I just don't agree with the: they just don't get it argument. There are so many factors to consider and that makes the least amount of sense to me. First of all, America is a HUGE market to crack. And because of regional differences, what makes it in one area may totally bomb just a few states away. Musical tastes have so splintered that a band can't just come on over like the Beatles or Stones did and have everyone fall in love with them. That doesn't even happen with our own bands anymore! The UK and Canada is different because the population is much smaller and tastes don't vary as much. This is a fact.
Also, we are inundated with new music daily. The music industry is pumping out all kinds of crap constantly and it's overload. So bands like Blur or Barenaked Ladies may get lost in the shuffle. BTW, I thought Barenaked Ladies did pretty well over here Mairi. I used to hear them all the time.
Another thing about Blur and Britpop. Remember when that was going on over there, we were all about grunge and being p*ssed off over here. Quite a contrast to the sixties type throw back music of those Brit bands. So maybe the musical climate here wasn't ripe for the poppy sounds of London. But even still, Oasis somehow hit it pretty damn big. And is there anyone more difficult to understand than Noel and Liam? The difference is MTV and radio picked up on them. They were played and so people were exposed to the music. That just didn't happen with Blur for some reason. Maybe they weren't commercial enough, maybe they didn't come over here and tour enough and suck up or whatever the protocol is. They're still pretty well know among rock fans over here though. But like I said, it isn't all about rock music anymore especially over here. We've got country, country pop, hip hop, rap, rock, pop, indie, etc. Our own bands can't even get record deals anymore and there's a lot of talent out there. The music business has changed. I really don't think it has anything to do with not getting it.
I'll give one last example about the whole English thing: Syd Barrett. He has a huge American following and I really don't think you can get anymore English than him. Now if Syd came around today, you'd never know he existed. There's just no chance for people like that anymore. They will be stuck playing small venues or just fade away. I could say the same about the Sex Pistols who sang about things that were very exclusive to what was going on in England at the time yet they somehow made it here bigtime.
Anyway, I think things might change a little with satellite radio. They've got tons of stations that play new music, deeper cuts from bands old and new and they support talent. So regular radio is getting with it again. We now have an indie station in L.A. that plays some awesome music new and old. And hey, the host even happens to be a Brit with a cockney accent. No lie. Hopefully other areas and states are starting to change their radio format and we'll get to discover stuff the way we used to. Although with iPods, the whole going to the record store, flipping through all the different sections, listening to imports and buying a record just based on the amazing album art is unfortunately forever dead.
Now what about the very American bands? Why is it that you guys