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The epic pan-Atlantic battle, which nation produces and has produced the superior music of the years?
I myself think Britain is still better, because while the music is nowhere near as good as it was up to the early 90's, much of American music seems to have degraded to some horrid commercialised bastard child of rap music.
France ? ~D
I think european countries are on their rise.
GAH!
I think in every country there are people who make good music, so I can't vote in this one. :(
The question isn't who rocks best in the world... the question is who makes the better music out of these two options.
Its a two party system.
As far as I listen to Manowar ( americans ) and Iron Maiden ( british ) I can say that, Manowor made his last album btter than I.M. , but I I.M. make more different - style albumes , so I voted for U.K.!!!!!!!!!
Iron Maiden! woohoo! ~:)
Well, seriously, I just can't stand most of US cheap commercial music. They might have some good stuff, but the only things we hear of in France are Limp Bizkit (they're from US aren't they ?) and other megacrap like that, so I say go Britain.
Most of the Ones I consider Great are British.
Even Hendrix did much of his rocking in Britain.
Nowadays the rocking is done in Norway and Sweden, in case you don't know. ~;)
Norweigan rock music is excellent !
Its just a shame it occasionally gets too extreme and things get burnt to the ground as a result, but hey thats the rock and roll life style.
Why, Great Britian, of course!
Edward Elgar, and the Pomp and Circumstance song. They even play that in the US at graduation ceremonies, apparently.
Then the Beatles, they are one of the greatest bands of all time.
Then the various bands of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and all their marches.
Vaughan Williams, with Fantasia on Greensleeves, and the Folk Song Suite.
They are cool! ~;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Peru
Haha!Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Khalifah
A few guys burn down some churches and kill some homosexuals, and Norway will never live it down.
As far as rock music goes, I'm only really familiar with metal and its subsidiaries, thus taking the commercialization of American music out of my personal equation.
The problem with Britain in the metal scene is that it's isolated nearly to the point of being pompous. If a band not signed to an English label attempts to distribute in Britain, it will get almost no attention, no support, and therefore, no sales. Darkthrone is a good example of this.
That being said, the Isles do and have produce(d) some pretty good metal. For every good British band, however, there is an equally good North American band, so I'm going to go with America (and Canada) purely on being a more accessible, newcomer-friendly market.
Is it just me or is there a subversive thread of humour buried in most of His Majesty's pronouncements? Well, not that buried.Quote:
Why, Great Britian, of course!
Edward Elgar, and the Pomp and Circumstance song. They even play that in the US at graduation ceremonies, apparently.
Then the Beatles, they are one of the greatest bands of all time.
Then the various bands of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and all their marches.
Vaughan Williams, with Fantasia on Greensleeves, and the Folk Song Suite
Anyway its plainly the UK. Two words: The Who. Though Americans bands are harder working and put on a good show IME.
The UK wins hands down. We have(or had)-
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
The Who
Deep Purple
Cream
The Beatles
The Kinks
David Bowie
Jimi Hendrix (ok, he was an American, but he made it over here)
Black Sabbath
The Rolling Stones
The list goes on...there are probably a number I've left out.
We (the british) have all the gewd rock music!! The only good thing to come out of America was Elvis, but i'm not sure that he was even that good.
It must be you, I'm not that clever to think up something like up. Feel free to share the joke, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by English assassin
I think I´ll vote for Britain.
But the best music in my opinion still comes from Canada and Sweden.
canada has music?
I'm an American, but I had to vote for the UK in this one. If the poll was about who has the most excellent rockin' bands, then I'd have to vote for the USA, but when it comes to the number of bands in my top ten or twenty, the UK dominates.
Yes, Canada has some excellent rockers--Rush and Saga immediately come to mind.
Well, I'd imagine you would have the most-you're a bit bigger than us. ~DQuote:
Originally Posted by TogakureOjonin
Perhaps some kind of rockin' band per members of population quotient would be a good way of deciding.
Whereas I would probably vote for GB, I would also have to say that the Blues is my scene and for that I must thank USA
........Orda
Canada.....Heart, Bryan Adams, Neil Young
Great Britain by a large margin.
Lumping Hendrix into that group is ridiculous. He's an American musician who first cut his teeth as a blues guitarist! Where in blazes do you think the blues originated? Madagascar?Quote:
Originally Posted by Big King Sanctaphrax
Just as an FYI, were it not for the existence of the following American musicians & bands many of those great UK rock bands would have never existed...
- Chuck Berry
- Elvis Presley
- Little Richard
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- The Beach Boys - Their album "Pet Sounds" had a MASSIVE influence on rock and roll. It is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential rock albums of all time.
- Numerous country and blues musicians
Yes, I suppose it was a bit of a stretch...Quote:
Lumping Hendrix into that group is ridiculous. He's an American musician who first cut his teeth as a blues guitarist!
Just think... who produced The Spice Girls... S Club 7... Boyzone... and all those other greats?
...
But seriously. First off, I would like to, on behalf of our fair country, apologise for the above mentioned travesties.
Recently, I reckon Robbie's better than anything I've heard from America... though, I do prefer the sort of stuff mentioned in BKS's post.
Just one thing... why was Queen not mentioned?
...
Hmm, I wonder... I was having a chat with a friend about cheese the other day, what's do the various honourable (and not so) members of this .Org-anisation think of as some of the greatest and cheesiest songs out there? A few we mentioned: I am the One and Only, I Will Walk 500 Miles, Build me up Buttercup, Don't Stop me Now... to name a few...
Perhaps another topic would be best for this though...
Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Ozzy, the Stones, Beatles. . . as an American I gotta say its the Brits, altho their best music was an adaptation of American black music.
ichi :bow:
So the consensus is that the Americans created it and the Brits refined it then? I could agree with that.
Are we talking now or in the history of rock.
I say Great Britain as all my favorite groups are from there
All great though as has been pointed out Hendrix is american and Yes , Traffic and Jethro Tull are missing to name a few plus there are hybrid bans like Fleetwood Mac. America had some awsome music back then also though such as the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, The Greatful Dead, CCR, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Lynard Skynard, the Allman Bros, Frank Zappa and many other greats. The British invasion though to me was the pinnacle of rock and will never be eclipsed.Quote:
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
The Who
Deep Purple
Cream
The Beatles
The Kinks
David Bowie
Jimi Hendrix (ok, he was an American, but he made it over here)
Black Sabbath
The Rolling Stones
Overall:
UK in the past, but ever since that horrible horrible dance-quasitechno-synthetic-whathaveyou era in the early 90s, the effects of which are felt even now, I prefer modern American music to European by far. Even if they produced rap and similar music, at least in the US people still play the guitars.
Jamaicans! Hands down!
Bob Marley & the Wailers
Peter Tosh
Linton Kwesi Johnson with the Dennis Bovell Dub Band (UK)
Burning Spear
Augustus Pablo
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Ernest Ranglin
Steel Pulse (UK)
Bunny Wailer
Mighty Diamonds
Inner Circle (original group)
Aswad (original group)
Dennis Brown
Gregory Isaacs
Joe Higgs
Jimmy Cliff
Toots & the Maytals
etc...
As for US vs. UK alone. UK is way too melodic but ZIP rhythm. US is more about rhythm. ~:cool:
The question was who rocks the most not wghos more stoned ~D These gruops are mostly Reggae not rock. Your out of order.Quote:
Jamaicans! Hands down!
Bob Marley & the Wailers
Peter Tosh
Linton Kwesi Johnson with the Dennis Bovell Dub Band (UK)
Burning Spear
Augustus Pablo
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Ernest Ranglin
Steel Pulse (UK)
Bunny Wailer
Mighty Diamonds
Inner Circle (original group)
Aswad (original group)
Dennis Brown
Gregory Isaacs
Joe Higgs
Jimmy Cliff
Toots & the Maytals
etc...
~:confused: Reggae is Rock and it rocks!! A tiny sampling of Bob Marley fans and followers! ~;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Gawain of Orkeny
Tom Morello (ex-Rage Against the Machine) – “There's certainly a long history of bands who have combined rock power and powerful politics. We have blended some unique musical elements in it - but from the MC5, through Bob Marley, The Clash... while I'm not saying we're as good as those bands, we have some of the same intent. It's down to a number of factors.”
Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) – “"Now, it's 29 years of making music. So if there is a battle, the enemy has changed many times. There had been a lot of enemies. Most important to all people in showbiz is negativity and sadness. Otherwise a show is supposed to relieve you. Because when you go and listen to Elvis Presley or Bob Marley you expect to go through a new experience, to make you feel good.”
Bono (U2) – “And of course, we had Bob Marley as a role model. Our relationship with Ireland, and his with Jamaica, made sense. He was singing of Jah making him "whole", and singing about his lover, and his people. I saw a wholeness to that, a completeness about his music that I would like in our music....”
Carlos Santana – “A spiritual healer. Sure. We do that with our music. You're a healer, too. The way you write, the gift that you have to put words together to have impact on people…that's being a shaman. Anyone who complements life is a shaman. It's not just Bob Marley or some guy in the jungle or an Apache. John Coltrane, Stravinsky, Einstein. All of us have shamanic things in us.
Dave Matthews (DMB) – “I think the person that inspired me most when I was a teenager was Bob Marley.”
Ron Wood (Rolling Stones) – “The guys kept joking about, and we tried to get them in a serious mood by asking what bands they listened to these days. Jagger said his day either began or ended with Mozart. Wood said he chose Bob Marley reggae.”
Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones) – “and Watts admitted he heard a lot of Charlie Parker jazz. ‘I listen to Mozart and Bob Marley and Charlie Parker.’”
Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura) – “Q: What bands or musicians inspired you to be a musician?
MC: Queen was my first band and after them Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Sex Pistols, Bob Marley, etc.”
Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) – “Bio: when he has spare time, he studies the readings of Noam Chomsky, Che Guevara and Karl Marx; he listens and interprets the music of Bob Marley and John Lennon”.
Sting (ex Police) – “"Reggae was accepted in punk circles and musically more sophisticated, and we could play it, so we veered off into that direction. I mean, let's be honest here, 'So Lonely' was unabashedly culled from 'No Woman, No Cry' by Bob Marley. Same chorus."
Stewart Copeland (ex-Police) – “Question: But didn't you teach Sting the bass pattern on Roxanne?
SC: Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but this is a story that goes way back, and Sting and I have argued over this but the actually historical facts are that I lent him some Bob Marley records for a Christmas party, and that was the point when suddenly he started playing reggae bass lines to go with my reggae drum beats. See, if you play reggae drums without the bass lines or the guitar, it sounds like a bossa nova; it just doesn't work; it isn't a rhythm. That's the great thing about reggae - it's an interactive form; no one instrument by itself can play it
Stevie Wonder – “Master Blaster” (song tribute to Marley).
Jack Bruce (Cream) – “Ernest(Ranglin) is a fine Jamaican guitarist very responsible for starting the Ska movement, and also started some of the early reggae things that happened. Bob Marley and so on. So he’s a very important musician. He’s still playing very fine guitar.”
Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica) – “Heroes: Gene Simmons, Al Pacino, B.B. King, my father, Zach Harmen, Bob Marley”.
Adam Clayton (U2) – “Later on I got in to the classic Bob Marley records with Aston Barrett. I always liked the position the bass took on those records, as opposed to the position the bass is usually given.“
Anthony Kiedis (RHCP) – “Musical influences: Defunkt, Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.”
Trey Anastasio (Phish) – “You go through your whole life and you keep listening and listening and realize that certain musicians at certain times are closer to the truth. Like Bob Marley-he was onto something.”
Jahred (HedPe) – “Bob Marley is a huge thing in my life. It's more than just music for me. It's a spiritual thing.”
Nick (The Strokes) - “"From his first album to his last album there was just no decline in the quality of Bob's music."
Not to mention: Thom Yorke (Radiohead) to James Brown, Jeff Beck to Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz to SEAL, Sinead O’connor to Annie Lennox to more obvious ones like Sublime, No Doubt, Ben Harper or Jack Johnson etc etc.
And one on Linton Kwesi Johnson (of course LKJ the Bovell Dub band is 10x better than Bowie ~;) ).
David Bowie – “A Carib-Brit contribution to the history of rap. This man writes some of the most moving poetry to be found in popular music. The quite achingly sad SONNY'S LETTAH (ANTI-SUS POEM) is alone worth the price of admission. Although not sung but spoken word set against a superb band, this must be one of the most important reggae records of all time. I gave my original copy just recently to Mos Def, in whom I see connections to Johnson, thinking I had already got it on CD. Dammit, I haven't. So now I'm searching high and low for a copy.”
:charge:
David Bowie - a great musician, but anyone who's seen his performance in Labyrinth knows where his real talent lies.
I'll make you a prince... A prince in the land of eternal stench!
It is not UK against US. It is past against present. All great musicians from Chuck Berry to the Beatles are past. Even if you count Soul, Funk and Rap. James Brown, Grandmaster Flash ... all gone. Present bands are very professional, but not very creative? Rock and Rap/Soul hasn't changed since the 80ies.
Your correct the past rules as far as rock goes.
Looks like its a win for Britannia.
So hard, so hard. America has awesome shit, but even more shitier bands. Great Britian has the greats though. I'd have to go with Great Britian, though it's very hard.
And the past does rule when it comes to music. And the past will rise again, and be the present when it comes to music. My vision will come true... muhahaah!
Media and consumer Attention is currently spread all over. Video Games are now bigger than Recorded music. :charge:Quote:
Originally Posted by Franconicus
I pick US over Britain BTW. US had R&B and Funk in addition to Pop/Classic Rock. And of course, currently Hip-Hop/Nu-Metal. The Brits copied/borrowed lots of American Blues music. Just look at the credits of those music they were playing.
That's really nothing to brag about...Quote:
Originally Posted by Quietus
But Jazz , Blues and rock and roll are all American inventions and they all are great.
1) But compared to UK output it is. Grunge, Hip-hop and Nu-metal vs. Trip-Hop from UK? Electronica isn't entirely UK too, it's shared.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeonGod
2) You're probably thinking Hip-hop is nothing but samples. True, it is. But it's got rhythm. The reason I'm put off by it is it's synthetic and not made by real instruments and the lyrics aren't lyrical.
Secondly, if you look at those british bands as an examples, they copied too, literally. Example: "You Need Love" = "Whole Lotta Love".
Here: Samples
The Blues Roots of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin's Sources of Inspiration
:charge:
Definitely Britain, no doubt about it.
Just almost for the Betales alone!
Add to that Bowie, LZ, Floyd, Clapton, The Who, The Stones or any of the other greats and its no contest!
Even today, the best band around imo Radiohead are British.
However, one cannot for one second deny the massive contribution America has made in music. The roots of modern music lie in America, especially in early black-blues music. Lets not forget to mention imo the best American group of all time, Simon & Garfunkel, in particular Paul Simon.
Here's some uncredit Led Zeppelin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by http://www.warr.org/zep.html
Yeah, all the blues rockers nicked stuff. So did all the blues men.
Agreed. That's why it is so hard for me to say Great Britian.Quote:
But Jazz , Blues and rock and roll are all American inventions and they all are great.
But one thing I believe is that all the great music come from former British Empire holdings. Anyone care to disagree? ~D
I mean Britian, America, Jamica, Canada, Australia...
In quantity: American
In quality: British.
What i mean by this is that i could list far more american bands/musicians that i like than i could British, but i'd prefer the british artists. For example, for every Eric clapton, i could say Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Neil Young, etc, but none would compare to the aforementioned 'God'.
I'm going through a bit of an Eric Clapton and Pink Floyd obsessive streak at the moment, though. It may be biasing my decision. :P
Maybe i'll get round to listen American & British musicians if i don't sleep tonight. ;-)
More like you say Clapton I say Hendrix. Dont tell me he doesnt compare to the aforementioned 'God'.Quote:
For example, for every Eric clapton, i could say Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Neil Young, etc, but none would compare to the aforementioned 'God'.
Yeah, he certainly compares. But i don't find myself liking hendrix as much as i used to. I just think there's something more refined about Clapton. Different strokes for different folks, i guess.
Personaly Clapton is my favorite guitarist to listen to. His work with Cream is incredible. Im just pointing out that there are many great american musicians who can hold their own with anyone not matter what instrument or type of music you speak of. The Beatles , Stones, Floyd and Zepplin tip the scales in Britains favor as far as rock goes. Those four alone are supreme legends that are hard for any band from any where to beat.Quote:
Yeah, he certainly compares. But i don't find myself liking hendrix as much as i used to. I just think there's something more refined about Clapton. Different strokes for different folks, i guess.
Yeah, i see where you're coming from. But i think because The Beatles, the floyd, the stones and zeppelin are the legends that they are, their domanince over the 'quality' aspect of rock music is kind of set in stone.
I mean, if we were talking about electro or something, then i wouldn't be as quick to hail britain as gods of the genre. Look at Bowie's 'scary monsters' album for evidence of that...
Actually, the guitar in that album was what made me dislike it, and not the electro...
But i digress. I was just saying that the quality of British rock music is,to me, superior to american music.
That's not to say american rock music is all rubbish, though! Hell, BBKing is one of my favourite guitarists, probably neck and neck with Gilmour and Clapton...
Neil's Canadian, not American.Quote:
For example, for every Eric clapton, i could say Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Neil Young, etc, but none would compare to aforementioned 'God'.
Aw. Er... sorry about that... ~:joker:Quote:
Originally Posted by Steppe Merc
~D That's fine. He lives in America, and did so for all of his professional career, so it's understandable.
Most art, and most music, and most rock, is derivative, and lifting or sampling or covering is a widely accepted fact of life. There's nothing inherently good or bad about it IMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by Quietus
The only way to judge covers is to listen to them - did they repreduce note-for-note, did they add anything, did they do it better or different or in a new way?
Listen to Mississippi Queen by Mountain, written by Leslie West, then hear it again by Ozzy.
or pick up a CD labelled Led Zepellin's Sources of Inspiration and listen to these works and then compare to Zep's work. I could make the point that while Zep did 'steal' the work of a lot of black music, damn they did a great job of it.
ichi :bow:
I voted now, listened to some U2 and am now convinced.
U2 are Irish.
Yep.
Ohhh, I know what you mean. You mean Ireland is not a part of 'GB'
I already wasn't quite sure about what countries are in 'GB'.
I just thought GB meant *the islands to the west of the Netherlands in the northern sea.*
sorry for this if I interpretated it wrong :embarassed:
It's kind of an V.S. vs. Europe poll already. I made it only worse. ~D
Rock is dead. Has been for awhile. Nobody told the Brits, who think it's still on life-support. ~:cool:
Who rocks better? The kids at the Paul Green School of Rock Music in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, that's who! About 25 kids from 10 to 18 years old just put on a Beatles Tribute show Friday and Saturday night that was absolutely mind blowing. By the time Let It Be closed the show, I had a bad case of goosebumps from the beauty of the music and the performances. The Beatles lived for two and a half hours each night. The kids ROCKED and they enjoyed every minute of it! This school (main branch in Philadelphia) is rapidly expanding across the US and is teaching today's kids how to play and perform good old nuts 'n' bolts rock - from Pink Floyd to Queen to Frank Zappa. One of the personal goals of founder Paul Green is to cultivate a new generation of Rock musicians via these schools. The kids are loving it and flocking to the school here in Downingtown as word gets around. Rock isn't dead Kukri, it's just resting its eyes. ~;)
Great Britain is the name of the largest island off the north west coast of Europe, ie the mainland parts of England Scotland and Wales. I'm not completely sure if it includes the off shore islands, legally yes and geographically no I think. It does not include the Isle of Man, the channel islands and, most importantly, Ireland (including Northern ireland) (the term for all those islands together is the British Isles, though come to think of it the channel islands might not strictly be part of the british isles either).Quote:
I already wasn't quite sure about what countries are in 'GB'.
I just thought GB meant *the islands to the west of the Netherlands in the northern sea.*
I don't THINK anyone would be offended if you referred to the UK as "Britain" though you might be on thin ice talking to (either sort of) Irishman.
Needless to say we have made this all deliberately complicated so as to take offence at foreigners.
Nothing is dead in Britain until its been dead at least 150 years.Quote:
Rock is dead. Has been for awhile. Nobody told the Brits, who think it's still on life-support.
Except in special cases, when it is reduced to a mere 50.
Rock was dead, but has been revived using an old castle, plenty of lightning, and a deformed midget called Igor, all to the disturbance of the locals. And has odd bits added on...
I'm kinda split...
America gave us The Doors and Hendrix, but we got Floyd from the UK...
In the end, it all depends on your tastes. Myself, I hate the Rolling stones, as well as Elvis, so mine are kinda wierd.
In the end, it's a moot point, because both countries are now "Riding the Gravy Train", as Waters put it. Basically, all music has just turned to crap over the course of the past 25 years, even that produced by Floyd. It's sad, but true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregoshi
I concede the possibilities of both points :bow:Quote:
Originally Posted by English assassin
Maybe it's more like day 2 of a 3-day Irish wake, and we're waiting to see if Himself is gonna flutter his eyelids enough to drop the pennies we put on them. Or are we finally gonna put him in the ground tomorrow, he having not taken a perceptible breath in 72 hours (or in realTime: about 20 years).
Meanwhile, we mourners still sing the old songs, re-work the old notes, and try to recapture the old spirit - all in hopes of waking 'him' up. To little avail so far.
I might be premature in my prognosis, but I don't think so. I think Sir Rock died of complications of all the money to be had from its popularity. The sheer level of cash involved made it a mockery of its rebel ex-slave blues-wailing self.
I also think the only chance it has for revival is the discovery of a 'new mississippi', a new source of musical inspiration.
It all started with Frampton comes alive. The real big bucks that is.
That would have been '76 or '77? Yeah. I'd say that about coincides with the beginning of the end.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gawain of Orkeny
I'd say the downfall truly started at Altamont (or Woodstock, take you pick).
Allow me to illistrate my view of rock as a field of flowers.
During the golden age of Rock (from 1964 to 1968), rock was a field of flowers, with newer and more beatiful flowers growing every day. But around 1969, specifically after Woodstock and Altmont, rock started to fall, crushing the beatiful flowers. By the mid seventies a huge avalanche had fallen, and very few were still alive. Today, a few of the oldies are popping back up out of the avalanche (Allman Brothers for example) and a few new ones are popping up, such as Gov't Mule, Widespread Panic, etc.).
~:grouphug:
Then I made a mistake, sorry folks. :embarassed:Quote:
Originally Posted by English assassin
Rock evolved to many different forms. So I guess it lives in different incarnations. :charge: