sindrikaldal

Hello guys,

I'm from Iceland and i'm doing an essay about the British invasion and the influence it had on America. One of the things i have to do is to get a source from America. Basically to get an American to tell his opinion on the British Invasion and its influence on America.

Your answers don't have to be long, just an opinion would be fantastic!

Thanks in advance!

eraser.time206

There were good bands in the British Invasion but in the long term it ruined music as a whole. Another thing to mention is that American culture has deteriorated because of the British Invasion +other things.

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right-track

Please elaborate.
Making a claim such as those, although potentially interesting, is rather vague.
I'd like to know how British Invasion music, or any other kind of music for that matter, can ruin music as a whole. Let alone be responsible for the deterioration of another nations culture.
Also, what "other things" do you speak of?

almauro

The Brits were just trying to keep up with the Beach Boys, then discovered they were pretty good at rock n roll, hahaha. Seriously, England had profound impact on the US in the 60s, so much so that Jimi Hendrix felt he had to move to "Swinging London" to get a break. I can't quantify this, but it seems England in the 60s had more skilled and talented musician per square mile, than any other place in the world. It was also the beginning of the globalization of rock music...being from Iceland, you should be aware of the equally important influence Norwegian countries have more recently had on the US.

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Unknown Soldier

Our culture has also deteriorated thanks to fast food chains, shopping malls and crappy sitcoms imported from the US, none of that has anything to do with music btw................just sayin though!

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

Honestly, the British invasion did a lot for moving blues into psychedelic. The Beatles, The Who, The Yardbirds, Cream, The Rolling Stones(in their early years), etc. were all good bands, and did impact the mainstream significantly.

The pro is that they supported a youth music, and could be said came from being true lovers of rock n' roll, and the blues.

The con is they were, are, and forever will be ridiculously overhyped. Not that they were bad bands, per se. But their grasp on the media swelled up to the point to where it overshadowed whatever else was going on in music. Effectively killing the mainstream appeal of other genres who deserve equal praise.

So, it was a decent era of musicians, vastly overrated, that created a groundwork for rock importing from the UK, but in the long term created a ridiculously biased rock media(I mean with magazines named 'The Rolling Stone') that ignored all interest in competing movements/genres.

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eraser.time206

The British Invasion had good music but it's music overshadowed the other music genres of the time. People associated great music with popularity. In many ways the popularity of the Beatles, Rolling Stones etc was a setting stone for the mediocre artists of today. I also believe that because of their massive popularity overshadowing artists such as Frank Zappa and Bob Dylan the American public was being patted on the back for their hypocritical and laughable personality that was the 60s and 70s and then so on.

Everything matters. From the childish lyrics of the Beatles to the fake rebellion of the Rolling Stones and all other bands of the time to the delusional Americans it all adds up to what we have today.

__________________
Before I go on, let me warn you that I talk dirty, and that I will say things you will neither enjoy nor agree with. You shouldn't feel threatened, though, because I am a mere buffoon, and you are all philosophers.

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

...What? Both Frank Zappa(even if for the wrong reasons) and Bob Dylan are household names. Especially Dylan who is massively overrated, and got over in an equally overrated trend of hippy protest songs.

I think acts like Red Krayola, Sun Ra, Gyorgie Ligeti, even Beefheart(who is somewhat cult popular now, but I doubt so much in the 60s), etc. are the kinds of infinitely more interesting things in music going on that got the shaft.

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Electrophonic Tonic

I think we're being a little too harsh on the British Invasion in this thread. After the string of crap luck that the American rockers had (Buddy Holly RIP, Chuck Berry arrested, Elvis drafted, Jerry Lee Lewis screwing his underage cousin, Little Richard going to the priesthood) it was these British artists who were trying to emulate them as much as possible. And, no doubt that saved rock from dying out all together by keeping the torch lit.

And, the music was so young at the time, can you really accuse them of trying to be simple and commercial and that being a negative thing? If these artists wanted any chance of exposure, it's what they had to do. And as time went on, they proved themselves as truly talented artists. It may have taken time to develop, but many of these artists went on to make album that went beyond the music they were making earlier. Beatles, Kinks, Animals and Zombies are all great examples of these simple British Invasion bands that started off simple, but went on to make some amazing albums, especially the Beatles and the Kinks.

So, I say the importance of the British Invasion is that it kept rock and roll alive in the early 60's. And it helped spur the birth of Garage Rock and some early Psychedelic bands. Both of which are very crucial in the evolution of rock into the genre we know today.

eraser.time206

Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa are known (not widely) but their music was overshadowed by the inferior. Not only was their music overshadowed by the inferior but the inferior had lyrics that are overrated and garbage. This garbage was accepted and lo and behold the trend of Americans. We (excluding me of course) always accept garbage and in the 60s and 70s it was no different.

The British Invasion symbolizes that popularity>talent. It symbolizes that people are just sheep and will listen to any garbage on the radio as long as everyone else is.

The British Invasion had very good music but the lyrics were garbage.

__________________
Before I go on, let me warn you that I talk dirty, and that I will say things you will neither enjoy nor agree with. You shouldn't feel threatened, though, because I am a mere buffoon, and you are all philosophers.