City Without Soul
Many people will try to tell you that New York City has lost its "edge." I used to think that this position had merit. After all, it is hard to argue against the existence of the ineffable. When people try to define "edge," it usually comes out that they're describing a cheaper, grimier, more dangerous city.
To the extent that this "edge" is supposed to have substance, I reject wholesale the notion that New Yorkers in 2008 are a less creative class than their counterparts of twenty years ago. To say otherwise is to vastly overestimate the cultural contributions of the chalk scribbling junkie Brat Pack generation. Let's think about it:
1) The music scene. This mostly featured people like James Chance who obscured poor technique by forcibly assaulting their instruments. James Chance was the kind of guy who insulted his audience by subjecting "the 99.4% of you idiots who live in the past" to unlistenable covers of "Jailhouse Rock." Other notable innovations include bands like Anthrax, "house music," and morons like Lydia Lunch, who among other things, pioneered the "ironic cover song" fad. Check out her 1991 EP, Don't Fear the Reaper, for more.
Take a quick listen to Russ Ballard's "New York Groove." If "edge" means men in makeup prowling around the old Gaseteria station on Houston Street terrorizing old ladies with "fistfuls of dollars," and yelling phrases at each other like "who cares about tomorrow?!" then I guess New York had it.
2) The art scene. Jenny Holzer hijacked the Newsday Building in Times Square so that the ticker read "ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE." Julian Schnabel has now parlayed his career as overrated painter of the 1980s into a career as "extravagantly overrated" (New York Times) director of "films" in the 2000s. Over 4,000 unique instances of "overrated" and "Julian Schnabel" on Google. That says it all about this self-indulgent exemplar of the talentless 1980s. Oh, and Jeff Koons. He sold "Michael Jackson and Bubbles" for millions of dollars. Once again, kitsch masquerading as highbrow.
3) The movie scene. Ghostbusters is a great movie. But it shouldn't be high on any list of an entire decade's best movies.
To the extent that this "edge" is supposed to have substance, I reject wholesale the notion that New Yorkers in 2008 are a less creative class than their counterparts of twenty years ago. To say otherwise is to vastly overestimate the cultural contributions of the chalk scribbling junkie Brat Pack generation. Let's think about it:
1) The music scene. This mostly featured people like James Chance who obscured poor technique by forcibly assaulting their instruments. James Chance was the kind of guy who insulted his audience by subjecting "the 99.4% of you idiots who live in the past" to unlistenable covers of "Jailhouse Rock." Other notable innovations include bands like Anthrax, "house music," and morons like Lydia Lunch, who among other things, pioneered the "ironic cover song" fad. Check out her 1991 EP, Don't Fear the Reaper, for more.
Take a quick listen to Russ Ballard's "New York Groove." If "edge" means men in makeup prowling around the old Gaseteria station on Houston Street terrorizing old ladies with "fistfuls of dollars," and yelling phrases at each other like "who cares about tomorrow?!" then I guess New York had it.
2) The art scene. Jenny Holzer hijacked the Newsday Building in Times Square so that the ticker read "ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE." Julian Schnabel has now parlayed his career as overrated painter of the 1980s into a career as "extravagantly overrated" (New York Times) director of "films" in the 2000s. Over 4,000 unique instances of "overrated" and "Julian Schnabel" on Google. That says it all about this self-indulgent exemplar of the talentless 1980s. Oh, and Jeff Koons. He sold "Michael Jackson and Bubbles" for millions of dollars. Once again, kitsch masquerading as highbrow.
3) The movie scene. Ghostbusters is a great movie. But it shouldn't be high on any list of an entire decade's best movies.
posted by John_Halfz at Wednesday, July 02, 2008
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