For years, friends in the U.S. teased me for liking Oasis. “Beatles knock-offs,” “unoriginal,” “cheesy”—I’ve heard it all. What they never understood is that music in other countries isn’t about comparison, snobbery, or being on trend. Abroad, music is about feeling. Community. Sitting in a local bar and playing artists you connect with. We lived in Ecuador for a while—big artists rarely tour there, so you appreciate them more. In the U.S., artists are always around, always touring, and people tend to underappreciate what’s right within reach.