(coming from the biggest house head there is)

I went to Chicago earlier in the year to check out the birthplace of house music and couldn’t find a trace of it anywhere…not on the radio, not in the bars…so weird.
I went to Gramaphone records and spent a couple of hundred dollars on some tunes…met some nice people in the shop, but they were a bit stumped to reccomend me a club night / party. I went down to the one they eventually suggested and was disappointed to find the guest was a minimal techno disk jock from Barcelona.

Don’t get me wrong, wonderful city though…I walked around listening to Mr Fingers on my headphones…that was almost enough

So have clubs been usurped as the best place to connect young, creative people?

My take is that it depends on what clubs you go to. The nightlife archetype is so established that there are lots of spots that play Kanye, Flo Rida, Rihanna (rinse and repeat). But the Timekodes, Rubs, and FWDs of the world are still there, bubbling just under the surface and attracting a crowd with fresh new ideas.

Clubs are also looking a little tired right now because the pendulum has swung toward hits and mash-ups. I think it’ll swing back to fresher sounds soon enough.

Part of the point that I was trying to make in my last post about New York is that almost tantamount to them being innovative with their public space, they are being innovative in recognizing the cultures that have been incubated in their public spaces. That (not so?) simple recognition indicates something about that municipality’s perspective on its cultural industries.

No matter how strong the emergent culture is, when we talk about doing things like capitalizing on status, that kind of thing still has to happen through the hegemony. Toronto couldn’t capitalize on its strong Caribbean culture if the mayor’s office didn’t get it and decided not to co-ordinate with the organizers. Same with Detroit and DEMF. I don’t know what’s up in the Chi though. I think that it would be the kind of thing where we’d have to look at a municipal history to understand why the value of what was going on in the streets seems not to have ever had the opportunity to trickle up to the institutions that are necessary to scale up innovation. Considering how divided chicago is, it’s a reasonable but remarkable possibility that no one in the mayor’s office even knows what’s been going on on the south side. Kanye West is one thing, but this is a bit more subtle.

Here’s a couple questions for you guys:

Why hasn’t Chicago been able to capitalize on its status as the home of house music? Look at the branding and tourism benefits NY gets from being the birthplace of hip hop, or even how Detroit techno and the Jay Dee sound gave birth to the DEMF. You hear less about people making pilgrimages to the Chi and its importance as the birthplace of house, and I wonder why.

ALSO: here at the MPI some have tossed around the idea that with the advent of dress codes, bottle service, and a lack of musical adventurousness, club nights are no longer the best place to connect young people with big ideas. It’s even been suggested that “public space intervention” type events (flash mobs, subway parties, improve everywhere) have supplanted clubs. Not saying I agree but I’m curious on your thoughts: Are clubs falling off, or are they still #1?

Ian – No need to be a writer, that music is a great contribution!

Adam – I was actually thinking about posting this NY Times article about 1520 Sedgwick but I’m tryin’ to keep it brief! It’s a great story though.

Good Lookin’ out on the excerpt too. Rousseau was a great mind.

http://incubate.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/from-the-vaults-3-update/

Also,
Rousseau on dancing (from the Sparknotes on Discourse on the Inequality of Man – http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/inequality/section6.rhtml )

” Initially the state of nature was a static condition, but various environmental factors, described by Rousseau as “difficulties,” led to change. This change includes both the spread of mankind throughout the world, and the development of various social and economic structures. Man’s difficult interaction with his natural environment explains much of his later development. The first revolution involved men beginning to use tools and build shelters. This development of technology led to changes in human psychology and behavior. Conjugal love, co-operation and particularly the creation of gender roles that make women subservient to men represent the beginning of inequality.

Leisure is the driving force of this stage of Rousseau’s story. When man is most like other animals, he only has enough time to search for food and sleep. This is no problem. However, the development of co-operation means that shared tasks take people less time, and man suddenly has leisure time to spare. Other activities are needed to fill this new gap, such as dancing and celebrations. These activities become habitual behaviors, and then become needs. Something that was initially a novel pleasure is now necessary. This is the beginning of man’s decline: relationships with other people become motivated by forces other than pity, and become situations in which people depend on others and compare themselves to them. What others think of you becomes important for the first time, and so you unhappily crave their opinion and company. The fact that Rousseau chooses the village dance as an example of this type of comparison is unusual; such occasions are more normally associated with sociability and community spirit. This only illustrates Rousseau’s point. Even aspects of society that we find pleasurable are bad, because they all involve thinking about other people rather than ignoring or feeling pity towards them as the savage does.

However, Rousseau is sincere when he argues that this stage was the best in mankind’s history. Although he criticizes many of its features, it essentially represents a point at which the self-preservation and pity of savage man are perfectly balanced with the amour propre of modern man. This is good evidence against the view that Rousseau idolizes the state of nature, or that he feels that modern men would be better off living as savages. Some aspects of reason and communal life are good, but they are still potentially destructive. In criticizing civility and concern for others as negative features of society, Rousseau goes against the general trend. Good manners and civility are generally seen as restraining the savage features of man; Rousseau feels that there is nothing to restrain in natural man, and civility only makes men compare themselves to one another.”

For a definitive example of what would soon become “dance” music around the world, check my man Dj Anonymous “Evolution Of Chicago House” mixes. 2 definitive sets of Marshall Jefferson produced beauty.

http://www.nine2fiveoffice.com/houseisafeeling/Marshall%20Jefferson%20_Move%20Your%20Body%20_%20The%20Evolution%20of%20Chicago%20House_.mp3

Come Go with Me – The Pockets
You’ve Got That Something – Logg
I Can’t Turn Around – Isaac Hayes
I’m Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair) – Inner Life
Let No Man Put Asunder – First Choice
You Saved My Day – Cheryl Lynn
Your Love – Frankie Knuckles / Jamie Principle
Can You Feel It – Mr. Fingers
Let the Music Use You – Nightwriters
Mysteries of Love – Fingers Inc.
Time Marches On – Jungle Wonz
You Don’t Know – Serious Intention
Don’t Make Me Wait – Peech Boys
Acid Tracks – Phuture
I’ve Lost Control – Sleezy D

http://www.nine2fiveoffice.com/houseisafeeling/Move%20Your%20Body%20-%20The%20Evolution%20of%20Chicago%20House%20%5bDisc%202%5d.mp3

Moody – ESG
No Way Back – Adonis
Promised Land – Joe Smooth
Mind Games – Quest
Move Your Body – Marshall Jefferson
Devotion – Ten City
String Free – Phortune
Someday – Ce Ce Rogers
You Used to Hold Me – Ralphi Rosario
7 Ways to Jack – Hercules
I’ll Never Let You Go – William S.
Love Can’t Turn Around – Farley “Jackmaster” Funk
Like This – Chip E.
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Inner Life

Also as an example of how powerful this new sound was and how quickly it spread, a nearby Baltimore Maryland quickly adapted the Chi-City sound and tried to make it their own. A new sub-genre was created and titled “Baltimore Club”. Here’s a mix that examines the roots of Bmore Club.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/maddecent/mad_decent_worldwide_radio_33_-_Mad_Decent_Block_Party.mp4

Sorry, im not a writer (obviously! haha) just a music lover who completely identifies with Mr. Kefentse’s article, and thought i could contribute something. Thanks, and enjoy!