Up On The Roof

Sunday To Do List:

Finish rough storyboard for music video: check
Contact sheet and schedule for Comedy Central: check
Prepare reel for Monday meeting: check

Go up to the roof and take pictures:



(above) This one's for the tourists. Notice the Chrysler Building in the back, whispering "I'm the real star of the skyline". The water towers bellow "Not so fast, it's us".

(also note, I'm not such a bad photographer. The sky isn't overexposed -it was really this gray and overcast).



(above) Soon all the great structures of New York -like the Con Ed building on 23rd Street -will be obscured by high-rise condominiums. Sixth Avenue has been transformed in the past five years by these Soviet-style architectural monsters. The disease is spreading down 28th Street.



(above) Will the capitol of our new neighbor be adorned with white-glazed terra cotta?





(above) Water tower village.

The Drifter's song "Under the Boardwalk" was bigger hit than "Up on the Roof" even though they can be easily confused musically.

"Under the Boardwalk", lyrically, is complete fantasy. Maybe this wasn't the case in 1964, but by the time I was born the subterranean side of the boardwalk was populated with addicts and lunatics. You picture someone dragging a drunken girl down there to strangle, not to lovingly caress.

Its significant of an urban/suburban cultural divide. We use music, in part, as an escape. The suburban bourgeoisies (how ironic) that populate much of America are drawn to the fantasy created in "Under The Boardwalk" and ignore the frightening reality of the lyrics.

If you've lived in New York, however, "Up On The Roof" captures an emotional reality. The roof is a forbidden place. It's a magical escape. It's dangerous. It's beautiful. It puts you in the heart of the neighborhood, yet completely removed from it.