Best song about N.Y. and/or R.E.

West end girls. Pet shop boys. I know I know.... The other side of pond, but damn it it always makes me think of a red head in grammar school. :)

Nice, w67th.! It does not have to be an American Band.

"Up the Ladder to the Roof" is a great one. I would also say "Take the A train". I've always liked "Across 110th Street" as well. Although imagine what the lyrics would be for that one today. And I have to give it up a little to Jay-Z for contributing (the far superior) "Brooklyn Go Hard" and the ubiquitous "Empire State of Mind" all in one year.

Take the A train takes first prize.
In terms of lyrics that describe the housing melt-down, have to go with David Byrne and the Talking Heads.

Comden & Green: http://www.metrolyrics.com/what-a-waste-lyrics-wonderful-town.html

My favorite is the Pogues' Fairytale of New York. Other great songs that come to mind: Chelsea Hotel (Cohen), 53rd & 3rd (Ramones), The Boxer (Simon) & of course New York, New York - Frank not Liza - after a Yankee WS win.

Riversider, do you mean specifically Psycho Killer ("I hate people when they're not polite")?

Cole Porter: http://www.happentolikeny.org/lyrics.php

One of my recent favorites - The History of Punk on the Lower East Side by Jeff Lewis. :)

And, of course, there's always "The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song" by Jeffrey Lewis

Walk On The Wild Side (Lou Reed) and Shattered (Rolling Stones).

I picked up in an offbeat store Merle Saunders "solo piano " many years ago. I loved the album. I looked him up on AOL (it was a long time ago..like 98 or something) and sent him an email to tell him that and he replied immediately with a nice note. Sorry to see he died.

anyway...i'll vote for postively fourth street...

or Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

I think RS is referring to "Burning down the house"

mimi, I'm talking about the subtext.

"Downtown", popularized by (British?) Petula Clark, was written about NY. Downtown, where all the life is low.

I don't know if it is the same song Riversider is thinking of, but....I would say Talking Heads - "Don't Worry About the Government"
Has lyrics like "I pick the building that I want to live in" & "My building has every convenience"

moby south side feat gwen stefani

jenny from the block . j.lo

i am surprised and grateful that no one has mentioned billy joel.

You folks are good at this list.
I also love "An Englishman In New York" (Sting)

And for a reference to the craziest it happened in N.Y.C. story: "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" (REM, M.Stipe).

"Native New Yorker" (can't recall who put that out).
"Miss You" (The Stones)
"New York State Of Mind" (Billy Joel)
"59th Street Bridge Song" aka: Feelin' Groovy (Paul Simon) "Me And Julio" (P.S., again)
"Life During Wartime" (Talking Heads, some subtext, in that one)
"42nd Street" (showtunes category)
"Movin'On Up" (T.V. show theme song category)
"Coney Island Baby" (an oldie but goody)
"Under The Boardwalk" (another o.b.g.)
"Tenth Ave. Freezeout" ( Bruuuce ! )

Oh, sorry jasonkyle. You and Tony Bourdain.

I'm Waiting for the Man (Velvet Underground)

Aboutready: You never cease to surprise me!

Truth...Native New Yorker was recorded by Odyssey, a dictionary definition "one hit wonder". It is on the list of songs to be played at my funeral.

Two songs that I have always loved about NYC are Elton John's "Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters" and Billy Joel's "Miami 2017" (That song with its reference to "the mighty skyline fell" and "the boats were waiting at the battery" not long after 9/11 was freaky to hear and also for Billy Joel who said that he wrote it in 1974 as pure fantasy and "never in a thousand years" to play.). Both offer a true picture of into the mindset of those who lived (thrived, loved) through the so called "Dark Days" of NYC. They are on the funeral list too...

There are more..I have a several "NYC playlists" I need to check.

PJ Harvey's prescient "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" - the whole darn record.

Love this thread! I was born in Queens, so of course anything by the Ramones.
One of my favorite Ramones songs "We're a Happy Family" with the classic line "Sitting here in Queens, eating refried beans.. "

David Peel "We are from the Lower East Side...We don't give a damn if we live or if we die"...

That was a follow up to "Have a Marijuana"

Lou Reed's Rock & Roll "Then one fine morning she turned on a New York station she couldn't believe what she heard at all. She started dancing to that fine, fine music...Her life was saved by Rock and Roll."
Amen.

@lizyank The New York station was supposedly referring to Vin Scelsa's old show on WNEW. How I miss it!!

I know this thread isn't about radio, but it is about NY,and NY music, and this subject is dear to me, so I just want to say long live NYC RADIO!!!
KRock, WNEW, and WBAI (BAI is still on the air) are/were the best radio stations to exist in my opinion. Vin Scelsa, Scott Muni (RIP), The GREAT Alison Steele aka The Nitebird (RIP), Bob Fass (you can still hear him Thursday nights on WBAI at midnight) are/were true NYC (unfortunately under-appreciated) legends.

Wow every one missed this classic "New York" by the Sex Pistols Never saw them play live, but caught Sid at Max's and used to see him and Nancy at the donut shop on 23rd and (7th?).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEE4xxRxJ6A

Chinese Rocks by Johnny Thunders: buying heroin in the EV

Seconding Elton John's "Mona Lisa's and Madhatters"...

"..and I thank the lord, for the people I have found..."

anything by the NY Dolls

Catholic Boy, People Who Died. Jim Carroll.

Subway Train. New York Dolls.

Dwell, can't believe I didnt think of Chinese Rocks. Yes.

People Who Died...great one AR

since someone said musicals are allowed...(and to satisfy you know who)....how about west side story...

that was kinda half-kiddding; i honestly feel bob dylan has to win; no songwriter ever looked cooler walking the streets of nyc; no musician ever wrote a better gritty-life-lived-thrilled-to-be-in-nyc-cause-i-came-from-somewhere-else book than bob ('chronicles")

Noooooooo! Bob Dylan can't win! It has to be something Ramones! :) and RIP Jim Carroll. And... I'll tell you when downtown started to suck, it was when Thurston and Kim moved out.

Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.
And of course, all of West Side Story is about New York.
But my pick would be "On Broadway" by George Benson.

I was also going to say "on broadway" g benson version ....

(but benson didn't write it)

also, I love "Autumn in New York"

Ah! I have to post again to include one of my all-time favorite albums which is all about NYC - The Beastie Boys' "Paul's Boutique". Classic!

"14th Street" by Rufus Wainwright (Okeh, I've never heard this song, or heard of it even, and I was too lazy to look up the lyrics, and in fact I'm not sure if I've ever heard any song by him, but how could I pass up a Rufus-14th Street connection?)

Oh, yeah, and speaking of 14th Street there's that Funky but Chic number from what's his name. And apparently "Hello Dolly" is about 14th Street too.

"Man in a Hat" by the Klezmatics?

In a sub category, best song about Brooklyn gentrification: Life in a Blender's "What Happened to Smith?"
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE3D81330F930A35755C0A9619C8B63

paul simon "a heart in new york" comes to mind

You all keep 'em rolling in !

I've got another music in N.Y.C. list topic , coming up next.

Avery will be so happy!

Very fun thread. I will add one (just heard Lincoln Jazz Orchestra do this live a couple of weeks ago):
Count Basie's 7th Avenue Express.

Joni Mitchell's Chelsea Morning. Or is that the wrong Chelsea. I always think of it as our Chelsea when I hear it...

Good call,jacknyfrost!
Speaking of Joni: "Big Yellow Taxi" (They paved paradise and put up a parking lot...)

Glamma...I always loved "The Only Living Boy In New York" from the Bridge Over Trouble Water album, which I think was the last Simon and Garfunkle collaboration (before the endless renunions).

Funny, when I first heard CHelsea morning (albeit in the Stone...or at least certainly the 33 1/3 age) I totally didn't get it because Chelsea was a low income, higher crime neighborhood that California blond singer songwriters were not likely to be familiar with (the East Village or LES had the "artiste/hip/hippie vibe but there was none of that about Chelsea). Someone explained to me that there was a Chelsea in London and the song made a lot more sense. I could be wrong but as someone who went to school in Chelsea in the 70s, I'm going to guess she's talking about London.

Always complicating matters, there's a Chelsea in Staten Island.

Ooh aah ooh ahh cool cool Kitty ...

Joni got around.

I think you are right lizyank. I still like to think of it as our Chelsea though because from same-ish time frame we have Leonard Cohen Chelsea Hotel (as mentioned above) as well as Dylan line in Sara, "Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel, Writin' 'Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' for you."
Dylan gets my cumulative vote by the way....

hillary named her daughter after the song...

O.K. There is a lot of lyric action, about waking up in various areas of London.
Pete Townshend woke up in a Soho doorway.
Lennon/Macca woke up, fell outta' bed.
England/London have some great songs. The best are by Ray Davies. (and, not because I know and love him; and he will be reading this.)

My favorite non-Brit is "Werewolves of London", by that excitable boy; Warren Zevon. He wrote great songs, bless his dear, departed heart. "Send lawyers, guns and money -- the shit has hit the fan".

More waking up: "When I awoke, the Dire wolf..." (Grateful Dead, "Dire Wolf)

"Wake up, little Susie".

I just want to say, here and now: Somebody just posted a comment on that OBBP string:

"It aint me, babe" (Dylan)

"Who put the blame on me?" ("The Worst", Keith Richards )

I freaking stand corrected. Shows how much you know in Junior High School! How did we ever live before Wikipedia...

"Chelsea Morning" is a song written by Joni Mitchell. The two best known versions are arguably Mitchell's own recording of the song, which appeared on her 1969 album Clouds, and Judy Collins' recording, which she released as a single during the summer of 1969[2].

"Chelsea Morning" was actually written before the release of her first album, but was not recorded by Mitchell until Clouds, partly because it had already been released by other artists. Collins recorded her version during the 1968 sessions for Who Knows Where the Time Goes (though the song did not appear on that album).

The song was inspired by Mitchell's room in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The inspiration for the first verse comes partly from the distinct décor of her apartment. While in Philadelphia, Mitchell and friends had made a mobile from shards of colored glass they had found in the street and wire coat hangers, which filtered the light coming into her room through the window and created the "rainbow on the wall". [3] During coffeehouse performances of this song in the late 1960s, Mitchell explained that the famous stained glass was rescued from the salvaged windows of a demolished home for unwed mothers.[citation needed]

The lyrics of this song demonstrate Mitchell's talent with imagery, and her strong use of visual inspiration which come from her background in visual art. "The sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses." Mitchell, in regards to "Chelsea Morning", in 1996 stated, "It was a very young and lovely time ... before I had a record deal. I think it's a very sweet song, but I don't think of it as part of my best work. To me, most of those early songs seem like the work of an ingenue."[3]

British folk-rock group Fairport Convention released the song on their eponymous debut album in June 1968[4]. Neil Diamond also covered the song, as did the Sergio Mendes group, Brasil '66, and others. The song is also part of the soundtrack for the movie After Hours. A little-known pop-rock group, Green Lyte Sunday, with vocalist Susan Darby, hit the top 20 on Billboard's Easy Listening Top 40 in 1970, a few months prior to the Sergio Mendes cover.

Bill and Hillary Clinton have stated that their daughter Chelsea is named for the song[4] as performed by Judy Collins.[5] Collins performed the song at President Clinton's 1993 Inaugural ball.

"Lawyers, Guns and Money" In tribute to that amazing lyrical accomplishment..we used to use to phrase to describe people who lived off their parents...sort of pre-Trustafarian era.

It's totally unclear to me what inspired this audio/video pairing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8qjNK8eCHI

In the real estate genre, "Our House" is a cute song. Home ownership doesn't inspire much creativity, except maybe in sale listings and mortgage applications.

Liz: I knew that, but wanted you to get your research on.

Here's another fave (N.Y.C.) :
"Just like New York City
just like Jericho
pace the halls and climb the walls..." ("Ramble On Rose" Grateful Dead)

Luna's "Chinatown"

"Hey now, Hey now,
Don't dream it's over
and build a wall between us..." (Crowded House)

" She's a brick house..." (Commodores)

Alan: That was a hoot! I think smoking Doobs might be the inspiration for that.

"Blame it on the Bossa Nova..."

Two Springsteen classics (from before he became The Boss, even before the Time/Newsweek cover explosion, maybe before the Rolling Stone "future of Rock & Roll" quote). Don't mention NYC by name but I kind of doubt they were written about anyplace else:

-"Hard To Be A Saint In The City"
-"Incident on 57th Street" ("Those romantic young boys all the ever want to do is fight..)

Note to Fellow Boomers: What sounds more distant? Springsteen as the future star on the same week cover of Time and Newsweek or Time/Newsweek mattering?

"Distant Lover..." (Marvin Gaye)

Liz, Don't forget Kitty's Back (Bleecker Streeeeeeeet)

back in the new york groove.

Well, the song I Need A Dollar by Aloe Blacc doesn't seem to be written about NY, but it is about to become as New York as a bagel.

Magnolia Cupcakes - Dylan

Bernie123 mentioned The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York. A great song.
Another of their songs which is about leaving Ireland for the US (specifically NY) is "Thousands Are Sailing"

Angel of Harlem?

Amazing!

"Harlem Shuffle" (The Stones)

And the entire "Saturday Night Fever" (Bee Gees)

Help me on this: Who did that "Bleecker Street" song? Male vocalist. I'm having an early middle-aged moment, I should easily remember this.

Simon and Garfunkel did Bleecker St.

Steve Earle - "N.Y.C."

"I'm going to new york city
I never really been there
Just like the way it sounds
I heard the girls are pretty
There must be something happening there
It's just too big a town"

Steve Earle - "N.Y.C."

"I'm going to new york city
I never really been there
Just like the way it sounds
I heard the girls are pretty
There must be something happening there
It's just too big a town"

Steve Earle - "N.Y.C."

"I'm going to new york city
I never really been there
Just like the way it sounds
I heard the girls are pretty
There must be something happening there
It's just too big a town"

?????
Well I've never been to Spain
But I kind of like the music
Say the ladies are insane there
And they sure know how to use it
The don't abuse it
Never gonna lose it
I can't refuse it
?????

alanhart, did you really reference wonderful town? when i was little, my sister and i would make up dances to the overture and then perform the songs in that musical (my poor parents). I would add Ohio:
"why, oh why, oh why-o; why did I ever leave ohio..."

Also, Jay-Z: Empire State of Mind always makes me smile

I really did; I can't believe it myself.

Please post the video of the whole House family dashing the dreams of young creatives from across the country.

The best one of all- Human Nature-michael Jackson...."if this town, is just an apple, then let me take a bite..."

Nina Hagen- New York, NY

I still want to do mashup of Nina Hagen's "New York New York" vs. Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust".

spinnaker: Thanks. Steve will enjoy being included on this list.

"NEW YORK, just like I pictured it -
skyscrapers and everything!!!" ("Living For The City", Stevie Wonder )

"New York City" by They Might be Giants; very nice story....lots of landmark references...catchy beat.

Feelin Groovy!

Truth rules..

Is NY Magazine stealing story ideas from SE??

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/03/the_ultimate_new_york_playlist.html

what else is new?

I dug Morcheeba for a while, this one's a little obscure..

"What do New York couples fight about"

Thanks,jsmith. I just posted a comment there. Vulture, indeed!

I am ... I said

That magazine pays its website writers. They are too lame. I didn't invent the form. "Best/fave", lists have been around. But, we are perfecting it, here on SE.

And, I have a whole SEries of lists, coming up.

Give me a few minutes, and meet me over there, for the next one...

The ultimate>>>and with all due respect to our friend and the OP on this thread: THE TRUTH...

Harry Niilsen (the late) "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City"

"You belong to the city" (Glenn Frey)