Hey there My top two dee-troi tunes are carwash by the howlin, diablos and Once upon a time by robert bradley.s blackwater surprise....or governor by robert bradley....p.s.:I have nothing bad to say about new york.When i was there it was full of homesick detroiters.

Tune-Yards is not from New York.

Don't forget Mitch Ryder. In the early 70s his band, Detroit, did a great cover of Velvet Underground's "Rock 'n' Roll," where Jenny was listening to a Detroit station when she couldn't believe what she heard at all. Pretty hard driving and nice lead guitar relative to the original.

The Detroit Cobras, The White Stripes, The Dirt Bombs, Eminem?!
You choose Kid Rock?

Sufjan considers himself a Detroiter. Ditto Marshall Crenshaw - who once brought me a case of vernors when I lived in NY. very cool of him

Did anyone mention The White Stripes / Jack White on behalf of the underdog?

Whoa! Got through the whole show without a mention of Detroit Cobras - coming soon to the Bell House so NYers aren't deprived...

oh no yves,so much culture percolated in NYC. and at the end,mo-troit,soUld it's soul, to la-la land..........sorry. motown just walked away to LA. you can't budge NYc,now. no way!!

Using Jay-Z as an example of NY "supremacy" is pathetic because Jay-Z is probably the worst rapper to ever rise to prominence. His flow is weak and his lyricism is truly sad; "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of"? Eminem mops the floor with him. Nas mops the floor with him. Of all the great hip-hop produced in New York, it's sad that Jay-Z has become the standard bearer and it's evidence of why NY will never top Detroit, because it's all about popularity in the Big Apple, not about substance.

did nobody mention the fact that detroit made house music? nyc never made any decent electronica, but detroit and the UK killed it.

WE HAVE NEIL DIAMOND!!

Roots are Roots.... Detroit wins....sorry... NY sprouted branches....but it's all about the Roots...

The High Strung!
a Detroit band started in NYC...reverred by Peter Buck (REM) and Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), used in opening credits of Shameless.

http://highstrung-cc.bandcamp.com/

As a musician and former Detroiter I obviously have a little bias (yet I moved here), Detroit in comparison is very small with few venues to play and ways to get attention. Not to mention all the record companies/big money located in NYC of course. I vote for the underdog.

Jeff Wave

You cannot take anything away from Detroit but NYC is where people really take the next steps in every walk of life. INCLUDING music.

The High Strung!
a Detroit band started in NYC...reverred by Peter Buck (REM) and Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), used in opening credits of Shameless.

http://highstrung-cc.bandcamp.com/

Detroit's mayor looked at the census figures this year and said "it's time for Detroit to stop thinking of itself as a major city." At least they have a lasting major musical presence in American culture. Go Tigers!

So far it doesn't sound like a smackdown, more like an agreement to disagree. Come on guys - argue!

The High Strung!
a Detroit band started in NYC...reverred by Peter Buck (REM) and Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), used in opening credits of Shameless.

http://highstrung-cc.bandcamp.com/

As a native New Yorker, gotta give the overall tip to NYC for bigness, but all respect to Detroit as agents of influence. For examples:
No Ramones without the Stooges and MC5;
No Lady Gaga without Madonna;
No Hip-Hop without a truckload of sounds and beats sampled from Motown.
And we all wish the best for Detroit to overcome its current economic woes, but we still want the Yankees to win ...

Listening to the show now -- with all of this talk about NYC's Ramones and thier influence on punk, I cannot help but wonder what Iggy Pop and the MC5 would have to say. Also, how has no one brought up Detroit's influence and arguable creation of electronic music?!

I hope the guests don't ignore, as part of their "music past" discussion, the invention of techno music in downtown Detroit. I think a lot of people hear techno and think Berlin, Stockholm, Stuttgart. Nope---Detroit in the 80s.

Detroit wins hands down, but Gary Graff is possibly the least capable spokesperson they could find. Complete nincompoop.

Detroit punk? MC5
.

FYI - Johnny Ramone was the world' biggest Yankee fan. The entire band traveled in one van and Johnny always insisted that everyone be quiet when the Yankees were on the radio.

Someone for all of us: Patti Smith

I'm a huge Ramones fan, but let's not forget they were hugely influenced by Motown AND The Stooges. Winner - The D!

Detroit is obviously a very musical city (esp given it's size) and in terms of individual bands Detroit always produces greater groups, but you cannot deny the power of hip-hop and new york's role in that: it was a sea change we have not seen since the birth of jazz

MOTOWN, baby. Detroit, hands down.

I love the Ramones. But don't you think they were influenced by Iggy and the Stooges and the MC5??

hands down detroit! take the jazz carters (not related) from old school ron carter to newer artists like regina and james. new york has no answer to motown. and nobody matches stevie wonder or aretha franklin.

DETROIT! I am a born and raised detroiter but a proud Brooklynite now. While new york owns my heart these days, Detroit music wins hands down. It's a much more diverse, impressive mix. Detroit has the techno genius of derrik may to the punk of Iggy Pop and Mc5 to Ted Nugent, anita baker, motown and ARETHA F'ING FRANKLIN to Kid Rock and Eminem. No other town anywhere can beat that mix.

While New York lays claim to Hip Hop, and to some degree, punk, let's not forget the nurturing of Jazz and Bebop that flourished here. Nevertheless, this New Yorker recognizes the undeniably broad appeal of Motown, and for many, of course Iggy. I vote Detroit.

I think both cities compliment each other: The Ramones were clearly big stooges fans, but Joey was also a big fan of girl groups of the motown era (like the supremes). Like wise NYC created hip hop allowing someone like a eminem, who in turn was a fan of NYC acts like Mobb Deep.
We both churned out crap too: see Kid Rock and Kiss respectively.

For Detroit, you went with Kid Rock over Eminem? Seriously?

Couple typos there, *musical and *possible

keep it in the same category (Punk/Garage)

MC5 v. Ramones

can't pick!

As a native New Yorker but with significant ties to Detroit, I have to side with Detroit in this smackdown. Nothing compares to Motown. The R&B and soul that came from Detroit is some of the greatest music ever made, the world over. "Punk" -- the Ramones in particular -- is great in its own right, but it's significantly less musical, requires significantly less talent, was purely expressive and not at all impressive on every front, but Motown songs were.

Couple of typos there, *musical and *possible.

Detroit: Well, I guess they they have Marshall Crenshaw, an amazing underrated talent. But wait, never mind, he moved to NY too...

MC's just a personal fave, nothing against Detroit but seriously what doesn't NYC have?

I'm a native New Yorker, and have a great appreciation for our musically history, but I have to give this one to D-town. The Stooges, MC5, Death, George Clinton and all the soul musicians. Detroit is just a little more raw, in the best way possibly.

As a musician who has performed and lived in New York and Detroit. That adages ring true: if you're a musician, Detroit is a great place to be from, lousy place to be at. and New York is a great place to be a music lover, lousy place to be a music player

Not only does Detroit have the wide variety of musical genres that Mark mentioned, but also a great public radio station in WDET-FM 101.9 wdet.org that presents them with seasoned on air staff like Ann Delisi, Rob Reinhart, Jon Moshier, Ed Love, Jay Butler, Nick Austin, and Ishmael Ahmed who are all first string players.

Detroit wins out over NYC...We all know from a quality standpoint the rich heritage of the Motown sound, whether it's Gospel, Rock, Techno...you name it. Which city boasts the largest free jazz festival in the world? I could go on, but the Graffman will nail down the quality debate. Lets talk quantity. Lest you think Detroit's rich history is all in the past..consider this. Based on data provided by the Census Bureau along with Ranker.com, there is a famous band out there for every 248,000 resident of Motown...while only one for every 320,000 resident of NYC.

I rest my case!

I'm a born and raised New Yorker but gotta give props to Detroit, especially Motown and the MC5! Both near and dear to my heart.

One question: how do we classify someone like Sufjan Stevens (Detroit-born and raised; current Brooklyn resident)?