This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
The Strokes, Interpol, Ted Leo And The Pharmacists, Radio 4, The Walkmen, Calla … the New York City music scene hasn’t been this vibrant and significant since the punk heyday of the ’70s.
But unless you have plenty of time and money to spend tracking down obscure releases, staying up to speed can be tougher than scoring a ticket to Letterman. There is a solution, however — Yes New York, a collection of tracks by 16 of the Big Apple’s best and brightest. Some you know — like The Strokes (who offer a live version of New York City Cops) and Interpol (who contribute the swirlie album cut NYC). Some you need to know — like exceptional pop-punk songwriter Ted Leo, whose fuzzball groover Ballad of The Sin Eater should whet your appetite for his Hearts of Oak disc. And the rest — the B-52-ish Rogers Sisters, the dusty Calla, the electro-haunted Rapture, the garage-rocking Witnesses and a bunch more — you’ll mostly be glad to know.
