Taylor Swift was elected mayor of Times Square last week and we don’t remember voting for her but whatever. Despite the rage aneurysm Dave gave himself, I can’t spend much time worrying about what a lady who released her album through a Target exclusive has to say about New York, because talking too much about these things only makes them stronger, like some sort of blonde X-Man whose mutation is the power to summon a smothering tidal wave of thinkpieces.
Anyway, we asked you last week what your real NYC anthem was, and you came through big time, with a greatest hits collection of jams so good, we put them into a Spotify playlist to share with you. It runs the Gotham gamut, from Sinatra and Gershwin to Jay Z and the Beasties, from LCD Soundsystem and the Ramones to Black Star and the Julie Ruin. Pump it through your headphones the next time you’re stuck behind tourists with Target bags on the Manhattan sidewalk and need to remember that the city is big enough to have a song for every person.
What did we leave off? Tell us in the comments and we’ll add it to the playlist!
[Click here to launch the playlist in your Spotify too]
View Comments (10)
Cam'ron - Welcome to New York City (ft. Jay-Z, Juelz Santana)
http://open.spotify.com/album/5xmHlOQKrKUOISToOjV0WV
(Makes a lot more sense than Welcome to the Jungle)
it's like that song says: concrete jungle, where dreams are made up; there's nothing you can do.
Agreed. Welcome to the Jungle is about LA. I'm incensed at its inclusion.
how do you follow this playlist? it can't be searched...
go to this link, should pull it up:
https://play.spotify.com/user/timdonnelly/playlist/2Xp805g9Z0p5Ibcc1ybUiH
Thank you so much for sharing this! What a terrific mix!
I'd love to add Mike Doughty's "Thank You Lord For Sending The F Train" :)
done!
My favorite: "New York City" by Gil Scott-Heron.