{"id":220,"date":"2011-10-24T19:42:17","date_gmt":"2011-10-24T19:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicurbanism\/?p=220"},"modified":"2013-02-10T21:04:27","modified_gmt":"2013-02-11T02:04:27","slug":"creatively-exploiting-the-austin-scene-a-review-of-echotone-pt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/2011\/10\/24\/creatively-exploiting-the-austin-scene-a-review-of-echotone-pt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"creatively exploiting the Austin scene: a review of &#8220;Echotone&#8221; (pt. 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/files\/2011\/10\/EchotoneSkyline.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-611\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/files\/2011\/10\/EchotoneSkyline.jpg\" width=\"849\" height=\"476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/files\/2011\/10\/EchotoneSkyline.jpg 849w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/files\/2011\/10\/EchotoneSkyline-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 849px) 100vw, 849px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>[This is the second part of my review of the documentary &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.echotonefilm.com\/\">Echotone<\/a>&#8221; (2010, dir. Nathan Christ).\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicurbanism\/2011\/10\/23\/losing-austins-weirdness-a-review-of-echotone-pt-1\/\">For the first part, go here.<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Technically, no one in\u00a0<em>Echotone<\/em>\u00a0ever says the phrase \u201ccreative class.\u201d\u00a0 However, the filmmaker\u2019s marketing materials invoke it regularly, starting with the DVD\u2019s back-cover description: \u201c<em>Echotone<\/em>\u00a0is a cultural portrait of the modern American city examined through the lyrics and lens of its creative class.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Official Echotone Trailer - directed by Nathan Christ, produced by Reversal Films\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kgdXRaxENfU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Of course, the creative class doesn\u2019t just refers to the workforce of artists, musicians and other cultural\/knowledge producers.\u00a0 It\u2019s also the title of the economic development paradigm advanced by Richard Florida that counsels cities, states, and other growth-promoting entities to build the physical, organizational and amenity infrastructures needed by this ascendant post-industrial class.\u00a0 Florida gave a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/h3athrow.blogspot.com\/2003\/03\/south-by-southwest-2003-xviii-richard.html\">lecture<\/a>as part of the city\u2019s South By Southwest Arts &amp; Music Festival back in 2003; more generally, he has\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/1742367\/richard-florida-the-rise-of-the-creative-class\">long cited SXSW<\/a>\u00a0as the kind of synergistic, value-creating development that can arise when cities embrace and promote their creative advantages.<\/p>\n<p>I have no idea how familiar the filmmakers are with Florida\u2019s ideas, but certainly their attitude toward SXSW indicates they would take issue with his celebration of what by now is literally a block-busting event in Austin.\u00a0\u00a0<em>Echotone<\/em>\u00a0presents SXSW as a massive headache for most Austin bands, who regularly find themselves excluded from the official events and have to scramble together unofficial, off-site events in order to catch the attention from the thousands of attendees.\u00a0 If the distaste expressed by local musicians and promoters isn\u2019t clear enough, the film includes a surreal on-the-street segment at a recent SXSW that gives the impression of a garish college spring break event set up by music merchandisers. \u00a0Here then is another unanticipated hazard of Austin\u2019s prosperity \u2014 the mega-event equivalent to the high-rise condominium construction on Congress Avenue.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Echotone\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3NTfbWBkjCw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p><em>Echotone<\/em>\u00a0thus emphasizes the conflict of interests between local bands and SXSW, as at least an implicit rebuke to the coincidence of interests that Richard Florida or other economic development planners would expect.\u00a0 Surprisingly, no one offers the third view: that Austin musicians aren\u2019t either (or only) the beneficiaries or victims of creative-city development, but actually (or also) comprise the very aesthetic landscape sought out by creative-economy employers, real estate investors, gentrifiers, Starbucks, Urban Outfitters, and so on. \u00a0To be fair to Florida, his writings signal he\u2019d anticipate anticipate this kind of ecological dynamic of creative-city development.\u00a0 However, his work is generally so instrumental and growth-minded in mindset, he\u2019d likely describe this pattern as a good thing, a virtuous circle.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere,\u00a0<em>Echotone<\/em>\u00a0shows the political efforts by local musician Troy Dillinger and other music-scene advocates to push back against the noise and nuisance complaints made by a growing number residents.\u00a0 These advocates find it strategic to embrace Florida\u2019s kind of rhetoric: \u201cMusic is economic development and growth,\u201d Dillinger says.\u00a0 It\u2019s uncertain whether these efforts, which in the film are made by folks in their middle or later age (possibly once their own music careers have slowed down), are shared by the 20-something musicians featured in the documentary.\u00a0 What is certain, however, is that\u00a0<em>Echotone<\/em>\u2019s filmmakers seek to secure the connection between indie rockers and political advocates as a result of their film\u2019s message and (in case the course of action isn\u2019t clear to viewers) the \u201cget involved\u201d agenda presented as the last title of the end credits.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/files\/2011\/10\/EchotoneBlurb.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-613\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/files\/2011\/10\/EchotoneBlurb.jpg\" width=\"849\" height=\"476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/files\/2011\/10\/EchotoneBlurb.jpg 849w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/files\/2011\/10\/EchotoneBlurb-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 849px) 100vw, 849px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The number of new-economy buzzwords in this statement (at the moment, I couldn\u2019t tell you what \u201caggregate your audience\u201d means) suggests the differences between the creative-class agendas of\u00a0<em>Echotone<\/em>\u00a0and Richard Florida maybe aren\u2019t that great.\u00a0 Both seek to arm local musicians with a shot of careerism and a rhetoric of economic productivity to counter residents\u2019 NIMBYism and other threats to the scene.\u00a0 They also give political urgency to statistics such as the one\u00a0<em>Echotone<\/em>reports: 70% of Austin musicians make less than $15,000 a year.<\/p>\n<p>Look, no question it sucks when profit is extracted from musicians by corporate record labels, big festivals, or real estate developers.\u00a0 (Not that any of those larger entities should be considered secure in the creative economy; what once was a smart investment five years ago is often an inevitable financial morass from today\u2019s perspective.)\u00a0 But for once, let\u2019s ask ourselves: does urging musicians to treat their art like a business really help a music scene?\u00a0 In almost the same breath that musicians\u2019 advocates express alarm at the precarious balance that the Austin music maintains, they acknowledge that an economically vibrant scene will attract more musicians to the city \u2014 of both the touring and full-time migrant side.\u00a0 How likely is ratcheting up this creative-economy agglomeration going to benefit any one struggling local band?\u00a0 Musicians might think about that separately from the question, how likely will ratcheting up this creative-economy agglomeration benefit the scene\u2019s\u00a0<em>professional services<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 the city\u2019s music venues, promoters, graphic designers, lawyers, landlords, etc.\u00a0 (Just because many musicians have a foot in both camps doesn\u2019t make it any less of a contradictory position to be in.)\u00a0 If we consider the latter question a little more carefully, then maybe the imperialism that SXSW exerts over the scene will start to appear a little overstated.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"the original goals of South by Southwest (clip from &quot;Echotone&quot;)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6euMVf12PtI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a timely thought.\u00a0 Want to help the 70% of musicians who make less than $15,000 a year, in Austin and no doubt many other places?\u00a0 Then go occupy Wall Street and join the fight against broader socioeconomic inequality and the weakening of the social safety net.<\/p>\n<p>The point is that Austin musicians\u2019 vulnerability isn\u2019t fundamentally a consequence of their occupation; to believe so only naturalizes the neoliberal ethos that people are essentially defined by their contributions to the labor market.\u00a0 (This is why the so-called dilemma between a day job and full-time devotion to one\u2019s art, as depicted in<em>Echotone<\/em>\u00a0and so many other creative-class manifestos, has always struck me as problematic.)\u00a0 However, musicians\u2019 vulnerability is, among other things, a consequence of their locality \u2014 specifically, of living and making music in an urban economy heated by creative activity, population growth, and urban development.\u00a0 A city like Austin should make evident that\u00a0<em>local<\/em>\u00a0music is a force for \u201ccompetitive\u201d urban advantage and broader uneven geographic development.\u00a0 These are political economic games that the creative class didn\u2019t create, and that they can\u2019t mitigate if they choose to play them.<\/p>\n<p>It might seem a strange argument for a blog about musical urbanism to make, but the problems represented in and by\u00a0<em>Echotone<\/em>\u00a0suggest maybe we should rethink the \u201cnatural\u201d relationship between musical activity and places.\u00a0 Particularly if (as I discussed in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/2011\/10\/23\/losing-austins-weirdness-a-review-of-echotone-pt-1\/\" target=\"_blank\">pt. 1 of this review<\/a>) the relationship is an aesthetic one filtered through indie-rock solipsism, with no genuine participation in the collective practice of a local style \u2014 maybe the musician\u2019s creative relationship to place is primarily one for the extraction of inspirational inputs, analogous to a sampled found sound, the profits of which can follow the musician should they ever leave for another creative hotspot.\u00a0 Treating music like a business doesn\u2019t necessarily soften or mitigate this symbolic exploitation of place; it doesn\u2019t necessarily make the city more livable for musicians either.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[This is the second part of my review of the documentary &#8220;Echotone&#8221; (2010, dir. Nathan Christ).\u00a0\u00a0For the first part, go here.] Technically, no one in\u00a0Echotone\u00a0ever says the phrase \u201ccreative class.\u201d\u00a0 However, the filmmaker\u2019s marketing materials invoke it regularly, starting with the DVD\u2019s back-cover description: \u201cEchotone\u00a0is a cultural portrait of the modern American city examined through the lyrics and lens of its creative class.\u201d Of course, the creative class doesn\u2019t just refers to the workforce of artists, musicians and other cultural\/knowledge producers.\u00a0 It\u2019s also the title of the economic development paradigm advanced by Richard Florida that counsels cities, states, and other growth-promoting entities to build the physical, organizational and amenity infrastructures needed by this ascendant post-industrial class.\u00a0 Florida gave a\u00a0lectureas part of the city\u2019s South By Southwest Arts &amp; Music Festival back in 2003; more generally, he has\u00a0long cited SXSW\u00a0as the kind of synergistic, value-creating development that can arise when cities embrace and promote their creative advantages. I have no idea how familiar the filmmakers are with Florida\u2019s ideas, but certainly their attitude toward SXSW indicates they would take issue with his celebration of what by now is literally a block-busting event in Austin.\u00a0\u00a0Echotone\u00a0presents SXSW as a massive headache for most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43699,43651,43772,16,43646,43673,43656],"class_list":["post-220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-austin","tag-creative-city","tag-cultural-appropriation","tag-documentary","tag-indie-rock","tag-music-scene","tag-urban-policy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions\/851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}