Your 9/11 playlist

Cafe Society
#1

On my way to work today, I was jumping around on my ipod, trying to pick out 9/11 (and its aftermath) songs:

Team America soundtrack - America, Fuck Yeah – need I say more?

Pearl Jam - I Am Mine – the band wrote this song right after 9/11, and the lyrics reflect their feelings about it

They Might Be Giants - The Shadow Government – not about 9/11 specifically but about the patriot act and other post-9/11 bullshit the government started pulling, done TMBG style

Neil Young - Let’s Impeach the President – he’s not singing about Clinton!

South Park - The Ladder to Heaven – a spoof of 9/11ish country songs, the entire third verse is ‘9/11 9/11 9/11’ over and over.

What’s on your 9/11 playlist?

#2

“Holiday,” Green Day - A critique of Dubya and misplaced patriotism.

“Adagio for Strings,” Samuel Barber - A very sad song that reminds me of the losses of 9-11.

“Semper Fidelis,” John Philip Sousa - A stirring patriotic march.

“Rhapsody in Blue,” George Gershwin - Always says “New York City” to me - a tribute to a great city bloodied but unbowed by tragedy.

“The Star-Spangled Banner,” lyrics by Francis Scott Key - For obvious reasons.

#3

Try to Remember (the kind of Setember) from The Fantasticks (Jerry Orbach, of course)

The Rising (then entire cd) by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

(it was a) Beautiful Day by U2

American Tune Simon and Garfunkel

#4

I started with “Winterborn” by Cruxshadows, then just played “The Rising” from beginning to end.

#5

***“Capitol G” and “Zero Sum” from Nine Inch Nails’ “Year Zero”

***“Long, Long Way To Go” from Def Leppard’s “X”

And like Elendil’s Heir, “Rhapsody In Blue”

#6

And on a sadder note, “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”

The Rising has already been mentioned (twice)–good choice.

#7

“War On War”, “Jesus Etc.” and “Ashes of American Flags” from Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”. Funny thing is, as appropriate as those songs seem, they were actually recorded before the 9-11 attacks.

#8

“I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty. He performed it on the America: A Tribute To Heroes telethon.

“My City of Ruins” by Bruce Springsteen. Although it was written about Asbury Park, pre-9/11, he also performed it on the telethon.

“Imagine” performed by Neil Young on the “Heroes” telethon.

“Let’s Roll” by Neil Young, written as a tribute to Todd Beemer and the other passengers of United 93.

#9

Another vote for The Rising, beginning to end. Those are the only songs of any kind that make me cry.

#10

Rock you Like A Hurricane?

#11

Particularly “Empty Sky.”

Pat Metheny’s “Song for the Boys” is another to add. It’s quite powerful.

#12

“Love is Stronger Than Death” and “Slow Emotion Replay” by The The.

On a droller note, “My Favorite Buildings” by Robyn Hitchcock.

#13

On the way home from work on 9/11, the radio station played “Teach Your Children Well” by Crosby, Stills & Nash.* The song still evokes strong emotion in me and I get choked up by the time they sing “And you, of tender years, can’t know the fears that your elders grew by”. Mainly because it’s a damned shame that each generation gets a new set of fears.
*Don’t recall if it was with or without Young at that point.

#14

**Wake Up ** by Rage Against The Machine.

#15

“Makeshift Patriot” by Sage Francis
“We Need A War” by Fischerspooner

#16

Another vote for The Rising.

The old Irish ballad “The Foggy Dew” seemed to perfectly capture the fealing of NYC and much of the nation in the weeks after.

#17

America by Marcy Playground

Really, anything but that god awful Lee Greenwood. scowl

#18

“New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel.
“Shattered” by the Rolling Stones.

#19

A bunch of stuff by Einstürzende Neubauten

#20

The song Devils and Dust by Bruce Springsteen:

“What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear’s a dangerous thing
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It’ll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust”

:shivver:

Billy Joel’s performance of “New York State of Mind” during the post-911 fund-raising concert was very moving, IMO. He played it exactly like any other performance of his song, except he had a FDNY firefighter’s helmet on his piano. An early step toward normalcy in the post-911 days.