![]() ![]() I think Germany could do well to follow the British structure, by which you invest a lot in an LP and help it to greatness. They are the direst tripe and regurgitate all the cliches - yet there's a big market for them, and they suck a lot of the revenue away from pop music. In Germany, however, there's an obsession with so-called "Schläger" or Eurovision contest-style hits. In order to be successful, a new band must be both good and original. I think the scene in the UK is more fastidious and sophisticated. German pop critics just scratch their heads at that and think "Why can't Germans do the same?" There's a certain admiration for the maturity of music produced by young musicians, such as the Electric Soft Parade, who are only 17 but very professional. But although there is new stuff coming out all the time, the tendency is to cling to the older stuff: the Smiths, Madness, the Kinks and to some extent now Oasis - these are the inspiration for aspiring stars here. Germans are fixated by British pop music. Stephan "Ossi" Ossenkopp, critic with Intro, Germany's bestselling pop magazine We respect the Brits more than anyone else, and this will take a long time to go. Also, the main magazines and websites are all in English, which helps give the idea that Britain is the centre of dance music.Įven though the most interesting and influential pop bands are maybe not British any more, the UK is helped by the weight of its history. In terms of electronic music, which is increasingly popular, everyone knows that the best DJs are British. Nightclubs in Rio and São Paulo often have a second dancefloor that plays only 1980s music, of which 70% is British. Old British pop is still listened to a lot. We share similar habits, such as football, snooker, smoking and drinking. And Brazilians have an emotional link with Britain that is stronger than our link with America. They aren't as heavily marketed as US bands. Currently the biggest tune is by Kylie.īritish bands stand out for their difference. But recently Gorillaz was in the top 10 for several weeks. Our top 10 usually consists of exclusively Brazilian bands and telenovela soundtrack compilations. The first night to sell out was not Macy Gray, the biggest name and an American, but Belle and Sebastian.Įven though there are fewer British bands coming through than there were, Britain still has a presence. For instance, we had a music festival last year. American bands might sell more records, but the UK ones are much more influential. But for the more sophisticated crowd, British music is still the most respected. On the whole, we like to listen to our own music. Brazilian bands have never been more popular than they are now. Tim Leão, pop critic for O Globo newspaper in Rioīritish music is less prevalent in Brazil than it used to be, because in the past two decades the domestic music industry has boomed. We are just more open in our views, and there is enough space for everything. It's not a compulsive love of foreign elements in culture, like in Japan or China. The Russian culture and the Russian soul is quite open to strange and foreign cultures. But there is always going to be something attractive about foreign influence. This derivation is probably a bad thing for Russian music. The influence of British music is very strong. But new American groups such as the Strokes and the White Stripes, who are popular here, sound very British. I think that Russians are closer in their character to Americans than to the British, in that they are more open. And just like other musicians, they say "No, I am not like Radiohead", for example, and try to deny it, but there are groups now with English names such as Spleen. New rock groups have these as their roots, but they also seek western influences. ![]() In recent decades, Russian rock was gloomy, old and dull - groups such as Aquarium, Kino, Nautilus Pompilius, who we now refer to as "shit-rock". People understand that Russian groups are trying to be like British or western ones, but the imitation cannot beat the original.īut in the past two to three years some new Russian groups who sound like western bands have started appearing. That is why English music is much more popular here than Russian. In any genre, the playing and songs were technically much worse. I'd like to think that Russian youth have the same taste as their British or American counterparts.įor many years in Russia, you could not hear anything western. In general Muse and Radiohead are favourites here - quite similar bands in terms of their musical appeal.
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