Debbie Harry’s favourite night out in New York
The strong-willed, cosmopolitan nature of New York City matches Debbie Harry well. As someone whose life has been filled with anything but boredom, Harry’s perceptively intricate web of memories are all accounted for whenever she allows her mind to wander to the past. There’s no filling in the blanks, only detailed reflections on things that once were, a startling similarity to The Big Apple.
Like the city itself, Harry has a musical vision that reflects the complex tapestry of her world. Even her book Face It required illustrations from her long-time collaborator Rob Roth throughout as a way of bridging the gap between her reality and the image created for her by the outside world. A bystander is too reductive a role for Harry. Life is meant to be lived.
It is Harry’s empathy and compassion that allows her to access such imagination. When she envisions an act performed by someone else, she might imagine the way they felt at the time or how their hand felt holding the paintbrush as they crafted an art piece on an empty canvas. She might fantasise about the music that was playing in the background, embellishing the romanticism of life itself.
New York City may be, to some, the city that never sleeps, but Harry’s experience pulls back the curtain to reveal a more intricate and considered location. Like dreams, Harry possesses a self-proclaimed sensitivity that allows her to “inherently know things” and pinpoint humanity’s infinite flaws. Unlike ghosts and themes of the macabre, it is the evilness that lurks within humans that feels most inexplicable to her.
Although this could explain Harry’s gravitation towards approaching music with fresh eyes like an innocent child whose knowledge of malice is restricted, her outings in New York reflect a seasoned professional whose only desire is to have a good time. “I like Coney Island Baby, and sometimes I go to Berlin or to Mercury Lounge to see a band,” she explains, emphasising the importance of seeing a band rather than simply ‘hanging out’ at a bar.
The aimlessness of frequenting a bar without reason pales in comparison to witnessing live music and immersing oneself in the vibrant essence of some of New York’s most succulent offerings. It was at Le Poisson Rouge that Harry also saw the New York-formed supergroup Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum. Considered by Harry as “on the verge of being minimal”, it is this quality that makes complete sense to her.
“It’s beautiful, I love it,” she says of the band, which could simultaneously be a quote attributed to her love for the New York music scene. Cities with rich histories that have yet to lose their spark are truly remarkable, and it is open minds like Harry’s that illuminate the path to great experiences and everlasting discovery. “When you explore the totality of your being, and you end up with this bigger picture of yourself, that’s extraordinary and very special,” says Harry.
Maybe you can put this on the next time you visit Debbie Harry’s favourite New York spots.
