In the basement of Shake Shack on the Upper West Side, LCD Soundsystem’s song came on and everyone paused, for just a millisecond, to ponder their New York existence.
New York I love you
But you’re bringing me down.
Like a rat in a cage
Pulling minimum wage.
New York I love you
But you’re bringing me down.
It was like hearing our names over the loudspeaker. Hey, we wondered, is he talking about us? But the millisecond passed, and we went back to noshing delicious burgers and slurping creamy milkshakes. It was April, after all, 60 degrees and sunny. New York wasn’t bringing us down, at least not today.
I can imagine this song being spliced into a movie, at the critical juncture when a world-weary hipster-hero rides the subway home and momentarily ponders his life choices before acting valiantly/finding self-redemption/getting the girl. And sure enough, several YouTubers imagined it too. In this particular short flick, the creator simply holds a camera while riding the train and walking the streets. Beware, anything can look depressing with this song as the backdrop.
