Jeremy,
Its good that you vented your feelings about Philly and not finding the
right vibes over there. I think that I can identify with what you said
because there was a time in my life when I felt that too. I felt that I
was learning about so much beautiful music and that I was surrounded by a
bunch of ignorant people who were way too obsessed with MTV and many
superficial pursuits.
You should just know that it probably has more to do with where you are in
your life right now rather than where you live. I think you
will find once you get to college a lot more people who are opening their
minds to new sounds with a lot of great ideas to share... girls too!!
As far as Philly goes, you should know some things about your home town
before you start to bag on it. First of all, Philly has a great scene for
new music with lots of venues and lots of great DJs who know whats
up. Look for DJ Cosmic Cat who has a radio show and spins several times a
week all over the town. Also Listmember DJ Argo is doing some cool stuff
including a party in a park on Saturday afternoons. We dont even have
something that cool here in NYC! The Philly hip hop underground is strong
and (no pun intended) very rootsy. Also philly has a very rich history of
Jazz, Soul, & Funk music which goes very deep. Look into Sun Ra and all of
his arkestra's musicians. Look for Philly Soul. Or some old school hip hop
like Steady B, Schooly D, DJ Cash Money.
Philly is rich in history, soul, and roots. You will learn about it,
because it sounds like you are open to it. Just have some patience, and
turn off that television... it will do nothing but aggravate your musical
mind anyway.
If you want to know whats going on in Philly just post that question to
this list, because there are lots of Phillly locals on here who can give
you some good info.
And be aware that there are people on this list from places with a far
starker cultural landscape, who make the best out of there situation. This
could be rural places in the US, or it could be post-communist countries
in the Eastern Bloc. I read an interesting article in Straight No Chaser
recently about how the first DJ in Hungary, in the early 90's, used to mix
with two tape decks and no mixer... and the venue was a tiny place that
got full so quick that people would hang out on the street just to be near
the place where the music was happening.
So appreciate what ya got, cos it's a lot!
peace
Nat
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