How Wesleyan Built Brooklyn's Surrealist Pop Scene

August 6, 2009

How Wesleyan Built Brooklyn's Surrealist Pop Scene • A few years ago it was Oberlin, but nowadays if you graduate from Wesleyan U, your band has a good chance of taking Brooklyn by storm. Especially if you're in MGMT, Boy Crisis, or Amazing Baby. Village Voice investigates what's the in water there.

Posted at 1:20 PM
Tags: Amazing Baby | Boy Crisis | MGMT

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10 Comments

their sense of community and helping out friends is great, but for such a "progressive" school, this community comprises almost all straight, white boys. no surprise, here, but definitely some disappointment.

Posted by: mike at 08/06/09 3:06 PM | Reply
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Do you have some other connection to Wesleyan that makes you feel that way? Just because a few bands that make it big in the white, straight, boy-filled indie scene happen to be comprised of white straight (how do we know, anyway?) boys (altho it's fair to notice that Victor Vazquez at least deviates from one of those) doesn't mean the whole campus is that way.
Also: not saying it's not. Just saying this article proves nothing either way.

Posted by: tom in reply to mike's comment at 08/06/09 3:21 PM | Reply
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In response to your "white males" comment, these bands in no way represent Wesleyan or all Wesleyan music in any way. It is a highly diverse community and there are musicians of every race and gender working in every musical field you can think of.

Posted by: nope at 08/06/09 3:19 PM | Reply
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Wesleyan has a rich musical history and it is merely the lack of research by people writing about these three or four current acts that makes it seem like a new phenomenon.

Posted by: cardinal00 at 08/06/09 3:29 PM | Reply
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Perhaps its only marketing and dumb articles like this that try to make it appear that there is something in the water. "A few years ago it was Oberlin" etc. I remember when Minneapolis was the next Athens which was followed by Seattle and Chapel Hill and etc. etc. and on and on.

Posted by: the graduate at 08/06/09 3:45 PM | Reply
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Camden, NJ is the new Brooklyn...They're really killin' over there. Badump, ching!

If Brooklyn was a male human being, I think the entire Stereogum staff would suck him off.

Posted by: i moved to brooklyn to be accepted by people i think are cool at 08/06/09 5:19 PM | Reply
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they forgot acrylics, bottle up and go, francis and the lights, and bear hands

Posted by: anonymous at 08/06/09 5:44 PM | Reply
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Brooklyn IS surreal(first place I stayed at had a train goinging by the window)...I read all about Myrtle Ave before I arrived...

Posted by: My Old School at 08/06/09 8:40 PM | Reply
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It's not just Wesleyan-- it's a host of top-ranking liberal arts/ivy league schools that are producing new talent. Look at Ra Ra Riot or Vampire Weekend too.

And if you're looking for an alternative to the typical straight, male indie band, you should start paying attention to this up-and-coming band Post Post based out of Bryn Mawr College. All-girl and queer. About time.

Posted by: Anonymous at 08/09/09 11:23 AM | Reply
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Michael Leviton went to Wesleyan too. He's not surreal but he is awesome....

Posted by: Anonymous at 08/09/09 9:26 PM | Reply
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