I live in Northern Europe. It's arguably superior to the US in many ways, but there are some things which we cannot get here.
One thing is size. The US has 300+ million people, whereas my country only has a few million. All communities are smaller here; interesting things get here later or not at all (with bad localizations) because the market is too small. Things are tinier, quieter and get less traction.
Another thing is that there is something of a cultural identity crisis going on. We cannot match the enormous cultural influence of the US, and so a lot of our culture is American. If you've ever talked to someone from Northern Europe and wondered "why does s/he speak English so well?" it's not because of school. One half of our cultural identity is located on the other side of the Atlantic, and we keep in touch with it mostly through backlit screens.
The deluge of information and entertainment that has come from the US since it became a superpower has served as a really efficient marketing strategy. We're not terribly interested in moving to Oklahoma. We have been sold on New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other metropolises in the US, because that's what we read and hear about. These places are perhaps not better than Northern Europe to settle down and start a family in, but they certainly seem more exciting.
> ...and wondered "why does s/he speak English so well?" it's not because of school.
As an American, I've always been surprised when conversing with people from other countries considering their usage of English is not bad and is far better than those that are American natives. However, also as an American, I'm not surprised by the lack of skill in regards to the English language that is present amongst the population here (I'll use 'amongst' if I want, Chrome) due to the general disregard for the language (as if using the wrong form of your/you're is really that difficult or unimportant).
Edit: As is inevitable when one comments upon improper usage of a language, they tend to screw it up themselves. I have done just that. I will leave my mistake to commemorate it: "As an American, I've have always been..."
The key distinction here is that native English speakers speak with whatever dialect that they grow up with. On the other hand, most ESL speakers try to learn a so-called "Prestige" dialect, like RP or General American. Thus, most fluent native speakers have a more prestigious accent and way of writing due to this, than those who speak English as a first language.
That's a great point that I haven't thought of before! I tend to forget that when others learn a new language it is generally taught in the proper and/or polite manner.
> Another thing is that there is something of a cultural identity crisis going on. We cannot match the enormous cultural influence of the US, and so a lot of our culture is American.
I don't think that applies to music genres. I live in Gloucester, England which is practically in the middle of Jungle country.
One thing is size. The US has 300+ million people, whereas my country only has a few million. All communities are smaller here; interesting things get here later or not at all (with bad localizations) because the market is too small. Things are tinier, quieter and get less traction.
Another thing is that there is something of a cultural identity crisis going on. We cannot match the enormous cultural influence of the US, and so a lot of our culture is American. If you've ever talked to someone from Northern Europe and wondered "why does s/he speak English so well?" it's not because of school. One half of our cultural identity is located on the other side of the Atlantic, and we keep in touch with it mostly through backlit screens.
The deluge of information and entertainment that has come from the US since it became a superpower has served as a really efficient marketing strategy. We're not terribly interested in moving to Oklahoma. We have been sold on New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other metropolises in the US, because that's what we read and hear about. These places are perhaps not better than Northern Europe to settle down and start a family in, but they certainly seem more exciting.