My Connection to New York City as an Indie Rock Fangirl

In the words of Mrs Lana Del Rey, “I miss New York and I miss the music, Me and my friends, we miss rock ‘n’ roll”.

Truthfully, I haven’t actually been to New York since I was seven on a family holiday that consisted of trips to Madame Tussaud’s and M&M World during a scorching July heatwave. Yet somehow, I feel a deeper connection to the city through the music that has come out of it in a way I couldn’t feel with any other location. 

So, what makes New York so insanely special? It sounds like a silly question, but let’s start with the rebuilding of a city in the early 2000s, which all comes down to The Strokes. It’s no surprise that New York went through a massive cultural reset post 9/11 – something I’m too young to remember but have watched countless video essays on. In the words of James Gordon in the legendary Lizzy Goodman book, Meet Me In The Bathroom, “People wanted to look at New York, they wanted to celebrate New York, and The Strokes were at the centre of that, Here was this true New York band.”

In a time of crisis for the city, this new and exciting rock band held so much power for lifting people’s spirits. Their debut album, Is This It, posesses an extraordinary energy contradictory to how the city truly felt at the time, prominent in tracks such as New York City Cops and Someday. Is This It is an album that makes me want to hop on a plane to New York and see the environment that sourced this incredible record. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to listen to this album as a local, or even just to witness the rise of The Strokes from wherever in the world. 

Of course, I can’t only mention The Strokes when discussing the great importance of rock groups in New York in the new millennium. It would simply be criminal not to mention Interpol, or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or even The Walkmen. All of these bands wrote of New York in a way that elicited so much adoration and devotion to their city.

On the 2003 b-side, NYC, by Interpol, Paul Banks indignantly repeats the phrase “New York Cares” after a verse or two criticising post 9/11 New York life. Even in a track like this, with gloomy and remorseful undertones, a sense of hope is found. I find that in a lot of this scene of artists’ lyrics. Themes of ambition and encouragement come up frequently – a parallel to the rebuilding of their home.

I believe that as a young person, this era of music from New York is so relevant to me and elicits such emotion due to the change that I’m seeing in my own life growing up. It creates a certain resonance with these NYC artist’s passionate styles of writing. To be a fan of something is to truly understand, and of course, I can’t understand the change that the citizens of New York felt in the early 2000s, but I can certainly relate to songs that describe uncertainty as an 18-year-old.

Live music is everything to me as a young person who spends most of her time writing about concerts. And yet for some reason – still unknown – I still don’t feel satisfied with all the glorious gigs I’ve attended. Perhaps its because – in my opinion – all the greatest venues with all the greatest artists are always in New York, and I simply won’t rest until I can say I’ve been to Madison Square Garden or Mercury Lounge. The fact I’ll never step foot in CBGB’s simply feels like heartbreak.

A slightly controversial aspect of online fangirl culture I absolutely adore, however, is live streaming concerts – something to bring fans from across the globe together, to witness an event in a city that may not be accessible to all. I remember the feeling of watching The 1975 at Madison Square Garden on a grainy livestream (little did I know it’d be available to watch in much better quality a few months later), seeing my favourite band headline such a venue felt different to other gigs of theirs. It was a moment in indie history. It was the magic of MSG. It was the sheer thrill of NYC. 

The New York indie-rock scene didn’t simply peak with 2000s acts such as The Strokes and Interpol. A new wave of bands and fans accumulated in the 2010s with a much quirkier, indie-sleaze vibe. To pen a piece about my affection for New York’s indie scene would be criminal if I weren’t to mention Vampire Weekend.

It was the literary lyricism and jazz-inspired guitar riffs that set them apart from the generation before them, and I guess I’m just as obsessed with both eras. I feel that the way that songwriters such as Ezra Koenig and Matt Berninger write about the city feels like a love letter – a confession that New York feels almost romantic. On the 2017 The National track, Nobody Else Will Be There, Berninger sings, “It’s getting cold again, but New York’s gorgeous. It’s a subway day”. It’s lyrics like this that make me feel a connection to the city; a longing to understand the gorgeous culmination of words that my favourite writers associate with NYC. 

Although my all-time favourite NYC artists are most certainly The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, The National, LCD Soundsystem etc., there are so many upcoming artists cropping up everywhere that give me hope that the NYC fan culture cycle will continue.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a new generation of fangirls start queuing outside these artists’ gigs in overpriced merch, records and Sharpies in hand. Been Stellar is just one act that I have been unable to escape of late (not a complaint, of course). This compelling five-piece, signed to Dirty Hit, has had one hell of a start, from supporting Fontaines D.C. to releasing their debut album, Scream From New York, NY. Their tunes are reminiscent of the likes of Wunderhorse and The Murder Capital, and they’re honestly just super cool.

Additionally, I must mention The Dare, reviving peak LCD Soundsystem party anthems within his debut album, What’s Wrong With New York?, a cheeky, witty and eccentric ode to the city.

The New York music scene will continue to thrive, and I’ll always feel that special connection with these artists, because who am I if not just another devoted fangirl?