Music for the Lexington Avenue Local

David Shire's main title for The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is as expert a theme for the 6 train as can be imagined. It's propulsive rhythms catching the movement and the combination of the twentieth century musical technique of a tone row with jazz and funk idioms capture the inexhaustably wide array of people that pass through it every day. Sometimes when I'm travelling around the city I feel the urge to listen to The Taking of Pelham One Two Three because of how perfectly it fits.