Soundtrack for Big Cities

Cities, as one of the most complex and organic synthesis of human manifestation, offer the best and the worst of what mankind has ever conceived and wanted to express in material and immaterial ways.

From the shaping of social altruistic ideals to the most narcissistic despotic purposes; from city planning aimed to shape a better man to the regime’s monument, all belongs to the city, all fits in the city.

Its streets, parks or buildings shape a landscape that has inspired man through the ages, providing a source of knowledge and sensibilities used for the progress of philosophy, science and the arts.

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The city, imagined or real, will always be, for those who live in it, the background for the role we perform and for the plot that unfolds within its apparent limits. As a result of many centuries of human progress consolidation, the city reflects and re-thinks on itself through time, creating the aesthetic molds that shape and define its contours, its definitive, but ever changing, identity. For those reasons, the music produced in the cities is, doubtlessly, one of those traces of identity. The city, through its creative inhabitants and critical mass, produces its own soundtrack.

For sure, there are few big cities which haven’t generated one or more musical themes that are a reflection of the pulse of its people, the beauty of its placement or about the misadventures that occur in a determined place and time.

As a mayhem of people, cultural influences and experiences, the city offers the perfect setting for musical creativity.

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The physical and emotional territories imprinted by the cityscapes may induce us to states of melancholy or exaltation, of longing or hope. As a mayhem of people, cultural influences and experiences, the city offers the perfect setting for musical creativity.

Another aspect that correlates and reinforces the relation between music and city, is that the former enables and structures a connection between the physical and the incorporeal, generating a kind of sensorial and intellectual totality.  As music has the power to phenomenologically redefine a place, lending new sensations and emotions that could not exist by itself, they become complementary and produce a new vision or engagement to one another.

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The emergence in recent times of walkmans, diskmans and, nowadays, music platform apps that are used on smartphones, only came to support the dissemination of music and reinforce the Music-City symbiosis, enabling more and more the fruition of the ‘’urban soundtrack’’.

Urban commuting is now made with the company and to the beat of our favorite songs, thus creating an intimate association between the places we live and the music we listen to. It is interesting to notice that if, in the 80’s and 90’s, the use of such equipment was mostly done by teenagers, it is nowadays spread to all ages. These gadgets came to reinforce the power of the music for the masses, something that radio and TV had done previously.

Disclaimer

The choice of the selected songs do not follow any strict principles regarding music style or time periods (although they belong to the second half of the XX century and the first decades of the XXI). The only requisit imposed was that the author(s) had a clear relation with the city in question.

This playlist-article makes a subjective choice of a few themes that can be identified with the chosen cities and are obviously discussable and, most of all, should be expanded. The choice of the cities is either because some of us lived there or we visited them and they created a strong impact. Or simply because we associated a song with that specific place.

We hope some of the songs bring echoes of good memories and that you help us complete a list that should include all the great cities in the world!

The idea is that this playlist can be expanded and enriched by all of those who wish to do so. Our readers are very welcome to share and comment on this delicate subject so we can add many songs and cities to the urban soundtrack. The whole world fits in this list!!

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Playlist Content:

New York – Walk on The Wild Side – Lou Reed, Transformer Album, 1972.

Los Angeles – L.A. Woman – The Doors – L.A. Woman Album, 1971.

San Francisco – San Francisco (Be sure to ware some flowers in your hair) – Scott McKenzie – San Francisco Album, 1967.

New Jersey – Jersey Girl – Tom Waits – Heart Attack and Vine Album, 1980.

New Orleans – The House of the Rising Sun – The Animals – The Animals Album, 1964.

Memphis – Stuck inside of mobile with the Memphis blues again – Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde Album, 1966.

Philadelphia – The Sreets of Philadelphia – Bruce Springsteen – Philadelphia – Music from the Motion Picture Album, 1993.

London – London Calling – The Clash – London Calling Album, 1979.

London – Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits – Dire Straits Album, 1979.

Istanbul – Istanbul – Duman – Eski Köprü Altında Album, 1999.

Istanbul – Bebek – Duman – Eski Köprü Altında Album, 1999.

Paris – 1901 – Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Album, 2009.

Paris – Genérique – Miles Davis – Ascenseur pour l’échafaud Album, 1958.

Berlin – African Reggae – Nina Hagen – NunSexMonkRock Album, 1982.

Berlin – Berlin – Nina Hagen – Street Album, 1991.

Berlin – Berlin – Ideal – Ideal Album, 1980.

Berlin – Berlin – Lou Reed – Berlin Album, 1973.

Dusseldorf – Das Altbierlied – Die Toten Hosen – Damenwhal Album, 1986.

Alesund – Alesund – Sun Kill Mun – Admiral Fell Promises Album, 2010.

Montreux – Smoke on the Water – Deep Purble – Machine Head Album, 1972.

Buenos Aires – En la ciudad de la furia – Soda Stereo – Doble Vida Album, 1988.

São Paulo – Sampa – Caetano Veloso – Muito Album, 1978.

São Paulo – Não existe amor em SP – Criolo – Nó na Orelha Album, 2011.

São Paulo – Augusta, Angélica e Consolação – Tom Zé, Todos os Olhos Album, 1973,

Rio de Janeiro – Samba do Avião – Antonio Carlos Jobim, 1962.

Rio de Janeiro – Onde o Rio é mais Baiano – Caetano Veloso – Livro Album, 1997.

Luanda – Luanda Nbolo – Bonga – Angola 72 Album, 2017.

Luanda – Eu vi Luanda – Filipe Mukenga – Kianda Ki Anda Album, 1994.

Bissau – Mindjeres di pano preto – José Carlos Schwarz – Boka ke Papia Album, 2017.

Roma – L’Eternita di Roma – Virginiana Miller – Venga il Regno Album, 2013.

Madrid – Pongamos que Hablo de Madrid – Joaquin Sabina – Malas Companias Album, 1980.

Madrid – Madrid – Xoel lopez – Sueños y Pan Album, 2017.

Madrid – La Puerta de Alcalá – Ana Belén y Victor Emanuel – Para la ternura siempre hay tiempo Album, 1986.

Barcelona – La Rumba de Barcelona – Manu Chao – Radio Bemba Sound System Album, 2002.

Barcelona – Cadillac Solitario – Loquillo – El Ritmo del Garaje Album, 1983.

Barcelona – Como un burro amarrado en la puerta del baile – El Ultimo de la Fila – Astronomia Razonable Album, 1993.

Sevilla – Sevilla – Vicente Amigo – Memoria de los Sentidos Album, 2017.

Sevilla – Yo me quedo en Sevilla – Pata Negra – Blues de la Frontera Album, 1987.

Lisboa – Canção de Lisboa – Jorge Palma – Só Album, 1991.

Lisboa – Sei de Um Rio – Camané – Sempre de Mim Album, 2008.

Lisboa – Nova Lisboa – Dino d’Santiago – Mundo Nobu Album, 2018.

Lisboa – Alfama – Pedro Moutinho com Mayra Andrade – Lisboa Mora Aqui Album, 2010.

Porto – Porto Sentido – Rui Veloso (lyrics by Carlos Tê) – Rui Veloso Album, 1987.

Grândola– Grândola Vila Morena – Zeca Afonso – Cantigas do Maio Album, 1971.

Beijing – Nothing to my Name – Cui Jian – Nothing to my Name Album, 1986.

Bucharest – Violeta – Sarmalele Reci – Tara Te Vrea Prost Album, 1995.

(Due to the large number of contributions the song list is not 100% up to date).