The Big Apple and the City of Angels. The heart of the east and the heart of the west coast. Two of the most well known and adored cities of the United States and the whole world. Needless to say that their contribution to the field of arts is beyond any doubt. Personally I've only been to New York and at that period of my life the only thing I cared about was getting my hands on new Game Boy cartridges, which I barely remember buying from a small electronics store run by two Indian guys, two blocks away from where I was staying. The Beastie Boys last album named “to the five boroughs” is a tribute to their home town that hosts some of the most recognizable landmarks around the country including Times Square, Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Home to the Knicks and the Yankees, the city’s contribution to entertainment is enormous since it is highly responsible for the flow of numerous television hits such as F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Sex and the City and Saturday Night Live, which are all filmed in studios located across the city. Various cult films such as Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull and Scent of a Woman had the streets of New York as their main setting, not to mention 1983’s “Wild Style” , the first hip hop motion picture ever to be released since New York was the city that gave birth to the hip hop movement in the beginning of the 70’s. The film features one the most famous graffiti artists ever to come out of the Big Apple, George Quinones. New York is also home to a number of artists ranging from musicians to painters to writers to actors to street artists. Names such as Miles Davis and Public Enemy, Steve Buschemi and Rita Heyworth, Henry James and Stanley Kubrick are just a few of the countless stars that developed their own exceptional talents in the city of New York. New Yorkers can also brag about two widely well known spots that the city holds, both located in the borough of Manhattan, Studio 54 located at 254 West 54th street and CBGB’s at 315 Bowery and Bleeker. During the 70’s Studio 54 was one of the most, if not the most, well known clubs around the world and it is commonly believed that it was the place where disco was born. CBGB’s on the other hand despite being closed down in 2006, has been an iconic presence in the city’s subculture. It has staged numerous shows for legendary bands such as the Ramones down to local later turning big punk and hardcore bands such as Agnostic Front. Besides constant referencing in movies and television, it was even used in an ad campaign at the time when New York was a candidate for the Olympic Games of 2012.
On the other hand Los Angeles being the second largest city in the country seems like a totally different world. The tall skyscrapers and the bright lights of downtown New York, now give place to the coastal palm tree infested roads of Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Just a couple of kilometers drive away, the Hollywood sign seems more like a sign of mayhem if one thinks about all the good times the city has witnessed till today. Especially when it comes to music and films it would be fair to say that some of the biggest names in US history came out Los Angeles. Numerous record companies including Capitol, A&M and Warner Brothers have studios or offices downtown so it was easy for their scouts to spot the talent that flourished around town even from the early 50’s with the very active African-American music community, all the way to the late 90’s through a wide range of genres and musicians. Rock bands that came out of LA and made millions of fans all around the world include the Doors, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine. Rap also claimed a piece of the action especially during the mid 90’s with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre and Ice Cube. Los Angeles is also home to a number of institutions that hold a direct link to film production such as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as well as the American Film Institute. The city is also hometown to one of the biggest poets of our time Charles Bukowski who spent most of his lifetime in Hollywood, that attracted many other well known authors like Scott Fitzgerald and Tennessee Williams throughout the years. It would also be fair to say that Los Angeles is a key area in the development of cartoons since that was where Walt and Roy Disney in 1923 came up with the idea of the Walt Disney company, the largest media and entertainment company worldwide today.
Written by
Alexis Seitanidis
No comments:
Post a Comment