Song List

For our last road trip we took a musical tour of Dixie, this time around we’ll ditch the car (who can afford gas these days?), hop on the subway and beat the streets with our feet for a tour of New York City’s most popular borough using the subjects of songs as our signposts. Lace up your Chucks as we join Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Sir Mix-a-Lot, and others on a musical tour of Manhattan.

“Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side” by The Magnetic Fields

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Essentially surrounded by Chinatown, the Lower East Side was once home to a thriving Jewish immigrant population living in tiny tenements that line Orchard and Hester streets. Where you could once find barrels of pickles, smoked herring, and heavily bearded men in long black coats, you now find hip hotels, swanky boutiques, trendy restaurants, and heavily bearded hipsters in (second hand) long black coats.

“Chinatown” by Joe Jackson

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We’ll head from the LES to Chinatown, which is growing by leaps and bounds, even eating away at fabled Little Italy. Our soundtrack is Joe Jackson’s wonderful 1982 tale about being lost in a sketchy neighborhood (probably the Bowery back then) on his way to get some Chinese food.

“Bowery” by Smog

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Just a few blocks east and we’ll hit the Bowery. Formerly a “Skid Row,” the Bowery became famous for birthing the NYC punk scene in the late 1970s with CBGB’s. That legendary club is long gone as the Bowery, like the rest of Manhattan, is rapidly becoming an island of upscale shops and Starbucks. Smog’s beautiful ballad depicts the Bowery of long ago when the street was littered with broken lives, used needles, and junkies.

“Nolita” by Keren Ann

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Just north of Chinatown and Little Italy is Nolita (a cute nickname for NOrth of Little ITAly. French expat, Keren Ann moved to this trendy neighborhood to record an album with some of downtown’s finest musicians. The album, and this song, were named in honor of the hood.

“Great Jones Street” by Luna

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Head north on the Bowery a few blocks past Houston (that’s pronounced “howston” for all you Texans) and you’ll soon reach the corner where E. 3rd St. turns into Great Jones Street. For only two blocks, running between Bowery and Broadway, 3rd morphs into the charming Great Jones, home of the wonderful Cajun spot, Great Jones Cafe. Let’s recharge with a bowl of Jambalaya while listening to Luna’s ode to this short, but sweet street.

“Shakedown on 9th Street” by Ryan Adams

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Six blocks north of Great Jones and we’ll reach E. 9th Street, the location of the fictitious (but with Ryan Adams’ temper, who knows?) shakedown that took place between the rocker and some guy that apparently dishonored his sweet gal, Lucy. Deep in the heart of NoHo (NOrth of HOuston), you can find some great music stores (Downtown Music Gallery, Other Music), theaters (Public Theater, Joe’s Pub), and shopping in the vicinity.

“Washington Square” by Heidi Berry

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After picking up CD’s by the latest “it” bands at Other Music, let’s shuffle west to Washington Square. The famous archway frames Fifth Avenue surrounded by NYU students meandering to class, chess hustlers getting their game on, pot dealers trolling the sidewalks, and street performers strutting their stuff. Heidi Berry’s gorgeous song about the park is the perfect soundtrack for people watching in this urban oasis in the heart of Greenwich Village.

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