Couldn't help but chuckle when I read that review, because my friend just posted this on his blog regarding Austin:
It's a beautiful day here in New York, reminding me that it is probably over 100 degrees in Austin right now, and also that I probably have been out of Austin long enough to talk shit on it from a proper perspective.
Now, Austinites will say, "It's not fair to compare Austin to NYC." And they are right. It's not fair. But perhaps the most irritating thing about Austin is that it admits this, and then instantly takes it back, because it has such a love affair with itself. Unbelievably obsessed with South by Southwest, Slacker, the University of Texas, the local music scene, Lance Armstrong, residue hippie-ism, and with keeping itself weird, Austin is more of a piece than any place I've ever lived. Leaving aside "the punks" (about whom more later) and probably the members of the Texas legislature, almost every single person I met in Austin was INTO all the above things. Every weekend the city would almost shut down to participate in a UT game, or some Lance Armstrong parade, or some hippie craft-fair bullshit, or the ubiquitous "live music" outdoors.
Seriously, it was like living in a cult, because to me the defining aspect of a cult is a lack of irony. Like, even Catholics can make jokes about themselves. Ditto, Jews. But like any cult, Austin's self-love was so pervasive that talking about "the outside world" always occasioned this weird blend of ignorance and animosity. To hear Austin talk about Dallas or Houston or San Antonio was so completely defensive; as if people living in these other cities were being scammed. To me, any place in the south or midwest trying to call out some other city on being culturally impoverished, backward, etc, is just the pot calling the kettle black. It's like Austin took the very slight "oh hey this place is better than Alabama" kudos it received, ran with it, and then started blocking its ears from then on.
Here's a rundown: -real art museum? no. -real airport? no. -hippies? yes. -two-years-behind hipsters? yes. -fairly small and scenester-oriented punk scene? yes. -a bunch of emos hopelessly involved with keyboards? yes. -art-house cinema? no. -literary or academic culture? no. -bike lanes? no. -horrible highway and mall traffic? yes. -unspoken and uncomfortable racial tensions? yes. -cool bars? no. -dozens of lame, vaguely themed bars? yes.
The worst part is that there are all of ten cool things to do in town, and these things are all anyone talks about, as if forgetting that after you've lived there for two weeks, you are completely sick of what there is to do.
I dunno, maybe it's hard to get around nyc, everything is expensive, and the people are ridiculous, but people care about their own lives, whereas much of Austin lives vicariously through the city's life as a whole, which being extremely dull, makes it on a whole feel like a fischer price "My First City" instead of an interesting place to live. Also, fuck being laid-back.
That's hilarious. And largely incorrect and inaccurate. Please, come to Texas and live in Dallas, Houston, SA, Lubbock, El Paso or Brownsville. Harvey's right don't come here it sucks. There's no academic culture. What's that huge mass of buildings about midway through the city, to the West of I35?
Deborah Sengupta grew up in a cornfield in northwest Ohio where her multicultural family was something of a curious anomaly. She didn't like it very much. On a whim, she landed in Austin in 1995, where, before coming to Austin360.com in 2004, she drove a limo, played bass in a band, promoted fabulous parties and answered a whole lot of phones.
In 2000, she began building Web sites about Austin's urban music scene and became so insistent that Austin hip-hop shouldn't be ignored that KOOP radio gave her a show to prove it. In a country town with a heart full of rock 'n' roll, she firmly believes it also has a funky underbelly that's almost urban.
And for the record, I have twice had extremely glowing Recommendations of The Rub events published in the Austin Chronicle.
But the time that I did have the chance to catch DJ Ayres live, his set pretty much missed both me and my date.
I just chalked it up as a bad night, but with normally-very-easy-to-please Deborah now citing the same sort of problems that we experienced...I'm beginning to wonder.
Wait......your name is Deborah?
How many times have your posts included the words "I", "Published" "Austin Chronicle"? Relax dude.
So you posted a negative mini review of Strut affiliates by some Becky and didn't expect it to get 'picked apart'? Who are you setting up, us or you?
"I guess it was okay, but there was this other DJ I saw once that I liked better"
This isn't really a review at all.
I also wasn't really feelin' Ms. Sengupta's dropping of the phrase "I wasn't really feelin'."
me neither. plus that wasn't a sentence. this sounds more like small-talk chatter between nitwits over jumbo smoothies than a review. "nyc has given us some of the greatest things ever such as sex and the city." gross...
sorry.
i also find it annoying that the name of her blog is "Almost Urban: Exploring the Funky Underbelly of the ATX"
someone should get her to publish her top list of Local Authentic Funky Experiences???
i also find it annoying that the name of her blog is "Almost Urban: Exploring the Funky Underbelly of the ATX"
But it would be a AMAZING blog title if she just added the word "I'm" to the beginning of it.
someone should get her to publish her top list of Local Authentic Funky Experiences???
Well you can cross one chicken and waffles joint off her list:
I dropped by Paggi House???s Chicken and Waffles brunch on Sunday, and the freshest thing on the menu was the tasty jazztronica served up by DJ Chicken George. While I love the fact that you can hear the DJ throughout the restaurant???s expansive patio, the 15-20 minutes I was left desperately waiting for water (apparently they ran out of glasses and were waiting on the dishwasher) severely inhibited my ability to enjoy the $14 a plate buffet affair
And BTW:
AVATAR PLAESE. Preferably with an "I'm almost urban!" speech bubble.
And for the record, I have twice had extremely glowing Recommendations of The Rub events published in the Austin Chronicle.
But the time that I did have the chance to catch DJ Ayres live, his set pretty much missed both me and my date.
I just chalked it up as a bad night, but with normally-very-easy-to-please Deborah now citing the same sort of problems that we experienced...I'm beginning to wonder.
I think Ayres' biggest mistake was that he didn't serve ribs. That Dj Mel musta served ribs, lemonande & given out water melon slices. Then everyone sang along to Al Green like they was around a campfire belting out "Kumbaya".
A HREF=http://www.koop.org/?page=schedule§ion=aroundthetownsounds&subsect1=archives&archpage=/2003_03.php>Deborah Sengupta - usually hosts the first Thursday of the month. Although her family roots are in England and India, Deborah goes deep into the local hiphop and urban scenes when she hosts our show, with a secondary concentration on local world music./A>
Couldn't help but chuckle when I read that review, because my friend just posted this on his blog regarding Austin:
It's a beautiful day here in New York, reminding me that it is probably over 100 degrees in Austin right now, and also that I probably have been out of Austin long enough to talk shit on it from a proper perspective.
Now, Austinites will say, "It's not fair to compare Austin to NYC." And they are right. It's not fair. But perhaps the most irritating thing about Austin is that it admits this, and then instantly takes it back, because it has such a love affair with itself. Unbelievably obsessed with South by Southwest, Slacker, the University of Texas, the local music scene, Lance Armstrong, residue hippie-ism, and with keeping itself weird, Austin is more of a piece than any place I've ever lived. Leaving aside "the punks" (about whom more later) and probably the members of the Texas legislature, almost every single person I met in Austin was INTO all the above things. Every weekend the city would almost shut down to participate in a UT game, or some Lance Armstrong parade, or some hippie craft-fair bullshit, or the ubiquitous "live music" outdoors.
Seriously, it was like living in a cult, because to me the defining aspect of a cult is a lack of irony. Like, even Catholics can make jokes about themselves. Ditto, Jews. But like any cult, Austin's self-love was so pervasive that talking about "the outside world" always occasioned this weird blend of ignorance and animosity. To hear Austin talk about Dallas or Houston or San Antonio was so completely defensive; as if people living in these other cities were being scammed. To me, any place in the south or midwest trying to call out some other city on being culturally impoverished, backward, etc, is just the pot calling the kettle black. It's like Austin took the very slight "oh hey this place is better than Alabama" kudos it received, ran with it, and then started blocking its ears from then on.
Here's a rundown: -real art museum? no. -real airport? no. -hippies? yes. -two-years-behind hipsters? yes. -fairly small and scenester-oriented punk scene? yes. -a bunch of emos hopelessly involved with keyboards? yes. -art-house cinema? no. -literary or academic culture? no. -bike lanes? no. -horrible highway and mall traffic? yes. -unspoken and uncomfortable racial tensions? yes. -cool bars? no. -dozens of lame, vaguely themed bars? yes.
The worst part is that there are all of ten cool things to do in town, and these things are all anyone talks about, as if forgetting that after you've lived there for two weeks, you are completely sick of what there is to do.
I dunno, maybe it's hard to get around nyc, everything is expensive, and the people are ridiculous, but people care about their own lives, whereas much of Austin lives vicariously through the city's life as a whole, which being extremely dull, makes it on a whole feel like a fischer price "My First City" instead of an interesting place to live. Also, fuck being laid-back.
That's hilarious. And largely incorrect and inaccurate. Please, come to Texas and live in Dallas, Houston, SA, Lubbock, El Paso or Brownsville. Harvey's right don't come here it sucks. There's no academic culture. What's that huge mass of buildings about midway through the city, to the West of I35?
No city or its residents takes itself more seriously than New York. But, then again, New York should be very proud of its Ultra Up To Date Hipsters, rather than the out of date ones that Austin boasts. And, its own brand of keyboardscenesters...
Don't get me wrong... I like New York and all. But, that dude's blog entry is just as silly as the review that started this thread.
as small as the hip-hop scene was in austin, you're bound to cross paths with folk. this is one person that i never met (and glad). from the time i heard about her affiliation with of some neo-urban, cerebral incense movement, including some band schtick - buttahfly, austin's premier all female funk band, i avoided at all cost. c to the orn[/b].
Comments
More connected than you.
Now can you please go back to not stalking me?
wow
congrats on your appointment.
PS don't act like you didn't make this thread so you could self-justify just how down you are with local scenes.
I also wasn't really feelin' Ms. Sengupta's dropping of the phrase "I wasn't really feelin'."
Well, at least she spelled DJ Ayres' name correctly. Oh wait, no she didn't.
That's hilarious. And largely incorrect and inaccurate. Please, come to Texas and live in Dallas, Houston, SA, Lubbock, El Paso or Brownsville. Harvey's right don't come here it sucks. There's no academic culture. What's that huge mass of buildings about midway through the city, to the West of I35?
yeah youre such an OG
Wait......your name is Deborah?
How many times have your posts included the words "I", "Published" "Austin Chronicle"? Relax dude.
So you posted a negative mini review of Strut affiliates by some Becky and didn't expect it to get 'picked apart'? Who are you setting up, us or you?
me neither. plus that wasn't a sentence. this sounds more like small-talk chatter between nitwits over jumbo smoothies than a review. "nyc has given us some of the greatest things ever such as sex and the city." gross...
sorry.
i also find it annoying that the name of her blog is "Almost Urban: Exploring the Funky Underbelly of the ATX"
someone should get her to publish her top list of Local Authentic Funky Experiences???
But it would be a AMAZING blog title if she just added the word "I'm" to the beginning of it.
Well you can cross one chicken and waffles joint off her list:
And BTW:
AVATAR PLAESE. Preferably with an "I'm almost urban!" speech bubble.
wow i can't believe i just read that.
edit: i tried to make that my location but it wont fit
Jeezus, my eyeballs are bleeding.
Deborah is good people. So is Ayres? Allow some middle ground already.
I think Ayres' biggest mistake was that he didn't serve ribs. That Dj Mel musta served ribs, lemonande & given out water melon slices. Then everyone sang along to Al Green like they was around a campfire belting out "Kumbaya".
A HREF=http://www.koop.org/?page=schedule§ion=aroundthetownsounds&subsect1=archives&archpage=/2003_03.php>Deborah Sengupta - usually hosts the first Thursday of the month.
Although her family roots are in England and India, Deborah goes deep into the local hiphop and urban scenes when she hosts our show, with a secondary concentration on local world music./A>
No city or its residents takes itself more seriously than New York. But, then again, New York should be very proud of its Ultra Up To Date Hipsters, rather than the out of date ones that Austin boasts. And, its own brand of keyboardscenesters...
Don't get me wrong... I like New York and all. But, that dude's blog entry is just as silly as the review that started this thread.
as small as the hip-hop scene was in austin, you're bound to cross paths with folk.
this is one person that i never met (and glad). from the time i heard about her affiliation with of some neo-urban, cerebral incense movement, including some band schtick - buttahfly, austin's premier all female funk band, i avoided at all cost. c to the orn[/b].
Who gives a fuck.
jazzy vibes?
hello mel and nick. dudes are dope. and baby g. and snoopy.