Davey the Fat Boy wrote:
I think both of these guys are stand-ins for the platonic ideal of how a musical artist ‘does it the right way’ in their respective country of greater influence. People in the UK see Bowie as the exemplar of a great artist. In the US there is little desire for other artists to be more like Bowie (too much attention to artifice). Young’s sense of authenticity and personal integrity are closer to the standard we look for.
I think this is broadly true.