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New York Series
New York Series: Irving Berlin ‘God Bless America’
Irving wrote the first version of ‘God Bless America’ in an attempt to write the perfect peaceful song that would…
New York Series: Jennifer Lopez ‘Jenny From The Block’
It gives young listeners hope that, although they may be from a bad area and the future looks bleak, there is a way…
New York Series: Tom Waits ‘Downtown Train’
He is stuck living the same night over and over again, hoping for something new, but nothing new ever happens. In…
New York Series: Bayside ‘Montauk’
While anyone who has had their heart broken knows that in time it is possible to love again, the song provides a…
New York Series: Bruce Springsteen ‘New York Serenade’
Springsteen is an artist who writes for the workingman, the underdogs, and the underbelly of society. He writes to…
New York Series: Steely Dan ‘My Old School’
“These were the days when there was a ‘war on longhairs,’ as they used to call it,”
New York Series: Duke Ellington ‘Take the A Train’
The Harlem Renaissance was responsible for allowing African-Americans to focus on their past, as well as develop a…
New York Series: The Beastie Boys ‘An Open Letter to NYC’
The overall message of the song is about how the cities’ fortitude comes from diversity, and that no matter what…
New York Series: LCD Soundsystem ‘New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me…
He thumbs his nose at the city and the life he lives, but eventually concludes at the epiphany that maybe New York…
New York Series: Joni Mitchell ‘Woodstock’
Woodstock, for some reason, impressed me as being a modern miracle, like a modern day fishes-and-loaves story. For…
New York Series: The Ramones ‘Rockaway Beach’
“We started off just wanting to be a bubblegum group,” said Johnny Ramone. “We looked at the Bay City Rollers as…
New York Series: Paul Simon ‘Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard’
“I have no idea what it is. Something sexual is what I imagine, but when I say ‘something,’ I never bothered to…
New York Series: St. Vincent ‘New York’
"It’s very silly to make something like David Bowie’s death about me—it has nothing to do with me—but I will say…
New York Series: Syracuse Fight Song ‘Down the Field’
The month of March signifies the end of winter, and the hope that Spring brings. It reintroduces the world to…
New York Series: The Rolling Stones ‘Memory Motel’
Everyone needs a vacation sometimes, even rock legends in their prime living outlandish fantasies common folk…
New York Series: Lou Reed ‘Dirty Boulevard’
With New York at the height of the AIDS epidemic and parts of the city drifting towards a point of depression not…
New York Series: Rick James ‘Below the Funk (Pass the J)’
Many artists on the cusp of reaching their creative aspirations look forward, not backwards, to create their…
New York Series: Jay-Z ‘Where I’m From’
He was a one-man businessman who was conscious of the fact that pushing his product could become a life or death…
New York Series: Bob Dylan ‘Talkin’ New York’
New York was the perfect place for Dylan to experiment, meet new people who would greatly influence his career, and…