Crackron? That's just not fair.

I am pleased to report that, after more than 29 1/2 years of life, I have finally visited the great city of Crackron, I mean, Akron.

I say that with only part of my tongue planted in my cheek.

Although NEO residents find this hard to believe, Akron has a pretty decent reputation around the country, at least insofar as indie rock and art images are concerned. Now maybe that is disproportionately influenced by the fact that it is the hometown of The Black Keys and the whole music business universe they've created, but regardless, when you hear a city mentioned in the same breath as places like Athens (GA), Madison (WI), Portland (OR), and others, something is going right.

I'm not saying Akron rivals today's Montreal, or even Detroit of the very late 90s (i.e., the White Stripes and Electric 6 years), definitely not early-90s Seattle or early-80s Austin, but still.

Anyway, I enjoyed my trip down. I spent an hour perusing Square Records, but an awesome new hat and a funky vintage cord blazer next door at Revival, and reveled in the old school deliciousness of Swenson's. Even though I didn't spend time soaking in the scarier parts of town and despite the fact I did not collect data on the social consequences of the rubber industry demise, I still say I could live there. Despite the closing of the Lime Spider, Akron still has a good live music scene, with great bands like Trouble Books, Moustache Mountain, and Radar Secret Service (and, of course, the occasional Black Keys performance at the gorgeous Civic Theatre). There is a nice downtown, a mid-size college (with a fun sports team to cheer for), a minor league baseball team, and plenty of bars and cafes and killer pizza joints.

Yep, I could dig it if I needed to .... though I'm plenty happy here in Clevo.