Washington DC Sounds like Post-Punk Music
Every city deserves a soundtrack
Listening to music while walking around a major city is one of my absolute favorite things to do in life, and I’ve been fortunate enough to do it in quite a few big cities (NYC, Tokyo, Las Vegas), but DC will always be kind of special to me. Not because it’s the best city - not by a long shot - but because its aesthetic just fits perfectly with my favorite genre of music. If you’re wondering what mostly-British music from the late 70s and early 80s has in common with America’s overpriced and underwhelming capital city, you don’t have to take my word for it. Give this a try.
Here are a couple handfuls of post-punk songs, each corresponding to a different mood. Choose the mood of your liking, then play it over videos of the DC metro. It’s a poor substitute for the real thing, but I’ll always associate these songs with these visuals, making them more emotionally impactful.
Excited, heading into the city
Tired, but with a feeling of accomplishment
Lethargic morning commute with a long ass day ahead of you
Bittersweet/the good kind of melancholy
The moment you go from above ground to below
Looking forward to seeing people you like
Not looking forward to obligatory socializing with coworkers after hours
Drowning out the sound of other people talking so you can chill and watch the world go by
I’ve always heard that some people weren’t fans of the DC Metro’s bleak, brutalist design when these gaudy underground cathedrals were first built. And that’s fine, different strokes and all that. But damn, I sure do love the way they look. I also feel like dark retro-futurism is just a vibe kinda befitting the home of the US government. Like stepping into a dystopian sci-fi film from previous decade.
I wish there was more good footage of walking around some DC-area neighborhoods at night. This is the best I could find, and once again, I invite you to pair it with your choice of mood:
Sad/frustrated and lightly buzzed
There’s something else about the way DC is (poorly) designed - maybe it’s the age of the buildings or the byzantine street layout. Maybe it’s because it seems grey and overcast most of the time, or maybe it’s just that I lived and worked there as an angsty 20-something with no idea what I wanted out of life. Whatever it is, it just fits with the post-punk ethos - quasi-futuristic and rough around the edges but with a touch of naive romanticism.
This might be the closest I’ve ever come to truly understanding nostalgia. As someone who more or less buys the argument that there’s no time better than the present to be alive, the time I spent as a sad office worker in DC is still meaningful to me, not because it was actually a lot of fun (it generally wasn’t) but because it was a time of self-discovery filled with harsh lessons that led to personal growth. I don’t know if this is normal, but sometimes thinking back on sad experiences makes me feel good, knowing I’ve successfully passed through them. It was also a time when I could rely (at least somewhat) on public transit and my own two feet to get around, allowing me to have more adventures and novel experiences than I likely would have if driving had been my only option.
Going forward, I’d like to pair more musical genres with cities. I’m sure there are some other great combinations I’ve yet to discover. But if you’re ever in DC for any reason and find yourself literally or emotionally lost, the right soundtrack and a good pair of headphones can go a long way.