2 Things You Didn’t Know About Detroit!

It’s January 2024, and yet another Rust Belt city has bitten the dust in the NFL playoffs. First, it was the Cleveland Browns, next the Pittsburgh Steelers, then my Buffalo Bills, and finally the Detroit Lions.

(For the record, places like Green Bay, Philadelphia, and Baltimore have Rust Belt tendencies, but we won’t go there.)

As you know, given ComposeMD’s rusty location, such losing usually triggers compensatory pieces pointing out the cultural amenities in the Great Lakes region, both as a way to balance stories by the national media and as a way to make Great Lakers feel better about the sh*thole(s) we live in.

It’s Detroit’s turn.

 

The Standard Story

Naturally, you’re already familiar with the auto industry, population loss, bankruptcy, blah, blah, blah. Yes, the music scene did get some love, but Motown is old (and moved to LA forever ago), and Eminem didn’t exactly make you want to visit Detroit, did he?

 

But while all that was going on…

 

Techno

You got that right—the Motor City was basically giving birth to techno music.

In the early ’80s, as technology continued its ascent, electronic music began to move beyond its infancy. Kraftwerk was doing its thing in Germany, and something called house was finding its footing in Chicago. A few suburban Detroit kids—known as the Belleville Three—jumped into the mix, pumping out tunes with a pulsing and repetitive beat, a generous tempo, and limited vocals.

The result was Detroit techno, otherwise known as just techno, though enthusiasts may frown upon such oversimplification.

Today, techno is considered a genre of electronic dance music (along with house, trance, dubstep, and a bunch of other stuff) and is more popular in Europe than it is in the US. In other words, hoity-toity Europeans have been taking artistic cues from…Detroit?!

Here are a couple examples.

 

“Clear” by Cybotron

Cybotron was the brainchild of Juan Atkins, one of the Belleville Three and the so-called father of techno. This track is a great example of the group’s vision.

 

“Timeline” by Underground Resistance

Underground Resistance was part of a second wave of Detroit artists that in the early ’90s took the reins and helped secure the city’s reputation.

 

Pizza

Meanwhile, as New York and Chicago carried on about who had the better pizza, the two blowhards were overlooking the fact that their cardboard was starting to pale in comparison to the masterpieces being created near the western tip of Lake Erie.

The reference here is to Detroit-style pizza, and it’s better than anything you’ve ever had.

What’s the deal?

• A heavyweight rectangular pan
• A thick crust, though one that is airy throughout and crisp along the edges (see below)
• Wisconsin brick cheese (or mozzarella) that travels to the edge of the pan, where it caramelizes and leads to the scrumptious crisp
• The usual toppings and sauce, though the former sometimes under the cheese and the latter sometimes a post-baking addition

 

While this creation has been around for decades, its magic is a more recent export to the rest of the US, earning all sorts of converts.

Of course, only a trip to Techno City can provide the undisputed experience. And don’t forget your passport, because across the Detroit River lies Windsor, Ontario, the southernmost city in Canada and the not-to-be-outdone home of some of the finest pizza that North America has to offer.

 

So on behalf of Rust Belters everywhere, I’d like to say you’re welcome for being the cultural powerhouse that we are (and for always letting your football teams win).