Yellowstone Ave

Dec 15th, 2011 @ 11:46 am

(Broken) Billings Social Scene

Well, I haven’t written on my blog for a while. But, I have more time on my hands now so I’ll take this moment to comment on the culture, specifically in music, in the place I currently reside. I grew up in Billings, MT and I think I can safely say I know it well. Like the back of my hand, if not better. I can drive or walk from one place to another without any thought of my direction. Billings is a large grid, so it’s not very difficult anyways. By the same token, the social scene here is navigable without much thought.

Here’s what I’ve notice about music in Billings and the people who attend the events. I wont name names, that’s gotten me in trouble before. On one hand, there is a small set of very talented musicians with a decent crowd that appreciates them but really don’t grasp the quality of the music. This keeps the band in a vacuum where only its medium sized fanbase can appreciate it. Said fanbase manages itself and is fairly exclusivist in its attitude, so new fans of the band merely trickle in. On the other hand you have an older set of musicians and music people who consider themselves the experts on what good music is. This group creates bands and promotes concerts that, in all honesty, lack talent. But since these dinosaurs have been the majority of the music scene for so long, their word is stronger than most. Their fanbase drinks a proverbial koolaid. They believe the music is good because they are told so. In general, this group is younger and more naive than the former. And if the members aren’t young, they perpetuate the koolaid drinking in an effort of their own denial. It is also smaller.

Both groups are equally threatened by criticism. In order to be accepted in either group a significant amount of ass kissing and koolaid drinking foot kissing worship is required. Any criticism, healthy and constructive or not, is generally cause for exile. The older group is considerably more sensitive than the younger, because they know inside that they only are in the place they are because NO ONE ELSE in Billings, at their time, even tried to make music. They pride themselves on their daring sacrifice.

The younger crowd, the young guns of Billings that have come to the fore through a musical aristocracy (their parents had bands in the 70s and 80s), they show great promise. The only difficulty there is that their audience tends to alienate or in general just scare people away. The hippies, the brewery beer drinkers, the organics. This is their crowd, and their crowd does not want them to grow. It wants the high quality music for itself, while hardly conceiving of just how good it is.

So what can we do?

I think the scene should be united. We have two large music scenes sitting in their ivory towers on either side of the town. They are largely indifferent to each other but an occasional arrow finds itself flung from one side to another, and passive agressive rivalries surface in conversations about venues and individuals. Someone who wants to enjoy both scenes never really can fully sink in to one or another, since it takes a large degree of ass kissing and social submissiveness to be fully accepted. Such people are like wolves in the night, passing from bar to bar, show to show, just wanting to enjoy some good tunes but always nauseated by the social responsibility that comes with attendance.

I am such a wolf.

The fact is that music and socializing are one in the same in Billings, Montana. The music is good but the social attitude is not. There is a constant insecurity in the air, and going to a show just isn’t about the music any more. This ‘Billings attitude’ is just how it is. Again, I grew up here and am familiar. I myself inescapably have that attitude as well. Many people love Billings, and there’s always the people that grow up hating it. Such people generally leave. People here are competitive, and hardly anyone is jobless. Billings is the most active social group in Montana on Facebook. Generally, when someone comments on such attitudes, trends, and tendencies, these Billings groups take notice. Text messages, facebook comments, and the general mania of social music gossip takes over and creates villains against whom these groups can stage their passive agressive wars, simply by excluding them. They have their heroes too. And hero or villain, they serve the same purpose.

Think about it, is all im asking.