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British Superiority in Music
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| Chimney |
I've always wondered how come British have been so influential when it comes to, more or less, all forms of music. From the early 60's with bands such as The Beatles and Rolling Stones, to today. I don't think we even have to mention their impact on the electronic music scene: Sasha, Digweed, Orbital, Underworld, James Holden, Four Tet, Hybrid - these being just few of the great names to mention.
Is it simply a cultural thing? Or are there other factors involved? |
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| srussell0018 |
| Both the Beatles and Rolling Stones were influenced by a lot of American artists/groups. The Beatles were heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, and the Stones were influenced by a lot of American blues. |
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| Alero50 |
| Classic case of Srussel's example are Led Zeppelin. |
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| julien2 |
| Everything is a remix. |
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| stewart.m |
| its because we make some good tunes :p |
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| Vector A |
| They really are more productive than you might expect from their population. I think one thing to remember is that in terms of social connections for music, they have kind of had the best of both worlds: physical proximity to Europe, plus historical and linguistic connection to America. That probably helps a bit... |
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| sljiva |
| quote: | Originally posted by srussell0018
Both the Beatles and Rolling Stones were influenced by a lot of American artists/groups. The Beatles were heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, and the Stones were influenced by a lot of American blues. |
Not sure about the Stones, but the most influential, post-Rubber Soul period of The Beatles characterized by heavy experimentation, psychedelic tones, tape effects, sitars, ADT, concept albums and all the other things critics and later bands such as Radiohead just adored had nothing to do with Dylan. Actually compared to them, Stones' influence was kinda minor (similarly to pretty much every band in the OP), Pink Floyd and Radiohead are much better examples. |
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| RapidFire |
| it's crazy how much good music has come out of there...what a mecca for talent |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| I think the small size and dense population of the country allows underground scenes to flourish and grow whereas in larger, less densely populated nations, cultural spread is forced to transmit through commercial routes simply to traverse the distances between population centres. The language, proximity to Europe and post-colonial cultural influx also allow for a huge amount of diversity and absorption of outside influences. We're also a wealthy country with a long and proud cultural history, which creates a self-sustaining environment for creativity. |
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