5. The Chelsea Hotel

No list about music in New York would be complete without mentioning the legendary Chelsea Hotel. The most famous song about this iconic center of artistic innovation is probably Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel No. 2,” written about a tryst with Janis Joplin in the 1960s that also works as a hymn to the city. Its simple melody has managed to transcend the years, encapsulating all the regret a body can feel in its simple structure. It’s spawned countless covers, including great versions by Kyle Craft, Rufus Wrainwright (who also has a fantastic album about New York City), Lana Del Rey, Regina Spektor, Carissa’s Weird, and more.

Another more modern song about the Chelsea is the echoey, reverb-smattered “Hotel Chelsea Nights” by Ryan Adams, which captures the woozy atmosphere of a lonely night at a crowded bar.

There are literally hundreds of songs called “Chelsea Hotel”— some great ones are by Jenny Weisgerber, and the Lew Jones Act. Many more songs have been written at the hotel. Patti Smith, Jim Morrison, and Madonna all stayed there at different points in the late 20th century. Bob Dylan wrote “Blonde on Blonde” while staying there, and his “Visions of Johanna” was inspired by a blackout that cut the power throughout much of the northeast.

Newspapers would later describe the experience as one that ushered in a surreal New York of old, with people selling candles on street corners, visitors flooding the city’s cathedrals, workers singing hymnals, and lights flickering on and off. “Visions of Johanna” and the other tracks on “Blonde on Blonde,” all bear the imprint of the speed and acid-addled, politically charged, heady atmosphere of the Chelsea Hotel in the 60’s—a location and era that still inspires writers today.

And Chelsea, the surrounding neighborhood, has inspired many other tunes, including the sprightly, soulful “Chelsea Morning” by Joni Mitchell, the melancholy, string-glossed album “Chelsea Girls” by Nico, and more.