It's been my firm belief for a long time that the single most important export from the USA is black culture. For instance, today I told my therapist about the death of Juan Atkins and how much it affected me. I was surprised to hear her say she read about it and was amazed. That this person who only listens to opera and jazz knew about one of the Belleville Three is astounding to me. Gives me hope somehow.
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@changterhune Black American music even influenced African music! If you haven't listened to the amazing podcast about Fela Kuti from last year (I think), check it out, it has some amazing stories about that (among other things).
@alisynthesis I was just thinking this! And yeah it's so true! I'm a huge fan of Fela so I know some of his origins but definitely that his time in LA and London exposed him to what was happening musically within America. And elsewhere!
Also one of the most important things that spread black culture is World War II. Without it you don't have soldiers, especially black soldiers, bringing their music over from the states. Without that seeping into the culture you don't have British rock. And without that you don't have American bands hearing it and reinterpreting it to make their own music. Myself included. That interplay has been critical to all music since WW2, including techno.