New British Invasion?

So, Not much is going on in my life other than the slow process of moving into the equivalent of a toothpaste tube.

So, I watch a bit too much TV. Especially in the early morning. That is the only time MTV, VH1 plays videos. A lot of it are craprap videos. There are some videos that appeal to me in the sense that they have a newness to it. Turns out once again, that they are British music acts. The first one occurred of course in the 60's with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Hollies, Who, Kinks and what have you. There was a residual effect with Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple.

The second wave, the "New Wave" occurred in the late 70's and early 80's with the Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello, Duran Duran, U2, Culture Club, Flock of Seagulls, Eurythmics and others.

The British tried another invasion in the early 90's with the Farm, Charlatans, Blur and Happy Mondays but the Grunge warriors of Seattle put the kibosh on that.

Now the British has returned. Hiphop has run its course, it's lame, repetitive, and let's face it folks, Ice Cube is doing family films and Snoop Dogg is doing commercials. Hiphop is not longer cool. Some American acts are trying to revitalize rock, but there is a sameness to it and doesn't appeal to me.

The first clip is "Smile" by Lily Allen. She's a sassy gal with a pleasant voice and man is that song catchy! However, I'm not into the idea of vandalism and assault by thugs as revenge for a nasty breakup. If a man had done the same things (minus the assault) after a breakup he would be in jail. But like I said the girl is sassy.


The second clip is by James Blunt. Let me say I hate the song "Beautiful" It's easily the most annoying song to come out in a decade. That said, his voice is toned down for this clip, so it's not as annoying.


Speaking of distinct voices, Mika is the name of an artist from London by way of Lebanon. He's a talented individual whose vocal gymnastics and song structuring is reminiscent of Freddy Mercury of Queen and that's not a bad thing. It's a cute clip and man is that dude skinny!

Speaking of guys who resemble late rock stars, here comes the Fratellis whose guitarist/singer has the look of a subdued Marc Bolan. The video is a guilty pleasure with some hot girls who actually have sex appeal. Of course it may have to do with the fact they look like pin up girls from the 50's. like a Vargas or a Petty girl. Plus I likes the Geetar pickin' at the end of the song.


Now, Amy Winehouse might only make it as a pinup girl for a magazine like Easy Rider or Tattoo but she intrigues me with her singing. Whereas Lily Allen sings high, Amy sings low, I like the two songs I've seen like "Rehab" but this clip is of a song that is getting a lot of airplay in commercials and as the song for the new show "Madmen" It fits the mood of the show.

There may be others, but these are the ones that I feel are the most interesting.

Enjoy the clips. Don't bother waiting for MTV of VH1 to play it.