9. The Bowery, Nolita, & Bleecker Street

The Bowery, with its name that rhymes so fittingly with “flowery,” has inspired some great tracks. One is “Bowery” by Local Natives, which feels as fresh and green as the hidden gardens that pockmark this section of New York, at least until it builds to skyscraper heights.

In keeping with Local Natives’ dreamy sound, Stumbleine has an ambient track called “Bowery” that swirls with rainbow-colored riffs dizzying enough to launch you into the stratosphere.

Plus, the Lumineers’ smash-hit “Ho Hey” mentions the Bowery: “And I’ll be standing on Canal, and Bowery, and you’ll be standing next to me,” sings Wesley Schulz with the kind of sugar-sweet, gluey dreaminess that really is only acceptable in New York. Maybe that’s why there are so many songs about the city. The vicissitudes of emotional intensity, where every moment feels like a catacylsm, are all in a day’s work.

As for Bleecker Street & MacDougal, there’s  the ruminative “Bleecker Street” by Simon & Garfunkel, the harmonica-heavy, woozy “Bleecker Street & McDougal” by Fred Neil, and the poem “MacDougal Street Blues” by Jack Kerouac, a nihilistic meditation on mortality set to cheery jazz.