You mean Las Vegas, England… right?

As evidenced by last week’s Top 10, the UK has had a pretty substantial effect on this decade’s musical landscape. So much, in fact, that even non-Brits were singing to the tune of “Rule, Britannia!” Here is a list of American (okay, maybe there’s a Canadian or two in there, but who counts those?) acts that we all just naturally assumed to be members of the British Invasion v.2.0…

Top 10 Acts that Surprised Us by NOT Being Brit Rock Imports in the ‘00s:

The Killers (Las Vegas, NV)
Everything about the Killers’ emergence onto the music scene surprised me. First, the fact that the crap Top 40 radio stations of Horseheads, NY – the one-horse town (the pun would be remotely cute if it weren’t so horrendously true) where my parents chose to settle and raise me during the more formative years of my adolescence – even played “Somebody Told Me” was akin to hearing Wu Tang on your local Lite 90-whathaveyou. B) When I realized that Brandon Flowers was actually HOT (like, really?!). All that aside, I just assumed they were to be a great, new crossover sensation. I can still remember, to this day, my complete and utter shock that not only were The Killers from some country as lame as – ugghh – the U.S, but they weren’t even from a New York or Seattle or somewhere else as musically stimulating. Vegas, really?! Though, I’m not the only one who recognizes The Killers as a greater British powerhouse than American: their first American festival headlining act only happened this past month, despite their multiple prestigious UK festival headlining shows (Reading, Leeds, and Glastonbury).“Jenny Was A Friend of Mine” – The Killers


Scissor Sisters (New York, NY)

If I thought learning about The Killers’ national origin was bad, I had no idea the kind of heartache in store for me. Let’s just do a quick rundown of the Scissor Sisters: (1) their music can best be described as disco/glam rock – in the 21st century, no less! … (B) the members of the group include names like Babydaddy and Ana Matronic … (-) they have one of the (VERY) few acceptable Pink Floyd covers … and, (IV) they sing about the fun side of recreational drug use. HOW CAN THEY BE AMERICAN?! And, had I not seen Party Monster, I’d have been convinced that it was all a gimmick – now, I just assume that they can be a product of none other than the Club Kids phenomenon that was the ‘90s.

“Lovers in the Backseat” – Scissor Sisters




The Decemberists (Portland, OR)

They play with organs. How many Americans even know how to identify an organ?! The Decemberists' most famous member is without question Colin Meloy, who is known for all of his “Colin Meloy Presents…” cover work. See? There! COVERS. Brits LOVE covers. And he even covers Brits! (Or just Morrissey, but what American could really do him justice?). And then, of course, there are the incomparable covers by the band itself – including one amaaaayyyzing rendition of the siren song itself, “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush.

“Clementine” – The Decemberists



Lady GaGa (Yonkers, NY)

Actually, I’m not convinced GaGa is reflective of the culture of any nation, but I could happily peg her as some sort of Little Boots-esque lass (for the same reasons that I find the Scissor Sisters to be obviously British). But after her various costumes at this past weekend’s VMAs - and the various states of immobility in which they left her - I don't care what she is. I just love her.

“Paparazzi” - Lady GaGa






Arcade Fire (Montreal, Quebec)

Oh, husband and wife duo bands, how you manage to have a hold on us. In addition to the usual slate of instruments that are typical of your standard indie act, they also dabble in all kinds of strings, xylophones, accordions, hurdy gurdies (!!), and mandolins. The hell kind of Canadians do that??

“Rebellion (Lies)” - Arcade Fire






Black Kids (Jacksonville, FL)

The Black Kids, aside from having one of the most clever names I’ve heard in music lately (who is going to say anything bad about them, hmm?), have a perfect suite of tricks to separate them from the rest of the indie keyboard dance-y bands that have come onto our iPods in the past two years: joking metaphors, pronoun gender discordance, and family members with the last name Youngblood. The male Youngblood of the group has a bit of a Robert Smith meets Vince Clarke sound, making it pretty obvious why they would top the UK charts before their stuff was even released over on this side of the pond… and, also, why they’re on this list.

“I'm Making Eyes At You” – Black Kids


CocoRosie (Iowa/Hawaii/France/wherever the hell)

So I would have never considered putting CocoRosie on this list when I thought that they were only French (let’s be honest, the two countries are close enough that sound could get over from one to the other – it’s not that un-British to be French… musically), but then I heard their cover/remake/correspondence of Akon’s “I Wanna Fuck You” (don’t worry, that’ll come up in a Top 10 in the future) and realized that they still have American accents. As far as musical siblings go, these girls come second only to the Gallagher brothers – artist mother, Shaman father, estranged when one sister got kicked out, sent to boarding school, and eventually off to Paris to learn Opera (while the other attended “Kill Whitey” parties in Williamsburg). CocoRosie’s music, with the hoof stomping and beat boxing and childish whining, could be placed into the Trip Hop genre (born and cultivated in the great UK)… but, y’know, that’s only if you had to place it anywhere. And, for that caveat (built upon all of these others), they make it on this Top 10.

“By Your Side” – CocoRosie


Santigold (Philadelphia, PA)

Sure, now that she’s gone hard for Brooklyn with Jay-Z and told us about Lower East Side artists, she’s known for being a New Yorker. But it wasn’t always the case. In fact, if you look at last week’s Top 10er, you’ll note the praise I gave M.I.A. for crossing the pond as female British rapper. Though she is a more melodic version, Santi’s still cornered the same exact market (with more or less the same friends). Songs like “Creator” make you wonder on what Philly streets she managed to start sounding a bit like Lady Sovereign.

“Anne” - Santigold



Peaches (Toronto, Canada)

Two words: Fancypants Hoodlum. That was Peaches’ debut album. That combined with the gender ambiguity in which she likes to build her performances/look should leave no question as to why she might be on this list.

“Sex (I'm A)” – Peaches



Yeah Yeah Yeahs (New York, NY)

Actually, I don’t think there’s a single person who genuinely thinks that the YYYs are from the UK, but that might not have always been the case. Given that Karen O is highly reminiscent one of the most famous female Brit rock crossovers, Siouxsie Sioux, her voice – regardless of what she’s singing – could have me picturing a Union Jack waving in the back (and a broken bottle of scotch laying on the ground). So maybe they’re not a seemingly British act of today… that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t pass for one, ever.

“Gold Lion” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Honorable Mentions: Digitalism, Au Revoir Simone, MGMT