Scene articles in magazines

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Can I just say that I hate scene articles or city issues of magazines? I was flipping through the San Francisco issue of XLR8R at the bookstore at lunch, and Nylon has recently done a Berlin issue, if I remember correctly. And every other magazine seems to have a New York scene article (Interpol, Liars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc., it's the same bands for every magazine). What is the point of these articles? If you live in the cities that the articles about, you've probably known about the bands for three years and you're sick of them. And if you live somewhere else, they just make you jealous and depressed because you live in a city that lacks any kind of focused "music scene" (no, I'm not bitter). Essentially, it just seems like a pretty noncohesive way of tying together bands that don't really sound too much like each other.
Opinions?

― Nick A., Thursday, 3 October 2002 17:22 (twenty-three years ago)

"that the articles ARE about," obviously.

― Nick A., Thursday, 3 October 2002 17:24 (twenty-three years ago)

as far as the "underground" goes, scene reports are essential... they've always been crucially important to the hardcore and punk crowds. witness the "book your own fucking life" zines mrr puts out.

i think it's important because if you know a band, it helps draw a picture of the community around them.... think of all the history drawn around the manchester scene or the 70's new york punk scene or the la punk scene... or orange country hardcore... or nw grunge or... can i stop?

sure the bands don't sound alike, but they often play together or know eachother, etc... there's references and inside jokes and so on that can really be great to document in some sense...

― msp, Thursday, 3 October 2002 17:34 (twenty-three years ago)

I just did one about The Rapture, Radio 4 and The DFA. The (musical) connections give me an opportunity to address a little more than when it would have been three small and seperate features.

― JoB (JoB), Thursday, 3 October 2002 17:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Where will your DFA piece appear, JoB? And did you talk to the bands?

― Yancey (ystrickler), Thursday, 3 October 2002 17:40 (twenty-three years ago)

In OOR Magazine in the Netherlands in two weeks' time (that's in Dutch, btw). I talked to the singer from Radio 4, the whole of the Rapture and James Murphy AKA LCD Soundsystem from the DFA.

― JoB (JoB), Thursday, 3 October 2002 18:03 (twenty-three years ago)

I love it when Detroit gets written up. It makes me feel like I'm SOMEBODY and I'm a part of SOMETHING, especially these days.

I think that the whole city-as-music-scene route often comes down to journalistic laziness. They're often more useful to see how bands/individuals want to be portrayed within their hometown then any sort of truth involved. I'm with you, Nick.

― Aaron, Thursday, 3 October 2002 18:19 (twenty-three years ago)

But:

Portland, Maine is the new New York which was the new Detroit which was the new Chicago which was the new Seattle.

This is important!!!

― Yancey (ystrickler), Thursday, 3 October 2002 18:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Yancey, tell us more. I was in Portland last year, and it seemed like a cool city. People escaping SF tend to go to Portland? I heard it a few times from different bands/people this year. What can we except from Portland? Tinhorn, The Out Crowd, Reload, Stereo Crush (random google search)?

― sander, Thursday, 3 October 2002 18:41 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm sick of articles about the scenes in New York or Los Angeles. What about the scene in Sao Paolo, Toronto, Monaco or Dehli? Take us somewhere we don't already know about.
Or maybe...here's a radical idea. Philadelphia! Our local music rags are trash...I want to know what PROFESSIONAL MUSIC JOURNALISTS have to say about the scene here.

Side note: If I see Ibiza one more time, I will personally purify the headquarters of Mixmag and Muzik magazines with thermonuclear fire.

― Lord Custos Alpha (Lord Custos Alpha), Thursday, 3 October 2002 18:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah they should stop covering Ibiza, I mean christ guys give it a rest, we're tired of hearing where half the best singles every year are broken, and to hell with all those fucking great DJ sets aswell. What the hell is a dance mag doing covering Ibiza? Next thing you'll be suggesting that World DJ Day in Miami is actually worth covering? Bollox to that they need to stay in London and review some more albums!!!!

AND IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW MARGE, I'M BEING SARCASTIC.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 3 October 2002 18:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Isn't there somewhere ELSE where cool dance/trance/DJ music is happening...and every magazine is missing it because they're lollygagging around in fucking IBIZA?!

And, no Homer, I'm being serious.

― Lord Custos Alpha (Lord Custos Alpha), Thursday, 3 October 2002 18:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Los Angeles hasn't had a 'scene' since the hair metal days of the late 80's. Minneapolitans live in the shadow of their former glory, nursing their wounds and hoping Husker Du will reform before one of them dies.

It's sad when a city's scene has had it's day and fades back into ether, like Seattle or Athens, GA... Omaha and Detroit people: sip the champagne while it lasts, that's all you can do.

― andy, Thursday, 3 October 2002 19:01 (twenty-three years ago)

I thought the Nylon article on Berlin was really good. It was really only tangentially about music and more about the confluence of art, fashion, politics and urban renewal. It made me want to visit.

― felicity (felicity), Thursday, 3 October 2002 19:23 (twenty-three years ago)

I wasn't specifically ragging on Nylon, I think they're usually pretty interesting. It was just an example that popped into my head.

― Nick A., Thursday, 3 October 2002 19:59 (twenty-three years ago)

I dunno Andy, Detroit has a funny way of coming back in a different guise every 5 years. It might not be garage rock, but something else will show up. Detroit Blues, Detroit Jazz, Motown, P-Funk, Detroit Techno, Detroit Garage Rock...

The music scene never dies here; one scene matures and becomes worthy of export, kicks the world’s ass, and then fades. Awhile later, another one will show up and do the same. It was pretty rough in the late 70's, but it has been strong since the early-mid 80's. For the last 60 years Detroit has been a pretty steady music exporter.

― mt, Thursday, 3 October 2002 20:49 (twenty-three years ago)

That being said, I do see your point.

― mt, Thursday, 3 October 2002 20:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Portland,Me has long been know as a small arts Community. Its pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Most people I've known who moved there from a big city don't stick around long.

― brg30 (brg30), Thursday, 3 October 2002 21:31 (twenty-three years ago)

a 'scene' only lasts as long as it has media coverage, there's still a thriving 'scene' in athens for instance, it just gets no coverage bcuz no one cares about lo fi schminge anymore. apart from Everett True. Probably. Bury St Edmunds has a grate scene; i saw By Jovi play when i was last home.

― sF, Friday, 4 October 2002 12:00 (twenty-three years ago)

a 'scene' only lasts as long as it has media coverage,
Actually, I think it's the other way around. As soon as a scene gets media coverage, it begins a quick devolution. The most eccentric aspects get blown up into a shallow cartoon version with all the spirit and subtlety sucked out. Then waves and waves of posuers, speculators and wannabes show up. Suddenly the 'real innovators' and 'homegrown personalities' leave in disgust, to be replaced by clownish dillettanes all behaving the same: Oooh, look...now they ALL have baby bottles full of acid and big Cat in the Hat Hats.
As I was saying about Ibiza. It might've been cool to be there in 1997-2000. But I'll bet you Ibiza in 2002 is the same as Seattle in 1992. Not really a scene for the scenesters...it's a scene for the trendoid hipsters.

― Lord Custos Alpha (Lord Custos Alpha), Friday, 4 October 2002 13:57 (twenty-three years ago)

"Back in the olden times, the clothes and the dope and the coffee were cheap, and you could sleep on peoples floors. Now its 4.50 for a cup of Joe, and everyone is a freakin' vampire with an agenda."

― Lord Custos Alpha (Lord Custos Alpha), Friday, 4 October 2002 14:09 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually, I think it's the other way around. As soon as a scene gets media coverage, it begins a quick devolution.
I've seen this up close. It's true.

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 4 October 2002 21:08 (twenty-three years ago)

Detroit has a funny way of coming back in a different guise

Detroit-styled music (watered down) has a funny way of coming back in the guise of say, bands from California.

― hstencil, Friday, 4 October 2002 21:12 (twenty-three years ago)

I am terrified of the eventual SoCal version of the Von Bondies.

*shiver*

― mt, Friday, 4 October 2002 23:17 (twenty-three years ago)

SoCal version of Country-Rock: The Eagles
SoCal version of Metal: Motley Crud/Poison
Brrrrr.
I don't know who the Bondies are, but I'm sure the Los Angeles knockoff version would still be pretty dire.
Speaking of places that need to be purified with nuclear fire.

Hmmm. Subthread: Has L.A. put out ANYTHING worth listening to besides X, Black Flag and the Beach Boys?

― Lord Custos Alpha (Lord Custos Alpha), Saturday, 5 October 2002 01:22 (twenty-three years ago)

Um, yeah, quite a bit, Lord Custos. Like, you know, for instance, Redd Kross. I'm sure there are plenty of old threads on this sort of thing. Fuck X, though, I'm all about Zolar X.

― Arthur (Arthur), Saturday, 5 October 2002 01:43 (twenty-three years ago)

andy, I assure you that some twin cities dwellers don't give a fuck about current or former glories of the scenes here.

― Josh (Josh), Saturday, 5 October 2002 03:20 (twenty-three years ago)

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