Anti Brooklyn-ization of music article...
Fri, 09/14/2012 - 6:28am
Here's an interesting article from Justin Moyer, our friend whom my band has shared bills with (Justin plays in bands El Guapo, Supersystem and Edie Sedgewick), about regional music scenes vs the currnent Brooklyn-centric music hip scene -
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/43235/our-band-could-be-your...
Fri, 09/14/2012 - 12:22pm
#2
I hate this essay
I hate this essay in 40 different ways. Here's what I said when Casey posted it to Daoud over on Facebook:
This piece combines sour grapes and suckage pretty equally. There is something to local scenes--Im in the middle of working on a blog piece about Will Hermes' "Love Goes To Buildings On Fire" which is about the super-aubundance of amazing NYC scenes in NY in the late seventies (none of them in Brooklyn!)--but as many people have pointed out already, artists always arrive in NY (or other big cities) from elsewhere and re-invent and mythologize themselves and take in and make up the atmosphere (read Patti Smith's "Just Kids" if you dont believe me). Thats sort of the point of it. The problem now (as any anti-folker could tell you) is that its so hard to live in NY now that people are leaving instead of coming.
And they really have an impact on each other--when I was hanging around in my first NYC scene, as soon as the Ramones started getting popular at CB's there were fifty bands that sounded like that. But lets not blame that on the musicians--or pretend it never happened before. Has he never listened to the 500 similar-sounding bands from mid-1960s San Fransisco?
MTV had a bigger effect on the homogenization he's talking about than who was coming to what city--when it was launched in '81 it was the first time the US had such a powerful "national" music aesthetic--before that there were actual regional charts, regional labels and local bands that were "huge" in certain areas (like my friends The Godz in Columbus) and had real careers without making it nationally. And the industry pushes hard (and has always done so!) toward predictability and homogenization because it makes it easier to sell. But there's also always going to be people (in Brooklyn, for instance) who are below that surface and trying to make something not just new but meaningful. We are lucky we know some of them.
PS I saw the Gossip a number of times when they were working their way up the ladder and I never thought they were that great.
Sat, 09/15/2012 - 4:30pm
#3
First impressions about the article: In no particular order.
-Really thought provoking piece. I liked it a lot. I don't think I feel as opposed as Tone, I do think there are some holes in the argument. I think the "Brooklyn" problem this guy is talking about is a little more like an "Internet/global media" homogenization problem. You could probably throw the term gentrification in there as well. Maybe it's the same thing. I have to admit I've seen a lot of very "Brooklyn" influenced type bands all around the country. I've seen a lot of bands that just sucked too and wished were, maybe, a little more influenced by some of the better Brooklyn bands. But then again isn't Brooklyn a mish mash of people from around the country. Hmm...sound a bit like a chick or the egg kind of argument.
I like the Gossip but I do think they're a bit over rated as well. I prefer their older stuff but I think they're as much about gay culture as they are about being from Arkansas and I don't see their foray into Disco as ungenuine. To refute the argument. I haven't been able to really put my finger on it but there are some strong trends that are distinctive to the local Kansas City Music scene that I find kind of annoying and stagnating, as well as others that I think I could get on board with as an artist.
-Love this Ian Svenonius quote about NYC (looking forward to reading that book):
"The city was reborn as the super mall, its allure augmented by its storied history, born of the diversity which would be abolished. Cheap white labor, in the form of aspiring artists, could be lured via this history, mythologized in books which marketed the city through the very idiosyncratic or marginal character its advertisers had helped to systematically exterminate.
The city’s new privileged inhabitants would wear their city’s outlaw image as a badge of honor and even venerate it with fervor, fiercely proud of a history they had never experienced, let alone contributed to—like suburbanites living on a civil war battlefield and boasting about Pickett’s charge."
-NYC is a microcosm of the US and perhaps even a bit of an insight into why both are going through some difficult transitions. While it has given birth to many great minds and artists, perhaps, NYC's (like the US's) greatest asset has been it's ability to attract and foster as many if not more of those great minds though a healthy flow of immigrants. These days it appears to be attracting just as many millionaire bankers, trust fund hipsters, and Duncan Donuts. . . who have little concern for it's physical or intellectual landscape outside of their own class or exploits.
Tue, 09/18/2012 - 11:45am
#4
Just got home from tour and
Just got home from tour and as I walked up First Avenue I noticed there's a NEW Starbuck's (yes, even newer than the NEW Starbuck's that opened a couple months ago on First Ave at 3rd St) on 13th Street, ironically in the same spot that had the Chinese noodle place which was well known (in certain circles) as a favorite spot of Allen Ginsberg's. Not as if the neighborhood (or NYC in general) lacks any of that sort of irony. But seriously? Bad enough to lose the noodle place - but you REALLY have to open another Starbuck's there?!?
I have not given a single penny to any Starbuck's in all of Western Civilization, in fact I will go well out of my way, even when desperate for coffee or other cafe fare, to not vote for them with my dollars. It is a shame that Alt Coffee had to close. Remember folks, you vote with your dollars. Convenience is not the highest priority, is it??? I know that Starbuck's is at least better to their workers than other fast food places, but still, it's a culture-destroyer. Vote to preserve local culture, vote with your feet and your dollars.
Tue, 09/18/2012 - 12:18pm
#5
I saw that
new Starbucks pretty soon after it opened.
I too have never bought anything there.
I have used their bathrooms.
Hypocritically in way, I work at another "culture-destroyer".
Same old story lots of folks have.
Went to a smaller store and they weren't hiring (or they pay way less).
Went to the mega-store and they were hiring, offering insurance, offering vacation pay, and offering higher wages.
How can you be an artist if you can't make money for food (or grow/hunt for food) to keep your body going?
It's a complex world and I must say things are set up by the powerful to limit our options.
Jeff, same in a way to you using Exxon (or whoever you use) to supply fuel for your car while touring.
You just pick and choose and in some ways we are all hypocrits.
Hopefully our percentage number is higher for our purity/idealism then for our hypocriticalness.
That might be the best one can do.
Tue, 09/18/2012 - 9:01pm
#6
Actually, when it comes to
Actually, when it comes to buying fuel while on tour or any other time, I do try to exclusively buy from Citgo. Citgo is Venezuelan-owned, and is part of Venezuela's nationalized gas under Socialist President Hugo Chavez: "He [Chavez] has won a devoted following among much of the country's poor by channeling oil revenue into health, education and social welfare programs." (quoted from Retuers, Canada - ironically this article I'm quoting from is attempting to paint Chavez as a dirty no-good evil Socialist, and the above quote is part of their "proof"!)
Furthermore, the co-op building in which I live gets benefits from Citgo; because as fellow Socialists, Citgo wish to support anybody who lives in a co-op. I personally get hundreds of dollars off of my annual utility/rent, and so does everybody else in these co-op buildings. It's an amazing program that Citgo offers, and you NEVER hear about it. In fact, did you know that 7-Eleven used to use Citgo gas exclusively but because 7-Eleven despises Venezuela's socialism they have boycotted Citgo ever since 2006? 7-Eleven didn't like it when Chavez made bold public statements against George W Bush, and so they stopped using Citgo gas.
So I do in fact often drive a bit out of my way to fill up with Citgo rather than Exxon or whoever else. However, unlike choosing to go without coffee until I can locate a non-Starbuck's, there are often times when it simply wouldn't be possible to only get gas at Citgo, it's not like I'd rather run out of gas on the highway than fill up at an Exxon, so I do admittedly often use other gas stations too. However, I always keep my eyes peeled for a Citgo, and anytime I pull into an area that has a bunch of gas station options I'll of course always choose the Citgo, even if it's further away than the others.
But as to the larger point that Barry makes about us being somewhat forced to buy into a system that we would rather not have to support or work for, it's often true - I probably wouldn't want to support the industry that made the computer I'm typing on, or the industry that made the underwear I'm wearing, or the chinese food I ate tonight, or a million other things. I don't know how much of a "difference" it makes to fight these little battles. But certainly it's better than nothing, right? Maybe?
Every time I question myself on this, I always think of the Minor Threat lyric... "At least I'm #%$^in' trying!! What the #^%$ have you done!?!" (the "you" in that sentence is not directed at anybody in particular, just the other half of my own brain perhaps.)
Tue, 09/18/2012 - 9:25pm
#7
I didn't know this about
I didn't know this about Citgo. Thanks Jeff. I think you do what you can. You want to avoid the "fuck it" factor that makes you just give up. There's nothing the dark side would like better than for you to think it's all the same and it doesn't really matter. Then they start telling you their shit is better just because it's "New And Improved!" The "Fuck It" factor breeds indifference. Don't believe it. Things matter. That being said we are not going to save the world if we just stop drinking bottled water and buy some free trade coffee now and then. I try to think of it like exercise: do what you can sustain and then after a wile try to up the ante a bit. If you feel like it's too much pressure then buy the fucking Starbucks and keep looking for a Citgo or whatever. As long as you keep upping an ante that you can sustain, you're on the right track in my book.
I just heard somewhere that after repeating an activity just 21 times it can become a life long habit. Something to think about. Nan and I try to avoid "chains" as much as possible (break the "chain" chain...hmm just thought of that one) but sometimes we get stressed out and we fall off the wagon, so to speak. But that doesn't mean we stop trying. We've even started touring with our own coffee and a French Press. You can pretty much get hot water anywhere. Anyway this is good stuff guys! Thanks for sharing.
Wed, 09/19/2012 - 8:40am
#8
I agree
that it's best to do what you can and never give up.
I do what I can as well.
I often walk over to the Farmer's Market and pay more for a watermelon than I would at the Mega-Store where I work.
The farmer's market one is local, etc.
The mega-store one is not.
I belong to a co-op where I hardly ever go and shop (except for the day of my work-shift) but I like what it is about and I like supporting it and shopping there.
I don't tell these things to get credit, but simply to give examples of how my ideas and ideals are in line with Jeff, Matt's and Nan's regarding this.
PS As for Chavez, he can be a real mixed bag sometimes, but I have heard him say and do some interesting things.
I have no judgement about him as a human being, but I will say that at least some of the things he has said about the U.S. I have agreed with.
(If I turn up missing then it's because the U.S. government swept me up for having typed the above.)
Wed, 09/19/2012 - 5:59pm
#9
Barry you are one of a kind
Barry you are one of a kind and a true inspiration to me. Your work and your friendship has helped me a great deal to focus more on what is really important. I don't always get where you're coming from at first and I think you're too hard on yourself at times but you are a very feeling and thoughtful person with an incredible amount of discipline. Thanks for being you!
Thu, 09/20/2012 - 3:03pm
#10
Ditto to what MMM said!
Ditto to what MMM said!
Thu, 09/20/2012 - 6:05pm
#11
Wow, that's nice.
I really appreciate the support and the compliment from you both.
I'm looking forward to reading this. But, you know, it's funny. I lived in the borough of Manhattan for all but 3 months of my 18 years living in NYC. But, the couple of times Schwervon! has been written about moving from NY to Kansas in the past few months they inevitably say that we're from Brooklyn. I never really made that distinction before but now that it's being done for me I feel slightly defensive about it. It's not that big of a deal but I find it kind of funny considering when I first moved to NYC it was actually kind of uncool to live in Brooklyn.
"Here to do great things."