David Byrne 'discovers' . . . well, you can guess

This lengthy essay, illustrated with images he snapped here, went up on Byrne's personal site last week -- and is flagged [[not flatteringly) today at a certain local blog, which led me to it.

The singer-songwriter-actor, in town for filming of Paolo Sorrentino's Il Divo, is exploring by bicycle -- as he used to do while touring with Talking Heads. So far, so good.

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This gives me a week in Detroit, with some free time to look around. A lot has been and continues to be written about Detroit, a handy living symbol of America’s industrial decline.

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Here's part of what Byrne's eyes, mind and camera record:

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As I ride around town on this trip I pass mile after mile of residential neighborhoods in which most, or at least half, of the houses are simply gone, while others are boarded up, burnt out and one or two are still inhabited. This isn’t in the suburbs or rural countryside—this is close to downtown . . . Pity the poor mail carriers, who often only have one or two houses per block. . . .
Wealthy whites used to live in town, in areas like Indian Village, with streets of still beautiful houses, once worth millions, that now go for 100-200K. You can get some for less, if they’re in serious need of repair or burned out. . . . We biked on. Almost all the folks on the streets were black, and most seemed to be wandering, alone, stunned. . . .

In another universe these empty apartments would be offered to the destitute and the homeless as cheap housing. But in a city where more than half the population has left, maybe there just aren’t enough bodies to fill these things anymore.

In one neighborhood I came across a flock of pheasants, calmly grazing on seeds in the fields between houses.

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You get the idea, and are right if you assume he writes about scrappers, Packard, MCD [["you can see right through it!") and other stations of the star-crossed city.

Oh sure, deep into his will-it-ever-end narrative we get a teensy bit of balabce:

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On the plus side — and there is one — folks here are now open to a re-think, and to new approaches and ideas, wherever they come from. There is maybe less red tape, as everyone wants things to improve. There’s unity on that at least.

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And brief shouts go to Heidelberg, Avalon Baker, John King, D'Mongo's, Eastern Mkt., Polish Yacht Club.

But basically, it's yet another entry in the seemingly endless anthology of Ruin Porn, Celebrity Chapter.

Skim it if you have [[lots of) time. Tell me if I'm too harsh.

Ruins Porn Celebrity Chapter. Ha ha. I think you just coined a phrase. Still the "OMG!" sputtering is consistent with that of lesser mortals who stare into our abyss for the first time.

Nonetheless he pondered it and was obviously moved enough to write at length ending with this less than sunny assessment:

Other cities have used culture to bring life back—Morris mentioned Bilbao—but to be honest, so much of Detroit is simply gone, vanished, that that kind of revitalization is hard to imagine. Bilbao was a smaller town, even if it was a dump. However, one can imagine that if the city center here can become more of the focus then a much smaller town with vibrant life might emerge. Forget much of the urban sprawl [[or turn it into farmland) and see if the wonderful stuff can be encouraged and supported. Again, it could be arts and theater and music that spurs some of that—there were 3 movies and a TV show shooting when we where there; Matthew Barney was preparing a large scale performance involving molten metal not too far away, and local artists and musicians have always gone their own dark ways here—so the interest is there. The skies here are bigger than in New York.

Did you read or skim it?
I thought it was a very good write up. He actually rode around and told what he saw while making a point to include some of the good things happening. To call it more purely Ruin Porn I would say is false. Why does everyone expect reporting about Detroit to be done with blinders?

Read it and don't expect blinders either -- not that we ever get any anyway.

I am sure his effort was sincere and, as I noted, he pondered the topic and was moved by it and yes it is well written. But it just rings of what so many have similarly written that it attains a degree of stereotypical response. Not purely Ruins Porn but essentially so, just count the pictures. Then there are some of the usual cliches, "I came across a flock of pheasant".

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all attention we get especially from the Celebrity Chapter. :)

I read it, rjlj, and have an overall impression that David Byrne sounds quite naive for a 58-year-old world traveler. Well-intentioned, no doubt, but simplistic at times.

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Pity the poor mail carriers, who often have only one or two houses per block.

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Ahem, that's why they -- like suburban counterparts -- use vehicles, not bicycles. Should we also pity rural carriers who have only one or two houses per mile . . . along sometimes-unpaved roads?

Yes, that's just one sentence in a mini-novella. But this self-indulgent "reporting about Detroit" doesn't break any new ground, reveal any new conclusions or present any fresh insights.

True, writing about Detroit shouldn't involve blinders -- though clear-eyed originality would be refreshing.

Can we get the historical commission to put up a sign where David Byrne was? :p

Is he lying?

I'm typically hard on these fly-by-night journalists who drop in for 12 hours and right a half-assed article explaining why Detroit is worse than New York, and fly out on the red eye...

But this guy went pretty in depth with what he saw over several days in the area. Granted, he did miss a lot but he also saw a lot. It is astonishing that a city of 800,000 or 900,000 resident, let alone 2,000,000 exists/existed without a transit system. It is astonishing that a core of a 5 million person region -- a core area which measures about the size of a couple major coastal cities -- has nearly rotted completely through. What's even more astonishing is that this is only now generating some semblance of urgency when the entire region should have been in panic mode decades ago...

For a city that was once among the most major of cities in the country and world, this is a pretty astonishing predicament to have ended up in such a short period of time.

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Originally Posted by RealityCheck

This lengthy essay, illustrated with images he snapped here, went up on Byrne's personal site last week -- and is flagged [[not flatteringly) today at a certain local blog, which led me to it.

The singer-songwriter-actor, in town for filming of Paolo Sorrentino's Il Divo, is exploring by bicycle -- as he used to do while touring with Talking Heads. So far, so good.Here's part of what Byrne's eyes, mind and camera record:You get the idea, and are right if you assume he writes about scrappers, Packard, MCD [["you can see right through it!") and other stations of the star-crossed city.

Oh sure, deep into his will-it-ever-end narrative we get a teensy bit of balabce:And brief shouts go to Heidelberg, Avalon Baker, John King, D'Mongo's, Eastern Mkt., Polish Yacht Club.

But basically, it's yet another entry in the seemingly endless anthology of Ruin Porn, Celebrity Chapter.

Skim it if you have [[lots of) time. Tell me if I'm too harsh.

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You're too harsh. That coming from a curmudgeon. Anyway, everyone discovers things at their own pace and in their own time. Seeing as how he's likely never had the opportunity spend time here, or explore Detroit, his curiosity, wonderment and anguish are understandable. In my case it reminds me of all the anguish of a half century, and more, expecting Detroit to be like other places. It's not. It's DETROIT. Take it for what it's worth TODAY. Enjoy it NOW.

Sensible observation, Kielson. Well-said, too.

Thanks for engaging.

I agree with 1KD. Who's David Byrne anyway. Oh well, I'll just google him. Hopefully, I haven't just outed myself as hopelessly out of touch with the subculture or something.

Meh. Talking Heads. OK. Good on him, though.

Googling him brought up today's Time blog on Detroit [[here) which references his line "The skies here are bigger than in New York." Which not only reminded me of another aging rocker's verdict, Patti Smith, on the NYC-D comparison from some months ago, but it got quoted once again, in that Time Blog. Apparently, the New York Observer requoted it recently as part of an article on the issue of NYC being unaffordable for many artists. As a reminder: "New York has closed itself off to the young and the struggling. But there are other cities. Detroit. Poughkeepsie... New York City has been taken away from you... So my advice is: Find a new city."

Which, that's two in that mold now. And: yep.

If you see him on the streets, point him in the direction of this forum. I like him. Lately he's recording much stuff in an Amsterdam studio.

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

Is he lying?

I'm typically hard on these fly-by-night journalists who drop in for 12 hours and right a half-assed article explaining why Detroit is worse than New York, and fly out on the red eye...

But this guy went pretty in depth with what he saw over several days in the area. Granted, he did miss a lot but he also saw a lot. It is astonishing that a city of 800,000 or 900,000 resident, let alone 2,000,000 exists/existed without a transit system. It is astonishing that a core of a 5 million person region -- a core area which measures about the size of a couple major coastal cities -- has nearly rotted completely through. What's even more astonishing is that this is only now generating some semblance of urgency when the entire region should have been in panic mode decades ago...

For a city that was once among the most major of cities in the country and world, this is a pretty astonishing predicament to have ended up in such a short period of time.

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iheartthed how right you are. Actually, I think that generally folks outside Detroit are genuinely OMG'd by the decay. Before the so-called financial crisis not much was mentioned in the press about this "situation".Few people like Michael Moore make movies about the general decline of social values in the US, but the media are bent on painting a rosier picture. We get plenty of Super hero shit movies some of them shot in Detroit where they will capitalize on the ruins, heck I worked on a disaster movie entitled Sum of All Fears where the whole crew [[canadian) got baseball caps with the mention;CIA retired . Goes to show how low the Pentagon has stooped.
Actually Byrne's statement about the mail carriers was heartfelt. I can see how a visitor to the city feels about detroiters who day in day out service a vanishing city.

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Originally Posted by canuck

Actually, I think that generally folks outside Detroit are genuinely OMG'd by the decay.

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Oh yeah. Way. Certainly if they're from functional cities.

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Originally Posted by canuck

Actually Byrne's statement about the mail carriers was heartfelt. I can see how a visitor to the city feels about detroiters who day in day out service a vanishing city.

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I was also struck by his comment about people ambling about aimlessly, or something along those lines.

So he's here, on a bicycle. Actually EXPLORING the city-not seeing it from a freeway, or a limo, or pontificating on what he's seen on CNN It's not like he merely heard about Houston, heard about Detroit, heard about Pittsburgh, PA

Mr. Byrne

It's Grosse PointE

with an E

Byrne has been here before, to bicycle through the city. Last year. he wrote about it then.

You can't escape it, there are empty buildings everywhere, unless he flew into Flint Airport and drove up I75 and took side streets now and then, he's gonna see some ruins. I think he faced it through the eyes of an artist. There were some things to quibble with but it was his experience, not mine. All in all a positive look at the city.

p.s., the naif thing is his territory.

I think it was balanced. Better than most of the stories that "journalists" write about the city.

Same as it ever was.

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

It is astonishing that a city of 800,000 or 900,000 resident, let alone 2,000,000 exists/existed without a transit system.

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Detroit had an excellent transit system both streetcar and bus. Even when they shut down the streetcars, the bus system was comprehensive and efficient. The bus system slipped into the third world along with everything else run by the city.

That would have been cool to run into him on a bike wandering around. I love wandering Detroit or other Urban area's. I give him credit for the effort. Its not like he is writing a story for the NY Times, its his own blog.
Used to love his TV show, he is an interesting guy from what I have seen. We need to contact him and give him a real tour. Have a feeling though he probably likes to explore on his own.
Same as it ever was.

OK, I may have been too harsh yesterday morning.

Thanks y'all for pointing that out constructively and civilly. It's a timely 'answer,' in effect, to another thread also started yesterday AM.

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Why do we use this board? What good does it do?

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Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

You're too harsh. That coming from a curmudgeon. Anyway, everyone discovers things at their own pace and in their own time. Seeing as how he's likely never had the opportunity spend time here, or explore Detroit, his curiosity, wonderment and anguish are understandable. In my case it reminds me of all the anguish of a half century, and more, expecting Detroit to be like other places. It's not. It's DETROIT. Take it for what it's worth TODAY. Enjoy it NOW.

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Okay, I'm going to turn this into an oldies but goodies discussion. You know, the good old days. I remember hanging out at Fort Wayne when it was an active military base. The same for Grosse Ile Naval Air Station. I remember some of the Nike sites spread out around Detroit and burbs. I remember the first ship to dock in Detroit from the St. Lawrence Seaway. I don't remember its name. It was Japanese and docked at Detroit Marine Terminals at West Jefferson Avenue and the Rouge River. I remember the Aquarama docking at the foot of West Grand Boulevard and the Americans [[North and South) docking downtown as well as the Bob Lo Boat. I remember...................

I remember seeing the Talking Heads at the Punch and Judy Theater in Grosse Pointe back in the late '70s. After the [[excellent) show my friends and I went to talk to Tina and met David Byrne, who seemed kind of spacey and standoffish [[really more shyness, I think in retrospect) in an arty sort of way, but really pretty nice once he got going. He asked us "where's the party?" and we directed him to Bookie's. So, yeah, he's been here before.

1KD, what is this, the Garwood Mansion thread? :p

I've always thought about this Talking Heads song in relation to Detroit and it's suburbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3t5nmgRVMs