THE BLUE NILE "Hats"
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT "Poses"

Everyone is going to have their little tributes to September 11, 2001 today. I thought of avoiding a post altogether or simply blissfully ignoring the date. However, I can't stop thinking, now that I've been brainwashed in having to, of the actual morning. I remember the skies, lots of people will say they remember the weather. It was "back to school" weather. The kind of crisp still air that used to get me all goosebumpy the last couple of years of high school, still does. This morning was like that. Maybe that's why I've decided not to ignore today.

I don't have a real tribute though. I do miss the actual building and of course am horrified when I think how many people died or were affected. When I came back to NYC in 1997, I had many wonderful nights on the 107th floor, going to hear friends spin records, even seeing shows up there (Beck, Spiritualized). And I did lose a lot that day and in the days after. No one died that I knew, and I was in close proximity, but I have no tribute for any of that either.

No, I woke up this morning with a couple of songs in my head that maybe remind me of the city. I took a cab back to Park Slope last night from my favorite bar ever and looked around and couldn't believe that I've been back here for 10 years. The beauty of the lights of the buildings, that grand view of the skyline barely fading from the rear window on the Manhattan Bridge, it's something out of a movie. And I certainly don't need Jon Brion or Michael Andrews to accent my movie moments (though they do a good job), I seem to live them all out on my own. I provide the soundtrack as music supervisor, whether audible or not, for these memorable times, maybe it's how I remember them later.

I wanted to add "Wake Up In New York" by Craig Armstrong and Evan Dando here, but I thought it would be too obvious. Oh man, here. The Blue Nile song is one of the prettiest ever, a certain cry your eyes out number, but I probably hear it in my head every time I take that aforementioned cab ride. Rufus's Poses came out right around September 11 and I don't know why, just feels right ("tower" in the title, completely unintentional). If you can manage to stay away from the headlines of the local papers today and avoid CNN entirely, you can have your own little tribute. The city you live in, is not ugly. Don't take it for granted.

THE DOWNTOWN LIGHTS
THE TOWER OF LEARNING