album // New York Heroes
A trip to the Big Apple in 2005 instilled in me
a huge interest in absorbing as much as possible about this most
amazing of cities. To my surprise, without ever having visited NYC
before, and without ever having expressed any interest in Manhattan
until September 11 placed the location firmly at the centre of my
consciousness, I seem to have amassed a collection of songs through
which New York threads itself like an errant A train; from the ur-punk
of the Velvets through to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, both implied or explicitly
stated via lyrics, titles or just via imagery. New York, as an art
centre, evidently provides musicians - as artists - with an incredible
backdrop of inspiration.
This compilation album, then, is just about as perfect
for me as I could wish for, since it straddles my love of New York
and Moby. This CD – Moby's first compilation
CD according to the sleeve – comprises songs picked by Moby
and showcases tracks from New York legends; in doing so it provides
a snapshot of the influences on the erstwhile Richard Melville
Hall, himself a New York resident and whose musical genesis
can be found in the City's early 1990s techno scene. Sometimes it
feels like Moby may have all but left behind his dance music roots
and reputation as a 'Christian vegan techno nutter', but, as shown
on this compilation he reserves a special place in his heart for
club tracks.
The CD was given away with a November 2003 edition
of the dance music magazine Mixmag, and – as befits
both an artist and City renowned for producing various styles of
influential music – doesn't concentrate on the types of music
that would be the preserve of that magazine. Thus we get electro
/ hip-hop (Grandmaster Melle Mel, JVC Force), punk (NYC-style as
opposed to UK, represented by Suicide), post-punk
punk-funk (the awesome Bush Tetras), housey vibes (Todd Terry, Cultural
Vibe, a then-exclusive Voodoo Child track which
subsequently appeared on Baby Monkey), hardcore (Looney
Tunes, Brainstorm, although one of their much slower tracks) and
downbeat electronica (Iggy's 'Nightclubbing', Moby's 'Sleep Alone').
It essentially showcases New York's musical legacy
from the 1970s through to the 2000s, and – being essentially
a personal collection – doesn't set out to be a complete audio
history of the City. One CD just wouldn't be enough, and let's be
honest it may have some non-dance tracks on it, but it couldn't
be too diverse otherwise it wouldn't have shifted any copies of
the magazine. Nevertheless, some jazz or some James Chance would
have been nice.
Moby offers up some comments about each track in
the sleeve, and so you get an insight of sorts into this musical
chameleon (another shape-shifting muso would be his hero and neighbour
Bowie, who produced the Iggy track included here; despite his connections
to NYC via the Velvets, Bowie is far too English to be considered
a New York Hero). You find out, for example, that his track 'Sleep
Alone' (from 18) was inspired by the idea of a ghost couple
wandering the streets of New York, or that his guitar rock 'Come
On Baby' (from the big-in-Europe thrash-metal album Animal Rights)
was inspired by the City's dark and dirty side.
As an album it hangs together about as awkwardly
as the City itself – skyscrapers nestle up against low-rise
loft buildings and the urban sprawl collides with the green lung
of Central Park or the community gardens; here, high-energy dance
music sits uncomfortably next to rock or hip-hop. But in a perverse
sort of way, like New York or Moby's own diverse output, it just
sort of...works.
cd:
1. New York, New York - Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious
Five
2. Harpie - Voodoo Child
3. Nightclubbing - Iggy Pop
4. A Day In The Life - Black Riot
5. Come On, Baby - Moby
6. Ma Foom Bey (Tony Humphries Mix) - Cultural Vibe
7. Help Me To Believe - Brainstorm
8. Just Long As I Got You (Warehouse Rave Remix) - Looney Tunes
9. Can't Be Funky - Bush Tetras
10. Strong Island - JVC Force
11. Ghost Rider - Suicide
12. Sleep Alone - Moby
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