There Aint No Place Like The U S and A

Now, everyone knows my levels of distain and anger when it comes to all things American with regards the level of influence they sometimes have over our culture, sport and of course: food!

But I did notice one thing the other day when it comes to their ‘style’ of writing songs and it was this: they really are obsessed with their own country!

Now, I’m sure most of you know our cousins across the pond do possess a rather large chunk of land and that many of them (about 90-odd %) don’t own a passport (that’s usually down to that fact that they don’t know the rest of the world exists), but, this is what I noticed the other day: they love writing songs and naming bands about places in their country.

Self gratifying I’m sure you’d agree?

Here are a few rather eye-watering examples:

Bands:

Boston

LA Guns

New York Dolls

The Miami Sound Machine (that was Gloria Rest-her-fanny’s band by the way)

MC5 (Motor City 5) – named after Detroit

Buffalo Springfield

Chicago

Songs:

Route 66

If you’re going to San Francisco

New York New York

New York City Cops

California Girls

California Dreaming

Pacific Ocean Blue

Born in the USA

Sweet Home Alabama

Hotel California

Now I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to these rather cherished national places on the old U S and A here, but don’t you think they can sometimes be rather too sentimental about these places of heritage? Bruce Springsteen wrote about the USA all his fucking life and he’s still boring the tits off us to this day! Republican sentimentality you might say? Who knows

Now, compare this to the English and our rather plucky stiff upper lips, cups of tea and fish and chips. You don’t really hear of us singing so affectionately about such cities as Norwich, Sunderland or Watford. You don’t hear us constantly banging on about such world famous land marks as Battersea Power Station, The Angel of the North or Page Moss Chippy in the same way our friends across the Atlantic do now do you?

Now, you make think I’m being silly here (and yes, I am), but I’m pretty much at a loss as to why people would want to have such a partisan opinion about their own country that they suddenly feel the need to burst into song or name a band after it as, in my humble opinion, music should be about something that’s stirs your emotion and inspires you and your personal feelings

Maybe a bridge, a monument or indeed a city does do that for most Americans.

Sadly it doesn’t for me

I’ll stick to writing songs about paranoia, lost love and death if you don’t mind

As for Page Moss Chippy: they do make great onion gravy

Hardly worth a song though

Mol