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your showing Manhattan against the whole city of San Fran. You also dont break down downtown barriars with Chicago, at least where the downtown starts and ends. Whereas Manhattan you know, because all of Manhattan is downtown. Basically NY has five times as many highrises as Chicago. Manhattan is eight miles long and three miles wide. Chicago is about two miles long by maybe two miles. Big difference. That map is very misconceived. Actually Torornto has more highrises than Chicago. I still like Chicago, but lets be accurate about our assessments.
I have to wonder if you've been to any of these cities. Your statements are so incorrect it's unbelievable! You have lost all credibility with an inaccurate post like that.
Manhattan is not "downtown", and has many low-rise portions. It's mostly low-rise and mid-rise if you go all the way up to Harlem and Washington Heights. NYC has two Central Business Districts--Midtown and Downtown. The rest of Manhattan is a mix of high-rise buildings, brownstones, mid-rise tenements, and almost any other building type you can imagine.
Chicago proper is MUCH larger than two miles by two miles. I live about five miles north of the Mag Mile on a block dominated by highrises, and I'm only half way up the North Side. The South Side is even larger.
Emporis.com keeps data about the number of high-rises in each city, and Toronto isn't even CLOSE to Chicago in that respect. New York is number one, but nothing else in North American approaches Chicago for high-rise levels built.
Chicago is not underrated? To become a world-class city you have to have a few things: cosmopolitan atmosphere, uniqueness, and the arts.
Chicago's North side is what you would call a yuppie, suburban area. There you will find more people dawning University of Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, (add Big 10/12 school here) flags than showing allegiance to their newly adopted home.
This usually isn't a problem when the people dividing their loyalties are from different countries, but in the case of much of the Northside, not only are they Americans, but they bring no unique culture.
New York Italians brought pizza, the Jews brought breadmaking, Germans also brought their bakeries, the Puerto Ricans brought and developed new styles of Salsa, the blacks brought the lindy hop, jazz, hip hop, etc.
In LA, of course their movies are America's greatest influence overseas, in terms of culture. Their beaches were a breeding ground for surf culture and their streets gave birth to skateboard culture. Skateboarding is still a form of transportation in SoCal.
Chicago cannot live up to these two cities. It's becoming more and more gentrified with people asking where is the next "up and coming" neighbourhood, a euphemism for "where will there start building more coffee shops, offering more Asian Fusion restaurants, yoga studios, and wine bars."
Chicago has very little art. It is confined to painting, it doesn't extend to a new type of music genre as in NYC hip hop or SoCal punk rock, fashion, etc.
Also, Chicago Fashion is bland. The people don't dress like the live in a world-class city. The style is more H&M, Gap, and those major retailers. There definitely isn't anything original to be seen on the streets.
Ask. What stores does Chicago have that you cannot find anywhere else?
Chicago did spawn house music and it's own style of jazz and blues from the Southside, but that was some time ago, and for one reason or another other cities claimed credit for house music and other Chicagoan music contributions.
The culture in much of Chicago's young community is going to a bar and drinking alcohol all night. That's great is you are still at a frat house in college, but to be a world class city you have to do a little bit more than drink alcohol.
I don't think there is one accurate statement in this entire post.
I'm not going to write a whole blog on this, but a person who has a well trained ear in music more than likely can agree that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra trumps all major orchestras in the United States. No questions asked. No if and no buts.
I was not knocking the LA Philharmonic or CA music at all, I was responding directly to a post that used SoCal punk as an example of how Chicago has no culture - and I don't believe SoCal has produced much serious punk since the 80's. Oh, and you left out the Minutemen - that's a cardinal sin, one of the greatest bands ever.
I will say it doesn't make sense to lump SF and LA together and compare it to Chicago, especially when you are throwing a lot of SF psychedelic bands that haven't been around for awhile.
I also restricted my examples of Chicago music to the last 10 years or so, there's a lot more if we go as far back as many of the bands you're listing -
Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Bo Diddley, Sonny Boy Williamson, Junior Wells, Willie Dixon, Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, Von Freeman, Karl Seigfried, Bix Beiderbecke, the Impressions, the Chi-Lites, Jimmy Ellis, Fred Anderson, Ernest Dawkins, Aaron Getsug, Eddie Condon, Isaiah Spencer, Jackie Wilson, Etta James, Johnny Griffin, Bud Freeman, Gene Krupa, Frank Trumbauer, Curtis Mayfield, Tyrone Davis, Jeff Parker, and Jim Baker, and David Boykin, Ministry, The Staple Singers, Local H, Big Black, Liz Phair, Eleventh Dream Day, Lupe Fiasco, Veruca Salt, Material Issue, Urge Overkill, Common, Disturbed, Alkaline Trio, Naked Raygun, The Academy Is, Rise Against, Smashing Pumpkins, Waco Brothers, The Audition, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Spitalfield, Chevelle, the Plain White T's, Fall Out Boy, Twista, The Jesus Lizard, The Sea and Cake, Califone, OK Go, The Greenskeepers, Andrew Bird and Umphrey's McGee.
Please note that I left out Styx, Chicago, R Kelly, and Survivor. Please remove the Eagles and Journey from your list. That is nothing to be proud of
In terms of classical the LA Philharmonic is great, I'm just making the point that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is trading conductors with La Scala - if that is not cosmopolitan I don't know what is.
Oh don't get me wrong, I guess I had just thought that you said LA had no music culture. Sorry I misunderstood haha. But now that you said this I won't feel complete if I don't list the bands from just LA.
Bands formed in Los Angeles(Alpha Ordered):
The Adolescents, Agent Orange, Audioslave, The Bangles, Beck, Black Eyed Peas, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, The Dickies, The Go Go's Guns N' Roses, Hoobestank, Incubus, Linkin Park, Maroon Five, Minutemen, The Offspring, Pennywise, System of A Down, Tool, TSOL, Van Halen, and Weezer. This is not including the one's already mentioned in the earlier post.
...Now before you go and say that you can't compare the whole state of California to Chicago, just know that 95% of these bands formed in either San Fran of LA.
A good majority of the members of these bands were not born in California nor did they grow up there.
A good majority of the members of these bands were not born in California nor did they grow up there.
You wanna look that up because that is what I based this whole list off of, if you want me to name all the bands that weren't born here but came here and made it big i will.
You wanna look that up because that is what I based this whole list off of, if you want me to name all the bands that weren't born here but came here and made it big i will.
The record industry has traditionally been based in L.A. for decades. Your point is what?
I am telling you a good portion of people that got signed to record contracts were not born in CA. nor grew up there.
When I have time I will break down the bands you listed by where each person was born in and/or grew up in and you will be eating serious crow.
In fact, out of the bands you mentioned there are a number of members that come from the Chicago area or from the Midwest.
The record industry has traditionally been based in L.A. for decades. Your point is what?
I am telling you a good portion of people that got signed to record contracts were not born in CA. nor grew up there.
When I have time I will break down the bands you listed by where each person was born in and/or grew up in and you will be eating serious crow.
In fact, out of the bands you mentioned there are a number of members that come from the Chicago area or from the Midwest.
Here I will do it for you.
The Adolescents: Fullerton, CA
Agent Orange: Placentia, CA
Audioslave: Los Angeles, CA
The Bangles: Northridge, CA
Beck: Los Angeles, CA
Black Eyed Peas: Los Angeles, CA
An exception for Buffalo Springfield even though one of the band members was born in CA.
The Byrds: Mostly Los Angeles, CA
The Go Go's: Hollywood, CA
Hoobastank: Agoura Hills, CA
Incubus: Van Nuys/Calabasas, CA
Linkin Park: Agoura Hills: CA
Maroon Five: Los Angeles: CA
Minutemen: San Pedro, CA
The Offspring: Garden Grove, CA
Pennywise: Hermosa Beach, CA
System of a Down: Glendale, CA
TSOL: Long Beach, CA
Van Halen: Pasadena, CA
-Sammy Hagar: Monterey, CA
-David Lee Roth: Bloomington, IN but grew up in Pasadena, CA
Weezer: Born in New York, but grew up in CA
Beach Boys: Hawethorne, CA
Jefferson Airplane: San Francisco, CA
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Los Angeles, CA
No Doubt: Anaheim, CA
Carlos Santana: Born in Mexico, grew up in San Francisco, CA
Grateful Dead: San Francisco, CA
The Doors: Los Angeles, CA
-Jim Morrison: Born in Melbourne, FL, grew up in Alameda, CA
Frank Zappa: Born in Baltimore, grew up in San Diego, CA
Journey: San Fran, CA
-Steve Perry: Hanford, CA
Fleetwood Mac: Born in Phoenix, AZ, grew up in Arcadia, CA
Motley Crue: Los Angeles, CA
Quiet Riot: Los Angeles/Santa Monica, CA
X: Los Angeles, CA
The Germs: Los Angeles, CA
Black Flag: Hermosa Beach, CA
Circle Jerks: Hermosa Beach, CA
Bad Religion: Woodland Hills, CA
Social Distortion: Fullerton, CA
The Vandals: Costa Mesa, CA
Suicidal Tendencies: Venice Beach, CA
Dead Kennedeys: San Francisco, CA
Metallica: Los Angeles, CA
Rancid: Berkeley/Albany, CA
Sublime: Garden Grove, CA
Sugar Ray: Newport Beach, CA
Janes Addiction: Los Angeles/Santa Monica, CA
Courtney Love: San Francisco, CA
Stone Temple Pilots: San Diego, CA
-Scott Weiland actually went to my high school.
Megadeth: Los Angeles, CA
Slayer: Oakland/Huntington Park, CA
Ice-T: Born in Newark, NJ, grew up in South Central LA, CA
Eazy E: Compton, CA
Dr. Dre: Compton, CA
Snoop Dogg: Long Beach, CA
E-40: Vallejo, CA
Atreyu: Orange County, CA
Korn: Bakersfield, CA
Well there you go. This list is not telling you what bands came to LA to make it big but the ones whose founders were all born/grew up in CA. Please don't insult my intelligence again, you know not everything in our culture today originated in the midwest. If you want to argue with me about this then I won't reply because I have already provided the facts and I really don't like having an argument about CA on a Chicago forum.
I am telling you a good portion of people that got signed to record contracts were not born in CA. nor grew up there.
I'm not sure where someone was born matters all that much, Wilco came to Chicago from Belleville, but are definitely a Chicago band. Buddy Guy is from Louisiana, but he is definitely a Chicago musician. The important thing is that a group really adopts a city as a home, and contributes to that city's cultural life - i.e. Buddy Guy's club and festival appearances, Jeff Tweedy doing fundraising concerts in his living room, Billy Corgan playing at the Hideout for a few months to form Zwan, etc...
Whatever the criteria - I think both LA and Chicago are on the short list of great US music cities.
Chicago's music scene gets hot from time to time, then fades, then gets hot again. Right now Chicago hip-hop is quite hot (Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Common, etc.). A few years back it was the "roots rock" movement within the indie scene. Usually Chicago gets noticed for being "outside the box", while Los Angeles is largely the home of industry-packaged stuff (bands need to be twice as good to get noticed in Chicago). There will always be cool bands in California, however. It's such a large state, usually trend-setting, and it can't stay down forever.
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