After Dark

Some things become passé with the passage of time. Like spandex biker shorts. Remember when those were hot? Other stuff transcends the era in which it was created. Sorta like oatmeal. It’s always on the menu.

Sure, it’s easy to take a young, all-female band such as the Coathangers, mash them up with the city’s oldest beer-can-crushing stripper, and label the former trendy and the latter timeless. But that barely scratches the surface. Because there’s nothing more timeless than watching a band full of cute twentysomethings provoke extreme reactions by throwing their femininity in everybody’s face. On the other hand, if you’ve never had Blondie jab you in the face with her tits at the Clermont Lounge, you have yet to receive a true gag gift.

Likewise, Atlanta’s emerging rock scene is brand-spanking new compared with the city’s entrenched rap industry. Yet bands such as the Black Lips and Deerhunter put Atlanta on blast in ‘07 with timeless techniques like DIY touring, grassroots promotion and buzz-worthy performances. Meanwhile, homegrown hip-hop relied on the viral marketing of YouTube dance-offs, mixtape massacres, and a fleeting fantasy to “Party Like a Rockstar.”

Just like the city, the vibe Atlanta emits is a little bit country and a little bit controversial. Put the two together and you get something greater than the sum of our parts.

Call it spandex-flavored oatmeal.

– Rodney Carmichael