So, Obama won the election. Cool. So far, the apocalypse hasn’t begun, which is what supposedly was going to happen if he was elected, according to most right wing pundits. Perhaps some of his “change” will find its way to Starkville, a town so desperate for a good shakeup but so unwilling to veer from its path.
Starkville has the possibility to be a cool town, but the powers-that-be in the town see Starkville as a separate entity and in no way related to MSU. For the city, it seems MSU students are an endless line of high spending customers waiting for a fleecing. The city abhors a “wet” Sunday that may see more restaurants come to town. Despite a virile downtown district, the rest of the city seems more like Mayberry than a college town, even though without the college, Starkville would probably consist of a gas station and post office. Still, there is a long way to go downtown, but a few people hopefully will see the benefits of urban renewal and maybe apply that to our downtown. It would be wonderful to see the city blocks between Highway 182 and Highway 12 turned into a cool downtown district.
Still, the city does not solely hold the blame for the mediocrity of our town. We students do as well. For too long MSU has been a suitcase college, and since I’ve been here it seems it only gets worse year to year. Why is there nothing to do on the weekends? It’s because none of the bars want to venture the money on a possible loss to host events and bands when the weekend crowds are so sketchy. Still, Sunday alcohol sales may go along way to alleviating the mass exodus of the weekends. It really does not bode well when there are only a couple bands playing at bars across town on the weekend. You want better entertainment? Demand it, and when bands come to town, support them.
Which leads me to my next and probably longest topic – music. I will preface my next comments by saying I am a local musician and have many musician friends, so I am fairly biased. As a student body, I’m sorry to say, our taste in music sucks.
The largest drawing bands that come to town are ’80s cover bands. Now some bands do have a local contingent that show up at their shows, but barring a nationally known, plastered-all-over-TV name coming to town, MSU students don’t go see music. Now, being the astute observer that I am, I have noticed something. Towns that are home to colleges that are more notably known as “party schools” have better music scenes. Two prime examples are nearby Oxford and our neighbors to the south, Baton Rouge. Both have prime venues that regularly host not only big, national acts, but also well-acclaimed and prolific talent.
I don’t think it’s a lack of great venues – Starkville is replete with them – but a lack of a crowd. Having worked as former entertainment editor of The Reflector and as a working musician, I still don’t understand what the deal is around here. I, as well as many of my fellow musicians, recognize the lack of appreciation in this town for live and local acts. We loathe the Dave Matthew’s cover band, U.S and other cover acts that come to town. First, they cover bad music. Second, they’re playing someone else’s songs, so the product probably won’t be better than whoever originally played the music unless the band is taking an original approach and reinterpreting the songs. Still, they pack out the places they play. It just seems that students, when it comes to music, thrive on mediocrity. They want the easiest pill possible to swallow, so they can look cooler than hell in their alcohol-fueled evolution of the dance interpretation and say, “I know this song!” as a cover band strikes up the first chords of “Jessie’s Girl.”
Which brings me to another point. I’m a definite upperclassman. I was born in 1985, so from infancy until about kindergarten, I experienced the ’80s. This year’s freshmen were most likely born in 1990, so why so much love for the ’80s since hardly any of us were even old enough to be somewhat cognitive of what was receiving radio airplay back then?
As evidenced by the numerous numbers of my friends confessing they’re moving to Canada on Facebook and the general opinion of those who sent text messages saying we’re all screwed because Obama got elected, we don’t like anything new or different. I came to college to experience everything I could, learn more about the world and those around me and maybe learn a little bit about myself. What’s wrong with stepping out of your shell for a night and maybe going to see a band you’ve never seen before? There’s tons of great music right outside your doorstep. Get out there and check it out.
David Breland is the managing editor of The Reflector. He can be contacted at [email protected].