We don't exactly live in Pittsburgh because we hate it or anything, but, still, there were a lot of people scratching their heads around here this spring when Esquire magazine released its list of "Cities That Rock."

New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Detroit -- all the ones you'd expect were cast aside because the Esquire writer was "tired of hearing" about all those cities.

Coming in at No. 1 under these new criteria was little ol' Pittsburgh, so honored for attractions like Rusted Root, the Modey Lemon, The Clarks, Dave's Music Mine and Mr. Small's Theatr.

A few pop music writers from other cities reacted with derision, questioning the picks and even wondering if their place on the list --behind Pittsburgh -- was a dubious distinction.

We just shrugged and decided to try to live up to it. It wasn't always easy. Here are the ups and downs from 2004:

ANTI-FLAG VS. BUSH

If George W. Bush had run against Anti-Flag, those debates would not have been quite so civil.

In a heated election year, no one generated more political heat from the stage than the Pittsburgh band that anchored one of the main stages on the Vans Warped Tour.

If it didn't ultimately win the war against the re-election, Anti-Flag at least won some battles, turning thousands of young fans on to the band's fiery left-wing message.

"We are all the death of the George Bush Nation!" guitarist Chris #2 shouted from the Post-Gazette Pavilion stage on Aug. 5. "We are the birth of a new nation that puts people before money!" The fans responded by raising their fists and shouting along to Anti-Flag's trenchant anthems.

After Warped, Anti-Flag hit the road on the PunkVoter Rock Against Bush tour of the swing states.

"Traditionally," singer Justin Sane told the PG, "punk rock has been rooted in progressive leftist values. It's an activist movement. And I think a lot of fans of punk rock are not looking for solutions that are based in dropping bombs on other people's heads."

STAR SEARCH

On a nondescript Wednesday afternoon in mid-March, 15 bands loaded in and out of Club Cafe on the South Side, playing their best three songs in the hopes of signing with a new national label.

Pittsburgh was one of 10 cities on the unsigned-band tour of Pete Ganbarg, a former Sony/Epic A&R man who worked with the likes of Santana and Run-DMC and is launching a label called PureTone.

"Pittsburgh probably is No. 1 and No. 2 in terms of quality of music I've been getting," Ganbarg said at the time. "I got a wide spectrum of music, and it's really, really good."

Ganbarg started his search with audition tapes by more than 1,500 acts. He ended up signing only two -- Eric James and This Band Is Called the You, both from Pittsburgh.

DAVE AND THE CLARKS MAKE FIVE

If and when people do complain about Pittsburghers not supporting local music, that sentiment doesn't extend to The Clarks.

The band finished 2004 with three straight sold-out nights at the Rock Club. In June, there were two straight sell-outs at the Chevrolet Amphitheater.

In between, they worked on the national market. The Clarks made their first appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman" in August, becoming only the second Pittsburgh band, after Rusted Root, to play that gig.

The Clarks rocked through "Hell on Wheels," the single from the new album, "Fast Moving Cars," with singer Scott Blasey using the occasion to honor the opening guest by wearing a Farrah Fawcett T-shirt.

After 18 years in the band, bassist Greg Joseph was reserved about how big a break that late-night appearance would be. "If great things happen from it, it will be a bonus. We got smacked down how many times over the years? We're all used to waiting and seeing what happens."

KARL LEAVES

Philly claimed one of our best when Karl Mullen packed up after a long career in Pittsburgh.

The Dublin native had been a spark on the local scene since the late '70s, when he broke down doors with the pioneering punk bands the Cuts and Carsickness. Later, he went in a more rootsy direction with Ploughman's Lunch and a popular solo band.

Mullen -- always busy making records, making art, holding benefits, breaking in venues, melding rock with other arts -- got one foot in the establishment in the '90s as creative director at Rosebud and then Club Cafe.

This summer, he was lured to Philadelphia to book an eclectic mix of talent at World Cafe Live, a state-of-the-art showcase associated with the popular syndicated radio show.

It's a little less interesting here now.

SOCIETY BOYS

Ed Masley, pop music critic for the PG, became a critical darling himself this year with the release of "James at 35," the debut record by his new band, The Breakup Society, named in part for the demise of his longtime band The Frampton Brothers.

"James at 35" is a clever, power-pop concept record dealing with the narrator's coming of age from schoolboy crushes into deeper entanglements.

Harp magazine called it "a modern-day breakup/kiss-off classic in every sense of the term." PopMatters wrote that "Every damn song is a three-minute gem." And rock-critic emeritus Ira Robbins called the opening song, "Robin Zander," "an iconic blast of cultural genius."

The Breakup Society backed it with showcases at the International Pop Overthrow in Los Angeles and the CMJ Music Conference in New York and a memorable pairing with Fountains of Wayne at Hartwood Acres.

AND THEN THERE WERE 3 ...

As if they weren't dangerous enough as a guitar-drum duo, the Modey Lemon added a third member, keyboardist Jason Kirker, and then proceeded to shred every stage they played.

Early in the year, the Modey Lemon created a buzz at South-By-Southwest and signed a deal with Mute Worldwide (the UK home of Nick Cave, Depeche Mode and more), which reissued "Thunder + Lightning" to raves like this one in Mojo: "Like a chapter of Hell's Angels moving in next door to a suburban semi, Modey Lemon make the recent garage band look rather staid."

Late in the year, the Modey Lemon toured the UK with another buzz band, McLusky, played CMJ in New York and prepared a new album for release in spring 2005.

CLEAR CHANNEL GOES FUZZY

The dark clouds moved in for Clear Channel when, at the start of the summer season, it was learned that Norah Jones was down-scaling to theaters, Britney and Christina decided to stay home and Lollapalooza became the poster child of a troubled scene.

In the end, there just weren't enough Toby Keiths and Kenny Chesneys to salvage the Post-Gazette Pavilion season, not when Sure Things like Aerosmith, Kiss and Van Halen played to half houses.

In the fall, as part of a national corporate downsizing, Clear Channel let go of the man who helped build the concert industry in Pittsburgh, Rich Engler, and gave control to Cleveland's Belkin Productions.

Soon after the name change, Clear Channel put a halt on booking club shows in Pittsburgh and other cities where the company does not own a nightclub.

Until it's reversed, shows like The Killers and Steve Earle may be hard to come by.

SEVEN COLOR'S FUR

Seven Color Sky started the year having to change its name, from the Ordinary Boys, because of a discrepancy with a UK band with same name.

Later in the year, though, the band's fortune changed with an opening slot for the Psychedelic Furs at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. It led to Furs guitarist John Ashton producing four songs for Seven Color Sky at Soundscape Studios in McKeesport in September.

Asked how much of a Furs stamp he put on the band, guitarist Scott Bedellion said, "Well, I think we sound enough like the Furs in the first place, so it isn't that much of an issue."

UNIVERSAL PLUCKS A CHERRY

There was a big hype and then a few months of silence. But things were happening for Cherry Monroe, a band that features members from Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Ohio.

Last month, Rust Records, the band's label, announced that Cherry Monroe signed to Universal and would be its "flagship modern rock band" for 2005.

The glammy guitar band took shape when singer-songwriter Matt Toka, in town to record demos, hooked up with members of the Pittsburgh band Outbound.

Cherry Monroe's debut CD quickly sold out of its first pressing of 5,000 copies, generating major label interest. A new version of that debut is due in April.

END OF THE WORLD

The World was troubled for most of 2005, through no fault of Donald Rumsfeld.

This was The World in the Strip, the club that took the place of the dear, departed Rosebud and also was supposed to fill the gap left by the loss of Club Laga.

Joker Productions owner Jon Rinaldo, who had been booking Laga, made a valiant effort to make it as a club owner/promoter. But he was up against a crowded market, a downturn in the concert business and fears of violence on Smallman Street.

He plans to focus now on booking Club Cafe, a room that's way too small for many of the great shows he did at Laga and The World.

BOSS IN THE FLOOD

The team of Grushecky-Springsteen struck again, this time to raise money for the local victims of Hurricane Ivan.

The idea arose in November while Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen were playing a different benefit concert at the Stone Pony in New Jersey.

When Grushecky mentioned the devastation in towns like Carnegie, Springsteen offered to help. He joined the Houserockers and a cast of others, including Bill Deasy, B.E. Taylor, Donnie Iris and Jill West, for Flood Aid 2004 at Heinz Hall on Dec. 2.

After a brief acoustic set by Springsteen, he and the Houserockers went at it for two hours, pounding out songs like "Johnny 99," "Homestead," "Code of Silence" and, in a classic Pittsburgh moment, "Pumpin' Iron" on the Heinz Hall stage!

When all was said and done, the bands and fans raised a whopping $255,000.

OTHER BIG STORIES

Alisium, a band out of Ellwood City, charmed the judges and ran away with the 2005 Graffiti Rock Challenge at Mr. Small's. Then, the band seemed to just run away.

Much more present on the local scene was a brash youth movement that included the likes of Camera, Black Tie Revue and Comrad (who started the year as the Wynkataug Monks).

Where does royalty go to party in Western Pennsylvania? Well, British royalty would probably go to Nemacolin. Prince, the Minneapolis version, turned up at Shootz on the South Side after his thrilling Mellon Arena gig in April.

In August, The Cynics were on the roster, along with lesser lights like the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop and the Stooges and the Strokes, at Little Steven's International Underground Garage Rock Festival in New York.

Hip-hop pranksters Grand Buffet also made the rounds, doing an eight-week run with Sage Francis on the [Bleep] Clear Channel Tour, while also invading Europe and Canada.

A Norman Nardini tribute record hit the streets ... with Nardini re-recording all of his favorite Tigers songs.

A local ensemble led by former 11th Hour bassist Rod Schwartz made its way through The Clash's "London Calling" in 2003. This year, instead of moving on to "Sandinista," the band bashed out the first three Elvis Costello records (and then some) at the Rex.

The Blues Foundation announced that its Blues Club award would go to Ron Esser, the tireless owner and manager of Moondog's in Blawnox. It will be awarded during the International Blues Competition weekend in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 3.

Apparently not thinking much about that Esquire notice, Rusted Root nearly went the entire year without playing a gig ... but just couldn't do it. The Root reunited for a New Year's Eve bash at Station Square, a free treat for the tribe.