I come from Brisbane, I’m quite plain*
Cities have music scenes, and that’s why tech doesn’t enable decentralisation
Ed. This piece was originally published at cityofsound.com on 10 June 2008. Note, I do not come from Brisbane; see footnote.
A while ago, I heard two great ABC Radio National documentaries on two Australian cities with two distinct and rich musical histories: Melbourne and Brisbane.
In terms of the genuine ‘musical scene’, Brisbane emerges with one of the richest scenes in the history of Australian cities — a fierce counterpoint to the “boot stamping on a human face forever” school of governance then in play in 1970s Queensland. The Melbourne scene, as recorded in the documentary, is more focused on a particular time and place. Very particular.
A ‘scene’ is distinct from a city’s musical history, which has a longer term arc of course. Nor is it the idea of conjuring a city through music, Metropolis Shanghai and Chavez Ravine for example.
Instead, ‘the scene’ is usually a relatively short-lived concentration of artistic activity, which nonetheless kick-starts or exemplifies some…
