the above sentence doesn't sound all that different from those who drive you crazy.
Agree 100%!
But to dismiss the entire century of American pop music as being bad sounds even more narrow-minded than the neophytes who think that everything is all about the Beatles, Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd (none of whom are American, BTW, though most of their music is).
Yup, agree with that too. And that was exactly the point of my post. Hope that finally drove it home with some for whom "digital" is the holy grail, for those that "analog" sounds warm, for whom that samplers and synths are "not instruments", for those that if it doesn't have geetars it ain't music, for those... need I go on?
Remove most American pop from any era and you remove pretty much *all* music composed and recorded in the past 100 years (that's been heard by more than 5 people, anyway).
Oooo, you didn't go there did 'ya? OK, we're on. Although I'll forgive you, because in America we are so closed off from the rest of the world that we think nothing exists outside of America, and had it not been for american music, there would be no music in the world at all... But music ain't Levi's Jeans my friend

...
OK, we're on. For brevity's sake, I'll list 3 singers/artists/bands per european country. You can do further searches if you feel like it.
France
Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Mirelle Mathieu (very decidedly French, "chanson" singers... I can go on, but I'll let you go on that journey).
Italy
Adriano Celentano (he has also been in some really funny movies back in the 70's, such as "Bluff"), Albano, Bocelli (maybe you might want to claim him as American too?), OK... since he
may be claimed as an American... Umberto Tozzi... and more.
Russia
Alla Pugacheva, Diskoteka Avaria, Leonid Kobzon (ugh, can't stand him, but whatever, if we're listing Sinatra, then Kobzon is a fair game

)
Icland
Bjork, Quarashi, Sigur Ros.
Germany
Rammstein, Das Ich (cult following in the US, but pretty well-known in Germany, including movie soundtracks to their credit), Kraftwerk
I can go on... it's unfortunate, because the artists I've listed (at least most of them) are pretty well known not only in their own country, but throughout Europe and Asia. In America, we are truly closed off from the rest of the world which then of course makes us think that had it not been fo US, the world would be missing a lot of good stuff, (which is true to some extent, but doesn't mean that the rest of the world didn't produce equally great stuff either).
BTW, did you know that the color TV technology was first developed by two Armenian brothers working in Moscow?
Were it not for American music over the years, there would be no ragtime, jazz, blues, jump, rock, zydeco, funk, theater, bebop, dixieland, bluegrass, R&B, folk, hip hop, country, or alt or fusion versions of any of them. They simply wouldn't exist. Period.
Not gonna argue with the fact. Although I can easily say that the rest of the world could care less for dixie, bluegrass and country. Unless they are an english speaking country... (see a connection here)?
No Gershwin. No Ellington. No Rogers & Hammerstein. No Quincy Jones. No Ray Charles. No Dylan. No Hank Williams Sr. No Armstrong. No Waits. No Sinatra. No Dexter Gordon or Charlie Parker. No Muddy Waters or B. B. King. No Pickett. No RZA. No Scott Joplin. No Guthrie. No Little Richard. No Johnny Cash. Shall I keep going? Jelly Roll Morton? Burt Bacherach? Mac Rebenak?
Love Gershwin, Ellington, don't know Rogers & Hammerstein, love Qunicy Jones, Ray Charles, Dylan, don't know Hank Williams, absolutely love Armstrong, don't know Waits, couldn't care less for Sinatra, meh on Gordon, love Charlie Parker.... so on...
Oh, you forgot Benny Goodman... how could you forget Benny man?
And what's your point? I can provide a similarly impressive list of composers, musicians, and bands from around the world, who are not influenced by Americanism

And of course, since we are so American-centric, we don't "get" them... or at least the general public doesn't. Unless of course they put a hip-hop beat behind their stuff
There have been more musical originals and greats in the last century than in the previous three centuries put together, with virtually every main musical thread traceable back to American popular and roots music.
I disagree with you on this, but whatever. The quantity is mainly due to recording technology not due to amount of talent. And that same recording technology has allowed a lot of garbage and noise to be produced in 20th century as the Internet now does for the 21st century... My point is... in about 300 years, I highly doubt that people will remember 10% of the "greats" of today
to dismiss 20th century popular music in it's entirety is the ultimate in hubris, much like thinking that it's all either Beatles or Elvis - both second-order derivative acts about as original as generic cereal brands - is the ultimate in ignorance.
Agreed
