Let's dance: The 21st-Century NYC Songs Bracket is here
Welcome to the most anticipated bracket in all of March: the Bangers Bracket, The New York Groove's 64 Best Songs About New York City of the 21st Century!
Yes, only the 21st century. We collectively decided that limiting the selection to songs released since 2000 provides a more interesting challenge in finding the songs that represent us in the new millennium, and also allows us to slough off the crushing weight of history that would no doubt otherwise warp the contest. After all, if we did this to include say, the last 100 years of New York City by song, Sammy Davis Jr.'s version of "New York's My Home" would sweep to such a commanding victory there'd be no point in doing this. That, and we didn't want to deal with the hassle of what to do about "New York Groove."
It's been 25 years of this new century, I'll leave it to you as to whether it's flown by or if it's felt as long as 25 years sounds. Either way in that time New York City has had plenty of musical moments. We've reinvented leather-jacket rock and roll, pushed for hip-hop supremacy against a rising South, crowded into DIY spaces that have been all but demolished and had fake retirement shows that fooled people into willingly crowding into Terminal 5. So a lot has happened.
And so below, you will find a bracket made up of 64 songs about New York City released since the year 2000, expertly seeded and pitted against one another for maximum pain and agony in forcing you to choose. Taylor Swift or Gogol Bordello? Santigold or The Julie Ruin? Jeff Rosenstock or Regina Spektor?
We've got songs about the beach, songs about love, song about the chaos and the sweat and the grime and songs about having a hundred guns and a hundred clips. (We've also got two songs that aren't streaming on Spotify: Mos Def's gripping '80s NYC pulse pounder "Life In Marvelous Times" and the anti-Rockaway tourist takedown "Fuck Out The Rock.") These are the things you'll have to chew on while voting, in order to crown one tune out there the New York City song of the 21st century. No pressure.
Don't see the bracket down there? Well it's simple, the toll to vote is signing up for our email. We think you'll like it.
