[MUSIC - Luscious Jackson: Citysong]

Kousha Navidar: This is All Of It. I'm Kousha Navidar, filling in for Alison Stewart. Today, the DNC wrapped last night with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the Democratic Party's nomination. Earlier this week, the real mystery, the real question keeping everyone on their seat at this week's convention was not who would be nominated or even who would be speaking. No, it was what song was each state going to pick as their roll call anthem? With DJ Cassidy at the helm, each state was introduced with a special song that in most cases nodded to that state's identity or featured a resident of that state.

Sweet Home Alabama for Alabama, some Tom Petty for Florida, a viral surprise appearance from Lil Jon for his native Georgia, and for New York--

[MUSIC - Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys: Empire State of Mind]

Speaker 2: New York, how do you cast your vote?

Kousha Navidar: That's right. For not the first time, and probably not the last, New York's music queue was Empire State of Mind by Brooklyn's Jay-Z and Manhattan's Alicia Keys. It got us here at All Of It thinking New York is a city and a state, so it's full of so much talent. Why is it that there seem to be only three songs used to represent it? That one, this one.

[MUSIC - Frank Sinatra: New York State of Mind]

I'm in a New York state of mind

Kousha Navidar: Or of course, this one.

[MUSIC - Tony Bennett: New York, New York]

Start spreading the news

I'm leaving today.

Kousha Navidar: We put a call out to some of our colleagues and listeners to come up with suggestions for alternative New York anthems. Here now to present them is All Of It producer, Simon Close. Simon, hey.

Simon Close: Hey, Kousha. I have heard the words New York sung so many times this morning that they have ceased to mean anything to me.

Kousha Navidar: [chuckles] There is a word for that. I don't know what it is. It slips my mind, but you've probably been listening to a lot of clips. Listeners, whether you weighed in online or not, we want to hear from you. What's your favorite New York anthem? When you think of New York, the city or the state, which artists or songs come to mind? Call in to tell us at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. If you had to give a pitch for the anthem of New York, what would be that song for you? Is it not one of the usual suspects?

212-433-9692. Simon, before we get into the song clips, thank you for listening to so much music that the term New York.

Simon Close: My pleasure, Kousha.

Kousha Navidar: Did you have any thoughts on the DNC's choice of song or want to say anything before we start playing the other anthems?

Simon Close: One thing that I thought was kind of funny was that I'm pretty sure that two alphabetical places down from New York in the DNC roll call was North Dakota, who also went with an Alicia Keys song, Girl on Fire. I say Empire State of Mind has had a great run. If North Dakota wants Alicia Keys, they can have that song. That's great. We got a lot of options, as I think we're about to hear today.

Kousha Navidar: That's funny. Culture is a great export of New York City.

Simon Close: Absolutely.

Kousha Navidar: We're happy to share it. All right. You broke some of these songs and suggestions into categories. What's the category? We've got queued up now.

Simon Close: Taking some inspiration from New York State of Mind or Empire State of Mind, I think we'll start with some hip-hop songs because there are just so many hip-hop songs that speak to New York identity and shout out specific locations. You can get really narrow with hip-hop. I'm just going to list some songs and artists that we-- One suggestion we got from Eileen Delehanty, who works in WQXR, Beastie Boys, No Sleep Till Brooklyn. You got so many Brooklyn tracks. Amber Bruce, who also works here, Digable Planets, Flyin' High in the Brooklyn Sky.

There's another Jay-Z song, Brooklyn’s Finest, with Biggie, most F's Brooklyn. Personal favorite of mine is Shabazz the Disciple, Red Hook Day. It's a great track. You can go Queens. Pharoahe Monch's a song called Queens. Tom Browne is more funk, but this is a very hip-hop-ish song, Funkin' for Jamaica in Queens is a great track. South Bronx, you got Boogie Down Productions. I think to start off with, we're going to go with another State of Mind song, and this is from Nas. It was recommended by both AOI senior producer, Andrea Duncan Mao and Eileen Delahunty, who I just mentioned.

This comes from Illmatic, which is Nas' first album. I'm going to just read some stuff that Andrea said for why she picked it. "It's produced by the incomparable DJ Premier, considered one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. Illmatic has the classic line, sleep is the cousin of death, which makes sense for the city that never sleeps." It's been reported that Nas recorded the song in one take. This is New York State of Mind from Nas.

[MUSIC - Nas: New York State of Mind]

Inhale deep like the words of my breath

I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death

I lay puzzle as I backtrack to earlier times

Nothing's equivalent to the New York state of mind

New York state of mind

New York state of mind

New York state of mind

New York state of mind

Nasty Nas

Nasty Nas

Kousha Navidar: All right, that was New York State of Mind from Nas. Who else is on your list, Simon?

Simon Close: Andrea also shouted out, Fat Joe and Ja Rule, New York. Another one from Andrea, Welcome to NYC from Cam'ron. Another Jay-Z track, Juelz Santana is also on it. Andrea picked this one. It was produced by Just Blaze. It's an underrated track with a rare pairing of Jay-Z and Cam'ron. Jay's, of course, representing Brooklyn, Cam representing Harlem. The two would go on to feud for years before appearing on stage together in 2019. What I like about this track also is that this is a post-9/11 track, and that's really important.

It comes through in the lyrics as you're about to hear. I think it speaks to not just a place, but also a sense of time and where the city was at in the early-2000s. This is Welcome to New York City from Cam'ron, Jay-Z, and Juelz Santana.

[MUSIC - Cam'ron, Jay-Z, and Juelz Santana: Welcome to New York City]

I go off the head when I'm rambling on the mic

And I throw off the feds when I'm scrambling at night

And it was often said I brought hammers to the fight

But we from New York City, right, Cam? (Ya, damn right)

It's the home of 9-11, the place of the lost Towers

We still banging, we never lost power, tell 'em

Welcome to New York City

Welcome to New York City

Y'all fucking with BK's banger and Harlem's own gangster

Now that's danger, there's nothing left to say but, oh

Welcome to New York City

Kousha Navidar: I totally hear what you mean about it being of a time and place and mentality almost. It really comes through. We got some texts here that I want to read. Listeners, we're here with producer, Simon Close. We're talking about what anthems speak to New York for you. Not the usual suspects necessarily, but what songs speak to may be the entire state or a specific borough of New York City. If you had to pick an anthem for New York City, a song, piece of music, what would you pick? Give us a call. Send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC.

Simon, we're getting some texts here. It seems like musicals seem to be on people's minds. We have alternative musical anthems for this town. "Try New York City, it is a show stopping musical number in the iconic musical, Annie. 2,377 performances over six years. The audiences ate it up." It said, "Try NYC." Just got to correct myself there. We've got another text that says, "Holy smokes, New York, New York from On the Town is iconic. The Bronx is up and the battery's down, and it predates the others by 40 years."

We got another text here says, "OMG, please mention Don Henley's New York Minute from his End of the Innocence album." Got a lot of pieces coming in. Let's go into classic hip-hop. You broke down some of these songs into-- Oh, no, sorry. We already looked at. Contemporary hip-hop. Post-2000s hip-hop. Give us the breakdown there.

Simon Close: Sure. Yes, I thought it would make sense because a lot of the stuff we're going to talk about is not just classic hip-hop, but lots of classic rock and stuff. I wanted to throw in a little bit of more contemporary stuff. Malik on our team threw out Pop Smoke's Dior, which became, I think, sort of unofficially, a kind of like New York anthem in the last few years when Pop Smoke passed away. I want to play a clip from Princess Nokia, another New York local. This is her song, ABCs of New York. It just is a great-- I mean, you'll hear why this is a perfect anthem to the city.

[MUSIC - Princess Nokia: ABCs of New York]

A is for the apple

Take a bite and spit it out

B is for bodega

Eating on your mama couch

Low bazooka with a Puerto-Rican chula

Says she working in the city and she getting moolah

C is for the crib

The cats that call you catch

CBGB's babies sneaking blondie through the back

D is for the downtown kids that's hittin' licks

Skater boys in the park tryna [sound cut] some white chicks

E is for the East Side

Rough Ride, ride or die

Motorbikes from every side

Flying down the FDR

Breaking dutches in the car

G is for the ghetto girl

Simon Close: I just want to shout out producer Jordan who suggested that track.

Kousha Navidar: Let's go to some borough specific shout outs because we had mentioned a bunch from different folks thinking about hip-hop. Are there any others that you wanna play before we go on from the hip-hop portion?

Simon Close: I think those ones that I mentioned, I didn't pull any other clips because I ran out of time, but all those most deaf. The Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, the ones that I mentioned before, I think we covered pretty well.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. Okay, so let's go on to disco. We've got some good hip-hop options, but what else do you have? Do you have any disco suggestions?

Simon Close: Sure. Great question. [chuckles]

Kousha Navidar: Oh, great. You lit up like a Christmas tree light. You are a fellow disco lover.

Simon Close: I do. I do have a disco pick. I see this is also coming in through the text. I think this is going to delight a lot of people. This is Native New Yorker, which was first recorded by Frankie Valli, who is actually from Newark and not New York. It was covered, I think, a few years later by Odyssey, who were a New York City trio. This song came out in 1978-ish, I think. It was number three hit on the charts for Odyssey. This is Native New Yorker.

[MUSIC - Odyssey: Native New Yorker]

You grew up ridin' the subways, running with people

Up in Harlem, down on Broadway

You're no tramp but you're no lady

Talkin' that street talk

You're the heart and soul of New York City

And love

Love is just a passing word

It's the thought that you had

In a taxicab that got left on the curb

When he dropped you off at East 83rd

Oh, oh, oh (Oh, oh, oh)

You're a native New Yorker

Kousha Navidar: Everyone in the studio is dancing right now.

Simon Close: It's undeniable, that song.

Kousha Navidar: We've got a caller, which I think is perfectly timed here. Sheila in Washington Heights. Hey, Sheila, welcome to the show. What would your suggestion be?

Sheila: Thank you. I was about to say Odyssey, of course, but the '70s is the rise of hip-hop and salsa and Un verano en Nueva York by El Gran Combo is a super giant anthem that you hear it all the time without realizing, and I'm quite sure. Yes, Un verano en Nueva York, so Summer in New York.

Simon Close: [chuckles] Sheila, did I plant you as a caller for this segment? Because we have that next song queued up right now.

Kousha Navidar: Simon, I'm just watching out for you, and Sheila had such a great idea, too. Go ahead, tee us off with what Sheila was saying. Sheila, thank you so much for calling.

Simon Close: That is a great shout out, Sheila. I love that, especially because again, a lot of the songs that we're going to hear in this segment are in English. Any listeners who know more non-English language songs about New York, I'd love to hear them. Also, any songs that aren't just New York City focused, but Upstate, too, I challenge you to call in because we got a lot of city stuff. That song in particular, Un verano en Nueva York is from El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, a Puerto Rican band.

It opens with a line that translates to, if you want to have fun with charm in New York City, or if you want to have fun and charm, all you got to do is live in the summer in New York City. I also love this song because I grew up in Hudson Valley and this song mentions Bear Mountain, la montaña del Oso. This is Un verano en Nueva York from El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.

[MUSIC - El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico: Un verano en Nueva York]

Si te quieres divertir, con encanto y con primor

Solo tienes que vivir, u verano en Nueva York

Kousha Navidar: That was El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Un verano en Nueva York. We are talking about anthems that describe New York City for you. We're here with producer, Simon Close. Some texts, "A new song about New York is the 1952 hit Autumn in New York by Billie Holiday. We've got hello ever since I first heard it, New York City's like a graveyard by the moldy peaches comes to my mind ever, every single time anyone says NYC. It's like a both pro and anti-New York City song with the yelly, out of tune, grimy male and female duet vocals. It has more flavor than most songs."

Listeners, we're taking your suggestions. You can text us at 212-433-9692. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to hear more of your suggestions and dive a little bit more into a rock and roll and maybe upstate. Stay with us. This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Kousha Navidar and I am lucky to be sitting across the desk from our producer on the show, Simon Close.

Simon has gone out into the world of music and brought back many songs that are not the usual suspects that could serve as wonderful anthems for the song of New York, either New York City or New York state and its surrounding area. Listeners, we're also taking your ideas, what songs you think remind you of an anthem for New York. Give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. Let's hear from some folks now. We've got Peter in Queens. Hey, Peter, what would that song be for you?

Peter: New York Groove by Kiss.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. What do you like about it?

Peter: I just love the '70s feel. I grew up in the '70s and just that back in the New York groove, like when you've missed New York, you've been away, you come back to New York, there's nothing like it, you know?

Kousha Navidar: Yes.

Peter: You just realize how much you love it when you blew away.

Simon Close: Yes. Great pick, Pete. I think we have that queued up, Juliana. That's D14. I'll talk a little bit while you're finding it. Yes, that's from Ace Frehley. I think that's how you pronounce his last name. Frehley, who is indeed from Kiss, Bronx born. This song actually was originally by the British band, Hello. Ace Frehley covered it. It's got a New Yorkier vibe. This version is from Kiss' Ace Frehley, this is New York Groove.

[MUSIC - Kiss: New York Groove]

Here I am, and in this city

(Oooh, ooh-ooh-ooh) with a fistful of dollars, and baby, you'd better believe

I'm back, back in the New York groove

I'm back, back in the New York groove

I'm back, back in the New York groove

Back, in the New York groove

Kousha Navidar: All right. Back in the New York groove, I love that. Thanks so much, Peter, for that suggestion. Let's go to Howard in Forest Hills. Hey, Howard, what would the New York anthem be for you?

Howard: I have two. One is a New York City by John Lennon, and other is Take The "A" Train, written by Billy Strayhorn for the Duke Ellington band.

Kousha Navidar: Some jazz in there as well. Thank you so much. Great shout out for a jazz classic there. Thanks, Howard. Let's go to Natalie, who's calling from California. Natalie, what would that song be for you, the New York anthem?

Natalie: All right. Well, you guys already mentioned some great ones. I was grooving to all the disco and salsa, but I want to do a quick shout out to Vampire Weekend. They have a new album called Only God Was Above Us, and it's loaded with '80s imagery from Steven Siegel. It's really awesome. Mary Boone is kind of this ode and anthem to old school '80s New York. They name drop Mary Boone, the famed art dealer. On their OG album, they have a song titled M79. That was always the backdrop for me when I lived on the Upper East Side about a decade ago.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, wonderful. Thank you so much, Natalie, for that. Vampire Weekend. I'm a fan of Vampire Weekend.

Simon Close: I mean, come on, look at me.

[laughter]

Kousha Navidar: That's wonderful, Natalie. Thanks so much, and hi, across the country of California. Okay, so we've got another category that I'd love to get into, Simon, which I thought was pretty interesting. The New York, New York category. It's pretty specific. Can you explain this?

Simon Close: Sure. This is a corner that I'm calling alternatives to Frank Sinatra's New York, New York that are also called New York, New York. This is going to be kind of a lightning round, Juliana. We're going to start out with a 1983 track from Grandmaster Flash, of course, Bronx natives, and this is called New York, New York.

[MUSIC - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five: New York New York]

Ah New York New York big city of dreams

And everything in New York ain't always what it seems

You might get fooled if you come from out of town

But I'm down by law and I know my way around, too much

Ah too many people, too much -- a ha hah

Too much, too many people

Simon Close: That's New York New York from Grandmaster Flash. Next song comes from the German punk and sort of art pop singer, Nina Hagen. It's a pretty different vibe. It's also, I think, from 1983. You guessed it, it is called New York New York.

[MUSIC - Nina Hagen: New York New York]

New York City is the hottest place

For a honeymoon in a hotel room

New York City is my favorite place

'Cause I know so many people with a golden face, uh-huh

Simon Close: Yesh, I didn't want to give you a warning about that one, Kousha.

Kousha Navidar: [laughs]

Simon Close: I love that song. That comes from Kelly [unintelligible 00:19:23], who's a colleague of ours. Kelly, thank you very much for that. That is an incredible song. We got another track, Duke Ellington. This song, I think, was recorded in the 1970s, but it wasn't actually released until the 2000s. Kousha, can you guess what this one is called?

Kousha Navidar: You put me on the spot. Is it New York, New York?

Simon Close: No, it's not. Actually, yes, it is. This is Duke Ellington, New York New York.

[MUSIC - Duke Ellington: New York New York]

New York, New York

New York, New York

New York, what the Apple's supposed to be

Ah New York, New York

Simon Close: That's Duke Ellington's New York New York. Next up, we've got Debbie Harry of Blondie, another New York icon, with Moby on a track from Moby's 2006. It's like a best of compilation album. This track is called, everyone say it with me, New York New York.

[MUSIC - Moby feat. Debbie Harry: New York New York]

New York, New York

Does it taste right

Does it feel right

New York, New York

Does it burn bright

All the starlight

Do you know my name

Do you even care

Simon Close: That was New York New York from Moby and Debbie Harry. Then, of course, I'm sure everyone has been waiting for this song. This one is sort of cheating within the category of not Frank Sinatra's New York, New York because this is Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly from the 1949 film, On the Town. This is New York, New York.

[MUSIC - Gene Kelly: New York New York]

New York, New York, it's a wonderful town

The Bronx is up and the Battery's down

The people ride in a hole in the ground

New York, New York, it's a wonderful town

Simon Close: That was alternatives to Frank Sinatra's New York, New York that are also called New York, New York.

Kousha Navidar: Simon, a few things. Number one, congratulations on assembling that beautiful bouquet of New York, New York.

Simon Close: Thank you.

Kousha Navidar: Secondly, Julianna Fonda, who you heard Simon mention, is our board operator, who is dexterously moving between all of these clips right now and also dancing, which is good. Just want to say, Julianna, thank you so much for all that you're doing right now. We appreciate it. Let's go to rock and punk rock. We've got some folks who are asking about that genre. Can you say a little bit about it?

Simon Close: Sure. Yes. I mean, there are so many bands, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, New York Dolls, rock bands, Talking Heads. We just heard from Debbie Harry of Blondie before I had queued up New York Groove for this section. That's ab kiss, obviously, another New York band. Someone else who came up a lot in the suggestions. We got Lou Reed. He's got a whole New York album. He's got New York City Man, Walk on the Wild Side is a New York song. One of the suggestions that we got was his song, Egg Cream, which I'm not going to play, but it got me thinking about really specific symbols of New York State and City.

That's a song about how the best egg cream is at this restaurant in Brooklyn. Some other songs that came to mind in that category, especially in the sort of rock and adjacent genres, was New York Doll's Subway Train, Suzanne Vega's Tom's Diner, the Ramones have 53rd & 3rd. A very hyper local song. I want to go with Le Tigre, who is the Kathleen Hanna's riot grrrl band. This is--

Kousha Navidar: Well, I want to mention, we got a text from here, from listeners asking specifically for Le Tigre. This is calling out one of our texters right now.

Simon Close: Excellent. This song I also love because it speaks to, unfortunately, now kind of a certain time and place in New York City history. This is My My Metrocard from Le Tigre.

[MUSIC - Le Tigre: My My Metrocard]

Off the pillow and into the air

I'm ready 'cause it's my day

Situation, it's all possible

Everything is going my way

Kousha Navidar: Listeners, My My Metrocard from Le Tigre is what you just heard. Probably catchier than my my OMNY card at this point.

Simon Close: [chuckles]

Kousha Navidar: Thank you, Simon. That's my backup. Let's go to some calls. We're talking about New York anthems, not the usual suspects. Let's go to Dwight calling in from Canada. Hey, Dwight, what song is that for you?

Dwight: Hey, there. This is a bit of a rare one. It's a French language song called Je voudrais voir New-York. I would like to see New York written by a Francophone artist from Canada, Daniel Lavoie.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, wonderful. Thank you so much, Dwight, for that. Let's go to Anu in Waldorf, Maryland. Hey, Anu, welcome to the show. What song is it for you?

Anu: Thank you. For me, There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York by the late, great Phoebe Snow.

Kousha Navidar: What do you love about that song?

Anu: It's just so beautiful the way it's orchestrated and her voice. I was living in Miami back in the late '70s, and I was missing New York so bad that I moved back after eight months of the same weather every day. I was like, "I got to get out of here." That song helped me get back to New York.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful, Anu, thank you so much for that call. It's wonderful when a piece of music can affect you that much. Let's go to Kit in South Orange, New Jersey. Hey, Kit, what song is the New York anthem for you?

Kit: Hey, I would say Manhattan by Blossom Dearie, sort of goes through all the neighborhoods. My favorite line is, what street compares with Mott Street? So good.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. Thank you so much. Simon, you're going to say something?

Simon Close: Just some listeners may know. I've been working on the Public Song Project for the last several months.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, really? What is the Public Song Project, Simon Close?

Simon Close: Taking songs from the public domain. That song, I think, it's from 1925. That is a public domain song. I think Robin [unintelligible 00:25:39], who works with us here, also recommended Ella Fitzgerald's version of that song. Yes, that's a great pick.

Kousha Navidar: Kit, thank you so much for that shout out. Okay, so we've talked about the city a lot. You are from the Hudson Valley. I am from Albany. We got to give Upstate some love. You mentioned earlier that a lot of songs were good for New York City specifically, but you came along some Upstate anthems, too, right?

Simon Close: I did some searching, yes. We're going to start out with-- This is a nod to Kate Hines, who is in the control room. I can't see her right now, but I'm sure that she's freaking out about what we're about to-- There she is. This is Steely Dan, Annandale-on's Steely Dan. And this is the 1973 song, My Old School.

[MUSIC - Steely Dan: My Old School]

I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes

When you put me on the Wolverine up to Annandale

It was still September

When your daddy was quite surprised

To find you with the working girls in the county jail

Kousha Navidar: Great. What's the next one you got for us?

Simon Close: Well, I didn't pull this one, but I do want to give Pete Seeger a shout out. Lifelong, I think, New Yorker, and lived in the Hudson Valley until his death. In particular, I just want to shout out his version, and the song in general, Eerie Canal, which name drops a lot of spots in New York, including the Eerie Canal. I feel like that's a good Upstate or entire state anthem. I think that's-- Well, there is-- [chuckles]

Kousha Navidar: I've got one. Can I share one, which I shared with Simon earlier today? Okay. It turns out I learned this recently. Somewhere Over the Rainbow was composed by Harold Arlen, who is from Buffalo, which I think is such a lovely song. Maybe the most popular song to come out of New York City, if you think about Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Simon Close: Sure. Yes. When Kousha shared that with me, I shared the fun fact that is maybe apocryphal, but I'm going to share it anyway, professionally, [chuckles] which is that L. Frank Baum, who wrote the Wizard of Oz, lived in Peekskill as a kid. There's a stretch of brick road in Peekskill that is purportedly the inspiration for the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz.

Kousha Navidar: See, here I am thinking that I have a nice factoid to offer, and then you just demonstrate how good you are at your job.

Simon Close: [chuckles] Yours maybe is a factoid and mine is maybe a false factoid.

Kousha Navidar: Let's go to alt rock. You've got some alternative rock on here from They Might Be Giants, which who also participated in the Public Song Project. You want to tee that up?

Simon Close: Thanks so much for saying so, Kousha. They Might Be Giants.

Kousha Navidar: It's written in my script.

Simon Close: This suggestion comes from lots of people, including Jake Dobkin and Verónica Del Valle. This is New York City from They Might Be Giants, which is from 1996. It's actually a cover. The song was originally by a Vancouver band called Cub, but They Might Be Giants are obviously a super New York City band. Also, shout out to them. They did another song called Albany, so they've got a little bit of an Upstate thing going on, too, but this is New York City from They Might Be Giants.

[MUSIC - They Might Be Giants: New York City]

Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, Co-op City, Katz's and Tiffany's

Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, The Empire State where Dylan lived

Coney Island and Times Square, Rockefeller Center

Wish I was there

You wrote me a letter just the other day

Said, "Springtime is coming soon so why don't you come to stay."

Kousha Navidar: That was They Might Be Giants, right, Simon?

Simon Close: Yes.

Kousha Navidar: I want to go to a caller next who's actually going to tee up one of our next songs. Let's go to Luna in Brooklyn. Luna, what is the New York anthem for you?

Luna: Oh my gosh. It's New York, I Love You but You're Letting Me Down by LCD Soundsystem. It's a classic.

Kousha Navidar: Tell us what about that song speaks to you.

Luna: Well, I actually grew up with the son of the drummer of LCD Soundsystem, so it reminds me of being kind of a kid. I don't know, I think if you're like a sad kid in the city, you hear that song and you're just like, "New York is letting me down, but I love you."

Kousha Navidar: Oh, I love that, so let's hear it. Simon, are you going to say something?

Simon Close: I think that that was also going to be my personal pick. I really love the two sides of it, that it is a love letter, but also about how New York is sad. Kind of like The Moldy Peaches song that someone mentioned earlier, and they're from a similar kind of scene of New York also, but yes, I love this pick.

Kousha Navidar: Luna, thanks for teeing us up. Here's LCD Soundsystem's, New York, I Love You.

[MUSIC - LCD Soundsystem: New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down]

New York, I love you, but you're freaking me out

New York, I love you, but you're bringing me down

New York, I love you, but you're bringing me down

Like a death of the heart, Jesus, where do I start?

But you're still the one pool where I'd happily drown

Kousha Navidar: Okay, so that was LCD Soundsystem, I Love You, New York. Simon, what else do you have for us as you're thinking about the wider scope of what New York anthems could be?

Simon Close: Well, one thing that came to mind, and I feel like this one sort of already, is a New York anthem, but a seasonal New York anthem. Because sometimes, it's a particular time of the year, you have to have a song that speaks not only to New York, but also that time of the year. The Pogues' Fairytale of New York, obviously, is up there as an option for anthems, and I think we have that queued up.

[MUSIC - The Pogues: Fairytale of New York]

I could have been someone

Well so could anyone

You took my dreams from me

When I first found you

I kept them with me babe

I put them with my own

Can't make it all alone

I've built my dreams around you

The boys of the NYPD choir

Still singing Galway Bay

And the bells are ringing out

For Christmas day

Kousha Navidar: All right, Simon, those are all the clips we've got, but there's a couple of texts left because our phones are blowing up. I want to make sure, listeners, you know that we're listening to you. We got a text here that says, "I Took The L by John Roseboro came out this year. Heard about it on NPR. It's such a lovely Bossa nova tune, and Marilyn Maye's Washington Square has a great jazzy sound." That's from Miriam. Miriam, thanks for those shout outs. Love seeing more of the jazz shout out there. For our last caller, let's go to Steven in Queens. Steven, what's the song for you?

Steven: I love, as I told you, the screen, just every song you guys been playing, but Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side, when I hear that, I just think of images of the old photographs of James Dean walking through Manhattan. Have you ever seen the movie The Harder They Come with Bogart, his last film of that whole scene, and just all of Manhattan, just something about it. It's just the song came out when I was about 19, and it's just when I hear it still, it's like, oh, yes.

Kousha Navidar: It gives you that feeling. Steven, thank you so much for calling. There's one more text that I'd love to read that just says, "I love of them all," which I think is such a nice thing to go out on. Anything else you want to say, Simon?

Simon Close: No, I think we have no more time for songs, right?

Kousha Navidar: Right.

Simon Close: I think this was a lot of fun and I look forward to checking out these songs a little bit more.

Kousha Navidar: Yes, and listeners, thank you all so much for your calls and for your text. We see how many there are. Maybe we got to do this segment again to hear some more recommendations. Suffice to say, there's a lot of great music coming out of out of New York state. Simon Close is a producer on All Of It and a musical encyclopedia. Thank you so much for joining us, Simon.

Simon Close: Thank you for having me, Kousha.

 

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