Will citys ever have as mush culture as rural towns? (suburban, Boston)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think that's Chango's point: not necessarily more or less, just different.
Exactly. Even a dumpy trailer park full of beer-chugging welfare queens and rednecks has certain behavioral expectations, rules, hierarchy, symbolism and recognizable lifestyle; all hallmarks of human culture... just not one I'm keen of being part of.
rural culture has entered cities for generations, via migration. the culture of my neighborhood growing up had some of the charms of rural sicily, for example. Boston got small town new england culture (as well as small town irish culture) when it had loads of domestic in migrants from such areas.
DC in the 1940s had a kentucky blue grass element, which is why WAMU, our local NPR station, used to program blue grass music in addition to the NPR stations (and still does on their HD radio outlet).
Baltimore, and I think Pittsburgh and some other cities, had West Virginia inmigrants in the 1960s.
True enough. Black migrants from the rural South moving to cities spurred 20th century jazz and blues; rural whites moving to California from the rural Midwest during the Depression precipitated Western Swing and modern country & western music. When the two started hanging out together, rock & roll was born!
American rock music was born back in the day. And some might say rock eventually died
along with the collapse of the American city and rise of the cultureless soulless suburbs.
American rock music was born back in the day. And some might say rock eventually died
along with the collapse of the American city and rise of the cultureless soulless suburbs.
Or maybe youth frustration with suburbia encouraged the creation of good rock music. Many rock musicians grew up in the suburbs and then moved to the city (most of the members of the rather unwholesome and city themed Velvet Underground grew up in the suburbs).
John Coltrane composed some of his best music in a rather a bland but well off suburb in Long Island. Perhaps the isolation helped him make good music without distraction?
Or maybe youth frustration with suburbia encouraged the creation of good rock music. Many rock musicians grew up in the suburbs and then moved to the city (most of the members of the rather unwholesome and city themed Velvet Underground grew up in the suburbs).
John Coltrane composed some of his best music in a rather a bland but well off suburb in Long Island. Perhaps the isolation helped him make good music without distraction?
Or maybe youth frustration with suburbia encouraged the creation of good rock music. Many rock musicians grew up in the suburbs and then moved to the city (most of the members of the rather unwholesome and city themed Velvet Underground grew up in the suburbs).
John Coltrane composed some of his best music in a rather a bland but well off suburb in Long Island. Perhaps the isolation helped him make good music without distraction?
Some may have been fortunate because of their proximity to the urban core of NYC and its music scene. I suppose they don't have to necessarily live in the city, just be close enough to get to it easily. In general though, I'd say the great artists of any field tend to grow up in or around the cities, or eventually move there to hone their craft, to play and get known, etc. All the major rock venues and clubs are in the cities for example. The talent scouts aren't looking for the next Coltranes of the world out in the suburbs.
Creative communities help musicians and other artists meet each other and people of like mind, and expose themselves to larger audiences. Access to large educational institutions, music venues, theaters and art galleries fosters creativity and students make a great customer base. The larger a creative community is, the more opportunities for networking and creative transmission. Once a "scene" forms it draws people from smaller communities to join these bigger groups. This applies to the fine arts as well as popular music.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
