Yo, dudes! Ahem. I’ll bet you’re enjoying Downtown Week, ain’t ya? And, why not; after all, you’ve never seen anyone wear a T-shirt with ‘I Hate New York’ written on it, have you?

Part of the allure of the Big Apple is that it’s such a cinematic city. I really can’t think of another place that has been so frequently and so lovingly captured on celluloid. Walking around the place you often feel like you’ve wandered onto a humongous film set!

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 15 greatest NYC films. I’ve decided to judge these films as much for their “New Yorkieness” as for their overall quality, so grab a Nathan’s hot dog and enjoy!

Why 15? Who wants to know, buddy?

15. The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979)

I’ll be straight with you, kids. I’ve got a bit of a love/hate thing going on with The Warriors. On the one hand, I can’t help but find it ever-so-slightly tiresome (it’s just one protracted fight sequence after another, is it not?) and as knuckle-headed as anything else this side of Star Wars. On the other hand, however, it’s vision of a semi-futuristic NYC overrun by tribalistic street gangs is occassionally enthralling; the foreboding opening shot of a subway train snaking past Coney Island’s famous Wonder Wheel, being a case in point.

14. Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984)

Quite possibly most 80s kids’ first introduction to New York on screen, and a real treat from a time when mainstream films still managed to be both witty and spectaculor (see also Gremlins and Raiders of the Lost Ark). King Kong atop the Empire State Building may be more famous, but for folk of my generation the only monster on the rampage through Downtown Manhattan that matters is the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!

13. Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979)

Again, another film I can’t claim to be the BIGGEST fan of, and I’d be surprised if there weren’t a few other people out there who find Woodsy’s in-film relationship with a 17-year-old schoolgirl a little bit, well, ewww. The famous opening montage of Manhattan itself, however, accompanied by George Gershwin’s evocative ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, is Allen’s finest moment as a “pure” filmmaker, and an unforgettable tribute to his beloved hometown.

12. The Naked City (Jules Dassin, 1948)

Rather unsurprisingly, the city known to many as “Gotham” always made a great location for Film Noir, and while The Naked City is far from the genre’s finest hour, it’s the one in which New York looms largest, near-title character as it is. While the plot is a little muddled and limp, the pulp verite shooting-style still looks electric, and a thrilling climax on the Williamsburg Bridge is well worth hanging around for.

11. Q: The Winged Serpent (Larry Cohen, 1982)

An unfairly overlooked film from an unfairly overlooked director, Q is a brilliantly written, tautly directed mini-horror-masterpiece which sees a deadly, ancient dragon picking off New Yorkers for it’s dinner. Imagine Jaws remoulded with the Manhattan skyline doubling for the deep blue sea, throw in a pair of fine performances from Michael Moriarty (jive-talking crim) and the late David Carradine (tough-talking cop), and off you fly!

10. Permanent Vacation (Jim Jarmusch, 1980)

The once near-immpossible to get hold of debut feature from Jim Jarmusch, this is scuzzy and meandering even by his standards. But then, if you don’t like that sort of thing, what are you doing watching a Jim Jarmusch film? A big noise on the NYC hipster scene at the turn of the 70s, this is a vivid snapshot of those times from a truly unique director.

9. Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)

What stay in New York would be complete without a trip to the Dakota Building? A breathtaking, neo-gothic apartment complex, the Dakota served both as the setting for Rosemary’s Baby, and the scene of John Lennon’s murder… Erm. Golly, Rosemary’s Baby is a great film, and the New York high-life has never been rendered in quite such a terrifying fashion as fashionable fawn Mia Farrow finds herself impregnated by the bloody devil himself! Imagine that as a storyline on Sex and The City!

8. Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969)

Next time you find yourself being harassed by the parping horn of an in-coming NYC taxi, please don’t forget to smack both hands down on it’s bonnet and bellow “HEY! I’M WALKING HERE!” a la Dustin Hoffman’s would-be pimp Ratso Rizzo in a famous (improvised!) scene from Midnight Cowboy. Furthermore, should you happen across a happening party with various members of the Warhol Factory crew, as Rizzo and his naive charge Joe Buck (Jon Voight) do here, then award yourself some extra NYC brownie points.

7. Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)

While not quite as fully Film Noir-y as The Naked City (there is a distinct lack of “broads” and guns, for starters), Sweet Smell of Success nevertheless does a better job of capturing post-war New York at it’s jazzy, smokey, dangerous best. Burt Lancaster is at the top of his game as the unscrupulous press columnist out to ruin his sister’s beau, and Tony Curtis is equally impressive as the conniving talent agent who hits the seedy clubs and dive-bars to dig up the dirt.

6. Smithereens (Susan Seidelman, 1982)

While Jim Jarmusch’s post-punk New York was a low-key, comic, and existential playground, future Desperately Seeking Susan director Seidelman had a more wary view of the same scene. That’s not to say Smithereens isn’t charming or witty (it’s both!), but it definitely bears the mark of a cautionary tale as a directionless punkette finds herself in a pickle following an attempt to piggyback to fame via a low-rent rock star played by original punk Richard Hell.

5. Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 1975)

In which Al Pacino plays a bank robber, engaged in an fastly unravelling hold-up on a sweltering Brooklyn afternoon in the hope of being able to raise enough funds to finance his gay lover’s sex change operation. It’s certainly a synopsis that makes you go “uh?”, and Dog Day Afternoon is a sassy, oddball delight from start to finish. Sure, most of the action is bank-bound and we don’t get to see too much of the city outside, but this corking ensemble piece is charged with enough electric Noo Yoik dialogue to light up Shea Stadium.

4. Johnny Suede (Tom DiCillo, 1991)

It’s those New York hipsters again, and although this lot are of an early-90s vintage, we soon see that they’ve not really tidied the place up much since the days of Siedelman and Jarmusch. Around the run-down environs of Williamsburg stalks 50s throwback Johnny Suede, searching in vain for fame and fortune, but forced to work by day as a painter and decorator in trendy local art galleries. DiCillo’s film is possibly the best film made yet about NYC trendies, thanks in no small part to the obvious glee it takes in pin-pricking their painfully affected personas, while still retaining enough heart to hope for their ultimate happiness.

3. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)

“You don’t make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets.” And not just any old streets, but the Mean Streets of New York. Look, you know it and I know it, Martin Scorsese (not Woody Allen, not Spike Lee) is NYC’s greatest celluloid poet. I could have put almost every one of the great man’s films on here (barring such non-Big Apple-based efforts as Casino, naturally), but it wouldn’t have been fair on everyone else. Mean Streets does deserve an extra-special mention, however, set as it is in the Little Italy locales of Scorsese’s own childhood.

2. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Joseph Sargent, 1974)

The story of a band of robber’s audacious attempt to “steal” a subway train, this is similar to Dog Day Afternoon in that it’s a New York film in which we get to see very little of the city’s streets. But since we get to spend most of our time down in the subway, kinda quite literally the “core” of the Big Apple, this white-knuckle thrill-ride of a film more than makes up for what we don’t get to see above ground. Also like Dog Day Afternoon, the authentic New York dialogue is hilarious and highly quotable, with practically every conversation an argument. “Put your pants on, Al. We’re goin’ Downtown!”

1. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)

Ok, so it’s that man Scorsese again, but how could it not be? The first time I ever went to New York, I watched Taxi Driver mere hours before my flight to get me in the mood. And although it is admittedly a rather sour view of the city, Taxi Driver is the ultimate New York film. I can’t think of the city without picture Travis Bickle’s taxi gliding through a cloud of steam. Then there’s Bernard Hermann’s eerie, dreamy score, which is in turn both unsettlingly relentless and moodily romantic… Very much like New York itself.

Daysarenumbers are the lucky recipients of an exclusive mix from one of most exciting UK bands around, Gyratory System. Wowing audiences and critics alike with their hallucinatory brand of post-punk and electronics, we were over the moon when Andrew kindly agreed to do a special mix for us during our Downtown Week. He also wrote us a lovely introduction.

Here’s Andrew, with a few words…

Here’s a selection of music that has influenced the Gyratory System sound. In keeping with this week’s theme we have included some downtown-type stuff, by Konk, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Laurie Anderson; and Material. It is certainly a unique period in music and its juxtaposition of repetition and chaos is something we emulate. There is also a selection of other things – British music from Joe Meek, Loop and Nightmares on Wax; Afrobeat from Fela Kuti; Miles Davis playing jazz fanfares; and something by the French modernist composer Olivier Messiaen. People sometimes ask us where our sound comes from, hopefully listening to this mix will help answer that question. Andrew GS.

Gyratory Systemm – Influences Mix

TRACKLISTING

Konk – Baby Dee

Joe Meek – Disc Dance of the Globbots

Kid Creole and the Coconuts – Lili Marlene

Loop – Head On

Miles Davis – Saeta

Laurie Anderson – From The Air

Fela Kuti – ODOO

Material – Reduction

Olivier Messiaen – Louange a l’immortalite de Jesus

Nightmares On Wax – I’m For Real

Find out more about the wonderful Gyratory System, with the links below!

Gyratory System Official Site

GS Twitter

GS Facebook

Angular Records

Shep Pettibone’s monstrous remix of the definitive Salsoul track, Love Break (as it’s more commonly known), became a staple of the early NYC rap/breakdancing scene, as well as being the ultimate ‘voguing’ song at the Harlem Drag Balls during the late eighties. The Orchestra’s finest has been sampled to death, from Madonna to Eric B & Rakim all helped themselves to the track’s best bits (actually, i will give away my 12” copy to anyone who can name all the artists who sampled it. Honestly, I will! Look, I’ve given you a head start).

A stone-cold, freakin’ classic.

The Salsoul Orchestra – Ooh I Love It (Love Break)

Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party was an anarchic music/arts show that aired between 1978-1982. Produced with almost no budget and no script it showcased the best talent from NYC and beyond. Fondly remembered for it’s mad performances and guests, it gave a valuable platform to the city’s assorted artists, weirdos and chancers. The likes of Debbie Harry, Jean-Michel Basquiat, James Chance all graced TV Party’s hallowed set and it’s a perfect Downtown artefact.

Brink Films is about to release a best-of DVD, so until then, have a look at these wonderful Youtube clips and join the party!

The Clash shed a lot fans when they released ‘This Is Radio Clash’ in 1981. Released on a 12” between the ‘Sandinista’ and ‘Combat Rock’ albums, it was a massive club smash, promptly entered the disco charts and the Clash famously divided their fanbase. It marked the point when the band started to experiment with their sound to incorporate dub, dance and gospel influences. When they went to New York in the early eighties, they started to immerse themselves with the burgeoning rap scene and the culture that went with it.

Hooking up with infamous graffiti artist Futura, who they asked to go on tour with them, they released this downtown classic in 1983. With the Clash providing the dubbed-out groove and Futura rapping on top, it’s one of the many exciting examples when NYC’s music scenes cross-pollinated, creating an explosive downtown clash.

Futura 2000 – The Escapades of Futura 2000 (dub)

It’s impossible not to mention Bob Blank when one discusses the music of New York during the seventies and eighties. A true maverick producer, Blank was the man who harnessed the creative energy of the City and channelled it through his famous Blank Tapes Studios. Having worked with an whole array of Downtown talent, Blank’s work should be celebrated and revered (Strut certainly think so) and that’s why we have dedicated a little feature to him during Downtown week. But first, here’s a quick bio…

Bob Blank moved to New York in 1973 to work as a session guitarist, but he soon found his calling as a sound engineer and producer. He opened Blank Studios in 1976; the hippest and best studio in town, it quickly became the creative centre of the New York music revolution. The likes of Sun Ra, Arthur Russell and Chic were soon vying for recording time with up and coming punk/No Wave artists, and an array of the City’s finest disco DJs. Blank’s studio and production technique was the nucleus for ideas and provided the platform for artists to experiment with sound and ideas. His side project, The Aural Exciters, was basically Blank asking musicians who passed through the studios to come and record a few tunes. This creative flexibility allowed whatever artist that walked through the famous Blank Studios’ doors to be experimental and free with their sound

The following top ten was inspired by the recently released Bob Blank Strut Compilation – The Blank Generation. An excellent collection of Blank’s works, I cannot rate it highly enough and urge you to check it out! Anyway, here’s our favourite Blank moments. Whether he produced, engineered or mixed ‘em, every moment is pure magic.

10. EXODUS – TOGETHER FOREVER

Much sought after in the late eighties due to an Dave Lee re-working (under the pseudonym  Raven Maize), Exodus’ much sampled 1982 original can lay claim to be one of most influential house records of all time.

9. 8 EYED SPY – DIDDY WAH DIDDY

Bob Blank enjoyed a fruitful working relationship with the first lady of No Wave, Lydia Lunch. Together, the pair produced several No Wave masterpieces, including Lunch’s seminal 1979 album Queen Of Siam. Formed after the demise of Teenage Jesus and The Jerks, 8 Eyed Spy attempted to distort the visceral rhythms of post-punk with the stomping sensibilities of rock ‘n’ roll. This chaotic and swampy version of a Bo Diddley track, is Lunch at her howling best.

8. ORLANDO RIVA SOUND – BODY TO BODY BOOGIE

Orlando Riva Sound (commonly abbreviated as O.R.S.) was a German disco group founded in 1977 by Anthony Monn & Rainer Pietsch. Taken from the 1978 album of the same name, this wonderfully slinky piece of downtempo disco, swoons and seduces in equal measure. Also includes some lovely Bee-Gees pastiching falsettos.

7. TAANA GARDNER – WHEN YOU TOUCH ME (LARRY LEVAN MIX)

Engineered by Blank, mixed by Levan, this 1979 West End Records classic is a raunchy disco bomb. Starting slowly, Gardner’s sweet vocals softly entice before we head into a full boogie meltdown. Simply sublime.

6. NECESSARIES – EVENT HORIZON LP

The Necessaries are an often overlooked New York 80s new wave group. The quartet, fronted by Ed Tomney, briefly featured a certain Arthur Russell on keyboards*. Their short-lived career resulted in two LPs for label Sire. With Bob Blank at the helm, the group created loud, high power pop songs, with melodic and soft undertones. It’s on Event Horizon however, that that band’s driving and reflective brand of new wave really shone.

*Legend has it, when Arthur Russell decided to leave the band, he legged it out of the band’s tour bus en route to a gig in Washington! The cad!

5.  CLYMAX – MUSICLAND

Mastered at Blank Studios, this rare calypso-tinged disco number was released on the Brooklyn-based LPS label in 1980.  A deep and dreamy melodic ode to well, music, the languid horns, curious synths and relentless groove wonderfully combine to leave the listener spellbound.

4. FONDA RAE – OVER LIKE A FAT RAT

Sampled by De La Soul and Eric B & Rakim amongst many others, Fonda Rae’s 1982 classic bears all the hallmarks of a quintessential Blank production. Written by Leroy Burgess and released on Vanguard Records, this modern slice of soul boogie has an enduring groove and attitude that still shakes the dancefloors.

3. AURAL EXCITERS – EMILE (NIGHT RATE)

As I mentioned earlier,  Aural Exciters was Bob Blank’s after-hours side-project, the likes of James Chance, Taana Gardner, Lizzy Mercier Descloux and a whole host of other downtown stars would come down and have a good ol’ muck around. This EP features Mutant Disco staples such as Marathon Runner, Spooks in Space, Maladie D’Amour and of course, Emile (Night Rate) and demonstrates Blank virtuous production skills, as well as his sense of humour.

2. CRISTINA – DISCO CLONE

Disco Clone was the first release on ZE and heralded the start of a prolific partnership between Blank and the label. Disco Clone however, was originally produced by John Cale and when he decided to leave the project, Blank took over and helped to create a bombastic camp disco classic. The bizarre pairing of Cristina’s breathy vocals with the hilarious sleazy spoken word bits from Kevin Kline, makes this a Bob Blank oddity worth revisiting.

1. LOLA -WAX THE VAN

Teaming up with his wife Lola Blank and Arthur Russell, Bob Blank created one of the best leftfield disco records of all time with this 1987 underground gem. Written by Russell in 1985, the track was to feature on Lola Blank’s solo record, but after many renditions and re-recordings, the 12” was finally released two years later when the label Jump Street decided to release it. Formidable and peerless, this is NYC disco at it’s best.

So, there you go. That was a quick glimpse at the work of Bob Blank. If you quite liked what you read/heard, be sure to check out that Strut compilation!!

Led by drummer, Scott Hartley and featuring bass, vocals and various percussions by Richard McQuire, Salvatore Principato and Dennis Young respectively, Liquid Liquid were influenced by the DIY Punk aesthetic and by African music, but most of all the idea of groove-based songs.

Their short recording history was punctuated by one of the most seminal art rock/dance crossovers. The famous bassline from ‘Cavern’ ended up in the court room via Grandmaster Flash’s ‘White Lines’ in a long-winded and well publicised case against Sugar Hill Records in 1983. Even though the group and their label 99 Records won the case, the entire legal process exhausted and traumatized their label boss, Ed Bahlman so much, he retired from the music industry and the label shut down.

As a result, Liquid Liquid’s four EP’s for 99 Records have become much sought-after and collectable items. Original recordings from other 99 Records artists such as ESG, Konk, Bush Tetras, Vivienne Goldman, Glenn Branca, Maximum Joy and Congo,  sell for ridiculous amounts of money. So keep an eye out and your wallet if you happen to come across one of ‘em.

Alongside other NY labels such as ZE, Sleeping Bag, Acme and Flip, 99 Records perfected the sumptuous blend of disco-fied beats with post-punk quality. The quintessential sound of Downtown.

Liquid Liquid – Cavern

Hello cool cats and jive turkeys, welcome to Daysarenumbers’ Downtown week! This week we’ll be traveling back in time to late 70s & 80s New York to celebrate one of the most creatively fertile periods of popular music and film.

From the Big Apple to Gotham City, New York has always been one of the most mythologized places in the world, and undoubtedly it’s most influential era was in the seventies and early eighties. Artists, musicians and filmmakers were drawn to the city’s sleazy mystique and found creative freedom within it’s crumbling walls and burnt-out buildings. The Lower East Side of Manhattan was the experimental playground to the free-spirited bohemians and the emerging young art practitioners who gave the area a raw and urgent energy.  Artists, musicians, choreographers, sculptors were likely to be living within a ten-mile area of each other, exchanging ideas, films and performances. A vibrant community was born and so was The Downtown Scene. Best described as ‘noisy but disciplined’, the fusion of sounds and sub-cultures (ranging from disco, post-punk, new wave, hip-hop and avant-garde), that were shared between the dilapidated lofts and cheap warehouse spaces, still seem radical and relevant as ever.

From the music to the films, we’ll be your ultimate Downtown guides. We’ll be zipping from The Kitchen to the Paradise Garage, taking a cab to Max’s Kansas City to CBGB’s and then we’ll catch a movie and head to the Roxy. And hopefully, we’ll squeeze some more in between. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s go Downtown!

But first, here’s a little something to get you in the mood…