Why are the Scissor Sisters so much more popular in England then America?

[The Double]

I don't have a clue. Do you?

[M9fanatic]

I have a weak theory....

They probably did in England what Bush did in the US. They toured and did appearances.

Have S Sisters hit all the big cities here? Take Your Momma got a lot of airplay, but then what? Did they back that up with some barn storming? Other than SNL 2 or 3 months ago and Leno this week... what else have they done?

Some people have said "they're too flamboyant" for the American public, but I don't buy that. We have fully embraced flamboyent acts before.

[AndyMead]

I don't have a clue. Do you?

I read the papers, watch TV, and generally stay informed, but I don't have clue who or what the "Scissor Sisters" are. :confused:

[scaryice]

Filthy/Gourgeous is a great song...

[afgrijselijkheid]

they got a lot of early european exposure with that rancid, god-awful cover of comfortably numb

and yeah, take your mama out is brilliant... a song about coming out to your mom at a gay disco lol

[nancyb]

The same question could be asked of the Kings of Leon. I hear they're huge in England. Here - barely a ripple. I haven't heard anything by them and Scissors Sisters - well they've been to DC a couple of times, at least. They got a pretty big write up about their show.

[royalstilton]

They're far better in England than they are in America. Over there they only have The Queen and Her Family to compete with. Here they have American Idol 5.1.

See the difference?

[royalstilton]

I read the papers, watch TV, and generally stay informed, but I don't have clue who or what the "Scissor Sisters" are. :confused:
---
i'm pretty sure they are a "who", but they might be a "what".

it's so hard to tell sometimes. you have to get them to hold still and pull their knickers down. all that fussing and squirming. quite a bother, really.

i say just guess and be done with it.

[obie]

Or The Strokes, or The White Stripes. Or before them, The Dandy Warhols and The Pixies.

The person who should opine on this is Footix since it may have more to do with differences in corporate marketing & strategy. But until then I have four educated guesses:

1. The UK is a small, tightly compacted country that allows for easier, cheaper touring -- if you want to play ten gigs in ten nights, it's better to drive from Sheffield to Manchester instead of St. Louis to Dallas.
2. UK radio will play new music faster so it's easier to promote them.
3. Music magazines in the UK are more into finding the "next big thing", which gives lots of early exposure to dozens of bands. Bloc Party was huge before Silent Alarm was even released based on the hype and early singles. The only acts in the US that get that sort of treatment are rap artists that have guested on others' singles or are someone else's protege.
4. British youth are just more into devouring new music, going more often to see live bands and packing the summer festival schedule.

[Unorthodox Yank]

The same question could be asked of the Kings of Leon. I hear they're huge in England. Here - barely a ripple. I haven't heard anything by them and Scissors Sisters - well they've been to DC a couple of times, at least. They got a pretty big write up about their show.

You beat me to the punch. I was seriously ust about to mention the KoL. Their new album even was released over here in the UK about a month or two before it was in the US.

I think it simply comes down to the fact that people in the UK have, generally speaking, better taste in music than people in the US. I mean, the Scissor Sisters and the KoL can tour and make appearances all they want in the UK, but if people think it sucks, it's going to be popular.

Obviously, people have taken a liking to it in the UK, and not so much in the US.

[catracha]

i dont know americans and english people have different ideas of music.
For example:
Here punk is- Simple plan with misic that sounds like pop
in england punk is- I am the anti-christ, from sex pistols
so different.

[Susiem]

I was just browsing through the board and came accross this thread and had to stick my 2 cents :)

Being an anglophile and having a record colection that is 90% british, I can say that there are things that get more popular in Europe ( not just in the UK) faster than they do in America because they dont put the same constraints on entertainment that we do. Here it seems to be more style over substance, where as over there, if its a really catchy tune, nobody really seems to care where it comes from.

Some Americans like the Dandy Warhols, The Faint and Rancid actually get confused as being British :) But the same can be said about British artists who are massive around the world but never manage to put a dent in America.

Thats life.

By the way, Everyone should own Super Furry Animals, records! My shameless plug to the Welsh.

[musicl]

Scissor Sisters are class. Best selling album of 2004. They are number 2 in chart this week - number 1 last week. Dont know why they are so popular here.

[Scottish_Morton]

TBH I just think tastes over here are just very different than in the States. I was looking at some list of the top bands over there last year and I hadn't heard of about 90% of them. Not that I don't like many American bands, i'm off to see one tonight (Straylight run).

[gaijin]

I think in the UK, if you get your track played late night on radio 1 then you know you have made it.

Like obie said, Bloc Party were touted like crazy and then I heard them live on Radio 1 within a month of reading about them in NME.

In the US, you don't have a generalised media output. By that, there are probably one or two main stations and they are limited to LA and NY, and carry only the same type of music. Therefore to get recognised you have to bust your gut, touring the whole of the US, doing promotions and after several months you may get a break on one major city radio station.

In the UK, all it takes is NME or Radio 1 to write about you and play your music and you are sorted. Within a month everyone in the country will know who you are. And once the UK makes a band big, it is invetiable that Europe follows suit.

I also think that we are far more "out there" and are accepting of music which is totally original and diverse. For me the when I first heard the Scissor Sisters, it was totally refreshing. With no disrespect to my American friends, I would say the majority simply can't digest or listen to music like this. Its not only the public, but its also the radio companies and execs taking a gamble on such bands, prefering to stick with a known genre and format which doesn't disrupt buyer harmony and record sales.

I think we have always been so diverse and rich in our music. House music which was invented in the States, only became a world-wide medium when it was picked up by Dj's in the UK.

Being an anglophile and having a record colection that is 90% british, I can say that there are things that get more popular in Europe ( not just in the UK) faster than they do in America because they dont put the same constraints on entertainment that we do. Here it seems to be more style over substance, where as over there, if its a really catchy tune, nobody really seems to care where it comes from.

Can't agree more Susiem. When fatboy slim came out, everyone was like - "Damn thats a good tune." No-one cared that he was an ex member of the Housemartins.

For me, Keane's album Hopes and Fears is nothing short of a masterpiece. And 2 years ago, they were nobody. And this was solely down to the strength of their music which won them the votes. I will agree that their now commericalised success has won them more sales, but it was the music which brought them the promotion in the first place. Not the other way round.

;)

[Brainodo]

Clear Channel. That is all.