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.
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