The article has since flown about social media, causing many a sad emoticon and, apparently, excessive vomiting. The jab is all the more painful because there is some truth to it–D.C. is damn expensive, and we don't have as many entrepreneurial opportunities or as much cultural cred as, say, New York. That's not exactly shocking news, since New York is the biggest city in the country, with more than 10 times the residents D.C. has. But it's still frustrating to hear so much haterade tossed at your town when all kinds of artists and musicians are busting ass to make some really cool stuff around here. Speaking as a proud local resident, musician, and arts journalist, I think Yglesias—while he's not totally off base—sold our fair city short.

First, there are bizarre references to the murder rate, which is both irrelevant and inconsistent; are cities with a lower murder rate "cooler?" If so, how does he square that with his argument that D.C. was most culturally important in the '80s, when the murder rate was significantly higher than today? And besides, does anyone think places he mentioned like Cincinnati or Kansas City are significantly cooler than D.C.?

But what really hit home for me was this line: “...if you're a semi-employed artist or guitar player it's much more expensive than Philadelphia or Baltimore and still smaller and less interesting than New York City, which has less than one-third our murder rate.” Again, I’m not sure how the murder rate is germane, but the cost-benefit ratio to the creative class is a pretty big deal. Speaking as a “semi-employed guitarist,” I have to admit he’s partially correct. If you’re in a rock band and simply need a hub from which to tour, both Baltimore and Philadelphia are generally more affordable than the District. They have cheaper rent, more artist studios, and more practice spaces.

But if you’re looking for a city with a decent grant system, a slew of great venues, a consistent dedication to making the arts accessible, and a strong sense of community, I would argue D.C. easily tops those two.

We have a gloriously free art culture here. Look at events from the Smithsonian hosting music & art shows with folks like John Davis and Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, to summer concerts series like Fort Reno, Fort Dupont, and the National Gallery’s Jazz in the Garden. There are the regular pay-what-you-can nights at theaters like Woolly Mammoth, the cheap or free boundary-pushing exhibits at Artisphere, and access to world-class art museums that don’t cost a dime. Those "large sums of money" that Yglesias says are handy for going out to dinner in D.C.? In New York, you'd be dropping them to visit the MOMA, instead.

D.C.'s cultural strength comes precisely because the city isn't in the business of manufacturing coolness. Unlike New York or L.A., we aren't drowning in ladder climbers and mercenaries. It's generally assumed you have to work another job as a musician/artist/actor in D.C., and there’s a certain spirit of collaboration that’s not fraught with opportunism. You can go to Fort Reno and fraternize with hardcore veterans like Ian MacKaye (and sometimes Henry Rollins) and expect a relaxed, supportive atmosphere. While there are musicians for hire in D.C., it’s equally common for people in the music scene to simply collaborate for art’s sake. There may not be the same networking opportunities in D.C., but as a result, there’s not the kind of cut-throat competition and careerism.

The DIY, punk rock spirit in D.C. still supports bands without managers, fosters affordable shows, and encourages community activism. Is there a New York equivalent to Positive Force? Since 1984, the activist collective has and continues to host benefit shows for local charities, featuring big-name acts like Ted Leo and Titus Andronicus alongside myriad locals. Are there many prominent all-ages venues in New York? 9:30 Club is consistently ranked among the best clubs in the nation and doesn’t require patrons to be of drinking age (nor do the Black Cat or the Rock and Roll Hotel).

So sure, if you’re a penniless artist or musician looking for endless dirt-cheap housing options in non-gentrified areas, Philadelphia or Baltimore is probably a better bet. If you’re willing to hunt for an affordable spot (there are still a few left), though, D.C. has a slew of cultural benefits, a grassroots music community, very little pretense, and a long history of creative success.

Of course, we also have more than our fair share of wonks writing contrarian pieces for the Internet. But hey, no city's perfect.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

MUSIC

It's a pretty crazy weekend! Terrifying art-noise act Indian Jewelry plays with two locals: The ex-Apes band Heavy Breathing and electro-pop singer Painted Face, who makes anthems worthy of your favorite '80s fantasy film. Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Red Door. $10.

Post-hardcore kids: J. Robbins plays an acoustic set covering material from his many bands—Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Channels, Office of Future Plans. Headlining is BELLS>, the instrumental band featuring ex-Jawbox drummer Zach Barocas. Friday at 9 p.m. at Red Palace. $8.

Saturday's sold out show at the Black Cat Backstage was the last night of Ted Leo's current solo tour, and Leo seemed downright giddy. Leo regaled the audience with Paul Stanley quotes about concert participation, name-checked all of the cool bands who had opened for him this tour, led the crowd in an enthusiastic acoustic guitar-led singalong, and covered "Fisherman's Blues" by The Waterboys in the encore.

By the way, if you'd heard the rumor that Ted Leo was supposed to join Neko Case as her special guest at her Friday Black Cat show, you heard correct, though Leo didn't make it. "We'd been talking about it via Twitter," he told me Saturday, "but my show ran late." (Leo had played Fredricksburg, Va., that night.)

And, thanks to seeing the opening act, I discovered a new great musical find not once, but twice this weekend. Boston-based singer-songwriter Drew O'Doherty, who'd played guitar in The Ivory Coast as well as in Leo's Pharmacists for a spell, kicked off the evening. O'Doherty's track "You'll Believe a Man Can Fly," which was on the benefit record for J. Robbins's son, For Callum is a must-hear.

Ted Leo

Drew O'Doherty

(More photos from both sets can be found here.)

D.C. was well-represented this year at South by Southwest, with a ton of local bands present at showcases like DC Does TX and others. Amid the massive festival's insanity, I caught a sampling of D.C. talent, from These United States and Wild Flag (featuring Mary Timony) to Ted Leo (hey, he lived here for a while) and Bad Brains. Shooting the Brains' whole set, without injuring myself or my Nikon as a mosh pit raged around me, will long remain an incredible (albeit slightly scary) memory.

These United States

Wild Flag

Ted Leo

Bad Brains

Additional photos from these sets, as well as for various other SXSW bands like The Kills, Duran Duran, and Wanda Jackson can be found here over the next couple of days.

The "Moves" video, directed by Tom Scharpling of the New Jersey freeform station WFMU, runs as an extended trailer for an exaggerated biopic of the Vancouver supergroup. Mountain Goats and Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster, wearing a shockingly red wig, stars as an East Village troubadour incarnation of Newman—"the man who challenged destiny" as the faux intertitles suggest. The humor writer Julie Klausner stands in for Neko Case, while John Collins and Blaine Thurier are replaced by Horatio Sanz and Wyatt Cenac.

Two casting moves stand above the rest: Kevin Corrigan, an actor who appears as frequently in independent cinema as he does the Judd Apatow universe, gets the role of Dan Bejar; backup singer Kathryn Calder is played by—wait for it—Ted Leo in drag and a pageboy haircut.

The video portends to tell "the rise and rise" of the band, albeit a violent and coked-out version of history. As Calder, Leo starts in the background toting an accordion, but soon enough gets to show his chops with a panicky outburst as the band escapes an anti-Canadian lynch mob led by Cenac's fellow Daily Show correspondent John Oliver, a champagne toast to Sanz and Cenac basking in a mountain of blow (with Cenac's Thurier topping a slice of pizza with more than a dusting), a spiked-heel assault on a pushy record executive played by John Hodgman, and a tender seduction by a fully-Bieberized incarnation of Todd Fancey.

The New Pornographers are far from the first band to lampoon the excesses of musical success in a video and the piece for "Moves" is as much about the celebrity-spotting as it is about the satire. After all, the first 15 seconds are a tease for a nonexistent, sub-Apatovian comedy starring Paul Rudd and Bill Hader great with children. At least one hopes Expectant Dads is a ruse; it does have a website of its own.

But back to Leo, whose brilliant turn as Calder should go down as the indie-rock response to Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There. Though the actors playing the band are continuously trying to outdo one another, this video quickly becomes Leo-as-Calder's show. Maybe because it's easy to fixate on a drag act; maybe because Leo hyped the video's quiet rollout last night on his Twitter account; or maybe because Leo throws himself into his role with the most brio. Cocaine jokes are easy, freaking out in the passenger seat while escaping an anti-Canadian riot led by an pompous Englishman is uncommon.

I considered making a local-only list, because so much killer D.C. music came out this year, but it's nice to see overlooked locals alongside long-time indie staples. So here, in alphabetical order, are my top 10 favorite get-your-ass-out-of-bed, crank-up-your-shitty-stereo, embrace-the-rock-and-roll songs from 2010.

Aloha – Moonless March

Did you know mallet instruments make for great prog-rock songs? Maybe. But did you know said prog rock song can actually be catchy and not overwrought? Probably not. Aloha takes their complex sound and boils it down to a killer single propelled by some of Cale Parks' most ferocious drumming to date.

Bodycop – Don't Move

What waste-ridden swamp spawned Bodycop? Their sludgy, destroyed guitars, and the twisted, otherworldly vocals are disturbing in the best way. I loved this when it first came out and I'm still not over it. If ever I worried that D.C. music lost its danger, this track eased my fears.

Grinderman – Heathen Child

Something is wrong with Nick Cave. I don't know what it is, and I don't know why he constantly plumbs the depths of human depravity for his songs, but I hope he never gets fixed. Grinderman is as raw as you could hope for, and "Heathen Child" is pure evil.

Hume – Grip

They're one of the best rock bands to come out of D.C. in ages, and Hume's newest LP is their best yet. While some of Penumbra's deep cuts get lost in their own extended universes, "Grip" is straight-up on fire from start to finish. The ultra-tight rhythmic change-ups hearken back to a history of post-punk, but Britt's surprisingly gentle and melodic vocals give the band a sound entirely its own.

Liars – Scarecrows On A Killer Slant

This song is terrifying. When I interviewed Liars this year, frontman Angus Andrew said he really "went for it" on this album, and he admitted there were even moments where he frightened himself with what came out. It shows. The music falls somewhere between Throbbing Gristle, Black Flag, and Nine Inch Nails, but it's got a severe creepiness all its own.

Medications – Home Is Where We Are

I love this band. Hell, I once hired Devin to help my band make a record. Does that make me biased? I don't care. This track from their very excellent Completely Removed combines the best of their technical badassery with a melody that shoves its ovarian tubes into your mouth and lays eggs in your skull.

Nice Nice – One Hit

Two dudes and a bunch of crazy-ass loops never sounded so good. This highly repetitive track is jarring and brilliant in equal measure. Cascading arhythmic weirdness atop an angrily simple beat that builds and falls apart. It's on the outer fringes of rock and roll, but it's sure as hell heavy.

Spoon – Mystery Zone

After so many years of pop perfectionism, 2010 marked Spoon's first self-produced album. They retain their trademarked minimalism and add a number of intentional "mistakes," often chopping off vocals mid-phrase. The bass in "Mystery Zone" stays on one note for almost the entirety of the song, and the drum "solo" doesn't vary a lick from the verse. The end of the song isn't even an ending, it just cuts off abruptly. Yet, somehow it all comes together with Britt Daniel's genius melodic sensibility to demand repeated listens.

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists – The Mighty Sparrow

The latest Ted Leo LP is nothing new from the man. Yet, it's fast becoming my favorite album in his catalog. Why? Because every song is raw and without pretense. It's a fast-moving, classic-sounding record. "The Mighty Sparrow" is a fitting opener that gets my ass in gear every time I put it on.

Titus Andronicus – A More Perfect Union

A concept record about the civil war complete with readings interspersed throughout sounds overly academic, but Titus Andronicus pull it off. This, the opening track, rocks harder than most punk bands could ever hope, and with a hell of a lot of substance to back it up. It's a rare and bold achievement, with enough grit to keep me coming back for more.

What constitutes a good cover? Over the last five months, the endearingly opinionated commentariat over at The Onion’s A.V. Club have publicly debated their merits and pitfalls below each installment of Undercover, its 25-week web series. The premise: Bands cram into a quaintly claustrophobic studio to perform selections from a list of preselected A.V. Club favorites that range from the obvious (Journey, The Rolling Stones) to the relatively obscure (The Wedding Present, Archers of Loaf). The later the band participates, the fewer choices it has. Behind the project is A.V. Club editor Josh Modell, a man whose labor of love saddled him with the unenviable task of navigating the volatile schedules (and temperaments) of indie-rock bands. Modell answered a few of Arts Desk’s questions via email as the series draws to a close, discussing the possibility of another season, Jeff Tweedy's nonparticipation, and the (potentially) misunderstood genius of Fall Out Boy.

Talk a little about the selection of the songs for Undercover. The focus on new "classics" made the series such a unique undertaking. Was there a veto process involving the AV club staff?

The criteria were really loose and simple: We wanted songs that we liked and/or thought would make fun covers, and that hadn't been covered a ton of times before. We originally had a list of 50, which was how many I thought we'd do, but that turned out to be a little overambitious. I'm not sure I agree that the focus was on "new classics," though there were certainly some of those (like "Two-Headed Boy"). It turned out, in my mind, to be a nice mixture of familiar songs with a few surprises and deeper cuts. One that I chickened out on was "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" by Information Society. I'm still sort of on the fence about it, because we don't want Undercover to be parodies or gimmicky, and it might be tough to take that song seriously. Some others on the short list included "If I Can't Change Your Mind" by Sugar and "The Bitterest Pill" by The Jam. Maybe those will make it into next year's series, assuming we do one.

Were there any bands that you absolutely wanted to involve when you first conceived of the project? Did anyone agree that never made it in?

I approached probably ten bands that said no, and those were mostly for scheduling reasons. Since we shoot these at our office in Chicago, we're at the mercy of touring-band schedules. Sometimes they'll have a couple of hours to spare, other times it just won't work. The Antlers couldn't do it when they came through in March, but were able to when they came back through in April, for example. Nobody ever got as far as agreeing to do it and then backing out. As far people who turned us down, the only one I'll mention is Jeff Tweedy. Jeff, it's only a 10-minute drive from your house!

Jeff Tweedy is officially on notice. You made mention of "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" as an example of a cover that might seem like a novelty. What makes for a good cover? Were there any improbable pairings that turned out better than expected?

It's tough to say what will make a good cover. For purposes of this series, it seems to be songs that people are already pretty familiar with, like Hall and  Oates' "One On One." But I think somebody could do a great cover of "What's On Your Mind" if they, ahem, set their minds to it. I was curious about who would tackle "Paper Planes" and what they'd do with it, and I think The Clientele's version of it—which sort of wussifies it without making it a joke at all—was amazing. On the other hand, you can also have a great band—like Ted Leo & The Pharmacists—do a really straight-up cover and it'll turn out great. So maybe it's luck, or magic. Maybe a more direct answer to this question would be an interesting band plus an interesting song will make a great cover. One idea at the beginning was that the "silly" songs (like "We Built This City" and "Kokomo") would present challenges to bands, and that they'd be picked much later. That didn't turn out to be the case.

The final three selections were by Superchunk, R.E.M., and Billy Squier. What observations are there to draw from the last songs standing?

Only that what I imagined would happen—the “silly” songs be chosen last—didn't really happen. The R.E.M. song is such a big one, and would seem a relatively easy choice, but there it is in the final three. Superchunk I figured would be a tougher sell, because I think it takes a specific type of band to do it justice. Billy Squier was sort of a wild card in my mind, and I guess I'm not surprised it lingered on the list for so long. I bet if we had picked "The Stroke" instead, it would have been chosen sooner.

How far in advance did bands have to pick the songs/ practice before coming into the studio? It seems like some had a real enthusiasm for the idea whereas others seemed downright confused.

Bands would generally pick the song 3-4 weeks before they'd come in to play it, so they had plenty of time to practice it if they wanted to. Some clearly practiced a lot, while others kinda winged it. I think both approaches yielded some great results. Owen Pallett told us he hadn't really prepared his song (Guided By Voices' "Game Of Pricks") at all, yet it sounded fantastic. Wye Oak had played their song (The Kinks' "Strangers") at a bunch of shows leading up to the taping here, so they were all set.

You mentioned that Undercover might return next year. Having gone through it once, would you do differently next time around?

A few things. I think we learned something about song selection—what seems to work and what doesn't. I think in general we'll probably push more for full-band setups over acoustics (though Frightened Rabbit and Clem Snide were two of my favorites, and those were acoustic). There are some sound things we can work on, like providing in-ear monitors for bands that are going to play loud. And I think we're going to try and involve the readers in choosing the songs next year. Maybe sports-style brackets and eliminations.

"What works" in terms of the song selection? Songs that people are more familiar with?

I think the best answer is just that we consider it a good song, regardless of genre/era, etc, and probably one that people are at least passingly familiar with.

Is the A.V. Club right or the world wrong in their impression of Fall Out Boy?

I can't really answer that, because I'm woefully uneducated about Fall Out Boy. I know "Sugar, We're Going Down Swinging," and some vague tabloid-y stuff about Pete Wentz, but I actually don't know much about their music. There are just a few vocal fans at The A.V. Club. That said, Patrick Stump was an incredibly nice guy, and I thought he turned in an amazingly soulful version of one of my favorite songs of all time!

Enough already. Who was your favorite?

I honestly don't know. I am truly fond of pretty much all of them, and they're all tied to the process of shooting them as well—the bands were all really cool and patient and nice. Everybody gets an A+, just like in real life.