Why do most Americans have no taste in music?

Question

The 2 biggest selling types of music in the States is Rap & Country. (Both garbage in my eyes and most of the world's) Even most of their bands are crap I can count on one hand how many bands are up there wih the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, The Smiths, David Bowie and the list goes on...Why dont America produce any decent bands like they used to like The Doors, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Velvet Underground or The Pixies? Instead we're made to listen to My Chemical Romance and Panic At The Disco.....opinions please?

To all who point out blues/rock n roll was invented in USA I am aware of this but The Beatles took that genre of music and turned it on its head and rest they say is history. And also I'm not saying America dont produce decent bands anymore, i like Beck, Eels, The Strokes, White Stripes and a few others, what i'm saying is the mainstream music in America is crap. What people buy in that country is mostly ****

Answer 1

On some of your points I agree, but you are naming older bands... You left out Jimi Hendrix!! Most music EVERYWHERE now is in a slump, not just America. You know that as well as I do. There are good people out there, but they are repressed by the so called "american idols"... We can recognize crap when we hear it, but obviously the rest of the country can't. Hopefully there will be a resurgence of good music, but until then I'm left listening to The Beatles and Hendrix... I'll survive. ha ha

Answer 2

Hmmm... not sure I'm with you on that... First up as a previous correspondent pointed out ALL current rock music can be traced back to one of four strains of previous music (see Charlie Gillet's writing for evidence of this). Most of the 'great' UK bands (leave out The Clash and theSmiths) you mention are as old or older than the US bands you mention (leave out the Pixies) - and there are at least as many good American bands from that era - Byrds, Beach Boys, Creedence, 13th Floor Elevators.... It's unlikely that the biggest UK music movement of recent times (punk) would have come about without the US CBGBs scene (any major punk artist will tell you that the reason they started a band was The Ramones). To add to The Pixies from the era(s) of the Clash and The Smiths from the USA you have Blondie, Television, Nirvana, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, B52s, Yo La Tengo, Aerosmith, Husker Du and REM for god's sake!Currently there are some supremely talented US artists/ bands around - Hold Steady, Bright Eyes, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev (possibly - they may have split), Mark Lanegan, Eels, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Strokes, White Stripes, Raconteurs, Sparklehorse, Beck, Explosions In The Sky, Green Day and (if you like that sort of thing) Foo Fighters, QOTSA etc.
A final point: The biggest selling type of music in the UK is crap manufactured TV show stuff (yes it is, though the Arctics had the fastest selling debut album recently, it was only for about 2 minutes before it was eaten by a manufactured Pop Idol (Shayne Ward?). The record had previously been held by another manufactured band like Hear Say).
So sorry, you're wrong on this one....

Answer 3

I agree with you to an extent - there are generally better bands (and more varied) from the UK. Although you don't seem to have listed anybody that has had an album out in the 21st century.

There are some interesting good bands and artists out from the States at the moment like Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, Regina Spektor.

I agree that bands like Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Green Day are all rubbish and samey though - and nothing at all original about them. They're just the same as Blink 182 etc.

But I'd also like to say that perhaps you may be too old to appreciate the music that is around these days on either side of the Atlantic - it's not meant for you. And the way the music scene has changed so rapidly in the past decade has brought a wider range of people buying music and sharing it.

Answer 4

I wouldnt be so quick to point the finger on this one. If it wasn't for the AMERICAN BLUES ARTISTS of the 1940's & 1950's, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and The Clash wouldn't have even existed in the first place. I do agree that our music sucks right now, Rock & Roll is still the best selling genre and there were legendary bands in the 1990s, we're just going through a little bit of a slump right now.

Answer 5

Haha America invented Jazz and the Blues! With out the Blues you wouldnt have Led Zep, Stones... Christ you wouldnt even have Rock'n'Roll without Elvis et all.

In terms of sales, you have to remember the sheer size of America - obv the larger the audience the more diluted the music. Hence Country music (although Country music does have its moments - its not completely devoid of artistic metrit)

Anyway - My Chemical Romance last album was superb, even though I hate most emo music, I really enjoyed The Black Parade. Dont forget the Foo Fighters, The Stokes, Dandy Warhols (sp?) White Stripes, Black Keys, Secret Machines... all amazing bands in their own right.

Foo's are pure stomping rock - The Strokes are a major influence on the Artic Monkeys (arguably Britains greatest recent export) The Black Keys are balls out blues rock in the same vein as Zep, and the Secret Machines are stomping space rock that'll blow your ears wide open when seen live.

Before berating America for having rubbish taste I suggest you look beyond what Radio1/MTV play on a regular basis...

PS. dont forget Green Day n'all!!! American Idiot is up there with Quadraphinia (again, sp?)

Answer 6

country can fuhk off as far as i'm concerned. rap, on the other hand, can't be so easily dismissed. i am a big hip-hop head but have stopped buying and listening to anything made these days! all the 'artists' (and i use that term loosely) are just repackaging the same sh!t time after time, for me rap is supposed to be about the 'struggle', overcoming hardships or highlighting the fact that nothing changes and that the oppressors just have different names but the same agenda!

there are some exceptional conscious rappers, that haven't (yet) bought into the 'my mansion is bigger than yo's' bullsh!t. here are a few i can personally recommend;

atmosphere
common
dead prez
de la soul
dilated peoples
gangstarr
jedi mind tricks
kanye west (and his inflated ego)
lupe fiasco
mos def
nas (really only his earlier stuff)
pharoahe monch
rakim
wu-tang clan
gravediggaz (the pick, the sickle and the shovel - great album)

give some of them a go, go on.

Answer 7

you are made to listen? How about you just listen to the music in your own country if the stuff in America is troubling you so? Music is a matter of personal taste, and thats why there is so many kinds of it. Does your radio have a dial on? Then turn the station. What an idiot to condemn a whole country's music taste, based on hip-hop or country. Get a grip!!!

Answer 8

Im English and think the bands you have listed are rubbish..so its a matter of taste and not where you are from at all. And music evolves you souund like you are stuck in a time warp. And I am not made to listen to Panic at the Disco..I have never even heard of them.

You say the Beatles 'took' the genre and turned it on its head..so that shows their lack of originality does it not??

Answer 9

The theory is that Country music became popular because it was the exact opposite of Rap music. They are both extreme types of music.

I don't agree with you that the Beatles took music to any higher level. If I hear more than one Beatle song with 5 minutes I gag.

You should listen to Roky Erickson, The Black Keys, Kings of Leon, Daniella Cotton, Bettye LaVette, Amos Lee.

Answer 10

I'd also point out that it was America's acceptance of The Beatles that helped make the history you refer to.
P.S. I'm an English Beatles fan.