Why Have Otherwise Globally Significant Cultures Failed To Produce Iconic Music Acts?

la szum

la szum

Axe-Master
Man, that was a mouthful of a title. Whew! :)

We all know about this tiny little Island in the Atlantic that has wowed the world with it's consistent
musical output that is both consistent and revolutionary. The Mists of Avalon must be very powerful
indeed. Yet, why is a nation like France so bereft of anything remotely close to what Britain has produced
musically. And yeah, you, too, Italy. I know you have your Opera and France you have your Chopin. Why
no monumental rock or pop acts, though? Did Italy and France get the Food and Wine blessing from
Dionysius and Britain received the Music blessing? :)

Any thoughts on why the UK is a powerhouse of musical influence to this day, with the well still a gushing,
and France and Italy (among others) are veritable deserts, with few if any lasting musical icons outside the
3 Tenors and Edith Piaf. Just seems odd to me that some cultures seem incapable of nurturing musical icons,
and others are world-class at it.
 
many factors I guess - language is one maybe?, I'm thinking of Celine Dion here in Canada who got nowhere with a number of albums sung more in French, then huge international success when she began singing more in English.
 
Last edited:
just to add re: Celine Dion, once she started getting well known, it seemed her French Canadian heritage started to become part of the draw also, as people around the world began to discover that - so maybe it also comes down to opportunity. There are many stories of bands here in Canada (I'm thinking of Max Webster, Triumph to some extent) who should have been much bigger it seems but there just was not enough industry here to make that happen, so if they didn't emigrate to some extent, things did not happen as big.
 
Last edited:
Budda said:
Define “iconic” I guess? Im sure if you talk to French people interested in music, they have their own very famous artists.
Click to expand...
+1 - for sure, in Canada there has always been an industry of excellent French Canadian artists singing in French, but ya, at what point does an artist cross over to iconic?
 
Last edited:
It's a good question, but one in which I think you'd first have to define 'iconic', as well as factor in the number of people worldwide who speak English, vs. Francais & Italiano.
 
Probably because music has only been able to be recorded for the last 200 years or fewer. it's inevitable that the most advanced and influential cultures of that time are the ones to propagate their music the furthest. even classical music was relatively "fresh" when the technology came along and not enough time passed for it to be lost in history. Doesn't mean there was no quality music before that. Bear in mind that the modes have Greek names, a culture that hasn't produced much quality music. At least in the later years. In Greek antiquity though music was something between a science and a medicine and they connected it to mathematics (harmony).
I bet if we could take a tape recorder and a mic in a time machine we would get some music treasures
 
There are internationally renowned music stars from every corner of the earth. And their fame extends well beyond their home country's borders. It's listeners in the US who have often been the most deaf to what's been happening everywhere else.

And don't conflate Western pop artists' exaggerated economic backing by global media corporations for popularity, artistry, or success.
 
The question answers itself. Significant cultures might not lend themselves to generating the kind of popular music you think is iconic. The iconic act you're looking for has nothing to do with what you want to hear, but is HUGE in Lithuania (for example). It's not your culture so it's not your music. It's not iconic to you, but it floods the basement of a 16 year old girl in a country whose name you probably can't spell.
 
  • Like
Reactions: yek
Admin M@ said:
Empire.
Click to expand...
empire.jpg
 
la szum said:
Any thoughts on why the UK is a powerhouse of musical influence to this day, with the well still a gushing,
and France and Italy (among others) are veritable deserts, with few if any lasting musical icons outside the
3 Tenors and Edith Piaf. Just seems odd to me that some cultures seem incapable of nurturing musical icons,
and others are world-class at it.
Click to expand...

Here in the Netherlands we recently had a tv series where two men went out to France to explore the French chansons and artists and the stories behind them. That was captivating. And now our entire country is hooked on chansons. :) Lots of icons. And some of those old French folks' lifestyle were much more rock'n'roll than you might think. Every country / culture has its own definition of popular music.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom