Which of course leaves little hope for being appeased under the canopy of the U.S. national news.
But here: wikipedia states “The rebellious tone of US rock and roll and blues musicians became popular with British youth in the late 1950s.” Excuse me? “I want to hold your hand”? “Who wants the worry / The hurry of city life”? “I’m so glad”? Beatles covering “Twist and Shout,” Cream covering “Rollin’ and Tumblin'”? Led Zeppelin basing their entire existence on American delta blues? “You shook me” is not a rebellious statement. It sounds to me like it’s the MUSIC, a revolutionary language in which people began earnestly and transcendently communicating with each other, that caught on. Never mind the 40 bands I probably just forgot. That “rebellious tone” took over, sure, in the vapid game of dress-up the Sex Pistols.
Wikipedia says this, and then the examples they use in British culture are “jazz” and skiffle. Well, from where I’m sitting, there are a lot of ways British youths could have found to be rebellious which wouldn’t have involved learning the entire catalogue of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Bo Diddley. Through the ages, the blokes overseas have channeled the verse/chorus format into something more stately, sedate and serene, and so more fitting of their country, from the Stones Roses and The Smiths up through recent history’s sublime The Macabees and The 1975, but punk rock I believe started in America with Iggy Pop. I’m just saying, you know, it’s people who don’t understand the music who want to frame it like it’s some idiot’s macabre. The only thing I can see that American music made the British want to rebel against is their nightly five-against-one routine they did, and usually from seeing American women “on the movie screen” (David Essex’s “Rock on,” Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime”).
And no, I am not meaning to be rude to the British by saying this. It’s common knowledge that these songs are written directly about American movie stars. I am not “taking them down.” I am not “ruining them.” Things are cemented in time. People are resilient. But if I could think of a single “rebellious” song by The Beatles [1] or Cream, my blood pressure would be like half of what it is right now.
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[1] “Revolution.”