LOCATION: Union Square, New York City
These busts include a teenager and his skateboard crew who are in shock and awe that the interviewer has not heard of “Sublime;” a man who lets us listen with him as he “faces” a CD that he hasn’t been able to listen to for five years; and a third with a 9th grader who stands up for better women role models in hip-hop.
Original Broadcast
LOCATION: Union Square, New York City
These busts include some goth-rave kids still out on the town from the night before, clad in party gear. Morgana interprets the tough and bleak lyrics of R&B singer Jo, while the ever-upbeat “Seven” regales us with some underground music that hasn’t “surfaced” yet. Fifty feet away from this scene, a jazz musician born in the same month and city as altoist Stan Getz pays tribute to his household god.
LOCATION: Union Square, New York City
In this episode, we first encounter a young woman listening to the one-stringed berimbao of capoeira music. She is an avid practitioner of the Brazilian martial art dance. Fifty feet away, we meet a couple of rocker girls in high-school who complain about the “weird cult-like music” of the Brazilian capoeristas. The revere Korn and System of a Down. We also hear froma bonafide groupie of Frank Zappa, who introduced him to the found sound of John Cage and Edgar Varese while in a dressing room on the road.
LOCATION: Metro North Hudson River commuter train
Busts on the train include Sister with her nephew and niece, who were returning from Sing-Sing prison where they visited Sister’s son in jail. She is listening to Jaheim’s “Keep Your H-E-A-D-U-P.” Also, Elijah, a college radio DJ listening to “emo” punk, who tells tales of the mosh pit. Finally, a man who has just unleashed his 70s LP collection from its slumber and tranferred it to his MP3 player deals with all the memories.
LOCATION: Union Square, New York City
These busts include a man deeply involved in his “Disney’s Greatest Hits” compilations who is especially adept at interpreting the lyrics from “The Little Mermaid.” Another self-described “dinosaur” listens to the likes of Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters. He calls Rosemary Clooney’s “Mambo Italiano” rock and roll. Lastly, a man into Tony, Tone, Toni and Earth, Wind and Fire reminisces about the days when the city streets were filled with the sounds of boomboxes.
