Blog: No Kings, No Queens in the Old U.S.A.

As history dictates, our motherland was originally Great Britain, starting the original 13 colonies, then beating the French in a very long war, securing borders against the Spanish, and then ultimately losing all of that territory to the colonists over an issue of taxes and representation. 

To note, they still have a queen and a royal family. 

I normally write about music. This actually has some relevance. As we are a Democracy (Republic) we don't really need kings or queens in politics. Nor do we apparently need them in music. The last "King" was Elvis Presley. During and after that time we endured the British invasion, The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones... I can continue of course, but you get the picture. Fascinating though are the Kings and Queens of each British generation. Elton John, king of pop during his time... which is still going, but ruling a short time for our younger generations, Amy Winehouse. Now the new queen is Adele. 

My point is, while the British have many musicians and artists with spectacular talent, one often rules the roost in whichever genre. The United States... no. Not at all. We have many chieftains, but no royalty.

Shame on those of the younger generation reading this and saying, "Oh, we have a king, that's Justin Beiber!" NEWS FLASH, he's Canadian. He can't run for president, and he can't be king of American pop, just like Avril Lavigne wasn't an american punk rock princess. 

Our only succession is the changing of the Old Guard to the New Guard. Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, give way to Third Eye Blind, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, etc., who in turn give way to The Fray, Taylor Swift... You get the point. 

But here again, the succession gets muddy.

The Beach Boys aren't dead. They're still touring. Creedence, no longer the original band, still commands a presence. Third Eye Blind, once of the best live bands of our age, still making a killing in touring. WHAT!? Dr. Dre, Eminem, still spinning albums and releasing...

In England, no one has replaced Elton. Sir Paul Mcartney is his own force with his own right, no replacement, no one has to move over on the perch, either. Yet Adele is brand new, her kingdom spreading internationally, inspiration growing every day.

Across the ocean, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj are clawing at each other with similar sounding music near the top of the charts, While Maroon Five and Katy Perry are eaven higher up, taking well aimed sniper shots at the competition with balanced pop music and well rehearsed harmonics. Yes, there is a Canadian invasion. It's been going on for years, Avril Lavigne, Justin Beiber, and Carly Rae Jepsen the most recent storms to ravage the states.

Yes Nick, we get that. But what's your point? 

Time for another history lesson: Ancient British Isles.

-After years of war, the English, uniting under one king, proved stronger than a collection of Irish chieftains, and defeated them in a series of battles over a number of years. Ireland never struck back in force. 

In music, can we reverse that history here? We have many chieftains, and the possibility of a weakening music industry due to social media acceleration. Can the strength of many overwhelm the talent of the few? Or should we infuse more talent, scale the numbers down, and have our own royalty?

I would love thoughts on this.