20 November 9 - 15, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Stereotype Sound The music we think you listen to based on your Dallas neighborhood. BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY D allas encompasses several dis- tinct neighborhoods, each with its own culture, history and stereotypes for us to make fun of. Anyone who’s spent more than a couple weeks in the city will happily tease Deep Ellum’s hipsters or the Highland Park trust fund kids. Whether you actually fit the bill or not, people love to make an assumption about you based on your address. We’re in no position to judge such as- sumptions, however. That is, after all, ex- actly what we’re doing here. We’ve looked at several major neighborhoods in Dallas and, after some broad, sweeping judge- ments, have decided what artists we think their residents might be listening to. This is based on a number of factors, in- cluding the general vibe of the neighbor- hoods as well as existing stereotypes about people who live there. (If you live in one of these areas and have never heard of the artists mentioned, check out the embedded Spotify playlist to find out once and for all if you’re truly an outlier.) Deep Ellum listens to: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hem- lock Springs, Toadies, Passion Pit Deep Ellum is known for its live music and nightlife scenes and for the too-cool indie kids that inhabit it. Pinning down what all of its residents listen to is impossible because, as they’re so eager to point out, we probably haven’t even heard of it. However, we think it’s a pretty safe bet that they’re bumping both current and classic indie hits whether they care to admit it or not. National Anthem: “Sleepyhead” by Passion Pit Oak Lawn listens to: Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, Robyn, Hilary Duff, St. Vincent Oak Lawn is known as “the gayborhood” thanks to it being the historic center of Dal- las’ LGBT community. Many artists are widely known to be gay icons, but that would be too easy. Everyone listens to Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. So we’re going to high- light the lesser-known heroes of queer cul- ture: pop singers who mainstream listeners think are washed up. Where else but a gay club will “Sparks” by Hilary Duff bring the house down? Absolutely nowhere. National Anthem: “Dancing on My Own” by Robyn Lower Greenville listens to: Radiohead, Guided by Voices, R.E.M., Liz Phair, Lisa Loeb Lower Greenville is kind of like the Gen X big brother of Deep Ellum and we’re hoping they let us raid their CD collection. Also like Deep Ellum, we’re sure that this sampling of Gen X cultural touchstones doesn’t scratch the surface of whatever scene they attached themselves to back in the day, and they will only mention the above artists in the context of bragging about seeing them open for someone else. Regardless, we know they have these artists’ records and feel seen by them in a world that even all these decades later just doesn’t get them. National Anthem: “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. Uptown listens to: Kanye West, Drake, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Post Malone Of all the neighborhoods in Dallas, Uptown is where you are most likely to get cut off by a 24-year-old “entrepreneur” in a leased BMW, and such a person listens only to the most popular mainstream hip-hop of the past two decades. The average Uptowner thinks Eminem is the greatest rapper of all time, but still relates to West’s “Gold Digger” because he believes women view him as rich and successful. Sometimes an Uptowner will say he’s into the classics. That, of course, means that he loves yelling “smoke weed ev- eryday” at the end of Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode.” National Anthem: “A Milli” by Lil Wayne Bishop Arts District listens to: Belle & Sebas- tian, The Magnetic Fields, Regina Spektor, Sarah Jaffe Bishop Arts is the kind of area you can imag- ine a mid-2000s Zooey Deschanel riding around on a bicycle with flowers in the bas- ket, so we assume its inhabitants might have equally twee inclinations. Their idea of flirt- ing is standing next to someone and waiting for them to ask what they’re listening to, and Bishop Arts is full of picturesque locations for such a meet-cute to occur. National Anthem: “Us” by Regina Spektor The rest of Oak Cliff listens to: The D.O.C., Ste- vie Ray Vaughan, Edie Brickell Outside the curated twee wonderland of Bishop Arts, Oak Cliff has a storied musical history spanning multiple genres and gen- erations. This is something the neighbor- hood takes pride in, so locals’ playlists are certainly inundated with these artists’ works. What are they listening to of their own accord, you may ask? Probably any- thing else. National Anthem: “Pride and Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughan Lakewood listens to: Bruno Mars, Meghan Trainor, Pink, Train, Bowling For Soup Lakewood is a neighborhood largely geared toward families, meaning many of its resi- dents are moms. While there are many moms out there who listen to cool music, we’re dealing heavily in stereotypes with this list, so we’re sticking with the mom hits: slightly dated, radio-friendly pop fit for a minivan singalong that will have your tween daughter begging you to put on Olivia Ro- drigo instead. National Anthem: “Me Too” by Meghan Trainor East Dallas listens to: Erykah Badu, Dark Rooms, The Roomsounds East Dallas listens to everything you do, ex- cept they listen to it correctly. They also think that album you like is good, but they know why it’s good. And that album you think is bad? It is bad, but not for the reason you think it is. Just take their word for it. Af- ter all, their side of town has produced so many great artists. Is it that unreasonable for them to assume they’re also musical ge- niuses? National Anthem: “On & On” by Erykah Badu Daniel Rockey/Kathy Tran What music is Deep Ellum listening to these days? You’ve probably never heard of it. | B-SIDES | t Music SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN TICKETS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1 THE ECHO LOUNGE & MUSIC HALL
