![]() State of Mind.” Everyone from Gil Scott-Heron to Joe Cocker to John Mayer has covered “Inner City Blues,” the emotional climax to Gaye’s landmark album, What’s Going On. Marvin Gaye - “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” (1971)Īnother essential songs about life in the ghetto, though one that’s decidedly more pacifist than “N.Y. State of Mind” one of the most definitive songs about life in the ghetto ever penned. Then again, Nas’ Illmatic classic doesn’t even really need to: “I think of crime when I’m in a New York state of mind.” And so, Nas uses his words to describe gang warfare in bloody, vivid detail, making “N.Y. ![]() State of Mind” makes almost no direct references to New York City, besides the hook and the end of the verses. ![]() “Chicago” may have idealized the city from a newcomer’s perspective, but “Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!” is a sarcastic history of Detroit’s numerous revitalization strategies that ultimately concludes, “Once a great place, now a prison.” Those unfamiliar with Detroit’s decline in the late 20th century may find Stevens’ repetitive chirping of errant words confusing, but his allusions to the Tigers winning the ’84 World Series and public transportation being built downtown are spot-on. Though Sufjan only completed two out of 50 in his state albums project, Illinois and Michigan spawned a number of great songs about life in cities small and big. Sufjan Stevens - “Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!” (2003) Many more simply get swept up into the charms of city life.Ĭlick through for all 25 - unranked - on the following pages, and a Spotify playlist. The Pretenders and Sufjan Stevens ache over poorly planned Midwest sprawl branded as urban revitalization. Talking Heads and Arcade Fire bemoan small-town existence. Nas, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder give voice to the gang violence and systematic racism of inner-city living. Here, we go beyond Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” to look at songs about New York and other cities that feel universal to city dwellers everywhere. But to be a classic of the genre, the song has to speak to bigger themes about city life, be it the hustle, the danger, or the beauty below the filth. If that city’s New York, it has about 1000 of ’em. Most big cities with any sort of history have a song.
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