RyanF1
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Location: Lund
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- #31
- Posted: 01/31/2012 12:54
- Post subject:
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| Mr. Shankly wrote: | Okay, Ryan,
I have a question for you. Is it safe to say that The Velvet Underground was discovered earlier and revered more in Scotland that elsewhere in the UK? I'm thinking of The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Vaselines, The Delgados, My Bloody Valentine, and even Belle & Sebastian (who were influenced by the quieter side of the Velvet Underground). Why is this? I might even go as far as say to say, cult bands in general are bigger in Scotland. For example, Teenage Fanclub was hugely influenced by Big Star. The Delgados, who I briefly followed and saw once, I remember mentioning The Modern Lovers and Jonathan Richman as somebody they admired. Franz Ferdinand were clearly influenced by Gang of Four. I think Scotland tends to contribute more to the indie, underground, side of rock, whereas, England as a whole, is more likely to produce a movement like Brit pop. I remember distinctly, when I discovered Belle and Sebastian and thinking how they were the polar opposites of Oasis, who were big at the time, and of course, much more mainstream. Of course, in a land known for dark and dismal weather, you've also got a legacy of cute cheery twee bands. Why is that? So, I'm curious, what is it about Scotland, that makes the music scene so different from the rest of the UK? And as many cool bands as there are from Scotland, you also have a very bland sounding group like Travis. Oh! Weren't the Bay City Rollers from Scotland? 
Also, I've been to Scotland, and I ended up in Glasgow accidentally, and I got to tell you, in Edinburgh, I could understand people. In Glasgow, the brogue is so thick, you might as well be speaking a different language. I asked for directions on the street and I had no idea what this person was saying to me.  |
Sorry this took so long, didn't actuslly think there would have been this much interest in my topic!
Anyway, it's an interesting point you raise. A lot of these bands came out of Glasgow in the 80's and 90's when the city was going through a bit of a transformation. If people think Glasgow's rough now, it's nothing compared to it was 20/30 years ago, it was a tough place to live!
I think that young Scots listened to bands like the VU in an attempt to escape the pretty bleak atmosphere, and bands like J&MC came about as an act of rebellion almost. Anything alternative would normally have been avoided like the plague, but it's only natural that a group of young guys would have gone against this in an attempt to be different.
It's a good question and one that would maybe take a bit of research before I could fully answer it, but I think the above paragraphs will have to do for now  I'd also add that Scots (mainly Glaswegians) are more likely to attach themselves to a 'cult' band and become proper fanatics, we don't do anything half-arsed in Glasgow 
You should research the stories of Postcard Records and Creation Records to give you a better idea, very interesting.
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No-one writes them like they used to, so it may as well be me.
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