A City Built on Rock and Roll

Even at the tender age of four, my musical taste was chiefly rooted in rock and roll.  It was 1985, and Starship's single We Built This City reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard in November of that year.  Although I didn't know how to express my love for the song, I remember getting excited whenever it played on the radio.

The song itself is good, but I mostly like the refrain:  We built this city on rock and roll!  It's brilliant! How could a city built on rock and roll not be awesome?  I mean, there are plenty of things a city could be built on -- a standard set of morals or an ethic of hard work, kindness and trust, or a common goal of ending social inequality.  But if it was built on rock and roll . . .  That would be wonderful!  Everyone would be happily rockin' out all the time!

That's how I think of Austin.  It's a city built on rock and roll.  A place where people wear worn-out jeans and Converse to hole-in-the-wall venues and just chill to good music.  One day during my first March in Texas, I was wearing a Strokes t-shirt, and nearly everyone I passed on the sidewalks of campus gave me a happy wave and said, "The Strokes!  You know, they're playing at the free show at South By!"  "I know!" I said, and they would usually respond, "See ya there!"

There's just something about music-lovers -- particularly rock and roll music-lovers -- that makes me feel happy and connected to the world.  I know not everyone feels the same, but a lot of people in Austin seem to, and I like that.  I like this city built on rock and roll.  I like that I can find a great concert any day of the week, and I like that two of the biggest and most well-known music festivals take place here every year.*  It's my kind of city.  I love it.  I hate to leave it.


*South by Southwest and Austin City Limits!



Thing I'm thankful for: friends.