The devastation on the other side of the country didn’t hit me until I got the final confirmation from the last person I needed to hear from after Hurricane Sandy hit. Very strange that both my sisters were there visiting. But now I know that my friends and family are safe. For some reason I couldn’t look at the pictures until then.
Then I looked.
86th St. subway station
Jet Star roller coaster in New Jersey.
Ground Zero flooding.
I burst into tears. It’s 9/11 all over again. It’s Katrina all over again. It’s what all the climate scientists have said would happen to the east coast. New York City underwater. Gotham submerged. It’s fucking armageddon.
For the next few hours after that initial good cry, all I could think about was how much I love New York City. Of course everyone says it’s the greatest city in the world (especially people from New York) but really, truly, I don’t want to live in a world without New York City.
In honor of this great city hit so hard yesterday, I’d like to share with you my top nine favorite New York artists. Here we go:
This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful song written about New York City, ever. Go on, have a cry courtesy of Lou Reed singing Perfect Day.
All right, with that bawl fest out of the way, I have a tie between three women for ‘coolest chick in NYC.’
Patti Smith, a devastatingly inspiring poet, musician and artist. This break-up song would move a dead person. Behold, Pissing in A River.
Deborah Harry, the tough-talking gorgeous singer of Blondie. I am touched by her presence in general, but here she is singing, I am Always Touched by Your Presence Dear.
Yoko Ono has done a hell of a lot more than marry John Lennon and screech like a banshee. She’s one of the most influential experimental/performance/installation artists in the world. This is a mini-documentary about her recent installation of cool pieces to the Moma in NYC. I went to see it and it definitely expanded my perspective on art, life and time-based media.
Jim Jarmusch changed the way I think about filmmking. He is synonymous with New York City to me. Here’s the classic “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” scene from Down By Law, starring Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits and John Lurie.
I spent my youth driving to NYC to see the Ramones. They were proud New Yorkers, singing here about Rockaway Beach, which sadly isn’t looking too good right now.
The frikkin New York Dolls, people!
Woody Allen. Say no more. This scene from Annie Hall broke all the rules and made everyone laugh. no wonder it won Best Picture.
George Carlin, born in New York City, rocked the world with this bit about the ‘7 bad words.’ FUCK, he is hilarious. And revolutionary.
Well that’s it! I hope I cheered you up or made you cry. Now begins the clean-up.
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