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I read the newspapers. Recently, two new daily papers have appeared in New York City. amNew York and Metro. But Ezra Pound nailed it when he claimed poetry is news that stays news.
Recent radio broadcasts have explained that the browning of America is a local phenomenon, too. There are more minorities than Anglos in NYC.
Jane Jacobs advocated for the sidewalk as the key to the urban neighborhood. Anyone familiar with the literature of NYC will recognize the importance of the sidewalk and the street.
In music, as in poetry, the street features as a familiar thread of recognition.
In 1987, White Cross was recorded by Sonic Youth in NYC. Given the multicultural background of life in NYC, it is easy to see the title as a reference to the European or White culture that is part of the mix here.
I think that the whiteness (read: privilege) of Sonic Youth is available to anyone who listens to their music. The challenge is the conversion of the culture that Sonic Youth members represent into something durable for a changing city. Of course, it could be that no one wants a White Cross perspective. But historically speaking it may be as important to the ebb and flow of NYC life as the Ramones' Rockaway Beach.
Alternative music is now a maintream staple. The perspective that Sonic Youth and the Ramones before them articulated has been paved over by countless independent rock bands.
This essay is written with the purpose of starting a conversation about White Cross and Race Relations.
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