Taking a walk around Brooklyn while listening to music through headphones is one of the nicest things you can do. Not only does it provide a self-curated soundtrack to what you’re experiencing, but it also serves to block out the ubiquitous sounds of randos trying to talk at your butt.
Just like the music you choose for your walk can personalize scenery that is otherwise shared by millions of people, a musician covering a song personalizes that selection of music in a whole new way, taking something widely known and sealing it in amber. And that’s exactly what Brooklyn singer/songwriter Matt Bauer did with this cover of Fever Ray’s “Keep the Streets Empty For Me.”
On this version Bauer morphs the chilly, metallic framework of the original song into something warm and wood grained, while still maintaining the general melancholy eeriness of it all.
It’s a rare occurrence that there would ever be an empty street to walk down in Brooklyn, and if you should chance upon one, it would probably be in your best interest to pick up the pace a bit. Empty streets here usually only happen in the wee hours of the night/morning and are tranquil for a few minutes, right up until the crazy dial cranks to ten and shit starts getting Walking Dead-esque. We asked Bauer what his ideal fantasy walk around town would be like, and this is what he said:
“A dreamy walk in Brooklyn for me would start by meeting up with David Bowie and Ellie Goulding at the Turkey’s Nest and getting margaritas to go. Then we’d wander north and I’d tell them how I want to write a set of songs for them to sing as duets with Fugazi as the backing band. And they’d be, like, “Obviously.” Then we’d stop into Peter Pan to pick up doughnuts and egg and cheese sandwiches and wander over to the water feeding stray cats. And at the end of Huron Street, looking out at the city, they’d reveal to me that they’re actually robots and I’d act surprised, but I actually already knew.”
Anything is possible in the streets of The Big Crapple. Even celebrity robots.
Matt Bauer is currently working on a new album and has been keeping busy thinking about cats and filming music videos on the beach with horses.
You can catch him at one of these upcoming shows:
April 21 Tuesdays at Nine, Theater 80 St. Marks NY, NY
April 26, The Living Room Brooklyn, NY 8:00