Check out Listen Missy. Photographs, musings, and this post about subway theme songs.

I’ve long thought that subway lines have theme songs, although I haven’t yet gotten them all figured out. I regularly ride a number of lines and they each have their own personality, not just in terms of the kinds of people who ride them–although that’s part of it–but in the train’s general demeanor. Like how the 4/5 at Borough Hall is always reliable although sensitive to crowding if I arrive in the morning 5 minutes in either direction of my usual time, that the 2/3 is like the 4/5’s bratty younger brother, always dirtier and never coming when you call. The G? Hell, forget the G if you actually need to be anywhere on time. If you’re not beholden to the clock, it’s fine, but if you’ve got a class at Mark Morris or a movie or a performance at BAM and you arrive at the station at 7:00 for a 7:30 curtain and the train doesn’t show until 7:25 and you could have walked there faster and ever since you’ve just decided the B63 will do you better, well, the G is the stupid, flakey hippie you can’t help but like a little bit. The F, like the L, hangs with the hipper people, is always crowded and, if you need to catch it during rush hour, good luck to you and don’t be surprised if you’re forced to wait it out, like sitting along the bleacher benches at the school dance in the gym before you get your turn at an awkward slow dance.