yes, virginia-this is a college town (part 2)

we've mentioned that gainesville is beloved. i've discussed it, my readers have mentioned it (thanks, readers!), others have mentioned it-and often repeat one another-here, here, here and here.*
*the last link is my favorite-for oh so many reasons.

when i wrote the first part of this post series, i was motivated by a realization that this town is seriously lacking in a few areas. depending on whom you ask, it's more than a few areas, but i'll stick with 'a few' for now. for some reason this idea i had really REALLY bugged me, but instead of posting a rant complaining about why i was annoyed, i decided to go under the irritation and think about why i was so bothered. i came to the conclusion that something was very wrong with this town, and the reason why it got under my skin was because i love gville for so many reasons. like a proud parent or an adoring child, i couldn't bear to think of what i loved it not living up to its potential, or perhaps more appropriately, my expectations.

let me warn you-some will find this trivial. some will disagree completely. but it still rankles me, so here it is:
gainesville doesn't have enough kids my age to play with.
gainesville doesn't have a college radio station.
gainesville doesn't have a quality independent music store.
and this one will probably make me a few enemies, but gainesville doesn't have that great of a music scene.

BEFORE you start spewing forth hatred, please let me explain. i LOVE music. i love all kinds of music, and i know that's cliche, but i really do. it's all there in my personal pantheon of musical deities: the crazy atonal experimental stuff, live anything of just about every genre (if performed well or at least with some passion), blues, jazz, classical, punk, ska, alt-rock (not the whiny crap), indie, electronica of all kinds, bluegrass, opera, southern rock, you name it. sure, i have my favorites, but everybody gets a chance. here's my exception: i get bored quickly with musicians who lack the chops to back up the pose: if you're on stage just to get laid, AND you can't play whatever it is you're holding, we're done.

but i'm getting ahead of myself. let's start with my first point:
1) i wish gainesville had more kids my age to play with. once i hit the magical 23, my peers began to dwindle slowly. once i finished grad school, they became virtually nonexistent. i miss people my age...more importantly, i miss people with similar lifestyles to my own, regardless of age. i don't miss living in a town with more senior citizens than grass blades, but still.

2) gainesville doesn't have a college radio station. if you're having a thought to the contrary that contains anything remotely associated with rock 104, please stop reading. there's a seat saved for you at rue bar, or someplace in 'midtown'. if you're thinking wuft, that's fine but it's npr, so it doesn't count right now.
we do have a new and upcoming community radio station, thanks to the civic media center. this is exciting, and meets the criteria set forth by many college radio stations. but true college radio, nope. this is especially shocking when you consider that a) we have a very active local music scene (i'll mention that later) and b) we have a highly acclaimed communications/journalism school.

3) gainesville doesn't have a quality independent music store. please correct me here. please. i'm dying for the latest manchester orchestra ep and there's no place in town where i can go pick it up. the typical refrain i hear in response to this is that college kids won't/don't pay for cds from indie record stores when they can download for free. it might be correct as far as gvl is concerned--most of these stores thrive on that post-college/pre-kids demographic, which gainesville sorely lacks (see #1 above). and no, buying online is not the same.

4) gainesville doesn't have that great of a music scene. our live music scene, while locally-focused, and occasionally talented, is lacking. i don't need to see a bunch of big, overplayed, corporate-label names. i'll settle for some regional ones. i don't have a problem with the local scene at all, it'd just be nice to get some different flavor than the punk/ska/emo/alt-rock-centered peeps we have here. and no offense to the younguns and old dogs, but it'd be nice to have some talent over 21 and under 50 come through town.
i know people who are into the local music scene, and for them it's nirvana. but there's a very proud, sometimes obnoxiously exclusive attitude about it that i don't remember from ten years ago. and instead of protecting local bands, it only weakens the overall quality of gainesville music.
the hardest pill to swallow is that we used to have every name in the business coming through here in addition to amazing local talent--what happened? granted, there is some amazing local talent, and some can put on a helluva show...i'm not trying to hate.
i realize that this is an extremely subjective issue-if all the bands you like are here, we have the best music scene ever. but for the rest of us, i wish whatever issue it is that's keeping every band i like from coming to town (except for robert randolph, thank jebus) would get solved.
you know, celine dion, xtina, 'lil wayne...the greats.
we can do better, gainesville.