In this week's Baltimore City Paper, Raven Baker gets to the bottom of the dueling music scenes in frienemy cities Baltimore and D.C. Baker's conclusion: Suck it D.C., Baltimore is totally stealing your game:

These days, though, it is Baltimore that burns bright. Much ink has been spilled in the past year or so, from obscure bloggers to national magazines such as Rolling Stone, geeking over local acts like Dan Deacon and Beach House, as well as the incubating city itself. While Washington made its name as an all-ages show city with a bent for benefit concerts, Baltimore's current heady allure of anything-goes experimentalism is often attributed to its diversity of venues, particularly the freak flag-flying warehouse party scene.

The bulk of the article focuses on the District's failings instead of Baltimore's successes. I wish Baker had gone a little deeper into the actual "underground" scene in Baltimore---there are freak flags flying over there!---but for the most part, we're expected to take her word for it. Snore.

BCP does offer up this awesome bonus: This shining beacon of deep of City Paper Best of D.C. favorite Chris Burns.

Photo by Laertes.