Brooklyn DIY Oral History Story

Photo by Benjamin Lozovsky

How long have you stayed or played in North Brooklyn? For many of us the years can be counted on one hand. We missed the halcyon days when Bedford was a frontier and rent was actually cheaper than Manhattan. For anyone interested in our (very) recent history, the cover story for The Williamsburg/Greenpoint News and Arts has an oral history of Ten Years of Music 2002-2012. Beyond interesting tid bits about the beginnings of now big bands (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) the piece also puts the whole scene into perspective. Like this gem:

These events occurred during the advent and rise of the Internet. These early shows, shows in the early 2000s, were not covered in the media. These shows didn’t have photographers with digital cameras in the audience. To put it into a larger context, it was January 2001 when iTunes launched. And it would be another 10 months before we had iPods. This was not only the beginning of a new era of music, music out of Brooklyn, but also the beginning of the end of the music industry as it existed then.

The writer is looking to talk to more people if you’re experienced.