[MoFA] And they said I had no culture
Foreign Office
Man's got culture for days mate.
The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by the UK's history as a developed island country, a liberal democracy and a major power; its predominantly Christian religious life; and its composition of four countries—England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland—each of which has distinct customs, cultures and symbolism. The wider culture of Europe has also influenced British culture, and Humanism, Protestantism and representative democracy developed from broader Western culture.
British literature, music, cinema, art, theatre, comedy, media, television, philosophy, architecture and education are important aspects of British culture. The United Kingdom is also prominent in science and technology, producing world-leading scientists (e.g. Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin) and inventions. Sport is an important part of British culture; numerous sports originated in the country, including football. The UK has been described as a "cultural superpower", and London has been described as a world cultural capital. A global opinion poll for the BBC saw the UK ranked the third most positively viewed nation in the world (behind Germany and Canada) in 2013 and 2014.
The Industrial Revolution, which started in the UK, had a profound effect on the family socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world. As a result of the British Empire, significant British influence can be observed in the language, law, culture and institutions of a geographically wide assortment of countries, including Australia, Canada, India, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United States and English speaking Caribbean nations. These states are sometimes collectively known as the Anglosphere, and are among Britain's closest allies. In turn the empire also influenced British culture, particularly British cuisine.
Now, I know from my own first year module, Society and Culture in 20th Century Britain, that man's over here in Britain invented cinema. That's pretty cray.
Films like this classic, Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times became an institution. Although an American production, the man was a British legend.
1888 – The Roundhay Garden Scene, shot in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by Le Prince, is credited as the first film. It is recorded at a groundbreaking 20 frames per second and is the earliest surviving film. Thomas Edison describes the concept of the Kinetoscope, an early motion picture exhibition device.
Here it is in all it's glory
Not very rivetting admitedly, but there we go. Revolutionised. Of course it didn't take long for the American's to claim movies away from us, but their early 1950s and 60s 'talkies' films were heavily influenced by our culture. Whilst we were over here making crude Carry On Films (Classics BTW), they were making British style detective and period dramas.
Now, we revolutionised Rock and Roll baby. The Swinging Sixties hit with full force and we produced many bands and singers renowned the world over. Names like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, David Bowie. The list goes on and on. Basically we used to have culture for days.
I prefer to remember this song as the birth of heavy metal, rather than the inspiration of the Manson Murders...
Now, I may do another article on Culture in the UK, (it is afterall going to be partially the topic of my upcoming dissertation) but in the meantime here is an example of modern day british culture.
Cheeky Nandos
A term used by Brits to linguistically torment confused Americans, wherein they "explain" what it means while using as much British slang as humanly possible, for maximum Yank confusion.
"Nandos" is a South African restaurant chain where you can get a respectable amount of spicy chicken and chips (fries) for a moderate price, suitable for sharing among a small group of friends. "Cheeky" is a multipurpose word which, in this context, appears to mean "spicy," "awesome/delicious," and "amusing in a slightly naughty/irreverent way" (because you're eating with your friends, who are a cheeky bunch, leading to a cheeky dining experience overall).
"Cheeky Nandos with the lads," in American, might be "Kick-ass hot wings with my bros" though "kick-ass" lacks some of the subtle connotations of irreverence that "cheeky" posesses.
you know when you go down town with the lads and you all realize you’re hank marvin’ so you say “lads let’s go Maccers” but your mate Smithy a.k.a. The Bantersaurus Rex has some mula left on his nandos gift card and he’s like “mate let’s a have a cheeky nandos on me” and you go “Smithy my son you’re an absolute ledge” so you go have an extra cheeky nandos with a side order of Top Quality Banter
Till next time!
Aaron Mark Daniels
eUK MoFA and Friend
Comments
thirst
BREXIT MEANS BREXIT
indeed
i didn't see you were back in business 😮
been here all month mate 😉
when u endorse your own article
donating to the org innit
Love it!
And the Kinks' You Really Got Me is the first heavy metal song... Beatles were good, but they were pop. You forgot to mention Muse, Black Sabbath, Motorhead (yes, they were UK, not Germany), The Cult, The Cure, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Queen, Renaissance.. but keep Gary Glitter far off the list!
Regardless of his fondness for children, you can't deny that Glitter had some banging toons.
The Stranglers, The Beat, The Who, The Clash, many that I could have mentioned tbf. That's how important we were ;P
I'd argue that Helter Skelter, with the emphasis on McCartney trying to make as loud and noisy a song as possible has the basis of early heavy metal. No it is still pop, maybe somewhat heavy rock, but for the time it came out it was quite heavy. Then bring on the Kinks of course. Helter Skelter is a banger though 😉
How could I forget The Stranglers, the Who or The Clash? But The Stranglers were a bit more punk than heavy metal. The Who is in a class of its own. And The Clash.... awesome.
true, not neccesarily listing exclusively heavy metal, but yeah I do love the stranglers. Went to see them with my dad for my 18th.
all awesome.
Madness as well!
More modern, Bring Me The Horizon, garnered quite a following (and my personal fave of course 😉 )
You seem to have a strange definition of Heavy Metal. In the above list I see only 3 that could be classed as 'Heavy Metal'.
The Kinks are hard rock, not metal, Muse are not heavy metal, 'progressive rock' could be a term used for them, but never heavy metal, Black Sabbath are probably the first successful Heavy metal band, Motorhead, I don't class as Heavy Metal, it's metal played at punk speed, the Cult, lolno, nowhere near heavy metal neither are the Cure, Deep Purple, Hard Rock in my opinion, Maiden ofc are Metal, Priest you could argue too, Queen, hell no and I have no idea who Renaissance are. Stranglers are not Metal, nor were the Who and the Clash were Punk...
As for Glitter, he was Glam.
If we are talking British music, I can't believe The Specials have not been mentioned, read their lyrics and even today they still ring true. That takes a special skill few bands have mastered, not just in the UK but the world.
tbf I was listing British bands, not necessarily heavy metal bands.
I CAN'T BELIEVE I REMEMBERED THE BEAT AND NOT THE SPECIALS. GOD DAMN IT I'VE LET ME DAD DOWN
Which Beat?
Ranking Roger Beat
Mirror in the Bathroom is a toon
Wham!
Renaissance - with Annie Haslam - outshines Gary Glitter completely
Absolutely. Saw them live in Hammersmith and they were as good on stage as on their LPs. (For the young ones here, those are what you now call "vinyl"). And my list wasn't exclusively heavy metal, but the Kink's You Really Got Me is considered the first heavy metal song.
And no, the ref to Gary Glitter was not to honour him, I thought he was slightly beyond awful. Then again, much of the pop music around that time was beyond awful.
cheeky nandos is a term used by fags and fags alone.
do not trust this communist propaganda
crap, they're on to me
also it's maccies or maccy d's, no one calls it maccers...
blame urban dictionary
If that is pulled from Urban dictionary the place has gone downhill. Prolly due to the infestation of the soyboy, betacucks such as yourself...
i aint a soyboy though 🙁
low T, soyboy, same thing...
You suck
on what?
Mo Farah
So - which Spice Girl would you go for - and why?
I do like a bit of ginger spice. Idk
Britfags
o7
Top marks for including Led Z but you left out Pink Floyd.