New York New York by David Berman

Poetry music video created as part of an assignment for poetry class. The poem, "New York, New York" is from David Berman's Actual Air. We welcome discussion of the poem and the media.
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A second New York is being built
a little west of the old one.
Why another, no one asks,
just build it, and they do.

The city is still closed off
to all but the work crews
who claim its a perfect mirror image.

Truthfully, each man works on the replica
of the apartment building he lives in,
adding new touches,
like cologne dispensers, rock gardens,
and doorknobs marked for the grand hotels.

Improvements here and there, done secretly
and off the books. None of the supervisors
notice or mind. Everyones in a wonderful mood,
joking, taking walks through the still streets
that the single reporter allowed inside has described as

unleavened with remainders of the old citys complicated past,
but giving off some blue perfume from the early years on earth.

The men grow to love the peaceful town.
It becomes more difficult to return home at night,

which sets the wives to worrying.
The yellow soups are cold, the sunsets quick.

The men take long breaks on the fire escapes,
waving across the quiet spaces to other workers
meditating on their perches.

Until one day

The sky fills with charred clouds.
Toolbelts rattle in the rising wind.

Something is wrong.

A foreman stands in the avenue
pointing binoculars at a massive gray mark
moving towards us in the eastern sky.

Several voices, What, What is it?

Pigeons, he yells through the wind.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Poetry
• music
• David Berman
• New York
• Pigeons

[izavaz1]

It's funny that the poem New York New York is represented by a portrait of Urbana Illinois, and its inhabitants, on the U of I campus. I especially enjoyed the piano music on this one.

Isabel

[DrEpHd3]

Also, if you like David Berman's poetry, you should check out his band, Silver Jews. Very good stuff.

[DrEpHd3]

Very nicely done!

[elchen2]

Although I think the music and the narration didn't mix too well, I liked the creativity of the music video. The music and scenes also transition well. I'm impressed that you were able to take so many random photos of strangers, without them seemingly noticing.

[zarinayasmeen14]

Wow. So creative. The video, the images, the music, the poem....they all play a part in pulling the viewer in and making them a part of preformance. This is a really unique and awesome project.

[cycubsfan]

I thought this was well done. Although the piano was a bit too loud, I liked its accompaniment and how it matched the poem's mood. Also I thought the video was good for C-U. Overall excellent work!

[starcraftviewer1]

@starcraftviewer1 I don't know if this would make things too confusing, but I would like to see this set to a video instead- I think seeing a story unfold (along with light music and sounds), a story trying to describe what the reader sees in the poem- that would be epic,  although perhaps too much time for a group of seniors doing a project in second semester :P

[starcraftviewer1]

I think that this video should be subbed, or else the piano should be a little quieter.

However, at certain times, I think that the pictures, music, and poetry blend together really well.

[zephyrwings7]

same thing about the voice, the first climax doesn't really match the music (don't know if you did that on purpose or not). later on, the piano gets loud and plays a lot of notes while the voice stays the same and monotone...later it gets better though since the person gets excited with the music.

maybe something to think about what is the point of the poem...illustrate that with the pictures perhaps near the end instead of just illustrating the lines word for word...

[surprisedcabbage]

Though this is a very enjoyable method to consume poetry, nit-picky Diana would suggest a dramatic finish right up until "Pigeons..." (instead of starting at "several voices, What, What is it?"). Also - though I like the ups and downs throughout the whole thing, it took me a while to acclimatize myself to voice-to-piano contrast in the up-parts.

Otherwise, the video itself isn't my favorite. Picture slideshow is all okay considering budget (not NYC...), but doesn't really do anything for me.