I want to know what all the cities of the world are known for.

July 21, 2009 10:30 PM

What are some major cities known for? US and UK, mostly.

So, I have to move sometime and I'd like it to ideally be someplace that has a relatively inspired music/arts scene.
Chicago was terrible. This is where the line is drawn; Chicago has the music of tourists (as I'm now assuming all 1,000,000+ pop. cities are good for) and art school indie-dancepop kids.
So, my question is: what are some cities of the world known for? It doesn't have to relate to music. For example, Chicago is known for its jazz and blues and tourist attractions, and someone like me who doesn't like jazz and blues really shouldn't move there. For another example, I am getting the vibe that Portland, OR is pretty community-oriented. But I could be horribly wrong, because I hadn't asked this question yet.
Sorry this is phrased so very awkwardly.

posted by lhude sing cuccu to society & culture (38 comments total)

Austin is known as the "live music capitol of the world". On any given night in the city you see hundreds of acts perform.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 10:50 PM on July 21

Scottsboro, Alabama is the Lost Luggage Capital of the World...
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:27 PM on July 21

Any big city will have a good music scene. Honestly, it's hard to tell what you want. The idea that you can't find good music in Chicago makes me think that you have some very specific requirements for something that doesn't constitute "music of tourists," but it's totally unclear what that is. I guarantee you that you could find some good music in Chicago if you asked some plugged-in locals, even stuff that isn't jazz/blues.
posted by paultopia at 11:47 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]

Yeah, if all you found in Chicago was jazz and blues you weren't trying very hard.

Here's a list of shows, I doubt The Screaming Females is a jazz trio.

http://chicago.ohmyrockness.com/
posted by sideshow at 12:16 AM on July 22

Atlanta, GA has a big culture around strip clubs.
posted by scose at 12:53 AM on July 22

Melbourne, Australia: stencil graffiti/street art, food, live music, bars and cafes.
posted by tim_in_oz at 1:41 AM on July 22

London
posted by like_neon at 2:01 AM on July 22

Sorry, posted too soon.
I think London is so cool. It's so diverse, not just musically but general culture. It's "known" for its tourist attractions, which are OK but certainly not what I have come to know as London.

To me London is: Access to music probably only matched by New York City, sprawling and massive so you can find a neighborhood that's just your pace, excellent parks, something free or cheap and fun going on all the time, the only place in the UK I can feel like I can get any type of food I crave, awesome shopping, good access to other European countries.
posted by like_neon at 2:05 AM on July 22

Clearly you haven't looked hard enough. Chicago has a fantastic punk scene and a fantastic acoustic/folk scene, and I'm sure all genres of music are well-represented. You just need to know where to look. Any city is likely to have pockets of music you like if, again, you just look.

And any city is likely to have, for example, parts of it that are more community-oriented than others. A city isn't usually just known for one thing and one thing only. That's the great thing about cities. You can usually find pretty much anything that strikes your fancy if you do your research.
posted by cooker girl at 2:09 AM on July 22

In the UK there are a number of smaller cities which are known for the high number of bands they have produced per capita over the years. One test of which ones they are is whether somebody has bothered to create a wikipedia page listing them all. Some examples that pass the test: Manchester bands, Glasgow bands, Newcastle bands, Liverpool bands. All of these cities happen to have been prominent ports in the past and thus have a culture of being accepting to influences and people from all over the place. They also have a tradition of making things.
posted by rongorongo at 2:45 AM on July 22

Nashville, TN - aka Music City, USA - aka Country Music, Inc. - Music Row

Memphis, TN - aka Bluff City (because of its bluffs on the Mississippi River) - aka "Home of the Blues" - also an early home of rock 'n roll and rockabilly music, because of Stax Records - Beale Street, W.C. Handy park, Graceland

Muscle Shoals, AL - Home of the famous Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

New Orleans - aka "Birthplace of Jazz" and the southern end of Highway 61 aka "The Blues Highway"

But I agree with above posters, that if you couldn't find music you liked in Chicago, with one of the best symphony orchestras in the world, the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Lyric Opera, an active klezmer scene, home of the International Polka Association, brass choirs, Chicago Choral Artists, the Chicago chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the whole Chicago Greek music scene, the Flamenco Arts Center, Chicago Folks Opretta, the Old Town School of Folk Music, the world famous Chicago Jazz Festival, not to mention all the Broadway shows that tour through Chicago, and the 1,000 or more national tours by everybody from U2 to Madonna that hit Chicago every year, then I think you're not gonna find your nose with a map.
posted by paulsc at 3:12 AM on July 22 [5 favorites]

Birmingham, UK is famous for its canal network.
posted by mooreeasyvibe at 3:38 AM on July 22

Manchester, UK for its 'Madchester' music scene of a few years back. Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and others.

Edinburgh in Scotland is famous for its comedy festival.
posted by mooreeasyvibe at 3:41 AM on July 22

Amsterdam is also famous for its canals.

As is Venice, I believe.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:49 AM on July 22

Minneapolis-St. Paul is ranked second in the nation (after NYC) in arts support and live theater per capita (scroll down a bit to the "Culture" section).
posted by anderjen at 6:15 AM on July 22

Houston is Space City and it rocks.
posted by GPF at 6:18 AM on July 22

NYC: pizza, rudeness, High Finance, and indie bands
posted by chalbe at 6:19 AM on July 22

Bristol, TN- The Birthplace of Country Music
posted by kimdog at 6:38 AM on July 22

I don't particularly like the indie music scene in NYC because it is very hard for indie bands to make any sort of money and it is very expensive to live here, so I feel like creativity is stifled. I know some disagree with me. We do eventually get every band you'd ever want to see.

As for "what cities are known for", NYC is known for rudeness but that doesn't mean you shouldn't move here because everyone will be rude to you, I imagine the same of Chicago.

I think that the free and cheap arts here are amazing and NYC really should be better known for its theater, museums, opera, orchestras, film series, comedy...all reasonably affordable, much more so in the summer.
posted by kathrineg at 6:40 AM on July 22

As for "what cities are known for", NYC is known for rudeness but that doesn't mean you shouldn't move here because everyone will be rude to you, I imagine the same of Chicago.

I mean that jazz musicians aren't going to attack you on the street so you should feel fine moving to Chicago despite your dislike of jazz.
posted by kathrineg at 6:41 AM on July 22

Portland, OR, is said to have the highest number of strip clubs per capita of any US city.
posted by chez shoes at 6:56 AM on July 22

Pretty much any city has some cool music going on somewhere and a significant population of people whining about how much the music scene sucks.

Pretty much any city has dreadful cover-bands and bland commercialized nonsense, and a significant population of of people who think that this is fun!

Pretty much any city has a bunch of vague things for which it's superficially "known," and a significant population of people who find such allegations to be not particularly insightful in capturing what it might be like to live in said city.
posted by desuetude at 7:35 AM on July 22 [4 favorites]

Having been a Philly born-and-raised person, then moving to NYC in my early 30s, I think the stigma of NY Rudeness is overdone. Since 9/11, the community has changed - New Yorkers are a bit more tolerant of others, because they do realize that the city is a community, and they all support each other. My experiences in getting lost in Manhattan and asking for directions are much, much better than my time in Philly (which also has a bad rep for attitude), and New Yorkers are certainly far more polite than the New Jersey folks who commute in to NYC. A recent trip on the NJ Transit system left me disgusted with them, and amazed at how good NY's system was, even with the stereotype.

Also consider climate, and sports if you follow them. NY has both hot summers and cold winters. The further north you go, the colder things will be, and the more extreme daylight conditions will be (I suffered from serious depression during the winter months when I was living up north, the extended dark hours did a number on me). Also look at the academic scene, as it may influence the local populace (Boston has MIT & Harvard, Philly has UPenn, Drexel, and Temple, NYC has a LOT of schools covering just about anything).
posted by GJSchaller at 7:45 AM on July 22

Philly is known for being the centerpiece of U.S. history. It's where our country was born.


That's really it, though.
posted by Zambrano at 8:17 AM on July 22

What Chicago did you visit? It's not like you are forced to listen to jazz the moment you cross the city limits. I can promise you your ears will not be tortured with it any more than they would anywhere else.

Chicago has a vibrant music scene, as many people have been pointing out already. The same goes for all other aspects of the arts. However, as with any city/town, you can't visit once and assume that you know all there is to know and are now an expert. Where did you go in Chicago that gave you this view? How long were you here? Any city's music scene will be filled with art school indie kids aka hipsters, by the way. Better get used to it now.

Also, you are 18. Unfortunately, you are banned from many venues where you can explore the newest emerging music and art until you're 21.
posted by Windigo at 9:13 AM on July 22

Clearly you haven't looked hard enough. Chicago has a fantastic punk scene and a fantastic acoustic/folk scene, and I'm sure all genres of music are well-represented. You just need to know where to look. Any city is likely to have pockets of music you like if, again, you just look.

I definitely did not see this.
I was there for 10 months, and yes, I was barred from most everything which maybe made me a little bitter. But, it seemed like the kind of place to me that is "known for good music".....if you have $100 to spend on the opera or symphony. That's not what I'm looking for.

...Where is this punk and folk scene, by the way? One problem for me could possibly be I don't know how to find out about things that aren't right in front of me. Because I just don't make the "right" kind of friends.

I guess I was looking for something more specific, not stereotypes.
I hate how Chicago is my only example, but here it is: They are known for midwestern friendliness to strangers asking for directions, which I found to be quite true. You could say, "Oh Chicago? Midwestern friendliness."

Again, I know I am just beating around the bush for a comprehensible way of phrasing this question.
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 10:31 AM on July 22

Besides just music, Memphis, TN is also known for it's barbecue cooking. Every year during Memphis in May we have the largest pork barbecue cooking contest in the world.
posted by Deflagro at 10:31 AM on July 22

I guess I was looking for something more specific, not stereotypes.
I hate how Chicago is my only example, but here it is: They are known for midwestern friendliness to strangers asking for directions, which I found to be quite true. You could say, "Oh Chicago? Midwestern friendliness."


I'm sorry, your question is unanswerable as you have posed it. Anything about an entire city is going to be a stereotype unless we start talking about statistics. Your example is, in and of itself, a stereotype. Just because you found it to be quite true does not make it not a stereotype.

What you are asking is also amazingly broad, as there are many cities in America and Europe.
posted by kathrineg at 10:37 AM on July 22

I see from your profile that you are 18, which changes everything -- and makes your question misleading as well as vague. It certainly explains
and yes, I was barred from most everything which maybe made me a little bitter

Look, most fun/hip/interesting live music is played at bars, and most bars in the US card aggressively. Here are your main options:
-- live on or near a college campus, which will have live shows for the under-21 crowd (but you won't be able to take advantage of the spillover affect of good shows at local bars)
-- get a fake ID
-- move to a country where the drinking age is 18
-- rephrase your question to read, "What US city has a lively teen scene?".
posted by kestrel251 at 11:13 AM on July 22

I was there for 10 months, and yes, I was barred from most everything which maybe made me a little bitter. But, it seemed like the kind of place to me that is "known for good music".....if you have $100 to spend on the opera or symphony. That's not what I'm looking for.

...Where is this punk and folk scene, by the way? One problem for me could possibly be I don't know how to find out about things that aren't right in front of me. Because I just don't make the "right" kind of friends.

"The 'right' kind of friends" are printed on paper and distributed on streetcorners. Most medium-to-large cities have at least one alternative newsweekly that covers the music scene in diverse genres; most include more in-depth and comprehensive writing on sundry genres on their websites.

I was in Chicago for four days this spring and found more interesting stuff to hear, just through skimming the Reader, than I could have possibly attended. Many of which were not in bars.
posted by desuetude at 11:19 AM on July 22

San Francisco has lots of clubs that have lots of shows that are 18+. Right across the bay, 924 Gilman in Berkeley has been doing DIY all-ages punk shows for longer than you've been alive. Likewise, Ashkenaz, also in Berkeley, has been doing folk/world/etc. music for years n years. As far as I know, their shows are also all-ages.

Any city of any size (and lots that aren't of any size) have free weeklies that have ads for clubs. The ads will almost always say if a show is all-ages, 18+, or 21+. Covers may be as low as $5 (or free). Most of the weeklies I'm familiar with also have reviewers - google around (city name + free + weekly or something similar) and you'll get results.

Other things San Francisco is known for: gay people, fog, hippies, good food.
posted by rtha at 11:30 AM on July 22

durn lack of preview!
posted by rtha at 11:30 AM on July 22

Dundee in Scotland is the city of 3 'J's : jam, jute and journalism
posted by cameronfromedinburgh at 12:05 PM on July 22

GJSchaller, you spelled "attytood" wrong. Go Iggles!

Besides the historical stuff, Philadelphia is known for delicious and unhealthy food (cheesesteaks, scrapple, Tastykakes), fanatical loyalty to their professional sports teams (you call it booing, I call it constructive criticism), and the Jersey Shore.

Seriously, though, I love Philadelphia because it's big enough that if you're a "statistical outlier" you don't have to move to NYC to find more of your kind, and provincial enough that nobody moves there to reinvent themselves.

Also, I've heard the all-ages scene is pretty solid.
posted by whuppy at 12:12 PM on July 22

Portland, OR, is known for having more breweries than any other city in the U.S. It even has more breweries than Munich.

Every published number of breweries tends to be wrong because new ones keep opening up, which is awesome!

Portland is also known for being very liberal. Republicans call our city Little Beirut.
posted by 2oh1 at 12:24 PM on July 22

I'm sorry, your question is unanswerable as you have posed it. Anything about an entire city is going to be a stereotype unless we start talking about statistics. Your example is, in and of itself, a stereotype. Just because you found it to be quite true does not make it not a stereotype.

What you are asking is also amazingly broad, as there are many cities in America and Europe.

OK guys, maybe what I am asking is really just your perception of a city when you lived in it.

I think I finally just asked what I meant to ask.
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 3:28 PM on July 22

Wakefield (a rather nondescript city in Yorkshire): rhubarb and the UK's highest security prison.

I've nothing against rhubarb, but building one's civic identity on it is something of a stretch. Yes, I did live there. Yes, I left and I'm not going back....
posted by Coobeastie at 4:31 PM on July 22

For sheer per capita opportunities, my hometown of Brighton & Hove on the south coast of the UK is hard to beat. A population of only 250,000 but a massive amount or artistic/creative talent to be part of. Musically it covers indie rock and all shades of dance music (having played a big part in the free party scene in the late 80's / early 90's) and is home to a hell of a lot including:

Norman Cook (AKA Fat Boy Slim)
Adam Freeland (AKA Freeland)
Tim Healey (Coburn)
Midfield General
The Freemasons
Xpress 2
The Kleptones
Anne Nightingale
Bonobo

Nick Cave
The Levellers
Fujya & Myaki
The Go! Team
Drookit Dogs
British Sea Power
The Kooks
Bat For Lashes
Gary Moore (!)
Captain Sensible
Robert Smith (The Cure)
Tim Booth (James)

Main club nights:
Supercharged
Bust The Box
Stick it On
Legends of the Dark Black
Slackers Convention
Hard South
Go Bang!

Three music main festivals (The Great Escape , Loop & Beachdown)
A month-long arts festival second only to Edinburgh
A month-long comedy festival
One of the UK's biggest Pride festivals

An ever-evolving number of local / street festivals (Patchfest, Hanover Day, Prestvonville, St Anne's Well Gardens etc.)

Two major universities & many language schools which can either be a pain in the arse or an injection of young, up-for-fun people depending on your lawn.

Ridiculous number of pubs & bars for any taste from real ale nesbit to fancy pants cocktails.

LBGT friendly, lots of web & design types on top of the hundreds of artists, performers blah, blah, blah.

And only a 50 minute train ride to London for a load more stuff. I've lived here for years and the main problem is not being able to do a fraction of what's on offer.

See you soon ;-)
posted by i_cola at 1:41 AM on July 23