What country homes the best music?
 

It's a simple question, Norm! But wait for the poll!

I was thinking of this because everytime someone (not necessarily here) suggests some japanse artist for me to listen to, I always wind up thinking the artist is crap. It's funny because, here obviously theres many fans of japanese music, yet for me, the country has such a low batting percentage. To show, theres only 4 acts i'm big fans of (Shiina/Jihen, Brilliant Green (no Tommy solo), Guitar Vader, Puffy) and 2 others I like (Cocco and Bugy Craxone). Now the real kicker, I think is, the reason I like these bands is because they are the most uproariously western sounding bands I've heard! I think its hard to deny it, maybe Cocco is the least western of the lot, but still.

So I thought it' be quaint idea to make a post about this whilst polling the forums national interest.

So here are the 10 options I've boiled:
Japan
USA
United Kingdom
Australia
Canada (considered grouping this with USA, but since I let Australia be seperate from UK...)
Scandinavia (that whole cool area)
Latin America (that whole hot area, Mexico sout to Chile, plus American Islands.)
Central Eurasia (a really tough group. Germany, Russia, southwest Europe, Middle East. Just clarify if you choose this one.)
South and East Asia (India, China, Korea, Pacific Islands, Clarify here too.)
Africa (countries in that continent.)

Now then, I chimed in on Japan already. USA i think generates alot of crap. Scandinavia I'm super keen on, they've got a good track record. Kent, Cardigans, some other band im forgetting. However, UK is my mecca. Now, these most recent days they've had more crap han normal. Usually tho, England gives up the truth (Beatles, Oasis, then to your lesser extents Stones and Blur.)

I can't vote on this poll because I only listen to Japanese, Korean, and Christian music. @_@;; (I'm starting to listen to the radio, though, so I'm getting back into American music... slowly. >_<)

Someone actually likes Christian and Korean music, rather than only one or the other (or none)?

Does.. not... com-pute....

*head explodes*

It's tough for me to give a straight answer because while the US does generate tons of crap, you can't forget the the blues and rock and roll came from the US (black people) and the UK emulated that. What I;m saying is, most the music I listen to has roots in the US. It's just that other nations copied it and, arguably, did it better.

Of course, I could be wrong because I'm no music historian. That and tons of nations, like Japan, emulate western rock music.

guys, this isn't going to the press and published. Just make a general statement. =P

Okay, I'm going to vote for Japan since I listen to its music the most. :)

What?? I don't get it!! @_@;; Do you mean because both Christian and Korean music are bad?? Hahahha XD

Well, I don't think Korean music is bad at all although I think there are more better Japanese artists, and I mostly listen to Christian music for the lyrics. >_< I actually don't listen to it that often, but it's the only American music I listen to, so I figured I'd say I 'listened' to it.

What do you have against Korean music?? Who did you listen to! XD

I would say japan although my music does not come from most of the places you have listed. The music I listen to is mostly from Japan, UK, and America. I guess it just depends on taste though, this is the easy way out i guess but more so in this case because you really cant say one country is better. Each country produces alot of crap that is meant just to attract casual listeners so there will always be bad music. The reason I say japan though is because my favorite artists are from there, Ms. Ringo, Tokyo Jihen, Gackt, Malice Mizer, & Miyavi.

I need some time
But definitely the vote will not go for Japan

Well, I don't think there can be a straight answer to this poll because each country has its fair share of gems and rubbish. I love the whole Shibuya-kei scene in Japan, LUNA SEA is my favourite Japanese band and the whole industry has a lot of different sounds. Sadly, most people just know Ayumi & Utada (and maybe Chage and Aska for the oldies). The same movement is being emulated in Korea as well eg. Roller Coaster and Clazziquai, albeit more pop sounding. The Korean music industry is kinda heading the same way as the Japanese one actually...

I don't know what much about Scandinavian music except for The Cardigans, Koop, Royksopp, Kings of Convenience, Komeda, The Radio Dept, Lisa Ekdahl so if these are good representation of Scandinavian music then I would conclude that they're of very high quality too. There's a good range of musical styles in Scandinavian music yet they all have that signature "wintry" sound. I like Scandinavian music a lot.

As for Latin American music, Brazil takes top spot. There is a wave of new Brazilian artists who are reinventing the bossa nova eg. Cibelle, Bebel Gilberto, SUBA are rather well-known. They also have a nice back catalogue of really cool songs too.

I'm not too familiar with European music, but I adore Phoenix and Tahiti 80. And oh, Daft Punk. There seems to be a lot of electronic sounds coming from this region. (maybe because I'm a fan of electronic music and these are the only sounds I pay attention to?) I am almost forgetting Alizee (?) and Keren Ann. So yeah, I guess the French music industry is pretty hot too.

So possibly the most straightfoward answer to this poll is UK. They've got tonnes of good stuff: Radiohead, Blur, Oasis, The Beatles, Incognito, Craig David and urm, Franz Ferdinand (I am forgetting some people I know); but also crap like Spice Girls (if anyone still remembers them). I think the underground music scene is pretty hot too. There's a nice range of styles (sorry I keep repeating this, but it's really an indication of the maturity of a certain music industry) and a consistent output from the artists.

The reason why I think UK is the best answer to the poll is that UK artists have a very international following, and by that I mean people from all over the world listen to them and KNOW that they're from the UK. (At this point, I would hesitate to say that US music has an even more international clout but I don't wanna talk about US music because there's just too much crap in it.) You don't get a lot of it from the other regions mentioned in the poll, although the international clout is definitely growing for Japanese and Brazilian music.

So really, it's hard to argue which one is the "best" because it really boils down to your individual musical tastes. But from a "pop music" standpoint, I think the UK wins.

However; I am not voting, just because my decision will be too arbitrary.

I also voted to UK.
I liked progressive rock bands from UK late 60s to mid 70s
such as Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Yes, EL&P, Genesis.

Both Japan and USA had only craps through the view of
old progressive rock(also called "euro rock") fans.
The view was "UK and other Euros".

It's not my way of thinking in present but what I used to think
when I was around 20 years old.

And it is too much broad descriptions.
There are several exceptions and remarks such as
I liked Frank Zappa's roxy era and some Santana albums back in 70's,
I really love some jazz musicans like Chick Corea and
Pat Metheny,,, blah, blah....