Audi 2008 Annual Report Download - page 92

Cult icon Vorsprung
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On to Ohio. Here’s a fun fact that crosses my mind as I
cross the state line. Ohio has produced more Presidents
than any other state in the nation. I would wager that
they’ve produced more rock stars than any other. I’m
headed for Cleveland on Lake Erie. My destination is not
the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame – even though the glass
pyramid designed by a celebrated architect has long
been a city landmark. There’s good reason that Cleveland
of all places was chosen to house the pantheon of the
20th century’s most successful music: For years, the city
had a tremendous influence as a radio bastion of rock ’n’
roll. After all, it was here that bold radio DJs coined the
term “rock ’n’ roll” in 1951 and regularly played black
music. “Cleveland had a great scene back then,” remem-
bers Chris Vrenna, former band member of Nine Inch
Nails and current drummer of Gnarls Barkley. “The ‘in’
district was called The Flats and was full of great bars
and clubs.”
Next stop: Chicago. The Windy City. My kind of “music
town.” The top label for blues and souls can be found in
the heart of the city on 2120 Michigan Avenue – a place
where history was made. It’s where the Chicago blues
were invented as an electrically amplified answer to
the traditional acoustic blues of the Mississippi Delta.
The original front office and the shipping room where
all those epochal vinyls were sent out into the cultural
water supply are still there and completely intact.
I drive over to the Metro, a club on North Clark Street,
where any star of distinction has appeared. “The Metro