Having been to the city in 1994 I can testify that the Big Apple oozes music from its very fabric - music that has a certain attitude; cool, detached, knowing, different. It's history is littered with examples; Blondie, Talking Heads, New York Dolls (obviously, The Bravery, Patti Smith, Run DMC, Vampire Weekend, Vivian Girls and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Quite a roster.
The trip we had to NYC was eventful. Much more eventful than we were expecting and stories of our visit could fill pages and pages; larger than life gin and tonics, messing up the tipping system and giving a pleasantly surprised waiter nearly a weeks salary, confusing conversations with telephone exchange operators, flooded hotel rooms, left-over pizza for breakfast, getting off a bus into live traffic in 5th Avenue..... and that was just the first day!
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs follow the tradition of angular guitar rock bands from NYC and share the same DNA as one of my other beloved bands, Talking Heads. The songs on 'It's Blitz' are obviously not in the same calibre as the CBGB legends but they are good in their own right. For the uninitiated 'Zero' and 'Dragon Queen' are as good a place to start as any.
I will have to get back to NYC at some point - we have unfinished business that city and I. Maybe I can combine it with a trip to New Jersey and soak in the atmosphere that Bruce Sprin..... Ooh nearly!
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