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Ah yes - the classic US music vs UK music debate. Having spent the past three years in London shooting a music documentary, I've often found myself discussing this over pints on chilly rainy nights. In a recent issue of NME magazine, this topic is being dusted off yet again.

Ever since the ‘British Invasion’ of the 1960s, the music of the United States and the United Kingdom have been intrinsically linked. There is a school of thought well-articulated in the Britpop documentary Live Forever that basically goes like this: At any one time, either the United States or the British Isles is dominating popular music, particularly what falls under the 'rock' music umbrella.

Obviously nothing in this world fits into such neat containers, but you can certainly see this trend when you look at contemporary music history. For example, American grunge music was also incredibly popular in the UK. Then in 1994, Kurt Cobain killed himself and grunge was on its way out with him, leaving a vacuum in the music industry. That’s when Blur, Oasis, Pulp, and later Radiohead stepped into the limelight to finish what The Stone Roses had begun.

There was another changing of the guard even more recently. In 2001, The Strokes released The Modern Age EP to massive critical and commercial acclaim in the UK, signifying a major shift in music. They were labeled the 'Saviors of Rock,' and soon other American bands began gaining prominence. Some of the most influential ones include The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, The Walkmen, The Killers, Bright Eyes, and TV on the Radio. A few years later, the Brits countered with local bands The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads, Razorlight, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, and The Cribs. All of these bands have taken what's being described as 'indie' music (I really hate how that term is used in both music and film these days) to the top of the UK music charts.

(As I mentioned before, any history that is laid out in a perfect linear line is probably inaccurate. For one, The Hives and The Vines aren't even mentioned here. Also, this is obviously dealing with one genre of music. Garage and nu-rave have similar trends, but aren't quite part of this.)

Something about this simplified history still might not ring 100% true to some of you. That's because I haven't included two very important points yet. Here they are:

1) This pendulum swing from the US to the UK and back again only occurs within the UK. Here in the States, people haven’t been paying much attention to what's happening across the Atlantic for awhile now. And when they have noticed, they’ve often not been as impressed as our counterparts. See: Oasis.

2) Many of the American bands that 'broke' were first recognized, lauded, and promoted by the UK music press and British fans long before the American music industry and audiences had even heard of them. From Jimi Hendrix to The Strokes, the Brits have a knack for ‘discovering’ the best American bands first. So when American bands get big, it's often in large part due to the UK anyway. This further complicates the relationship between the two countries.

As to what makes Britons so much more discerning of new music than us Yanks…. Well, that will have to be a future blog. But basically I believe it to be a lot of different things – from the size of their populations and countries to the freedoms given to their DJs, radio stations, televised music programs, publications, festivals and venues. Unfortunately, they are becoming increasingly more American in most of these areas, but as of right now the United Kingdom retains a more welcoming and enthusiastic environment for new bands.

All of this brings me to that recent article. NME is a British weekly music publication that began in 1952. The magazine itself is often a subject of debate amongst music fans who question whether or not it’s lost its way over the years. Regardless of changes in style, journalism and content over the decades, it still has a strong influence on the UK music community. Recently NME proclaimed that American artists are wearing the allegorical musical crown again in its story featuring the 'Top 25 Bands Making America Cool Again'.

Of course, neither country is solely responsible for making the ‘best’ or ‘coolest’ music because there is always plenty of good (and atrocious) music coming out of both lands. But it’s still a great topic for debate amongst audiophiles, trendsetters, and anyone who's ever liked one song and hated another.

So have a look at who NME chose as America's best. It's certainly led to some lively discussions here at ZIO!

1. Vampire Weekend
2. Lil Wayne
3. Glass Candy
4. Kings of Leon 
5. MGMT
6. Spank Rock
7. TV on the Radio
8. Boy Crisis
9. Black Kids
10. Holy Ghost Revival
11. The Hold Steady
12. Fleet Foxes 
13. Amazing Baby
14. Jay Reatard
15. Health
16. The Cool Kids
17. Black Lips
18. Yo Majesty 
19. White Denim
20. Telepathe
21. Iglu and Hartly
22. Chester French
23. Girl Talk
24. The Death Set
25. Grace Jones

Who belongs on this list and who doesn't? I'm currently compiling my own list of bands that should have been included, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.