RhapCityBlog is an open forum blog that was inspired by Woody Allen’s “Manhattan.” Most specifically, George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” that plays as the opening credits roll at the start of the film (beginning with a damn sexy clarinet-induced glissando.) Best opening sequence ever- as we see magnificent black and white shots of New York City accompanied by fireworks. I can’t think of a better soundtrack that captures the quintessential essence of every single neighborhood in Manhattan. That piece fits into every possible narrative, giving the stories of New York City an epic 16 and a 1/2 minute tribute. It’s classy and jazzy, schizophrenic, dirty and rich. It is equal parts Harlem and Central Park West, Greenwich Village and SoHo.

In 1931, George Gershwin spoke about his ideas when composing the piece on a train to Boston, “It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang, that is so often so stimulating to a composer – I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise… And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper – the complete construction of the Rhapsody, from beginning to end. No new themes came to me, but I worked on the thematic material already in my mind and tried to conceive the composition as a whole. I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston I had a definite plot of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance.”

As with “Rhapsody in Blue,” RhapCityBlog aims to feature a kaleidoscope of metropolitan madness as covered by the people who have a story to tell and a drink to tell it with. No hashtags. No 140 character limit.

There are almost 8.4 million people in New York City, and yet, it seems as if it’s your very own. What is your story in “the very heart of the noise?”

-Dana Craig