new cultural spaces for music
^^ that turn of phrase leaped into my mind when walking around Seattle. I went past Sonic Boom, and was struck by a possibly false turn of nostalgia, that I had heard 107.7 The End talking about “tickets at Sonic Boom, <other record store>, etc”. I had also gone by a million bookshops, which, correctly, also double as event spaces … and also by the wonderfully named and totally gigantic Mox Boarding House, a gaming store, which of course runs a ton of events. (We’ll leave the Wargaming Speakeasy for another post).
“Record Stores” are a known space for music. “Boarding House” is a goofy name for gaming. Does the phrase “Techno Boarding House” have meaning? Probably not. What about “Dance Speakeasy”? Or “Listening Motel”?
The game, then, is simple: Take one thing from List A, and one thing from List B, and see if you have something – order is variable, articles and prepositions are optional, maybe add an adjective for kicks.
List A:
Record, Book, Music, Instrument, Electronics, Synth, Gear, Synthesizer, Concert, Dance, Art, Choir, Fashion, Rent, Vinyl, Listening, Meditation, Night, Cassette, CD, MP3, Band, Community, [List of all Music Genres, but here are some to start], Jazz, House, Ambient, Techno, Grime, Hip-Hop.
List B:
Store, Cafe, Club, Social Club, Nightclub, Night, Hall, Dancehall, Bar, Gallery, Center, Centre, Conservatory, University, College, Institute, Party, Concert, Room, Show, House, Studio, Atelier, Venue, Function, Exchange, Community, Collective, Co-Op, Restaurant, [List of all Food Venues, e.g. “Bistro”], Theatre, Gallery, Performance, Zine, Magazine, Label (oho), Space, Clinic, Hospital, Archive, Library, Forum, Gymnasium, Lyceum, School, Speakeasy, Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn, Boarding House, Church, Cathedral, Mosque, Ashram, Madrasa, Temple, Tabernacle, Yard Sale, Garage Sale, Rummage Sale, Livestream, Multipurpose Room.
Here are some examples from real life: Bar au Vinyle, Ambient Church, De School, The Music Institute. Here are some silly examples: Community Community, Dancehall Dancehall, The Choir Hospital (ouch!), Lyceum of Cassettes.
But, here are some fun examples: The House Music Rummage Sale, MP3s de Party, Heavy Jazz Madrasa, The Grand Listening Motel. How do those spaces work? Are they actually new? I can imagine each of them, which suggests that they are not — but perhaps there’s enough to grow on.