OMFG, I Think I'm Going To Stab Out My Ears--
*points up at icon* The things I do for that man. Really. Tsk. So last night, I found myself watching the Brit Awards (broadcast on CBC) because our Mr. Bean was a presenter
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Perhaps I need to know the whole context to understand why the use of the word America was such a problem. There are so many different geographical terms: The Americas, North and South America, the US, the USA and I think most people are perfectly aware of their different terms of reference. But to say someone from the USA is 'from America' (or whatever phrase was used) isn't wrong. Maybe a little imprecise, but not wrong, and not implying anything about other countries on the continent not existing or not being important. I wonder if what was actually happening was an emphasis on music or artists from the USA, and that is because the Brits are about mainstream record labels and have an emphasis on popular, commercial output, which inevitably means that stuff from the USA will figure highly.
On the music thing, I am not being ethnocentric. If you took a look at my CD rack or itunes library it would be obvious how ridiculous that accusation is. What I was trying (possibly imprecisely) to express is a belief that in terms of contemporary music in the pop/rock/indie and other related genres, Britain has a more active and creative music scene than anywhere else I've even been - and I've lived in four countries and visited countless others. We make music, we go to live gigs, we buy music and we take an interest in contemporary music to a degree I just don't see elsewhere (figures on that: in the first week of itunes, a million tracks were downloaded in the USA and half a million in the UK, and given the relative sizes of our populations, that means Brits bought two and a half times as much music), and whether or not innovative British music makes it across the Atlantic or not is more to do with the difficulties of moving from a small market on a small island to a huge continent than it is to do with the quality of the music itself. When I moved back here after five years on the North American continent, I was just stunned by how exciting, and accessible, the music scene is over here. You cannot judge the state of British music by the Brit awards. Go to wikipedia and look at the last few years' Mercury nominations and then tell me British music has taken a nosedive and has nothing to offer. Seriously.
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There's disagreeing politely, and then there's insinuating that your music scene is somehow "better" than the rest of the world's because you say it is (and not bothering to provide more proof than that), yet missing the part where I said I was talking "about the British music scene as represented by the Brit Awards," then taking issue with "American" when I said "America" was the sticky part, and, in short, trying to wave the lack of tact away with "I'm grumpy too." If you're simply disagreeing (and claiming that you were not aware that your tone was aggressive/impolite), there would have been no reason to include the P.S.
I think most people are perfectly aware of their different terms of reference.
Most people being...? I could easily point out the problems in Britain with regard to Scottish, Irish, and I believe Welsh people not appreciating being lumped in with the English, yes?
But to say someone from the USA is 'from America' (or whatever phrase was used) isn't wrong.
Again, you're missing the point. We're not talking about referring to citizens of the US as "from America" or "American." There is no other way to refer to those citizens. We're talking about using "America" when you are solely referring to the USA.
and not implying anything about other countries on the continent not existing or not being important.
It's implicitly saying exactly what I already outlined in my previous comment. Surely, you must understand that there is a great gulf between one's intent and the result? And if you're incapable of understanding what's wrong with using "America" to denote the US, then you're simply not going to get it, and that, again, feeds directly back into implying that the only place that matters this side of the Atlantic is the USA.
Britain has a more active and creative music scene than anywhere else I've even been
You know, here's what you missed saying the first time around: "than anywhere else I've ever been." That still doesn't make you an expert, but it at least contextualizes a ridiculously broad generalization. And here's the thing: I still get to say that your music scene is not what it once was and be just as valid in my criticism.
that means Brits bought two and a half times as much music
Actually, it only means they used iTunes more than the US, so perhaps it has caught on better as a method of delivery over there. You'll still have to compare that consumption with that of countries other than the US, and include CD sales and other methods of consuming the product in order to claim that the British music scene is booming when compared to all other countries.
Honestly? My whole post boiled down to one thing: The Brit Awards sucked. Period. The music played at said awards also sucked, and the ethnocentrism displayed was tacky. I'm not sure why the rest of it is such a big issue, here.
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Also, if you want to see something that doesn't contain even the tiniest element of ethnocentrism, perhaps you ought to avoid something called THE BRIT AWARDS. There's kind of a clue in the title there.
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