TheGushinRussian
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You know, a lot of people love to spout off about how the British were light years ahead of artists from the United States, but were they really? Now don't get me wrong, I'm from the U.S., but I don't necessarily disagree. My favorite artist is, as you could deduct from my profile image, Pink Floyd. It's not a matter of preference, I'm just offering some objective analysis. A list of bands and artists from each part of the world might help in making a judgement. I'm writing a paper on this, and I think this will serve as a good outline. I've become a rock historian of sorts, and I hope you like this.
British: The Beatles, U2, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, Eric Clapton and all of his bands, Van Morrison, Queen, King Crimson, The Who, Elton John ( If you call that rock ), David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac ( for the most part ), Black Sabbath, Radiohead, The Smiths, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash, The Arctic Monkeys, Judas Priest, Coldplay, Deep Purple, Dire Straights, and The Police, We'll leave it at that.
That's pretty god damned tough to argue with, but fear not Americans, you've got a pretty good case going too.
Americans: Bob Dylan, Robert Johnson, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix ( I know The Experience was two thirds from the U.K. ), Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Santana, Tom Petty, B.B. King, The Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, The Ramons, Nirvana, The Strokes, The Black Keys, The Doors, Rush ( american includes Canadians ), Blue Oyster Cult, Frank Zappa, The Allman Brothers, Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Metallica, Miles Davis, Sly and The Family Stone, and Guns N Roses.
Note: This was listed off the top of my head, of I missed anyone I apologize. Again, trying to be objective. I'm an 18 year old, this is all based on my musical experiences, which differentiate from those of you who were there.
Now, we can see a few things clearly.
1. It started in America- Robert Johnson influenced British artists decades after his time, he may be the most influential guitar player of all time. B.B., Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly were all influential early rockers, and most of early British bands catalogs are covers of early american rock artists. Elvis popularized it. Now, does this make american rock superior? No, however it shows the influence of early american rock and roll music.
2. The Big Names- This is where you really have to give it to the British. Floyd, The Beatles, Zep, The Stones, and The Who regularly crack top 10 band lists alone. At the same time, Elvis and Bob Dylan were 1st and second in line when it came to those in the spotlight of popular culture. Before there was the Beatles, Elvis and Dylan were both the central figure of rock music at one point. Nirvana, an american band, by and large dominated the 90s. When it comes to quantity, the Americans and the British both have a large body of work. The British also have The Clash, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, The Sex Pistols, Elton, ect., but one cannot ignore The Doors, Hendrix, CCR, The Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground, The Allman Brothers, and many more. Verdict: The British take it by a hair, The 5 bands initially mentioned have sold so many records combined that their case is too strong to yield to Americans.
3. Intellectualism, Philosophy, and Innovation: This, is what it comes down to. This is the most difficult and pressing criteria in making this decision. As aforementioned, early rock originated almost exclusively in america. At the same time, Psychedelic, Progressive, Hard rock, and Punk were all dominated by the British. When it comes to the Americans, you would have to credit them with the blues, southern rock, surf rock, Grunge, Alternative, and other popular sub genres of rock music. Both Americans and British were almost equally influential over time. Philosophy and Intellect are, what I think, it comes down to. Dylan, The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, The Doors, and Jimi Hendrix are among those from America that offered the most in terms of messages that evoke emotion and thought from the listener. Dylan is, almost undeniably, the greatest lyricist of all time. Hendrix offered up some of the most complex guitar riffs of all time, and his lyrics, though not the epicenter of his bravado as an artist, were extremely creative and shined light on very sentimental things that we all deal with. The Velvet Underground, they sang about things some people knew were going on in the world, but no one wanted to bring to light. They had such a unique style, and they recorded one of the greatest albums of all time with half assed recording equipment. The Doors brought about their own blend of jazz, blues, and what was then new age rock and roll. If someone like Paul McCartney wrote songs about positivity and optimism quite often, Jim Morrison was the opposite. His lyrics were so dark and blunt and they went along perfectly with the bands often eerie instrumental, and he did so eloquently. The Beach Boys, well, Brian Wilson for the most part, are so under appreciated. I'm trying to stay objective but I'll be subjective in saying that Pet Sounds is to me the greatest album of all time besides Dark Side of The Moon. Brian Wilson defied what everyone thought you could do with harmonies and instrumentals, and made them ever so complex. Pet sounds contains the most personally touching lyrics that, though penned by Tony Asher, stem from Brian Wilsons life and his heart. The music almost amplifies and helps convey that emotion, in a way no artist or band had or has since. Pet sounds inspired Sgt. Peppers, which, by popular account, is the most influential and ground breaking album of all time. That being said, it's time to give the British their props. The Beatles are the greatest band of all time. There's no denying it. They aren't mine and they might not be the favorite of whomever is reading this, but they grew more than any other band ever. They went from whimsical, poppy ballads and dancy songs to composing some of the most complex music of all time along with mind opening lyrics and concepts. Pink Floyd, well, what can I say? They sustained losing their founding creative member to insanity, and rather than folding in the face of adversity, they found inspiration in the life and troubles of their original leader Syd Barrett and made, in my opinion, the most revolutionary and mind opening music ever. When I hear a Pink Floyd song, it's so many things. David Gilmours guitar sings to me, and Roger Waters lyrics are so profoundly introspective of the human race as a whole, that I begin to question myself and reality itself. The Stones made some of the catchiest shit you'll ever hear, yet, beneath all the bravado and Mick Jagger thrusting his hips around, there's a sometimes ever so subtle message that stems from all of their music. Other times, it's not so subtle at all. It's gets in your face, and it offers you two choices to cope with problems: You can act like this isn't a problem or this isn't relevant, or you can come to accept this and live life gritty and stubborn, never laying your hope down to rest. I could go on forever, but, in the end, I have no verdict. I suppose that's for all of you to decide.
British: The Beatles, U2, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, Eric Clapton and all of his bands, Van Morrison, Queen, King Crimson, The Who, Elton John ( If you call that rock ), David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac ( for the most part ), Black Sabbath, Radiohead, The Smiths, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash, The Arctic Monkeys, Judas Priest, Coldplay, Deep Purple, Dire Straights, and The Police, We'll leave it at that.
That's pretty god damned tough to argue with, but fear not Americans, you've got a pretty good case going too.
Americans: Bob Dylan, Robert Johnson, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix ( I know The Experience was two thirds from the U.K. ), Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Santana, Tom Petty, B.B. King, The Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, The Ramons, Nirvana, The Strokes, The Black Keys, The Doors, Rush ( american includes Canadians ), Blue Oyster Cult, Frank Zappa, The Allman Brothers, Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Metallica, Miles Davis, Sly and The Family Stone, and Guns N Roses.
Note: This was listed off the top of my head, of I missed anyone I apologize. Again, trying to be objective. I'm an 18 year old, this is all based on my musical experiences, which differentiate from those of you who were there.
Now, we can see a few things clearly.
1. It started in America- Robert Johnson influenced British artists decades after his time, he may be the most influential guitar player of all time. B.B., Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly were all influential early rockers, and most of early British bands catalogs are covers of early american rock artists. Elvis popularized it. Now, does this make american rock superior? No, however it shows the influence of early american rock and roll music.
2. The Big Names- This is where you really have to give it to the British. Floyd, The Beatles, Zep, The Stones, and The Who regularly crack top 10 band lists alone. At the same time, Elvis and Bob Dylan were 1st and second in line when it came to those in the spotlight of popular culture. Before there was the Beatles, Elvis and Dylan were both the central figure of rock music at one point. Nirvana, an american band, by and large dominated the 90s. When it comes to quantity, the Americans and the British both have a large body of work. The British also have The Clash, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, The Sex Pistols, Elton, ect., but one cannot ignore The Doors, Hendrix, CCR, The Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground, The Allman Brothers, and many more. Verdict: The British take it by a hair, The 5 bands initially mentioned have sold so many records combined that their case is too strong to yield to Americans.
3. Intellectualism, Philosophy, and Innovation: This, is what it comes down to. This is the most difficult and pressing criteria in making this decision. As aforementioned, early rock originated almost exclusively in america. At the same time, Psychedelic, Progressive, Hard rock, and Punk were all dominated by the British. When it comes to the Americans, you would have to credit them with the blues, southern rock, surf rock, Grunge, Alternative, and other popular sub genres of rock music. Both Americans and British were almost equally influential over time. Philosophy and Intellect are, what I think, it comes down to. Dylan, The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, The Doors, and Jimi Hendrix are among those from America that offered the most in terms of messages that evoke emotion and thought from the listener. Dylan is, almost undeniably, the greatest lyricist of all time. Hendrix offered up some of the most complex guitar riffs of all time, and his lyrics, though not the epicenter of his bravado as an artist, were extremely creative and shined light on very sentimental things that we all deal with. The Velvet Underground, they sang about things some people knew were going on in the world, but no one wanted to bring to light. They had such a unique style, and they recorded one of the greatest albums of all time with half assed recording equipment. The Doors brought about their own blend of jazz, blues, and what was then new age rock and roll. If someone like Paul McCartney wrote songs about positivity and optimism quite often, Jim Morrison was the opposite. His lyrics were so dark and blunt and they went along perfectly with the bands often eerie instrumental, and he did so eloquently. The Beach Boys, well, Brian Wilson for the most part, are so under appreciated. I'm trying to stay objective but I'll be subjective in saying that Pet Sounds is to me the greatest album of all time besides Dark Side of The Moon. Brian Wilson defied what everyone thought you could do with harmonies and instrumentals, and made them ever so complex. Pet sounds contains the most personally touching lyrics that, though penned by Tony Asher, stem from Brian Wilsons life and his heart. The music almost amplifies and helps convey that emotion, in a way no artist or band had or has since. Pet sounds inspired Sgt. Peppers, which, by popular account, is the most influential and ground breaking album of all time. That being said, it's time to give the British their props. The Beatles are the greatest band of all time. There's no denying it. They aren't mine and they might not be the favorite of whomever is reading this, but they grew more than any other band ever. They went from whimsical, poppy ballads and dancy songs to composing some of the most complex music of all time along with mind opening lyrics and concepts. Pink Floyd, well, what can I say? They sustained losing their founding creative member to insanity, and rather than folding in the face of adversity, they found inspiration in the life and troubles of their original leader Syd Barrett and made, in my opinion, the most revolutionary and mind opening music ever. When I hear a Pink Floyd song, it's so many things. David Gilmours guitar sings to me, and Roger Waters lyrics are so profoundly introspective of the human race as a whole, that I begin to question myself and reality itself. The Stones made some of the catchiest shit you'll ever hear, yet, beneath all the bravado and Mick Jagger thrusting his hips around, there's a sometimes ever so subtle message that stems from all of their music. Other times, it's not so subtle at all. It's gets in your face, and it offers you two choices to cope with problems: You can act like this isn't a problem or this isn't relevant, or you can come to accept this and live life gritty and stubborn, never laying your hope down to rest. I could go on forever, but, in the end, I have no verdict. I suppose that's for all of you to decide.
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