New York Romance

New York Romance

I have an interesting relationship with the five boroughs that lie within New York City. All five of them have drastic differences that separate them from each other, and the stories I hold from each borough are vastly different, as well. I’m fond of the Queens region because I’m technically a Queens baby (for only a month before moving to the Suburbs of Long Island, but that could be overlooked). The Brooklyn area holds a special place in my heart after endless thrifting trips, aimless bouts of roaming around nameless neighborhoods after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and discovering that I could fall in love with the red velvet cake from the Cake Man. I have to respect the Bronx, since I have fond memories from my childhood going to my Nana’s house and having authentically Italian meatballs and bakery goods. While Staten Island gets a bad rep for being the birthing place of guidos, the area is a highly decent area that I should really explore more in-depth one of these days. Finally, I could go on about Manhattan. I’ll choose not to ramble, but living here has, in some way, helped me mature and made me realize what kind of person I really am.

Being an avid music lover, I find elements in certain songs that put me in a New York state of mind and remind me of the life that I’m living here. Certain beats, instruments, lyrics, and vocals bring me onto the streets of the city and enhance the overall experience of being here and just existing. Without further ado, here is my top three songs based around my beloved city.

Coney Island Baby – Lou Reed – Notorious for writing some of modern music history’s bleaker songs, Lou Reed released this song off of his solo debut in 1976 and highlighted his reflective side. The song is a reaffirmation of life of sorts, after all of the treacherous events that Reed has gone through during his lifetime. While he is contemplating every little aspect of life, the background could be mistake for the eerie serenity of Coney Island at night. He even compares his love for a transvestite named Rachel to how much he is infatuated with Coney Island. As trashy and nostalgic as the place seems in the daytime, one cannot help but fall in love with the place, regardless of time of day.

Harlem – Bill Withers – Back in the 1960’s and 70’s when Upper Manhattan was known for the explosion of Motown and soul music, Bill Withers was an icon for putting real heart into his verses. Withers even had the power to add an extra kick to a song simply about how he and those around him lived their lives up in the misunderstood neighborhood of Harlem. The main message he tries to convey in his classic song is that while one’s personal situation may not be all that great, he or she could still have a good time. Extreme heat or cold, lack of food, or confronting lying preacher men every day doesn’t have to stop a person when he or she can look forward to dancing with their friends and acquaintances until the wee hours of the morning.

New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down – LCD Soundsystem – Every person can grow disappointed with his or her own residency after a while. Residents of New York City are no exception. LCD Soundsystem puts the culture of New York into perspective and tries to come to the conclusion as to why the city is letting them down. Closely reading the lyrics, the average man can easily be disappointed with the ‘good life’ found in the five boroughs. They expect to live a life such as Carrie Bradshaw or the cast of Friends, but discover anything but when actually experiencing the city for themselves. People expect all the boroughs to be like glamorous Manhattan, but that is far from being true. Even if the common person does reside in Manhattan, they have to work their butts off to get what they want. Even when one gets what he or she wants, they will discover that the city doesn’t have the same diverse culture like it used to. The city isn’t as gritty as it was decades prior, and it seems like the majority of the region is trying to cater to the upper class, which can easily get a person down very quickly. Despite all of the disappointments found all about, there are a few glimmers of hope in the strangest places. They can discover the beauty of Battery Park in the middle of the night, or could stumble upon a hole-in-the-wall Australian meat pie joint in Alphabet City and eat the best pulled pork meat pie outside of Australia, or could perhaps find an epic outdoor book sale and buy half a library for fifty dollars. Moments such as this keep the doubtful around for a little while longer, and LCD Soundsystem know this holds true for aplenty of skeptics.