Writer’s Corner: Beastie Boys’ “An Open Letter to NYC” (2004)

There is no denying that New York as a state (and city) know how to promote themselves. It’s the home of so many great artists who have used the landscape as their canvas, producing some of the best art of the 20th and 21st centuries. It’s embarrassing how much quality has come from one state and to me, somebody who was only there for a layover, romanticizes it in a way that makes one believe that it is the land of opportunity. So long as you have the money and can tolerate the crowds, it’s a wonderful place to live that’s so full of meaningful action every day of the year.

Among the endless odes is one that has existed like an echo in my memory ever since. Beastie Boys’ “An Open Letter to NYC” is one of the best songs that the group has released and does plenty to create empathy while painting a picture. It is not specifically about 9/11 even with lines like “Two towers down, but you’re still in the game,” but the community who make the city this grand place of opportunity, where the stockbrokers can live next to people getting mugged at the park. There are endless transit references and codes that probably make sense to locals, but reflect how everyone is connected, helping each other to get by.

In the bigger picture, “To the 5 Burroughs” is arguably Beastie Boys’ final masterpiece. They would still produce two more albums, but neither resonated quite like everything up to 2004. This could largely be because the trio had always expressed a passion for New York City, feeling some deep connection to Post-9/11 New York and needing to be vocal in their support. Even if stretches of the album are more comical stories than political aggrandizing, there is the sense that what they have built is a love letter to their city. Given that they were elder statesmen in their third decade of popularity, they had a unique perspective. It was a moment where their retro charm and sampling Robert Goulet could be seen as an attribute. Everyone was feeling nostalgic, and Beastie Boys could do it without sounding corny.

By this point, they had made plenty clear how they felt about global politics. They had released the protest song “In A World Gone Mad” and asked President George W. Bush to “fight the non-violent fight.” They were really pushing for peace and unity, and it shined through in the song that ultimately comes to define their 2004 album. While the other songs are great, they are largely expendable to the bigger legacy. In a moment where the world needed to rally together and understand what made America special, there was Ad-Rock, M.C.A., and Mike D. preparing to make the most memorable song about New York City’s Five Burroughs.

I understand that this isn’t true for everyone, but prior to hearing “An Open Letter to NYC,” I wasn’t quick to name those five locations. For the most part, I am geographically challenged even around where I live. I probably knew Brooklyn because, as Spike Lee will be quick to point out, they have to make themselves known. I maybe knew Manhattan from movies, but what exactly distinguished any of them? Were they part of the same collective, or had centuries long turf wars like in Gangs of New York (2002)?

Whenever asked to recall this information now, it’s difficult to not just sing the opening line where they harmonize “Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten/From The Battery to the top of Manhattan.” There is a sense of community, the music sounding like a distorted riff pulling them through a radio signal. Within the opening lines, Beastie Boys create an earnestness, a call to action, and a desire to recognize how everyone makes this city special. Simply put “You make it happen.” Everyone is included in their vision of New York and it’s a message that resonates far beyond tragedy. In fact, it applies to everyday life.

One conflict often with writing tributes to New York is how they’re so obviously about 9/11, so much about the madness that they’re just somber victim stories. Those are valid and provide excellent sources of coping, but at the same time, one has to think of the future. As another song on the album suggests “It takes a second to wreck it/It takes time to build.” (“Time to Build”) It had only been a few years since that fateful day, but work needed to be done and what was needed was a rallying cry. While addressing the impact of 9/11, Beastie Boys smartly paints the city as a living, breathing ecosystem in ways that make it a timeless portrait.

The biggest question ultimately is: what is the open letter saying? It could be argued that most of the details are gibberish to outsiders. Half of the song is mere references to locations that likely hold deep personal value to the group. If you don’t know The L.I.E. and B.Q.E. acronyms, there’s almost no way to build sentiment. This could easily be like pointing at a map and reading the boxes. What even is Bleeker Bob’s? While I look forward to a New Yorker jumping in the comments and going on a long rant on why I need to find out, as a song these details aren’t what necessarily endears it the most to me. It’s everything that is found in between:

Brownstones, water towers, trees, skyscrapers

Writers, prize fighters and Wall Street traders

We come together on the subway cars

Diversity unified, whoever you are

That is what makes the song such an impeccable achievement. Yes, it is geographically heavy, but as the first verse quickly points out that a diverse population lives here. They stand side by side in the subways, waiting to get to their jobs. Because of this set-up, it makes the other lyrics feel more like a recollection of areas between the two stops, where these people are likely doing. The Deuce and Blimpies, or The Fulton Street Mall. Even the choice to end verse one with a reference to Ellis Island suggests something distinct to the state. It’s a place where immigrants pass through, hoping to start a new life full of rich opportunities. There’s hope and excitement and a perfect symbol of what America represents to the greater world.

By the second verse, there are more personal details. Hippies smoking LSD. Not getting robbed at Diana Ross Park. There’s even a reference to the 1977 blackout and the subsequent looting. By the third verse, it becomes generational, talking about relatives from South Bronx. Yes, there are constant references to what city’s next to what, but it all begins to feel like history, years of establishing an identity. This is a story of community, about the immigrants who helped to make the city into its lavish landscape. Even if one can argue that it’s romanticized, it’s not sentimental. Beastie Boys constantly sing about seediness and fighting, but there is a sense of forgiveness and moving forward by the end of each verse. It’s about building something greater despite our differences.

The ending is easily the strongest stretch. Having built a grand portrait, they shift their attention to what this open letter has always been about. It’s a love letter, after all:

I see you're still strong after all that's gone on

Life long we dedicate this song

Just a little something to show some respect

To the city that blends and mends and tests

Since 9/11, we're still livin'

And lovin’, life we've been given

Ain't nothing gonna' take that away from us

Were lookin' pretty and gritty cause in the city we trust

Dear New York, I know a lot has changed

Two towers down, but you're still in the game

Home to the many, rejecting no one

Accepting peoples of all places, wherever they're from

That is how the verse ends. Even if the moments leading up were personal, they come to symbolize how meaningful the city is. Everyone works together to make it what it is. They incorporate so many faces bumping along the street, creating a portrait of what everything SHOULD look like. There’s so much positivity across the music, encouraging everyone to notice the humanity inside of their neighbors. 

So, what exactly makes this one of the quintessential 9/11 songs? For starters, I don’t think it’s directly about anything related to The World Trade Center Attacks. Yes, it’s obvious that the city’s future is largely informed by this one moment. However, this isn’t a moratorium for what was lost. If anything, it’s a chance to comment on what they still have. One symbolic landmark is gone, but there are these smaller places that make the city shine. There’s reason to go out and visit them and live life. Most of all, they present these details in a manner that feels distinctly New York. Their form of unity is to take the small achievements as victories. I didn’t get mugged, today was a good day.

I’m confident there have been songs more specific to a moment that hold similar sentiments about 9/11 in the subtext. However, there’s something to be said about Beastie Boys producing this. They have been a staple of the city since the 1980s. Not only that, but they’re one of the most creatively diverse artists, producing everything from punk to hip-hop and instrumental albums. They have grown from pranksters with inflatable phalluses onstage during concerts to something more mature. Sure they still have the rambunctious spirit, but it feels more concerned. They know how to have fun without putting others down. Basically, there is growth. It may not be the most obvious detail, but it makes “An Open Letter to NYC” so much stronger to have that history implied when listening to the song. It’s a perfect moment regarding elder statesmen, whose very effort suggests something truer to New York as a culture.

Not only that, but since that day when I first listened to “To the 5 Burroughs,” it’s been difficult to not have some admiration for what this city means to others. It’s true that everyone has their own interpretation of New York. Not everyone would go to where Beastie Boys proudly reference. However, there’s so much diversity, so many questions that make you curious to learn more. What is the history behind these moments? It goes to the personal and social at the same time. It creates a vision that is eternal. If you want a great idea of what it feels like to look at New York, I suggest giving this a listen. It’ll make you feel like you’re there with them.