First, We Take Manhattan (then we take Brooklyn)

In less than 24 hours I'll be boarding a plane to go from Seattle to NY (with a short pit stop in Chicago). At which point I will meet up with Jess and we will tromp around the city for the better part of two weeks, not including a road trip up to Niagara Falls.

Chantal Kreviazuk - Leavin' on a Jet Plane (John Denver cover).mp3

I'm more than a little excited. NY in early September is simply the most lovely place in the world: The weather is perfect, the leaves are just starting to turn, and the entire city smells like waffles (well, some parts of it). Here are some songs to celebrate the greatest city in the western hemisphere:

R.E.M. - First We Take Manhattan (Leonard Cohen cover).mp3
For those of us with an aggressive, conquering streak.

The Magnetic Fields - The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side.mp3
Do you realize just HOW ugly you'd have to be, to be THE ugliest guy on the Lower East Side? Pretty damn ugly.

Andrew W. K. - I Love NYC.mp3
The song that says it all! If this chorus, brilliant in its simplicity, doesn't get stuck in your head, there's something wrong wih you.

Ryan Adams - New York, New York.mp3
Same title, different song than the Frank Sinatra classic (see below)

Simon & Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy In New York.mp3
For those who get a moment to steal away privately, if you can in a city of 14 million.

Jeff Buckley - Back In N.Y.C. (Phil Collins cover).mp3
Few realize this is a cover, and many hate this track on an album almost 10 years old. It's very rough, raw and even grating, but it's also pretty great.

Interpol - NYC.mp3
We need more songs that are titled simply of what they're about. Good on you, Interpol!

U2 - New York.mp3
Capturing the feeling of a sticky-hot summer like no other.

Beastie Boys - No Sleep Till Brooklyn.mp3
One of my missions is to walk the Brooklyn Bridge, which I've neve done in my previous visits. Maybe I can pop over to Willamsburg and participate in the Hipster Olympics (not that I would ever admit doing, except in an ironic way).

Frank Sinatra - New York, New York.mp3
If you can make ti there, you can make it anywhere!

The 6ths - I've Got New York.mp3
More place name-dropping than any other song about the fair city.