I've wondered for the past little while, why are there so many songs about the Chelsea Hotel? Ryan Adams was my first experience and then Rufus Wainwright's cover of Leonard Cohen. So I did a tiny, minuscule amount of research. The Hotel Chelsea is located on West 23rd Street in New York City. Apparently a lot of people have called that their "home" at one point, including people like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Jane Fonda, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and many, many other writers, photographers, actors/actresses. Some of these people's "testimonies" to the Hotel say it's a strange and magical place. Sid Vicious killed his Nancy in the Hotel, killing himself just a few days later. Dee Dee Ramone claimed to have seen a woman jump out of a ninth story window and kill herself. Apparently there are spirits there and I honestly wouldn't doubt it, especially being as old as it is and all the crazy "creative" people there. Drugs, suicide. Astonishing. If I ever get to New York again, I'd love to go there, just for the nostalgia of the building itself, but staying there is mighty cheap so who's to say I won't ever get to spend the night there?
(mp3) Ryan Adams - City Rain, City Streets
(mp3) Ryan Adams - Hotel Chelsea Nights (one of my favorite songs ever and apparently I'm not the only one in the world who senses a hint of a Purple Rain influence - y/n?)
(mp3) Rufus Wainwright - Chelsea Hotel No. 2 (Leonard Cohen cover)
2 comments:
Right now, the hotel chelsea is a total slum, where people take hookers to have sex. Sadfays.
You know how I feel about hookers. Well maybe you don't. But pretend anyway. And then pretend it's true.
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