Where aspiring hipsters might migrate to New York, Los Angeles, or Austin in hopes of being the next big thing, Philly artists have remained for one reason- it's roots as a diverse socio-economical and cultural hotbed.

If you want peppy, neon-splashed DIY brat-punk, turn an ear toward LA.

Slacker-cool art-school dropouts playing Velvet Underground/Wire-worshipping post-punk? Brooklyn, baby.

Sugary-sweet, kind of somber pop tunes that can teach you a thing or two about the world? You’ll find that in the current Swedish invasion.

If you want some tunes that don’t fit so neatly in a buzz-laden description, look to the City of Brotherly Love. There’s stuff brewing in the gritty city that’s garnering the most attention it’s seen since the mid-’90s “Psychedelphia” explosion.

The resulting music scene is eclectic; pure. Carny-swamp-rockers Man Man have moved up and out, but Dr. Dog, The Teeth, Pissed Jeans, Bitter Bitter Weeks, The Capitol Years, The Photon Band (veterans of the aforementioned “Psychedelphia” scene), Spank Rock, Clockcleaner, and producer-DJ Diplo all remain Philly-based.

There are two new crews coming through that are a definite must see on the scene.  Check 'em out:

The YMD Excuse Me This Is The Yah Mos Def
This party-rap duo makes sample-based rhymes that are influenced as much by punk as hop-hop. Laying down ten tracks over hardcore and punk favorites from their youth, the boys known as Distro and B. Awesome sample everyone from Bikini Kill and Minor Threat to Cap’n Jazz. Atop this musical foundation is a cultural rooting of their hometown (“New Direction” gives a shout-out to nearly every neighborhood in Philadelphia). Glorious and spastic in a way that’s equal parts Girl Talk and now-defunct chaos-rockers Black Eyes. Keeping it local, they signed to May Pal God Records, the label run by DJ Jon Solomon (of Princeton’s renowned WPRB), after he heard their self-released efforts. [My Pal God, www.mypalgodrecords.com]

J. Fox God Gave Us A Home But He Didn’t Say Where
In a typical sense of Philly loyalty and community, Daniel Weisberg, Joey DeLorenzo, and Justin Miller have known each other since sixth grade. Their brand of simplistic indie-punk applies a lo-fi, fundamental filter of loose cohesion to a variety of influences. Taking the core elements of guitar, drums, bass, and vocals, each instrument is used to its fullest and most interesting capacity. No pretense or superfluous elements here. Imagine the meandering guitar riffs and incongruous lyrics of early Modest Mouse, the prominent bass lines of punk rock, and the tinny thrash-up drums of Gang of Four, all mixed up in the Black Lips’ mode of straight-forward garage rock. Add a lo-fi, Guided By Voices-indebted sense of fuzz and two varied but complimentary vocalists (Weisberg and Miller) and you’ll this trio mixes things up with a hodge-podge understanding only Philadelphia could produce. [Snyder Panthers, www.jfoxtheband.com]