Every major city likes to believe it has a “music scene.” Sometimes that’s true – Minneapolis in the ‘80s, Seattle in the ‘90s, Atlanta’s hip hop 2000s. But often “scene” just means a few hardworking local bands playing to the same crowds and winning regional music awards while being invisible outside their area code.
New York in the 2000s was something else entirely. It had multiple overlapping crowds that genuinely shaped culture.
New York City, as expected from a metropolis and the media center of the universe, always has a strong presence. But in the 2000s they had at least two very unique movements that changed music and pop culture.
The scene people think about 2000s NYC is The Strokes, Ratatat, The Mooney Suzuki, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Walkmen, Interpol, et al. You know, the bands that New York critics and writers would call “the saviors of rock.”
What’s in the NYC water that always inspires 2-guitar, 4-person straight rock bands? A huge part of New York music tradition worships at the altar of Lou Reed & The Ramones. But that’s not who I’m celebrating in this article.
The Other NYC 2000s Music Scene
My New York scene is a whole other golden era. This was borderline cabaret music which was tightly aligned with the rise of the alternative comedy ecosystem. They can be defined by the venues they played as much as their actual music.
The patron saint of this downtown ethos would have to be Rufus Wainwright. In retrospect, he might seem like he was always a legend, but he built his cred while playing at Club Fez. His career success skyrocketed, but he remains the patron saint of downtown NYC cabaret life in the 21st century.
You’ve got the theatrically adjacent playfulness of a lot of groups around this time: Both Jeffrey Lewis and Moldy Peaches finding a home at SideWalk Cafe, plus the cabaret-ready theatricality of Dresden Dolls.
What do these artists all have in common? They were sometimes as close to theater and comedy as music. Pianists, in particular, have a strong history of being laugh-getting storytellers in the middle of their shows (Tom Waits, Ben Folds, Randy Newman) and the acts we’re about to focus on could also be considered “sit-down comedians.”
Downtown in the Village
This class of artists valued wit over coolness and featured anti-rock-star and anti-folk energy. Since they attracted hyper-literate, artsy audiences – that made them ideal to share rooms where comedians also performed, like Luna Lounge or Joe’s Pub.
Nellie McKay – For my money, Nellie McKay is the most underrated artist in music.
She can be a chanteuse with songs like “Won’t U Please Be Nice” or “Manhattan Avenue” which is what she’s done with a lot of her career since. Simultaneously, she is an absolute beast on the piano and writes cynical bangers better than anybody: “Toto Dies”, “Sari,” and the single “David.”
Her 2004 debut album Get Away from Me was a response to the ubiquitous Norah Jones 2002 double album Come Away with Me. Jones’ album was a sweet lullaby, but Nellie’s ballsy debut record was the one we really needed post 9/11.
She had problems with her label almost immediately afterwards, which is a pity; but she never fit industry norms. She did Brecht onstage with Wallace Shawn’s company, made a Doris Day cover record, and wrote for the theater while juggling a music and touring career.
Regina Spektor – Although her career took off around 2005 opening for The Strokes and Kings of Leon, she established herself playing solo piano in the East Village.
Her performances were art-student friendly, yet personal, comedic yet not novelty songs, and had “you-have-to-see-her-in-a-small-room” energy.
You can see the rawer, more fun side of her pre-superstar performances here:
Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players – It’s rare enough for a fun band to have one great gimmick. But a forgotten gem of an act in the 2000s, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, had TWO incredible gimmicks: 1) They played songs about and with slide shows, and 2) They were a family trio – mom, dad & young daughter.
They scoured estate sales, garage sales, thrift stores – collecting old photographic slides (vacation snapshots, corporate slides, anonymous family photos). Those slides would be projected during shows, while the family performed songs inspired by the images.
Of course, this seems to lean more heavily towards comedy than music but their songs like “Wendy’s Sambo’s and Long John Silver’s”, “What Will the Corporation Do”, and “Mountain Trip To Japan, 1959” hold up 10 times better than they have a right to.
Comedy and Music, Not “Comedy Music”
Lower Manhattan in the 2000s was a unique cross-pollination of art, music, performance: Bands didn’t just play songs – they projected slides, told stories, mixed humor and satire, involved theatricality. It felt more like underground art shows than conventional concerts.
And they intermingled with the burgeoning alternative comedy movement at the time. It was the era of Upright Citizens Brigade establishing itself, Demetri Martin killing it at alternative venues and Eugene Mirman had his legendary “Invite Them Up” shows at Rififi.
Clubs like these, The Mercury Lounge, Tonic, etc. were defined places for the literate intersection of music, comedy and theater – just like UnCabaret and Largo in Los Angeles.
To quote the not-downtown Jerry Seinfeld, “Oh, it’s a scene, man.”
How Many Music Scenes Can One City Get?
As mentioned earlier, it’s The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs who people primarily remember as the 2000s music movement. Yeah, they weren’t totally distinct from the downtown Nellie McKay element; there was plenty of cohabitation among them.
There’s even a 3rd influential sector of NYC 2000’s music – LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, Sufjan Stevens, Nicole Atkins, Animal Collective, TV on the Radio, etc. These groups were making music sound current instead of retro; and arguably have had the greatest lasting influence.
Good lord, what a time for music in one 10 square mile radius. This article easily could have been just a sampling list of my favorite 20 albums out of 2000’s New York in toto.
Alas, Manhattan prices have not stopped escalating since. NYC is for the young or rich; which means that musicians don’t usually stay there too long. Which also means that it’s become a more difficult place to establish a magical orbit of up-and-coming talent.
But for a few years there, New York rewarded strange people making uncategorizable art.
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