anti-success bands! I love them!

SIRIUS Satellite Radio may be the big wave of the future. who knows?

And in the UK we had Acid House and all the many forms of (some not so)underground music it spawned.

Only for the Hardcore!!

Where's Wilse when I need him? :-)

Without trying to cause offence to any "Patriots" reading this (although I'm sure I will),  it seems to me that the US invents a form/style of music, and then many if not most times, the UK picks it up and does it better.

For instance:-

Rock'n'Roll - We produce the Beatles, The Rolling Stones etc..
House - We turn it into Acid House/Hardcore/D&B and do it 100times better.
HipHop - While the american hiphop has turned into commercial pap, the UK is producing some of the best hiphop around.

I know not everything we produce is better, but it seems like quite a lot.

Anyone want to hazzard a guess why this is so?  I can't think of any special reason why.

[cecilia]

Without trying to cause offence to any "Patriots" reading this (although I'm sure I will), it seems to me that the US invents a form/style of music, and then many if not most times, the UK picks it up and does it better.

:lol: oh, stop! this has nothing to do with "Patriots"!

the one great music style that americans invented was Blues. Sure, people like Clapton do it really well. but there is something quite unique about the original guys (Blind Lemon Jefferson, etc).

I do think that one of the reasons why europeans can be very creative with styles invented by others is the fact that europeans get a classical education. and being educated is respected.
When I listened to The Beatles it seemed obvious that there was some classical musical knowledge somewhere in there. (yes, I've heard the stories about how some of these musicans can't "write" in musical notation). that's not what I mean.
They grew up hearing good music - just like I did with my family. mom played the cello in college, performing Gilbert and Sullivan. My grandfather would sing french opera while he made dinner. It gets in your head.

if you have talent, it comes out. somehow.  

[Turambar]

if you have talent, it comes out. somehow.

Mine's stuck....


Theres still a lot of creative stuff being made in america, check out some of the bands on www.ipecac.com (ok some of the bands arent american but most are i believe).

[Lemonty]

Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead, Garbage, Fat Boy Slim, Gorrillaz

Lemonty wrote:
Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead, Garbage, Fat Boy Slim, Gorrillaz

Well, if we're talking older bands and acts.

The Smiths, Joy Division, New Order, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, Northside, Black Grape, Morrisey, Ian Brown, Oasis, The La's, Cast, Massive Attack, Prodigy.

I'm sure if you search your favourite P2P client, there will be loads of the above artists songs to sample.

[bloodline]

Do I count as a British musician?

bloodline wrote:
Do I count as a British musician?

Only if I count as a genius! ;-)

[Floid]

I continue to be a terribly big fan of Julian Cope.  "The Breakfast Show" on the radio sessions page is practically a Greatest Hits album; try to hang in there until 'Safesurfer,' at least.  (Edit:  Just coming back to this thread, and I've discovered that is a compilation album -- 'Leper Skin' in its entirety -- plus some extra bits thrown on.  Not a bad deal for the price of free.)

I also have this strange habit of liking Savoy Brown, I'm not sure how absurd that makes me.

[Martin_Lee]

Boards of Canada (www.warprecords.com)
Pulp
Radiohead
smiths

The Verve

Also, Atomic Kitten and Westlife are particularly good! :lol:

[Doobrey]

Hey mdma, you forgot your all time favourite  :-D

BTW, why has no one mentioned these guys http://www.ironmaiden.com  :-?

[X-ray]

Wasn't it Vincent who 'ordered' a Cliff CD last year?  :-P

Edit: or was it Punkie? Can't find the original post