Sociology question for you...
Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Sheffield, Bristol...
What actually makes a city a 'music city'?
Is it just having a few historic successes? Is it having bands that champion you? Is it having lots of venues? A student scene? All of the above? Fluoride in the water? Ley lines?
Gwon!
Dynamo Kilburn
WD40 R2D
Magic
.
you forgot LEEDS.
YEH MAN
WHO CUD 4GET KAIZA CHEEFS
GET OUT.
..
oops - sorry
nashville, TN
= music city USA!
that one's pretty obvious - the whole "country & western" scene, the grand ole opry, all of the little bars like tootsie's and the orchid lounge where songwriters debut the next big hit for the top country performers, etc.
and
Be Your Own PET.
cept the new album blows
I'm thinking
loads of venues + local champion (like Tony Wilson, say) + 2+ big hitters (e.g. Catatonia, Super Furries...in the case of say Cardiff) + heritage (e.g. New Romantic for Sheffield)...+ locally sourced cheeses
^this
...
How to make a music city:
1) Have a bunch of bands all playing the same crap to varying levels of commercial success.
2) Have the rest of the nation's bands all studiously ignore that style of music on the grounds that it sucks.
Not being Peterborough...