Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Glice
Never been to New York, but I often imagine it to be one of those places that's also a non-place... by which I mean, Grime couldn't've come out of anywhere but London, but it's the disconnection, the lack of social cohesion that makes London London. As opposed to Manchester or Glasgow or Bristol (with its beloved 'trip-hop') where there is a scene because there's a recognisable scene, rather than some people in one corner?
|
I suppose where it lacks a truly unified identity is a result of the distinct differences between the five boroughs.
Musically, I'd say that Hip Hop makes total sense in Brooklyn and the Bronx, but far less in, say, Manhattan. Equally, bands like Sonic Youth seem more exclusively tuned into some kind of a Manhattan 'thing'. And even then they're more of a Lower East Side rather than a Manhattan-in-total phenomenon.
It's the same as the way Grime may only have been able to come out of London, but not ANY part of London. It came from deprived multi-ethnic areas in East London, such as Stratford, Plaistow, Forest Gate and Bow - all of which are, needless to say, a whole world away from areas like Highgate, Chelsea or Belsize Park.
Both city's inter-musical-identities are defined primarily by their various ethnic breakdowns.