America 16: Rock 'n' Roll

It's hard not to see the buildings down Music Row as a certain kind of factory complex. The modern hits are, of course, generated almost algorithmically by a small cabal of producers and writers, the artists taking on a role more akin to branding than art. It seems somehow profane to see something so industrial claim something so beautiful as music, like a plough pulled by a unicorn. But you walk a little past the Row, down a side street, turn a corner, and you start to sense something different. The sound of the guitars, the cheers of the audience, the energy that pulses with each drumbeat through the bar and on out into the street, a reminder that some things can't be tamed.