Monday, June 29, 2009
National Skyline 'The Nashville Effect' Part 3: New York Is Cooler Than Nashville (Industry vs. Scene)
Posted by Steve Haruch on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 2:57 PM
You may remember Daniel Silver: He posted a follow-up to Richard Florida's post over at the Atlantic's Daily Dish blog about the "Nashville effect," of which Jack White's move to our music-saturated city is a shining example. If you missed it the first time, here's a quick recap:
Florida: Nashville attracts musicians disproportionately, sucking up musical talent from around the U.S.A. So, Nashville has become the Silicon Valley of music--for many genres.
Silver: The first part might be true, but still--Nashville is not very diverse, musically.
Now Silver has posted a follow-up, where he makes the case that there's a difference between industry dynamics (studios, labels, publishing companies, etc.--the stuff Nashville specializes in) and scene dynamics (the social influence of fellow musicians and audiences). He takes the as an example the Punch Brothers, who moved to Brooklyn instead of living in Nashville, as mandolinist Chris Thile did as a member of Nickel Creek. And guess what? New York is cooler than Nashville! "In a rich, fast, omnivorous, energized music scene like New York, musical ideas, connections, and inspirations can occur that do not occur elsewhere," Silver writes. "Though Nashville's scene is certainly about more than the mainstream country and pop industry, it simply cannot compete with a place like New York on this level." OK, so we've heard this argument before--but Silver says he's not comparing Nashville to New York, just using the Punch Brothers example to make a point, which goes something like this:
The music industry might attract seasoned and ambitious professionals (like the White Stripes), session talent, and songwriters. There is likely a symbiotic relationship between recording industry infrastructure and music scenes, as scene members work session gigs by day and clubs by night. And yet, on the other hand, there may be a negative influence whereby heavy industry concentration creates an over-professionalized environment that is not open to some kinds of musical innovation. [My emphasis.]
And while I don't agree with Silver on every point (and I think that conflating Seattle and Olympia is a mistake), he makes a good one here. Nashville audiences, by and large, do not like to be challenged. We tend to overvalue chops and accessible songwriting. Our city is home to approximately 1,000 industry showcases for deodorized, mediocre, ready-for-a-close-up acts every week, and smaller bands that draw in other cities often find near-empty rooms here.
That isn't to say there isn't room for professionalism in art--there's no substitute for a well-executed recording delivered by seasoned session players. But it's also true that an overemphasis on professionalism sucks the life out of music. The only thing worse than art for art's sake is professionalism for professionalism's sake, and that might be the real "Nashville effect."
Comments (12)
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i'm not sure what argument this guy is trying to make. what i gather is that because nashville has a "heavy industry concentration" it's "not open to some kinds of musical innovation". what the fuck does he define as musical innovation? is it "Playing Radiohead, No Diggity, and Mozart"? wow. really fucking innovating. that being said, i'm sure new york has plenty of "deodorized, mediocre, ready-for-a-close-up acts". i for one believe this is a moron's argument. yes, new york's music scene is probably bigger and more diverse. the city is also more than 10 times the size of nashville. does that mean it produces better music? nofuckingwayman
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Not sure I'm answering your question, cash, but I think in Silver's view more diverse is better.
Nashville is just as open to musical innovation as 99% of the country -- which is to say it tends not to care what is going on in Brooklyn. The New York rock scene (which is what most people are talking about when discussing the city's music scene) is incredibly insulated and far removed from the tastes outside of the boroughs.
Nashville represents what *everybody else* likes. Much of the time that is middle of the road stuff. Most New York bands don't break into the mainstream. In New York they're beloved. Outside of New York they don't matter as much. Interpol almost did. Yeah Yeah Yeahs aren't there yet. Not TV on the Radio, Dirty Projectors, Sufjan, Beirut, Yeasayer or the other blog-loved bands that represent the city's diversity. I just looked over the top albums in the country. New York's current best is Mos Def at #29. Nashville has, by my count, 10 in the top 28 (11 if you count Zac Brown Band, which is from Atlanta but has some Nashville affiliations).
I'm not hating on New York. I lived there for five years, worked in the music industry and spent a ton of time in clubs all across Manhattan and Brooklyn. But I understand that New York exists inside a bubble, and people inside that bubble can't comprehend things going on outside of the bubble. They can't imagine not having all that diversity. But...
Most of what gets heard on blogs, and much of what gets counted toward New York's diverse music scene, is whatever run-of-the-mill indie garbage is popular in Williamsburg that week. Diversity is a mixed bag. Diversity means you end up with a lot of failed experiments. (Ooooh...another arty noise band! Fantastic!) And New York has got its fair share of mediocre crap posing as the next big thing. Just hang out near NYU on any given evening.
The real diversity in New York is the stuff nobody talks about in these debates. The hip hop, electronic music of all shapes and sizes (which Nashville severely lacks), jazz, and music from all around the world played by visitors and locals alike. You can see some of the world's greatest jazz musicians in the East Village, run down Hudson to see an African musician at SOB's, then catch a train to Brooklyn to hear some Balkan music. And you might hear something good on a subway platform on your way there.
it's not that i disagree with any of these points, i just don't see the actual point IN and of them.
since when is it nashville's job to be diverse? nashville's job is making sure the wal marts in middle america have music to sell the millions of Joe Six Packs who live in the real world as opposed to Brooklyn or a college campus.
i don't think sharing our session players with the rest of the country would help anything. if session players wanted to give up their steady paycheck for a 1 in a million shot at being in a hot new signed band, they wouldn't be here in the first place.
No, Nashville can't compete with NYC in terms of genres outside pop country, but i wasn't aware it was trying. All the successful rock bands here had the good sense to get out of town and tour.
Yes, Nashville is definitely lacking in diversity, i just don't see why anyone who doesn't live here would give a shit. I personally would love to see bigger audiences here for hip hop and electro and the like, but if it ever starts to bother me bad enough, i'll move somewhere else.
Yep. Yep. Desert Island...pop country or williamsburg indie rock? I've got to say I'll take the former. Then again I don't listen to anything coming out of that scene, but "think before he cheats" is on the lite radio station in chicago right now. Jimmy likey hits. Sing me a tv on the radio song. I'm just saying. However beyonce lives in green point and the wu-tang clan hails from staten island...much love shaolin represent. Basically as far as music made by white people goes, ill take nashville.
When I listen to music, I don't really look at where it was recorded or where it came from.. as long as it sounds good. I'm planning to see Nashville real soon and I found this great site called www.new2nashville.com. Its got tons of nice information about Nashville. I signed up for their newsletter. Try to check it out.
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