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Fri 15 Apr, 2005 02:54 pm
They are playing Billy Joel's "Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)" on the classic rock station. Surprisingly, it sounds damn good to me, even though old Billy Joel songs almost all sound like hackneyed **** to me usually.
Anyway, it got me thinking about how many songs there are about NYC. There must be a ton, right?
If you were making a CD of NYC songs, what would you put on it?
I'd have about a dozen versions of Birdland.
Mel Torme's New York c.d's pretty wonderful. hmmm, I should probably listen to it to get me in the New York mood.
"The Only Living Boy in New York" - Simon and Garfunkle
"Fairytale of New York" - The Pouges
"All the Critics Love You in New York" -- Prince
"The Vampires of New York" -- Marcy Playground
Oh, I forgot about that Prince song. That's a really cool weird song.
EhBeth, Birdland? Is that actually about NYC? How so?
Tom Wait's got to have a song on NYC.
Got to have something by Lou Reed - maybe 'Waiting for the Man' by the Velvet underground. It's not necessarily about New York though, it's just set in New York - does that count? I can think of lots of songs set in New York.
Sinatra's New York, New York
Spring in Manhattan - Tony Bennet
Oh Lou Reed for sure. How about...
New York City is the place where
They say "Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side"
Do da doo da doo da doo
dagmaraka wrote:Tom Wait's got to have a song on NYC.
The downtown trains are full
With all those Brooklyn girls
They try so hard to break out of their little worlds
You wave your hand and they scatter like crows
They have nothing that will ever capture your heart
They're just thorns without the rose
Be careful of them in the dark
also,
I'll tip the newsboy
I'll get a shine
I'll ride this dream
to the end of the line
I'm goin places
I'll take a ride
Up to the Riverside
I'll take NY
I'll let it happen
I'll pop the cork
tear off the wrappin'
I'll make a splash on the Hudson
that's how I will arrive
Hey, do you have two tens for a five?
(cav would've known...)
and velvet underground -- waiting for the (my?) man -- quintessential new york song...
There's the one with Eva Gabor -
New York is where I'd rather stay
I get alergic smelling hay . . .
you...
must take the a-train...
if you...
want to go to sugar hill in harlem.
New York, New York
Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
From the Movie: On The Town 1949
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town!
The Bronx is up and the Battery's down
The people ride in a hole in the ground,
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town!
(musical interlude)
The famous places to visit are so many,
So the guys would say,
I know my grandpa wouldn't miss any in just one day
Gotta see the whole town,
From Yonkers on down to the bay, in just one day.
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town,
The Bronx up and the Battery's down,
The people ride in a hole in the ground,
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town
(musical interlude)
We sailed the seas and played a bit of poker way in Mandalay,
We've walked the streets till the night was over,
And we can safely say, the most fabulous sight is New York
In the light of day, our only day.
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town,
The Bronx is up and the Battery's down,
The people ride in a hole in the ground,
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town
Manhattan women are all dressed in satin, so the fellows say,
There's just one thing necessary in Manhattan,
When you just have one day,
Gotta pick up a date, maybe seven or eight,
By your way, in just one day.
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town,
The Bronx is up and the Battery's down,
The people ride in a hole in the ground,
New York, New York, it's a wonderful town.
I thought there was more to it but no,
You must take the A -Train
To go to sugar hill way up in Harlem
If you miss the A -Train
You'll find you missed the quickest way to Harlem
Hurry - get on now it's coming
Listen - to these rails a-humming - all board
get on the A -Train
Soon You will be on sugar hill in Harlem
Try saying those words without the beat... can't do it can you?
And from the singing of Peter Seegar:
Cloudy in the East, Looks like rain
spent my last nickel on a subway train
it's new york city, its new york city
its new york city, really going to blow your mind.
Gal walked up to Woody, said would he, should he?
Woody said he would but the gal said could'he
it's new york city, in new york city
really going to blow your mind.
http://www.birdlandjazz.com/main.html
and then from Ken Burns Jazz documentary
Quote:The post-war years saw the gradual decline of 52nd Street neighborhood. Where Sidney Bechet and Lennie Tristano once played was soon the home of strippers. Jazz musicians went from being featured attractions to poorly paid accompanists. The Royal Roost was one of a few clubs that established themselves a few blocks southwest of 52nd Street, but with the exception of the legendary Birdland (named after Charlie Parker), most of them vanished by the time Elvis Presley came north. Birdland opened in late 1949, with a bill that included its namesake, Lester Young, Max Kaminsky and Tristano.
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/places/places_new_york.htm
I wonder if Letty ever sang here.
boomerang wrote:Oh Lou Reed for sure. How about...
New York City is the place where
They say "Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side"
Do da doo da doo da doo
Yes! Good choice.
I think we should also add 'An Open Letter to NYC' by the Beasties Boys, and 'We've Been Had' by the Walkmen - probably the best New York band at the moment...
"See me age 19 with some dumb haircut from nineteen-
Sixty, move into New York
City, live with my friends there we're all
Taking the same steps.
They're foolish now."
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