Just Do It
Songs of the City
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Philadelphia-based magazine Next American City zeroes in on urban issues such as adaptive reuse and gentrification. Its next installment, says associate publisher Pooja Shah, will tackle "the woes of Amtrak as our national light-rail transit system" and "the issues our country's mayors hope to raise in the next elections." To celebrate issue No. 20, the mag teamed up with loyal reader and occasional volunteer Doug Sell for a party where Sell will spin songs about cities, towns or "any songs with a sense of place."
Among Sell's picks for the night are Waylon Jennings' "Luckenbach, Texas," Silver Jews' "Dallas," The Devlins' "Montreal," Ella Fitzgerald's "Manhattan," Fats Domino's "Kansas City," Will Smith's "Miami" (turncoat!) and the Decemberists' "Los Angeles, I'm Yours." There are also plenty of songs that don't have a city in the title but either mention a place or just evoke a mood.Sell promises to play an eclectic mix, but what genre does it best? "Definitely country, especially 'old' country," he says. "More story-based, and stories need context or a setting." His favorites skew provocative, such as Neko Case's "Thrice All American" and Billy Joel's "Allentown." "Like the best city songs, vividly written and go beyond just name-checking a place to talk about its economic and social and emotional issues."
Philly's repped generously, with tracks including Marah's cover of "Streets of Philadelphia" and Ween's "Freedom of '76."
Michelle Shocked's "Anchorage" is also on the playlist. Now if Sell could only find a song about Wasilla.
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