Why am I forced to listen to American music wherever I go? Why aren't Americans forced to listen to our music?

Novabreaker said:

What is your music? If you are being "forced" to listen to American music, your issue then is your radio stations, not american's. Hell we don't like the music we're forced to listen to half the time ourselves.

Rhetorical question re: UK singers. How come they sing with American accents but speak in their native accents? I've always been curious about this.

"American culture" is a huge, immovable, omnipresent BEAST.


Every country- in its own ways- sees itself as "the center of the world"..

but when you have 250,000,000 people
functioning essentially in the "capitalist" economic system
&
it citizens, um, readily & easily "populating"

EVERY

CORNER

OF

THE

GLOBE..

then YEAH,
people in other parts of the world are going to get MORE than their share of "American" music, tv shows, etc.

& indeed, a great majority of Americans-
like a great majority of Italians or Brazilians or Ethiopians-
believe their country IS the center of the world, & when you believe you have "everything" you need right there where you are (within the borders of your native country)
why would you venture outside that to get anything else?


At the risk of being "arrogant"
(but not necessarily "over-patriotic")
I would suggest that you.. "get used to it".
Because
again, the "American money-making machine" is VERY BIG & rather powerful
&
EXTREMEMLY MOTIVATED
to export anything it can make a dollar from..


I wouldn't exactly call your initial post an "anti-American rant"..
to me it's more like thinking (or wondering) out loud..
something you're certainly entitled to do,
whether anyone likes or agrees with what you say or believe.

kendogg said:

Why was I thinking this by the time I finished reading the original post?

UptownDeb said:

Me too!

Novabreaker said:

Its about the corporate machine I'm afraid, rather than the music.

As amerian businesses own all the music channels, they pump the crap out 24/7.

If you look at European MTV for example. about 70% of airtime goes to American R&B and Gangster Rap, even though most of them do not chart in Europe. Alot of the European acts don't get a look it.

Look at the US MTV awards, virtually all the performers are from the US. With the odd blip like Coldplay.

Now look at the European MTV awards. There are at least 50% US performers, Even though some of them have had no success that year. It ties in with their new album!

If you watch MTV in the US, you very rarely see acts from outside the US (In comparision). They have no interest in broadcasting the lastest sounds, even at the expense of fellow Americans that aren't signed to them (Prince is a good example).

Its not the amercian peoples fault, its just that their corporate world is so big its killing some industries. If they can't grow, they die, so they are looking at flooding other markets.

UptownDeb said:

What UK singers sing in American accents?

All accents vanish when sung properly. If you listen to most US music, regional accents also die, unless the artist "talk-sings" or puts an accent on (like some country acts).

An example of accent becoming null when singing is Bono. He doesn't sing with an English, American or Irish accent. On some songs, a hint of Irish comes through, but not often.

I think the reason Americans think foriegn singers maybe singing in American, is that they can hear the words clearer than when they speak.

As the US generally avoids all hosts, films, TV shows from abroad, many US folk cannot understand a lot of accents. As singing reduces all accents, you think they are now singing in your accent.

Novabreaker said:

Very simple answer: OUR music is good. YOUR music is bad.

um. what is YOUR music?

Novabreaker said:

Until your nation can dominate us militarily, we will use our power to crowd out your indigenous cultural expression, in order to export our own, often inferior, commercial artistic products, for our economic advantage, so shut up or we will declare you to be a member of the Axis of Evil!

And you know what happens then, right?

OneMoJam said:

Shirley Manson has a thick Scottish accent, but that all disappears when she sings.

OneMoJam said:

Nothing like a little Cultural Manifest Destiny to explain the way of the world. Either you're with us, or else!

SquirrelMeat said:

Exactly my point.

OneMoJam said:

Too funny! I was expecting this, thank you for being so overtly direct.
[This message was edited Thu Jul 3 0:54:16 PDT 2003 by Novabreaker]

Novabreaker said:

thats funny cause i was thinking that a while back i when i seen this program on tv it showed MTV around the globe...i thought id be kinda cool to see what going on in other parts but..what did i get?...90 percent american artist!...and maybe one or two natives of the countries...( mtv in various europe.../latin america places..)

UptownDeb said:

Un-rhetorical answer: they have to if they wish to have broader success these days. Moreover they have to even if they just wished to pay their rent by working in the music business. It's not just commercialism, it's cultural brainwash.

mltijchr said:

Without sounding too pissheaded: Piss off. No, seriously, you can't fight injustice by giving up. And that's exactly what the American general public has already done in regards with its own popular culture. All we can do is to keep up a good fight. So get your banners and mass demostrations going! Who needs to protest against the war in Iraq when you can protest against Sony!

... Which is a Japanese company anyway. Does that make any sense to you? Why aren't we all forced to listen to Japanese music then, if it's all so nationalistic?

Novabreaker said:

Have you heard Japanese music! The truth of it is if non-Americans didn't like what we've got to offer it wouldn't get played. Our music sells. The reason you're "forced" to listen to so much American music is because your countrymen wanna hear it.

There was a time when UK had great pop artists - The Beatles, Elton John, George Michael. Now the UK offers us Robbie Williams. The quality has gone downhill. Offer Americans good UK music & there will be another British Invasion. Unfortunately all thats happened recently is the spread of the Idol shows to America which just creates more mediocre talents.

Novabreaker said:

1) your music sucks
2) people around the world want American music
3) people in America don't want your music.

UptownDeb said:

Yeah, this is bizarre. Especially Mick Jagger. Jagger tries to sing like an an old black bluesman. But his speaking voice is middle class Englishman.

Cerys Matthews sang with her strong Welsh accent when she was in Catatonia. Now she's completely changed her sound as a solo artist I think she's partly dropped it due to a more USA/Country influenced sound.

Talking of Cerys, she duetted with Space on "The Ballad of Tom Jones" (great song BTW). They sang with their Scouse accents. Even *titters* Chesney Hawkes sang British pronounciations of certain words in his songs back when he was having hits.
[This message was edited Thu Jul 3 16:19:43 PDT 2003 by Ellie]