Suburbia Made Rock 'n' Roll Possible
Suburbia made the scenius of rock, not in a Viennese coffee house, but at Burger King or at the mall. The recent passing of Boomer rock stars made me think about this again, not because I liked bands like the Eagles that much in the 70s, but it was the culture of radio and record-buying that contributed to the "clustering" of a like-mindedness, outside of urban centers, and in basements and garages in suburban housing developments. Rehearsal was almost impossible to do in an urban area. Art can happen in a sketchbook, but it takes a special place for the "genius clusters" of pop music to make a zeitgeist. It happened for a while in the 60s and 70s. Now places aren't necessary for music because they are inside our heads or in a server farm. This is merely an example of an evolutionary process taking place, rather than a nostalgic rumination about what has passed. But there must be elements of innovation clusters in all periods of history, but they have alw...
