bradley's almanac - a boston music blog

boston area events of note:

thursday, january 8th

forest henderson

the new collisions

the lights out

sir q

@ great scott

saturday, january 10th

head automatica

radio 4

@ great scott

sunday, january 11th

whistlejacket

voxhaul broadcast

local natives

the union line

@ tt the bears

monday, january 12th

varsity drag

the rationales

nate rogers (ex-scamper)

@ tt the bears

thursday, january 15th

illinois

@ great scott

thursday, january 15th

the raveonettes

@ the paradise

friday, january 16th

dear leader

hallelujah the hills

faces on film

@ the paradise

saturday, january 17th

the rosebuds

the love language

the fatal flaw

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, january 18th

frightened rabbit

@ great scott

sunday, january 18th

department of eagles

@ the brattle theatre

saturday, january 24th

longwave

wheat

bon savants

@ great scott

saturday, january 24th

arts at the armory benefit

mission of burma

the neighborhoods

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, january 24th

vic chesnutt

elf power

@ the middle east

tuesday, january 27th

annuals

jessica lee mayfield

what laura says

@ the paradise

friday, january 30th

andrew bird

loney dear

@ the orpheum

wednesday, february 4th

the pretenders

@ the orpheum

thursday, february 5th

illinois

mean creek

you can be a wesley (cd release)

@ great scott

wednesday, february 11th

the godfathers

@ the middle east down

friday, february 13th

los campesinos!

@ the paradise

saturday, february 14th

animal hospital

travels (cd release!)

arms & sleepers

mary page

@ pa's lounge

sunday, february 15th

the pains of being pure at heart

pants yell!

the depreciation guild

@ the middle east upstairs

sunday, february 15th

fujiya & miyagi

@ the paradise

wednesday, february 18th

m. ward

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, february 21st

norm macdonald

@ the wilbur theatre

tuesday, february 24th

ben kweller

the watson twins

@ the somerville theatre

tuesday, february 24th

tapes 'n tapes

wild light

@ the paradise

wednesday, february 25th

comedian eugene mirman

'the will to whatevs' book tour

@ the brookline booksmith

thursday, february 26th

jimmy eat world

'clarity 10th anniversary tour'

@ the new house of blues

thursday, february 26th

blizten trapper

alela diane

@ the paradise

saturday, february 28th

swirlies!

gregory & the hawk

@ the middle east up

saturday, february 28th

fountains of wayne (acoustic)

everyday visuals (acoustic)

@ the paradise

saturday, march 7th

airborne toxic event

alberta cross

henry clay people

@ the paradise

wednesday, march 11th

fleetwood mac

@ the garden

saturday, march 14th

throwing muses

screaming females

50 foot wave

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, march 14th

a.c. newman (new pornographers)

with dent may & his

magnificent ukulele

@ the paradise

sunday, march 29th

morrissey

@ the house of blues

visit tourfilter for more shows

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Adms Rotten Apple

Ok, here's the thing... I love New York. I love Boston. I think both cities have a hell of a lot of great things going for 'em. It goes without saying that they're drastically different places, and not just because of their relative sizes, geography, histories, layout, or population makeup.

I'm more comfortable in Boston, but for no other reason than I've spent more time on its (yes, at first confounding) streets, and feel at ease after the five years I've lived here. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy hanging out in New York, learning more about it, discovering new areas, and feeling a little less overwhelmed each time. I've got a lot of friends down there, and I'm always looking forward to another drive south.

Which is why I don't get this whole Boston vs. New York thing, which lately is centered almost exclusively around baseball, of course. The worst side of people, players, and the two places are coming through, and it ain't pretty. Emotions are high, tempers and criticisms are building, and just because of an essentially inconsequential game. Y'know, I like the Red Sox a lot (although I like a couple of them a lot less since Saturday), I know the pain of being a longtime Sox fan, and I'm no fan of the Yanks, but that certainly doesn't mean I'm going to start generalizing about the behavior of New Yorkers or the whole Yankees roster.

So, speaking of the worst side of people, here's a few excerpts written by Adm, from his insightfully titled post "Fuck Boston, and Fuck Baseball" ...

"Boston, for the most part, is a city made up of cruel and arrogant people who think they are better than everyone else. And this seems to apply to the Red Sox as well..." and "But gradually, it dawned on me that, no, in fact it was just Bostonians who treated everyone like crap...", and how about "Once I realized this was the true nature of Boston, I began seeing absurd acts of disrespect everywhere in the city: people who worked at stores hated customers and argued over everything, the cops arrogantly dismissed everything you told them and could never trouble themselves to help you out or give you a straight answer, and racism was blatant, widespread, and ignored by everyone who wasn't directly affected by it. Everyone seems to think they're better than you, but this apparently is just a front, meant to cover up the city's deeper insecurities."

So I've lived here almost as long as he did, and found little evidence of the cloud of negativity that he saw hanging over this town. Maybe I talk to different cops, maybe I visit different stores, maybe I've worked with different people, maybe I'm ignorant to the 'blatant' racism he experienced ... but honestly it seems things are no worse (or no better, perhaps) than other places I've visited, or even the small city I grew up in.

It's a shame Amy's Robot doesn't have comments enabled, because I know an awful lot of perfectly well-mannered Bostonians who'd like to respond. Reading Adm's words, I think they probably say more about him, maybe how he interacted with others while he was here, than it does about Bostonians. It's hard not to take it personally when someone generalizes about your entire city because of a couple spoiled ballplayers and some obviously bad personal experiences.

It takes some work to find the good in people, no matter where you live. You need to be open to it, sometimes to even seek it out. Unfortunately, wherever you go, the "cruel and arrogant" ones seem to stick out on the radar. It's easy to spot them, and thanks to the internet, now it's even easier. I didn't even have to visit New York to find this one.

posted by brad at 5:20 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

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