New York State of Mind (5:02)

Billy Joel

This Billy Joel track from 1976 has always felt deeply personal to me. I first met New York as a 17-year-old freshman at New York University, and I was fortunate to experience the city early—enough to grow comfortable with its pace, its noise, and its energy instead of being swallowed by it. Over the years, NYC became something familiar, a place I could return to in different seasons of my life.

Whenever I sit down to play “New York State of Mind,” these memories come rushing back—scenes and moments that aren’t in any particular order, but all feel stitched into the song. Please humor me as I share this scattershot collection of personal memories—after all, it is my blog.

Leaning out the window at the Mayflower Hotel to see snow drifting down on Central Park the night I got married
Windows on the World lunch at the World Trade Center
The Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center with tux and oysters
Lunches at Café des Artistes
The smell of the bakery across the road on Cornelia Street
Rays Pizza on Bleeker St. (still has a line!)
La Metairie every time passing through
My engagement party at a friend’s midtown nightclub
Mamoud’s falafels next to Caffe Reggio on MacDougal St. after everything else was closed.
How the West Village gets cozy and unusually muffled while the snow was falling
Playing piano at Carnegie Hall (backstage – I was dating an orchestra manager)
Alberta Hunter (check her wiki) singing “Darktown Strutter’s Ball” at The Cookery
Dinner at Le Copain (restaurant from The French Connection)
Playing pickup basketball in the West Village and volleyball in Washington Square
Discovering Indian Chicken Biryani with Ron and Joyce on 6^th St. in the East Village
Broadway shows and the Carnegie Deli
Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows
Dinner at 2 different Chinese restaurants just to get two different dishes
Stroll over to Little Italy for cannolis at Ferrara’s
Being mistaken for Steven Segal at the Russian Tea Room (I played along, but had to pay cash)
Falling in love for the first time (long ago)
Walking over the Williamsburg bridge in flip-flops (not long ago, and not too smart!)
The most excited and unforgettable look on my mom’s face when we bumped into Larry David next to Central Park
All the late-night jazz, folk and rock clubs
Grateful Dead concerts at Madison Square Garden
First time ordering a drink at a bar (a Manhattan in Manhattan)
Trying to sneak into the Grammies at Radio City and getting as far as backstage (before being escorted out)
Skating and carriage rides in Central Park
Liza Minelli at the Winter Garden

My thanks to my nephew Sean for inviting me to join him for a livestream of Phish at Madison Square Garden a couple of days ago (my favorites: “Simple” and “Everything’s Right”) and again tonight. It triggered this song and many memories.

Enjoy,

Dr. Weiss

PS. Billy obviously doesn’t need to worry about any competition from me!