I threw out my copy of Q Magazine with Noel Gallagher's mug on the cover. I wish I still had it so I could quote him directly but a paraphrase will have to do. In the interview he made a statement, something like the UK has better fashion and music than the U.S. He was asked what music he likes and he recommended a local artist, The Jim Jones Revue. This jumped out at me since that's probably the only English artist I have seen live since my arrival in the UK a year ago. I found a video of the Jim Jones Revue on youtube that I thought I would share. If this doesn't look like an imitation of American Roots Music, I don't know what does. So is Noel trying to say that the English do American music better because this looks like an imitation, and in my opinion, not a superior one.
I'm not saying that the U.S. doesn't have its fair share of manufactured music, but I feel like I'm overloaded with it here, especially covers of good songs. I read recently that the X-Factor winner (for Americans, think American Idol) will cover Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Seriously? They are claiming it will be the number one record this Christmas. Again, seriously? Can Simon Cowell be stopped? He is the man behind this as well. Yuck.
For your amusement check out this boy band from the mid-90s that didn't make it over the pond. It's a bad cover (Cat Stevens) and it has all of the trappings of a bad boy band video. What do we do with the rest of the guys while the main guy sings the song? Let's have some of them look menacingly into the camera. How about we spend some money on crazy special effects and light up their hands?
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