I've been posting artists we don't hear much about in the US for a couple of reasons.
One is that since so many DUers are older and are fans of classic rock, a lot of my favorites have already been posted again and again here.
And that's fine. I don't expect people to check to see how recently something they want to post was posted by someone else (and for that matter, DUers who aren't Star members can't use the "Search This Group" feature and search back through 2011 by artist's name or song title - that searchability is why I like seeing both in thread titles, btw - to see how often and how recently something's been posted). And it's always good to see a different version of a favorite song, or a different live performance. Just listening to a favorite studio track again is always a pleasure, too.
But the more I've looked at YouTube (something I didn't have much time for during years of caregiving), the more aware I've been of how much great music simply didn't get a lot of attention in the US. That goes for music created decades ago as well as more recent releases and live performances.
I've also run across a number of female artists whose music I've been especially happy to discover. I always like to see more women playing rock or the blues especially.
So I've posted videos from Anouk and Ilse DeLange (from the Netherlands), Orianthi (from Australia, but not well enough known here), Erja Lyytinen (Finland), and most recently Laura Cox (raised in France, with Engish and French parents) and Gaelle Buswel (French). All of them sing in English, at least most of the time.
They're fantastic singer/songwriter/musicians. I think a video of Gaelle Buswel's that I posted yesterday - https://democraticunderground.com/103482547 and https://democraticunderground.com/10181708075 - would be a strong contender for awards here if it had been done by an American artist.
That doesn't mean I don't love Janis Joplin, Linda Ronstadt, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Stevie Nicks, Grace Slick, Tina Turner, Susan Tedeschi, Beth Hart, Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde, Bonnie Raitt, Molly Tuttle, and any number of other American and British women who have contributed so much to rock and blues and country over the years.
But great rock and blues never stopped at the borders of the US, the UK, Canada and Australia.
I might've pushed it a little posting videos from the legendary German band Die Toten Hosen, since they do most often sing in German. However, I figured I've listened to enough rock songs over the years where the lyrics were almost impossible to understand (and in some cases didn't make much sense anyway) that the language shouldn't have been a complete obstacle to enjoying the songs (especially if I could link to the translation).
And in general I've posted artists who did record their music in English rather than their native languages.
All of them hoping for more success in the US, which I believe they deserved,
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