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Transatlantic musical differences

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TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#1: Sep 2nd 2011 at 8:17:39 AM

Believe it or not, the idea for this thread came from one of those frightful discussions that goes on in OTC.

What I'm curious about is how and why certain genres, trends or artists can become very popular in Europe or Britain but not in the USA, and vice versa.

Is one market more receptive to certain types of music (for example, is an "experimental" artist more likely to do well in one place because the other only tolerates musicians who "play it safe")? That kind of thing.

inane242 Anwalt der Verdammten from A B-Movie Bildungsroman Since: Nov, 2010
Anwalt der Verdammten
#2: Sep 2nd 2011 at 8:33:46 AM

For some reason, dance music has never been mainstream in the U.S. to the same degree as in Europe.

The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#3: Sep 2nd 2011 at 11:01:19 AM

Back before radio was deregulated in, I think, the 1980s, a very tiny number of British broadcasters had a massive amount of sway over what was and was not popular. John Peel was basically the archetype for this, seeing as how his tacit endorsement of all kinds of bizarre music sent all sorts of misfits to the top of the charts there. Add to that the relative cultural consistency and you have the perfect environment to develop all manner of short-lived, intense, quirky musical movements.

America, on the other hand, was and is truly huge and fairly culturally diffuse, meaning that musical subcultures have always been somewhat more inclined to develop organically but remain isolated, with certain abstract concepts and broad templates (punk, hip-hop, etc.) catching on far more easily than the more specific internal strains.

Europe is harder to explain easily.

edited 2nd Sep '11 11:02:15 AM by JHM

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
Erock Proud Canadian from Toronto Since: Jul, 2009
Proud Canadian
#4: Sep 2nd 2011 at 11:24:56 AM

[up][up]I think it might have to do with a different dance scene.

If you don't like a single Frank Ocean song, you have no soul.
inane242 Anwalt der Verdammten from A B-Movie Bildungsroman Since: Nov, 2010
Anwalt der Verdammten
#5: Sep 2nd 2011 at 11:30:32 AM

John Peel

(*Remembers Laibach's John Peel Session*)

...God that man was strange.

The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.
TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#6: Sep 2nd 2011 at 11:55:43 AM

I'm also curious to hear if anyone has any idea what makes Ke$ha, Katy Perry and the like so popular in certain towns in England while the rest of the country seems mostly lukewarm towards them.

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#7: Sep 3rd 2011 at 7:06:26 AM

[up] Subcultures, class differences, the varying affinity towards American culture... I could go on. But where, exactly? It would be helpful to have specifics.

[up][up] John Peel was awesome. Truly.

edited 3rd Sep '11 7:06:57 AM by JHM

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#8: Sep 3rd 2011 at 7:39:43 AM

I admit I'm not entirely sure; I'm actually going by what I've read here on TV Tropes. I think there's something specifying that Ke$ha is unusually popular in Wigan and Salford and I was curious about why that might be. Similarly, the Miley Cyrus page has identified the north of England as her "largest international fanbase" (I acknowledge that this is probably exaggerated). Katy Perry's YMMV page says she's extremely popular in the north of England as well, though it's not much more specific than that.

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#9: Sep 3rd 2011 at 8:23:34 AM

If we're going by history, the prevalence of heavy industry in northern England might have something to do with it: Such areas have a tendency to be strongly lower middle class and aesthetically somewhat grim, resulting in a certain inborn fondness for escapist media, be it of the utopian/pop or dystopian/experimental sort. The former probably accounts for it.

edited 3rd Sep '11 8:25:10 AM by JHM

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#10: Sep 3rd 2011 at 9:52:07 AM

I suppose that makes sense. I guess Oasis gave me the impression that the north was primarily the domain of guitar bands.

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#11: Sep 3rd 2011 at 9:57:17 AM

Not at all. Back in the '80s, it was the premier source of British synth-pop outfits in addition to numerous dour post-punk outfits, some synthier than others.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#12: Sep 3rd 2011 at 10:42:01 AM

Yes, I suppose so. I admit I'm not enormously into eighties synthpop/post-punk, and most of the groups I do know in the genre (Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Billy Idol) were mostly from the south, though I guess that's because they were the commercially successful ones who are most readily remembered.

Now that I think about it, though, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, ABC, Joy Division, Human League and so on were all northern bands.

The more you know, eh? grin

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#13: Sep 3rd 2011 at 10:58:03 AM

Yeah, if you ignore London (easier said than done), you suddenly realise just how many ludicrously successful pop bands came out of Sheffield during that period.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#14: Sep 3rd 2011 at 11:55:58 AM

True enough. I suppose the whole "We're the band to dance to when the bomb drops" attitude was true regardless of where you from.

Another thing that's interested me lately is all of the comparisons and contrasts people seem to be drawing between Lady Gaga and Adele. I know they've both done pretty well in both Britain and America, but has the reaction to (and comparisons between) the two singers had noteworthy differences on each side?

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#15: Sep 3rd 2011 at 12:06:34 PM

I know next to nothing about Adele. I am also an American. Maybe that means something.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
Bananaquit Since: Jan, 2001
#16: Sep 3rd 2011 at 12:49:51 PM

Probably because Gaga is all about flash and image and Adele (who is more, shall we say, modest looking) more about the singing and songs. They really don’t have anything actually in common apart from being female soloists that are currently popular (Needless to say, I prefer Adele by a pretty wide margin).

JethroQWalrustitty Since: Jan, 2001
#17: Sep 3rd 2011 at 1:22:07 PM

I like both, they're two of the most authentic female artists on the scene at the moment.

Anyway, the main difference cross the pond I can tell is that there's a lot of American artists that can go unnoticed in Europe, like I didn't even know Maroon 5 existed between Songs About Jane and their new album.

One quirk I like it when somone becomes a cult classic in some small place.

TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#18: Sep 3rd 2011 at 1:58:27 PM

Here's another one; in the early eighties, a lot of music journalists were thinking that Def Leppard were going to be the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Then they released their first album, which everyone decided was "too American", and as a result they did pretty well in the states (even before hair metal had really taken off) but took about ten years to get really big in the UK.

At the same time, Iron Maiden were becoming a major power in the NWOBHM scene, and they achieved the rather unprecedented feat of being a straight-ahead metal band with chart hits in Britain, but despite a significant fanbase they never quite matched that success in America.

Why might this be so? Why are the European countries generally more receptive to metal (if they are at all; I think it's so)?

JethroQWalrustitty Since: Jan, 2001
#19: Sep 3rd 2011 at 3:25:45 PM

I'd hazard the guess, that metal often caters to white working class men, who in America tend to gravitate more towards country and the long US tradition of Rock and Roll.

wuggles (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#20: Sep 4th 2011 at 11:22:48 AM

[up] That sounds pretty right. Also in America, at least where I live, most of who listens to metal are emo/goth teenagers, who aren't exactly considered mainstream. But then again, I do live in the Bible Belt, so a lot of Christians actually think metal is "Satan music".

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