The UK v The U.S. Musically

...Alexisonfire, Cancer Bats, F**ked Up, Comeback Kid, Billy Talent... 




...Avril Lavigne 

JUSTIN BIEBER!!!!!!!!

WTF? I take it your tongue was firmly in your cheek there Billy? 

Lovin it mate.

Best Ska (two tone  )  bands? Madness?  - Check out The Uptones or The Toasters mate... I reckon you'll get a sweet surprise.

Best Glam Rock band? Slade? - I'd reckon The New York Dolls or Iggy & The Stooges might have something to say about that.

The best band of the 90's? Quoasis? If they were the best that Britain could offer in the 90's it just goes to show you how sh*te our music was - thankfully, tho', they weren't. - the USA? - Nirvana; Pearl Jam; Screaming Trees; Foo Fighters... and on and on...

They (arguably) aren't as innovative but for sheer quality and quantity of, kick ass, bands playing every thing from Blues to Punk and everything in between the USA wins hands down. It's got nothing all to do with taste either.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees and Foo Fighters? Maybe if you're a fan of similar genres.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees and Foo Fighters? Maybe if you're a fan of similar genres.

Put your nationality and favourite musical styles to the side for the minute and lets debate which country over the last 65 years has given us the best music!

A lot of people haven't mentioned the works and influence of the likes of Brian Eno, David Bowie, Mike Oldfield. Solo artists like Elton John, Kate Bush, the influence of figures such as Hank Marvin....the list goes on.

Looking through and surprised no one's mentioned The Stone Roses either!

Oh and I haven't even begun to start on Britain's classical composers!

Looking through and surprised no one's mentioned The Stone Roses either!

It's because they're sh*t.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees and Foo Fighters? Maybe if you're a fan of similar genres.

If you had read the whole post in context frankly' you would have noted that those four, 90's rock bands, bands were put up against Billy's offering for the "best 90's band" which happened to be a.... 90's  rock band.

I'd suggest that each and every one of them were/are an awful lot better than the Quo'asis : from musical ability and stage presence to song writing. I'd even go as far as to suggest that most music fans would agree; if they "sets aside nationality" and looks at things objectively, that is.

The last time we played this game: http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,20924.msg402907.html#msg402907 I actually played devil's advocate for the U.K.

It was  only a bit of fun then and it's only a bit of fun now. For me anyhow. 

Going to be a shithouse here and say both countries have some outstanding bands and artists who have put out some of the greatest music to ever be played on vinyl,discs etc, so why must both countries rely on Simon Cowell churned out sh*te?

If you had read the whole post in context frankly' you would have noted that those four, 90's rock bands, bands were put up against Billy's offering for the "best 90's band" which happened to be a.... 90's  rock band.

I'd suggest that each and every one of them were/are an awful lot better than the Quo'asis : from musical ability and stage presence to song writing. I'd even go as far as to suggest that most music fans would agree; if they "sets aside nationality" and looks at things objectively, that is.

The last time we played this game: http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,20924.msg402907.html#msg402907 I actually played devil's advocate for the U.K.

It was  only a bit of fun then and it's only a bit of fun now. For me anyhow. 

Ooooh I don't know about Foo Fighters being better than Oasis! It's all subjective though. I mean I've never heard a song by the bands you mentioned that matches something like The Masterplan but it's just my opinion. Music, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder....or in this case the ears!

Ooooh I don't know about Foo Fighters being better than Oasis! It's all subjective though. I mean I've never heard a song by the bands you mentioned that matches something like The Masterplan but it's just my opinion. Music, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder....or in this case the ears!

"Yellow Ledbetter" by Pearl Jam is pretty epic, even if no one knows any of the f*cking words haha. Which is part of what it makes great. Awesome solo too.

Pearl Jam Yellow Ledbetter

Going to be a shithouse here and say both countries have some outstanding bands and artists who have put out some of the greatest music to ever be played on vinyl,discs etc, so why must both countries rely on Simon Cowell churned out sh*te?

That's kind of the state of the music industry unfortunately. Much like how we bemoan modern football, the modern music industry is a pretty sorry state of affairs.

Yeah but 'Two-Tone' was most definitely British first and that's where, I think, Billy got himself confused, bless.

You're delving into murky waters if you're going to trace musical genres back to their absolute roots, it's hard to know where to stop as all music is an evolotion of what came before. Far easier to discuss where the genre was most prolific which in the case of Rock, Metal, Rap, RnB, Punk, Ska. Mod and many other genres, the US and UK have been the forerunners.

Very true, I just wanted to point out how good Jamaican music is.

Not forgetting Brazil, of course 

Sepultura - Ratamahatta

My girlfriend's brother is the lead singer of a heavy/trash metal or whatever it is labelled (really can't find a word for it) called Confronto, they're not mainstream but very respected in the metal/punk scene, they've played with some great bands such as the Agnostic Front. I know it's off-topic but perhaps it could interest you Rep, take a look at them on youtube if you want:

Confronto Official DVD - Infanticidio

Not my cup of tea but my gf's brother is a great guy, we always have great chats about music.

He also has another band called Norte Cartel, it's a smaller 'project' but I actually like them better... more of a punk-rock band:

NORTE CARTEL - FAMÍLIA (OFFICIAL HD VERSION)


As for Brazilian music in general... we have an extremely rich culture here but a lot of it just isn't for me... I have a lot of respect for some Brazilian musicians but in truth most of what I listen is sang in English... I was introduced to American grunge from a very early age and not long after punk rock, so I never developed much interest to styles that are typical of my country. I do love old-school samba though, and the genius that is Cartola. He is possibly the best thing that ever happened in Brazilian music in my eyes, if you don't like him then you probably won't like samba at all:

CARTOLA - "O Mundo É Um Moinho" (Cartola) 1976

Cartola - Preciso me encontrar


Sorry for going ridiculously off topic here

Back on topic, I just can't decided between British or American music. I love so many different bands and artists of different times from both countries...

I know it's off-topic but perhaps it could interest you Rep, take a look at them on youtube if you want:

I'll have a listen tomorrow when I'm at home. Wouldn't be worth listening to them on the pc speakers at work!

EDIT : Couldn't resist having a quick listen. In the first video at 1:42, why is that bloke in the crowd wiping his arse along the floor like a dog with worms? haha. Is that a Brazilian thing?? 

I think I prefer the Norte Cartel stuff as well. I'll spread the word, every bit helps.

EDIT : Couldn't resist having a quick listen. In the first video at 1:42, why is that bloke in the crowd wiping his arse along the floor like a dog with worms? haha. Is that a Brazilian thing?? 

No I never saw it before either, hadn't noticed when I watched the video Just a crazy guy I think

i  think its kinda irrelevent where a  band comes from.the size of the u.s.a means there will be more bands than britain but if ya like a bands sound thats what is important.
                                            following on from the brazilian metal vids,i loved some of the early punk stuff outta there,Colera,Olho Seco,Inocentes.

I vote Australia

Never seen the hype about Radiohead. I think The Bends is a really really great album, but most of their stuff is just too abstract to emotionally connect with me and I rarely ever find myself in a mood which calls for Radiohead, plus Thom Yorke has to be the most pretentious stuck up front man of all time. Two of my favourite bands of all time are REM and The Smiths, who are similar in vein to the sort of themes and emotions that Radiohead try to play at, and I feel they are far superior in getting their message across - better melodies, better lyrics, better and more interesting frontmen, more interesting musicianship (Johnny Marr has to be the greatest pop guitarist ever) the singers are really good singers, etc. And in terms of their so called 'reinventions', I think U2 displayed a far more radical and impressive yet still highly accessible reinvention in the 90s from their 80s self. A band that released Zooropa which sounds nothing like the band that released Boy, The Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree - with Radiohead, I can still tell it's Radiohead.

I've sort of gone off topic but I think the UK has much better bands than the US, while the US probably get one up on solo artists.

OOOhhh. This is a touchy subject. Id rather debate religion than this.

Music always had highs and lows. I think the Brits were definitely #1 from 1963-1972. They had a lot of good bands and artists but nothing comparable to the Beatles or Stones. Then on top of that was The Who, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and probably the most underrated band ever The Animals.  Music and talent wise, the only US band to compete against the Beatles were the Beach Boys. Their music was a little "commercial" and different from the mainstream 60's sound but they had better vocals and harmonies than the Beatles. But also a lot of those bands were inspired by the Blues and early rock which was from the US.

The 70's - 80's I though was sh*t. The Brits gave us Wham, Duran Duran and Culture Club and any number of sh*t pop groups and we didnt do anything either.

But the 90's brought back the rivalry. The Brits had the whole "Brit Pop" scene and we had Metal and Punk/Grunge. I always liked Oasis but what killed them, in terms of success was timing. I still remember that Stone Roses were getting a bit of a following over here and Oasis were playing the bigger arenas and on the radio alot. But, then Nirvana and Pearl Jam hit. US music went back to the raw, garage sound. No makeup or hair or theater. It was just dirty and loud and groups like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, Alice in Chains, Metallica, Guns and Roses, Slayer and especially Rage Against The Machine...were just massive.

In the span of 18 months I saw Pearl Jam, RATM, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains all live. It was all hardcore US groups. With the exception of Oasis I cant think of 1 British band that had a big Impact in the US between 1991-1998. In that time I went to dozens of concerts, I was a huge music fan. We went to every big show in NY/NJ area. I can only think of 1 concert that I went to that had a British band and that was New Order. Their was also a huge Punk scene going on. Bands like Fugazi, Descendants, All, Rollins Band, Pennywise, Bad Religion, NOFX, Green Day, Operation Ivy, Gorilla Biscuits and The Misfits etc were playing together and opening up the Hardcore/Punk scene.

Now, I dont think it matters anymore. W/ the Internet and Itunes and You Tube its all based on the Music. Regardless of where your from. It used to be the "British Sound" or "English Beat" and you could tell a Brit band from a Yank band, but I think thats changing. Once we started knowing about and influencing each others cultures, music changed.

But regardless. music is music to me. If its good I like it, if its sh*t, its sh*t.

The 70's - 80's I though was sh*t. The Brits gave us Wham, Duran Duran and Culture Club and any number of sh*t pop groups and we didnt do anything either.

I'm not sure about you guys but I thought there was plenty of great music out of the UK in the 70/80s.

Bowie, T Rex, Kate Bush, Floyd, The Clash, Joy Division, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure to name just a few.

I haven't really got into this debate yet as I love music from both the US and the UK, although more bands/artists I like tend to be from the UK but that doesn't take away from some of my favourite bands who are from the US.