A New York Moment

Last Sunday, we took the ferry to Williamsburg for a walk. Our old neighborhood — where we lived from 2010 to 2017 – has lost much of its edge and has mostly become a playground for young, wealthy professionals. Still, there are some interesting, quirky shops, along with a Muji and an Apple Store, where we like to shop.

The highlight, however, is a picnic at Marsha P. Johnson State Park. The thoughtfully landscaped park offers a small beach on the East River where you can sit on large slabs of stone and watch the sunset over Manhattan. The area has become busier over the years, but it remains easy to find a spot.

It was mostly cloudy on Sunday, but the sun broke through, and the skyline gradually shifted from silver to gold, creating an almost surreal backdrop. Occasionally, the clouds covered the illuminated tops of the skyscrapers, adding a mythical touch to the scene.

We’ve been living in New York for over two decades, but we’ve never lost our enthusiasm for these moments. And around the world, the fascination with the city has never diminished either, even as some people are now hesitant to travel to the country.

How can the allure of New York be captured in music? Of course, there’s no shortage of songs about this city – Elke made a playlist that we play when we return home after a road trip. But we wanted to try something different, so I asked ChatGPT to help find indie songs about New York from artists who aren’t from here. The anchor point was the beautifully moody song “New York,” by UK artist Ex:Re.

It didn’t work. Although the results were interesting, ChatGPT’s choices drifted too far from the original idea. So we shifted gears and chose ourselves five songs that capture a dramatic, atmospheric New York moment.

Five Songs

Listen to glamglare five songs on Spotify, Apple Music, or below on YouTube.

• Ex:Re is the solo project of the Daughter singer and main songwriter, Elena Tonra. Her song “New York,” written while she was recording with her band in the city, is an intense New York moment itself.
• „Share the Present“ is by the New York band Gift, and the triumphant synth line captures the moment when the sun sets and the city that never sleeps gets ready for the night.
• When it gets dark in the city, there’s still a lingering sense of danger in the streets, even though the times Fun Lovin‘ Criminals describe in „King of New York“ have thankfully been gone since the early 90s.
• Swirling lights and pounding beats, the sun has set, the clubs are open, and Neggy Gemmy‘s Rollercoaster sets the mood.
• That moment when everything feels right and you know you are in the right place: for Olivia Reid, it is the „Runner‘s High.“

Song Pick of the Day

Listen to/watch all seven songs on YouTube. Follow our daily updated playlists on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify for the 50 latest Song Pick of the Day features, or subscribe here to receive them in your mailbox in real-time. Thank you for following us and sharing the excitement.

• Anger turns to strength as better joy unleashes “steamroller."
• Between dream and waking, Hannah Schneider’s „Lighthouse“ glows with acoustic warmth and subtle electronics.
• With “To Myself,” Emma See turns letting go into an act of love.
• “How Long Can You Stay?” asks Tabi Gervis — and “forever” feels like the only right answer to this timeless love song.
• On “National Disgrace,” Little Dog Star channels her LCD Soundsystem spirit into an irresistible indie rush.
• Wyldest’s new single “Wax Museum” melts through the noise — a vibrant reminder to stay honest and alive in an automated world.
• On “White Gown,”Low Girl spin emotional chaos into pure indie euphoria.

Nine Photos from a Weekend of Discoveries, from Concrete to Cinderella

Last weekend, New York City celebrated Open House New York — an annual festival that unlocks 300+ destinations across all five boroughs for behind-the-scenes tours and special activities.

On Friday, Oliver and I visited an architecture firm where we got fascinating insights into their work. The firm was involved in the repurposing of the Domino Sugar Factory (9) and the Gowanus Powerhouse Arts facility. At this event, I heard for the first time about coloring concrete and the challenges it brings. That led me to read an article about the troubling issues of the only ten-year-old 432 Park Avenue building — A Tower on Billionaires’ Row Is Full of Cracks. Who’s to Blame?

On Saturday, after work, we ventured deep into Central Park to visit the history-rich Swedish Marionette Theatre, where we got a wonderful behind-the-scenes peek (1–3). Don’t think what they do there is just for children — in August, I saw their original-score production of Cinderella Samba and loved it so much that I definitely want to see it again (running till the end of the year!).

Afterward, we enjoyed a small picnic at Turtle Pond — not as lavish as the one some people had abandoned. You can book these luxurious picnics, and Oliver and I always wonder who actually does that and then leaves all that food behind (6).

Also at Turtle Pond was a beautifully dressed big family celebrating their daughter’s sixteenth birthday — a living Cinderella (sic!) with not one, not two, but three photographers! They even had one of the painters near the pond pretend to paint the young beauty (5). Cute!

And on Sunday, as Oliver already described, we ventured out to Williamsburg and enjoyed the sunset at the waterfront (8). In all our years living in New York, we’ve never seen a swan on the East River — a beautiful, yet slightly lonely, sight (8).

Even after two decades here, the city keeps finding new ways to enchant us.