People who make this assumption are probably middle aged people (no offense) pissed off because music in this country has grown in a way they didn't want it to.

Yet we're pretty good when it comes to electropop/synthpop and DJ's as well as rock, plus all the americans coming over saying how much better it is in the UK/Europe than it is in America, Jay-Z, Lady GaGa, Ke$ha (she sucks I know)

Oh thats right if it isnt performed on a guitar it isnt music.

If you go looking you'll find something, you'll think differently, stop listening to the balding rockstars and look for new rock bands, there are plenty.

I agree, people who say those things are narrow-minded purists who aren't music fans - they clearly don't bother to listen to anything other than what's on commercial radio, i.e. X Factor and other manufactured crap.

The reason music is much better in the U.K./Europe is because nothing has happened to the American music scene for about 10-15 years now. They obviously make amazing music but concepts like "random pop sl*t jumping in with random rapper" is something even the Brits were catching on to back in the 90s. They went through a phase in the early 00s where everyone was doing it non-stop - Ashanti, J-Lo, Ja Rule, Fat Joe, LL Cool J yadda yadda... YAWN! I couldn't care much for yet another "muthafukkin hustler pimp dawg, yo, and his b*tch"!

The notion that British music is "the best in the world" is silly nationalistic nonsense born out of ignorance of the international music scene. Artists like Japan's Yoko Kanno run rings around anyone we have in the UK.

And I would take what Americans say about the UK with a pinch of salt, they are here to sell music and know that flattering the insecure British ego is a means to doing that. The Americans consider themselves the best in the world and look upon foreign music as a quaint amusement.

There is little difference between the American and British music scenes. Both very corporate.

Britain's music industry is increasingly dominated by middle class musicians whose connections with the middle class dominated media secure their place in the industry. The self-taught working class musicians who have often been the most original figures in UK music are a dying breed, too chavish, not fashionably multicultural enough, they are on the way out.

Shows like X-Factor are important because they indicate the power of the TV media over the music industry. They have always influenced it, obviously, but now they control who succeeds and fails. Where Top of the Pops used to influence and reflect, the likes of X-Factor now dictate. This is a seismic change.

Frankly, many of the world's best musicians don't work in the record industry. You'll find most of the best people now work in the much larger and more creative video game industry.

British popular music is very bad at the moment. I was talking to a friend about this earlier, in fact. It seems that in the 70s and 80s the Brits had their way with music; we made the best on the world. Now we're just copying what America does or making home grown "wanna be 90s Manchester" indie.

We seem to be going very "grime" at the moment and that's been done already.

There's no originality in the world; everyone seems scared to do anything outside of the box.

Now American music is definitely not the best in the world but it's the most popular music in the world at the moment (or at least in the west). This whole faux R&B doesn't seem to be shifting and it's getting very tiresome.

Just been browsing through my music collection and realised I like very few American bands at the moment; I like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gossip and MGMT. That's about it. The rest are either British or International, but I can't say I'm a connoisseur of popular music (the music I like is mildly popular but the pop kids won't know who I am talking about in most cases).

I really like America when it makes good music, but at the moment the pop stuff is trash *spits on the children who are making the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus et al popular*

By the way, the excuse "look part commercial music" is not always a winner. Music is not judged, on a whole, by the proper indie scenes. It's judged by the charts, unfortunately.

Kutox is spot on:

agreed 100%

the fact is, guitar music is the best pop music ever made, so to write it off like that is ridiculous, oh wow we have some good DJs

British music is a long way from dead.

The charts have been in a coma for the last 15 years, but there are so many great bands and artists out there outside of the public eye.

Turn off Radio 1 and try something different, you'd be amazed of what you might find.

yeah right, the new Beatles are undiscovered if you know where to look.

Even The Beatles were an unknown band at one point.

it didn't take them long though, if there is a truly great band out there, then we won't have to search for them.

Didn't take them long? 5 years from being founded to first success - I'm not sure that many would have enough stamina to keep going.

There will always been good and bad in each era. The charts have never been an accurate barometer of what's good in the industry.

Possibly, but how do you know there's not a band out there that you would like everything they have ever recorded, but there aren't big enough to crash into the top 5 every week.

The Beatles got turned down by a couple of record companies in their early days, imagine if no one had picked them up.

If no one had heard of him, the likes of Ringo Starr wouldn't get far on Pop Idol against Cheryl Tweedy. I know who I'd prefer, but I know also who'd win the "They iz fit" votes.

British music isn't dead at all. It's just that the good stuff tends to get overlooked more often than not. The Scandinavians may have been the original synthpop pioneers but us the Brits refined and perfected it.

It's just a shame that a lot of quality music is overlooked in the charts!

I mostly listen to American artists at the moment, but there's still some great creativity in the UK.
Getting rid of my TV has really helped me to appreciate music more, after losing touch a bit in my mid-20s. It's there if you're willing to look and listen, and with Youtube and the suchlike, that's easier than ever.

Stupid quotes from ignorant people....what an apt title for this thread.

Well if the same question keeps getting asked there must be a problem with some. It's not ignorant to believe that music was better in previous decades. It's only opinion, but still.

But the fact is that they were known and became famous at one point. Some of these 'underground' bands may never become famous, and that's partly the fact because they're just not good enough. If you're talented enough you will break through eventually.

That's a bit of a fairy story. An artist has to keep faith in their talent, but they have to be realistic and accept the fact they may well never become successful or mainstream. The notion that "talent will out" is not something I would encourage a struggling artist to think.

Though its also true that if you are never in fashion you never go out of fashion so huge, massive success may not actually be desirable.

The question is, whether to compromise and maybe sellout a bit. Is an artist being precious and snobbish in not making their music more marketable and popular? Is it arrogant or noble to "stay the course" and not change tack if an album flops?

That's a tough question.

As for nostalgia, there's definitely alot of that in the boardrooms of record companies.
The record industry's arrogance and inability to move with the times does not help matters:

http://www.wired.com/culture/culture...17-03/st_essay

But that was before the internet and satellite TV channels, nowadays it probably would be a bit quicker, depending on the group.

"enough stamina"aren't musicians supposed to be in the business because they love music?

five years is nothing, blimey they can always go and work on a building site if they can't handle five years.

if your music is good enough then it will be popular in some form, course you could sell out, make a few quid but your career will probably last five minutes

Music purist, me? You obviously don't know my musical tastes then do you!

I'm anything but a music snob, but any idiot who observes the popular music scene in America would tell you that by and large - the creativity dried up somewhere in the early/mid 90s! You have rap/hip hop/R&B/pop which is the staple diet for American music consumption and recently, to be "creative" you have them mixing country/rap or R&B/pop or any other 2 genre's you care to think of.

More recently they've started leaning towards European style music with faux indie bands and cheap electro dance but GaGa/Plain White T is like Gina G/Oasis circa 1995. A bit like the valid observation that Leona Lewis is a cheap Mariah imitation circa 1990! Nothing original or creative there, just shameless imitation.

Canada is where it's at!