By Anna Segota, Staff Writer
Well, it’s that time of year when dorms are packed up, and campus goes empty as students return to their far-off homes. Or, if you’re better than everyone else, you have a short subway ride back to your folk’s place as you spend your summer at home in the Big Apple itself. It’s true, born and raised New Yorkers are the best people on the planet. Transplants can try, but they’ll never quite get that certain “je ne sais quoi.” While the rest of you are rotting back in Ohio or whatever strange lands exist beyond the city limits, you can find me enjoying the beauty of a NY summer and basking in my narcissism. So long, suckers!
- Brooklyn Baby by Lana Del Rey
Yes, Lana is better than you because she was born in New York. While the singer loses points for growing up in Lake Placid, Lana was born in Manhattan and lived there for the first year of her life. After high school, she lived on Long Island with her aunt and uncle and started her music career singing in bars and clubs in Brooklyn. She also attended Fordham for a brief period, where she majored in philosophy. Regardless, you are automatically cooler than your boyfriend if he’s not from the metro area.
- Rapp Snitch Knishes by MF Doom and Mr. Fantastik
The illest villain himself was raised on Long Island and presumably his mysterious ally, Mr. Fantastik. While little is known about Doom, and even less about Fantastik, on this track, they assure listeners that “true to ski mask, New York’s [their] origin.”
- Hypnotize by The Notorious B.I.G.
It would be morally wrong to make this playlist and leave out Mr. Biggie Smalls himself. This song is what it feels like to step into a wonderfully air-conditioned subway car after sweating your butt off while running in the park. You’re supposed to be getting into shape, but surely some Ralph’s wouldn’t hurt, especially on a day as hot as today.
- Uptown Girl by Billy Joel
Another New York icon, Billy Joel, always reminds me of summer, the beach, and the wonderful fact that we live on a series of islands, so the ocean is never far away. Listening to this track, I can feel the sun on my face and the water lapping at my feet. Apologies to all the poor souls who live in landlocked states. It could never be me.
- Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra
Food festivals are a staple of a NY summer. While the Queens Night Market is popular, the best cuisine can be found in the parking lot of a church next to a hastily assembled Ferris wheel that definitely cannot be safe to ride. When I die, my happiest memories will be of fluffy zeppoles, sausage and pepper roles, and a band of old men playing Frank Sinatra.
- Gasolina by Daddy Yankee
- Picture this: it’s early evening, the day was sweltering but a light breeze has finally picked up. You’re in flip-flops, and suddenly you find yourself running faster than your poor shoes can keep up with. You dodge tables covered in food and small children as you approach the DJ booth. Finally, you arrive, and locking eyes with your best friend, go nuts to the best block party song of all time.
- Jenny from the Block by Jennifer Lopez
While JLo’s New Yorker card is in question, her iconic track will remain in summer playlist rotation for many years. Nothing is better for fighting off the heat than a nice cold beverage from the bodega or deli (still not sure what orange drink she was talking about).
- Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel
Ending on a calm note, you’ll hear this song at the end of summer. Your mother plays it while she cleans the kitchen, the first tendrils of Autumn cold reaching out through the open window and making you shiver. All the tourists are leaving, but the transplants are coming back. Like the summer, New York always feels like it’s burning up. Nobody knows what it’s like to have a hometown that is constantly destroyed and built back up. You never want to leave, yet you’re unsure if this is your home anymore. The corner shop that’s been open since before you were born was bought out and the old sign has been replaced with pink neon and an Instagram-able grass wall at the back. Nothing stays the same, yet nothing changes. New York isn’t real, a place not bound by anything, constantly evolving into something new. It’s strange to be born and grow up here. To be so lucky, yet so unfortunate. To own everything, the place people dream of, and yet nothing, as the place you dream of can never be brought back. Like this song, it’s bitter-sweet, like the end of summer.
Enjoy your summer, and see you in the fall.