Dependence Day Celebration!

by John Hagelston with field correspondents Mac Dunlop & John Srebalus

It all started with the Queen's Golden Jubilee Concerts. Seeing the likes of Eric Clapton, Sir Elton John, and Sir Paul McCartney performing for the assembled crowd at Buckingham Palace got us to thinking: British rock is so much cooler than the American variety.

And it's not just the music. World Cup fans would be quick to tell you that the U.K. can kick the U.S.A.'s ass on the soccer field. And what about those accents, to say nothing of the use of language in general; even if you would rather eat "burgers and fries," doesn't "bangers and mash" sound so much more enticing? They've even got those lovable mad cows. And let's face it, if the place wasn't magic, would Harry Potter have gone to school there?

We can already hear you super-patriots protesting "but what about our representative form of government?" Well, what about it? Wouldn't you rather watch members of the House Of Commons yell insults at each other than watch members of the House Of Representatives cut shady backroom deals? Consider all the intelligence failures in the news of late :wouldn't you feel safer if James Bond or The Avengers were in charge rather than the F.B.I. or the C.I.A.? And speaking of the news, you can't deny that the BBC beats CNN, at least in alphabetical order.

So put down the stars and bars and start waving that Union Jack! We'll pay your old tea tax, just take us back!! Below are ten titles from the Rhino catalog that prove Britannia still rules the airwaves. God save our gracious Queen!

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Be Thou Now Persuaded: Living In A Shakespearean World
Willie's words continue to inspire movies, television shows, and aging college professors
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Quadrophenia DVD
As The Who's acclaimed rock opera makes abundantly clear, mod was the apex of cool.
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Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond
Hear how the sounds of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones conquered the globe.
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The Kinks :Greatest Hits
The best of the early riff-rockers from Jubilee performer Ray Davies' old band.
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Deep Purple :The Very Best Of
Deep Purple. Led Zeppelin. Black Sabbath. Thin Lizzy. Can there be any doubt that Mother England is the mother of all hard rock?
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Faces :Good Boys...When They're Asleep: The Best Of
Raise a pint of Guinness to the good-time rock and roll of The Faces, which helped launch Jubilee performer Rod Stewart's career.
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Elvis Costello : My Aim Is True (Deluxe Edition)
The Ramones may have been the first punks, but the British were surely the angriest.
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Joy Division :Heartandsoul
And the British post-punks were surely the gloomiest.
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Amnesty International Presents: At Her Majesty's Pleasure
Monty Python. The Goons. Beyond The Fringe. Besides making great music, those Brits could be damn funny, too.
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Morrissey :The Best Of
Only England could have produced such a character as Steven Patrick Morrissey.
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