"And there’s very little in this world that rewards engagement quite like great American music. Sure, Pablo Picasso was no asshole, a great movie engages many senses, certain poems and novels resonate and many a life-enhancing invention, from combustion engines to instant noodles, has lead humanity forward. But American music, specifically the stuff made by the nation’s most marginal citizens, celebrates the twentieth century’s inclusive genius, the people’s spirit, like nothing else."
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New Zealand born, London based journalist Garth Cartwright from his book “More Miles Than Money: Journeys Through American Music.” Despite this uplifting quote, so far this book has been BLEAK in a lot of ways, primarily because he’s been looking for great American music in Haight-Ashbury (circa 2006), Burning Man, Las Vegas and Tucson, Arizona… gentrification, techno, gamblers and border patrols.
But I’m reading this in conjunction with “In Every Town,” the all-ages music manifesto written about inclusive DIY spirit around the same time, which is anything but bleak. So… where is “great American music” now? I think it’s just hiding in places Cartwright didn’t think to look.
