I'm So Bored With The U.S.A.

After reading some mixed reviews of Kate Nash's U.S. debut, Made of Bricks, I decided to give it a shot. I was perusing through the aisles of the horribly organized 86th Street Best Buy a couple of weeks ago and saw that this "new release" (actually released last August in the U.K.) was a steal priced at 8 bucks. And yes, I do still actually buy music. So anyway, I've been giving the record some spins, and gotta say I've really gotten into it. The storytelling style of her music is stylistically anti-folk, slightly reminiscent of American equivalent Regina Spektor. Nash, a 20-year old London-based singer-songwriter, is remarkably precocious given the explicit subject matter of some of her songs (heartbreak, failed relationships), and she has that pop charm and spunk that has made fellow songstress Lily Allen the apple of many media outlets' eye.

Which got me thinking...this is some damn good pop music! I've been a fan of the aforementioned Allen and self-destructive (yet ridiculously talented) Amy Winehouse for quite a while, and now we Americans are given Kate Nash -- another young and talented singer chalked-up to a seemingly ever-growing list of British female voices. Is music just better across the pond? The fact that I have been sucked into the pop music world by Kate, Lily, and Amy leads me to believe that this certainly the case. Granted, I've been the hugest Oasis fan since I can remember, but I never thought my favorite band's "cockney" swagger could be repackaged a decade later in the form of three female pop stars.

And just to clarify things, I am by no means trying to collectively categorize all American music as bad. We have our talents, as does any other country -- but the fact remains (and will always remain) that most people will never discover this talent because we leave it up to the conglomerated radio stations to decide what we should be hearing. Consequently, we continually contribute the staleness of Colbie Caillat and Fergie, whereas England is kind enough to give us the creativity of Kate Nash and Amy Winehouse. And if pop music is an indicator of talent (and it is, unfortunately, to the general population), we should be saluting the limeys.