[Article] Put your music where your mouth is, Canada (Ayu mentioned)

[nmskalmn]

Excerpt:

Over the long weekend I found myself at a party. As the latest rap single wound down to the last explicit lines, someone put on something different. The words were low, rasping and in a different language entirely; German, I think. I was astounded at the reaction it incurred. People all around booed and jeered, "Turn it off! Who wants to listen to that?"

After my shock at the crowd's reaction had worn off, the situation raised some concerns for me about how we perceive ourselves as a country. If we can't even appreciate another country's musical preference, are Canadians really as open-minded as everyone seems to think we are?

In today's modern age of corporate music, there isn't anywhere you can go without hearing the latest flavor of the week. There are radios, television commercials, stores and that person beside you humming the chorus. Is there any variety? Is there any escape from this tedious repetition? It isn't very often that you hear anything that isn't mainstream North American. Have you ever heard of Ireland-based Celtic Thunder, Japan's very own Ayumi Hamasaki or Germany's Wir Sind Helden? Although each band or singer is famous and hugely successful in their home country and throughout some of Europe, they have yet to be heard across the pond in either Canada or the States.

The language barrier could be seen as a cause of some of this musical xenophobia if it weren't for the fact that many European artists are having their songs translated. In fact, many of them record in English in the first place. Examples of this include German band Tokio Hotel and Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada. Utada has had very little actual success in the States but is hugely successful in Japan, despite having songs in both English and Japanese.

Read it: Put your music where your mouth is, Canada