This Must Be the Place: Music, Community and Vanished Spaces in New York City

by Jesse Rifkin

*Winner of the New York City Book Awards*
*A Kirkus Best Book of July*
*An InsideHook Book You Should Be Reading This July*

A fascinating history that examines how real estate, gentrification, community and the highs and lows of New York City itself shaped the city’s music scenes from folk to house music.

Take a walk through almost any neighborhood in Manhattan and you’ll likely pass some of the most significant clubs in American music history. But you won’t know it—almost all of these venues have been demolished or repurposed, leaving no record of what they were, how they shaped music scenes or their impact on the neighborhoods around them.

Traditional music history tells us that famous scenes are created by brilliant, singular artists. But dig deeper and you’ll find that they’re actually created by cheap rent, empty space and other unglamorous factors that allow artistic communities to flourish. The 1960s folk scene would have never existed without access to Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park. If the city hadn’t gone bankrupt in 1975, there would have been no punk rock. Brooklyn indie rock of the 2000s was only able to come together because of the borough’s many empty warehouse spaces. But these scenes are more than just moments of artistic genius—they’re also part of the urban gentrification cycle, one that often displaces other communities and, eventually, the musicians themselves.

Drawing from over a hundred exclusive interviews with a wide range of musicians, deejays and scenesters (including members of Peter, Paul and Mary; White Zombie; Moldy Peaches; Sonic Youth; Treacherous Three; Cro-Mags; Sun Ra Arkestra; and Suicide), writer, historian and tour guide Jesse Rifkin painstakingly reconstructs the physical history of numerous classic New York music scenes. This Must Be the Place examines how these scenes came together and fell apart—and shows how these communal artistic experiences are not just for rarefied geniuses but available to us all.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, New York, Art, Urban Studies, Audiobook

696 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2023

Reviews

[Kurt Gottschalk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review forthcoming in the Wire magazine (UK).

[Bob Schnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This Must Be the Place" is a long but incomplete history of bygone music venues in NYC from the folk scene to the Covid pandemic. Incomplete because a chapter on hip-hop venues in Harlem and the Bronx was left out of the final edit. Also missing is any mention of one of my personal favorite places, the Dive on W. 29th St.

As for what is included, the book is extensive enough to describe venues I missed in the 1980s and 90s while basically telling the reader "You probably already know plenty about CBGB and Max's Kansas City so I won't give them too much space here." The author, Jesse Rifkin, made a wise editorial decision there since he had no new stories to tell about those institutions. As it is, there were plenty of stories I hadn't heard before and some real surprises about places I thought I knew well. For those reasons I give it 3.5 stars.

[Kurt Neumaier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool to read a book about music as an event that happens in a specific time and place in the real world and not just something that is available anytime on our phones

[Rob Schorr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book delving into many eras of the music scene in NYC. Great read!

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A music-history book where the history matters as much as the music. I love these NYC-music-scene books (Will Hermes's Love Goes to Buildings on Fire and Tony Fletcher's All Hopped Up and Ready to Go, which I read backwards, cause I'm artistic, are both favorites, in addition to the obvious choices like Please Kill Me), and what distinguishes this one--as he notes, nobody needs a new biography of Dylan or Madonna or to hear the CBGB origin story again--is its very literal sense of space: what makes a neighborhood someplace that bohemians with guitars/drums/record collections/leather jackets and attitudes can find an open spot to congregate, how enough of these congregations create their own aura of cool, leading to gentrification (on top of that gentrification perpetrated by said bohos in the first place, going back to Harvard-educated Pete Seeger) and the subsequent pricing out of bohos (SoHo being the most extreme example, though I didn't know quite the extent of the gussying-up of Alphabet City, where I still haven't spent much time), and then the cycle repeats elsewhere, I suppose until everywhere is gentrified. (As one of his interviewees quips near the end of the book, maybe the final result will be three people in Manhattan.) So the particulars of urban history matter a lot here--how the departure of factories leaves loft spaces open, how some areas get ignored by the powers that be because of who lives there, or doesn't, until they're suddenly desirable (though I'm not sure exactly how NYHC exactly renders that part of the city more appealing, what with its aura of immediate violence at shows or on the street or in the parks). The materiality of how and where and why bohemias erupt, and the grubby capitalist realities below is central, and useful to remember--a great subtheme here is how much the stability of clubs' income streams, one of which (the early Max's Kansas City) came through its very square lunch trade, defines their long-term viability and capability to compensate acts fairly and take chances on new, commercially unproven bands. In other words, serving decent food, and making money from it, can set up a bunch of other options. Favorite unexpected treat/sadness: the long, gross afterlife of CBGB appropriations, by Target and Newark Airport and elsewhere. Really curious about the VC who goes around buying up legacy rights to classic NYC punk IP but who has not, as yet, done anything with all of that.

[E_F_S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book over the course of four or five months. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific time, place, and genre of music almost as if they were stand alone books. Which was a good way to absorb a lot of the deep dive context of location, economic information, history, and biographies of the people involved.

I spent many a happy night as young-in at some of these venues and it was a little bittersweet to see how so much has disappeared.

The book masterfully weaves together historical anecdotes, personal narratives, and in-depth research to paint a vivid picture of the diverse musical landscape that has thrived within the city's borders. From the jazz clubs of Harlem to the punk rock dives of the Lower East Side, Rifkin deftly traces the evolution of New York's music scene, highlighting the crucial role that each era and genre has played in shaping the city's cultural identity.

What sets "This Must Be the Place" apart is its focus on the spaces themselves—the venues, clubs, and rehearsal studios that have served as incubators for countless musical movements and communities. Rifkin brings these spaces to life with rich descriptions and insightful analysis, demonstrating how they have both reflected and influenced the sounds of their time.

But "This Must Be the Place" is more than just a historical account—it's a celebration of the enduring power of music to bring people together and forge connections across boundaries. Rifkin's passion for his subject shines through on every page, inviting readers to experience the sights and sounds of New York City's musical past and present in all their glory.

In conclusion, "This Must Be the Place" is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the intersection of music, community, and urban history. Rifkin's meticulous research, engaging writing style, and deep appreciation for his subject make this book a valuable addition to the literature on New York City's cultural heritage. Whether you're a lifelong resident or a curious outsider, you're sure to come away from this book with a newfound appreciation for the city's rich musical tapestry.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very detailed look at a at the game of whack a mole in which edgy non-bridge-and-tunnel hipsters create a vibrant "scene" in an area considered "No Man's Land," then get driven out themselves.

It's funny because every day I hear about the crisis of office buildings just sitting empty. Supposedly they are not habitable for migrants because they need massive retrofitting before that could happen. It certainly did not stop people living without heat or plumbing in SoHo lofts in the seventies. [And such concern for the migrants is laughable when the average New Yorker thinks a tent city on Randalls Island is more than they deserve, when truly the entire problem could be solved by placing them all in four office towers].

Therefore, based on the lessons I learned from this book, Midtown should be the next big thing since the rents are falling there and rising in Brooklyn. One thing a successful club needs more than anything is to be in an industrial area with no neighbors, yet accessible to many different "hip" areas (ie. CBGBs was near SoHo and the West Village which was already "stodgy" by 1974). The neigborhood should be relatively crime free, and the club should remian unlicensed until they build a big enough buzz that they can afford all the fees. And at least the cabaret laws have been repealed [these laws which prohibited "dancing" were used to shutter a lot of places the Bloomberg administration did not like].

The whole process of "wash rinse repeat" had been perfected to the point where Williamsburg, which has been "over" for a long time, hardly had a chance to get started before the rents began to quadruple. Developers bought the buildings there dirt cheap, invited artists to live there, and then drove them out after they fixed the place up.

Of course, it does go into the music itself quite a bit but I do not have much that is new to say about that.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took me a very long time to read, and I mean that in the best possible way. This is a book where you can choose to skim lightly over the material and still get a lot out of it, or pick and choose the sections that interest you most and get a lot out of that too. But I recommend spending the time to read the whole thing, because it’s so very worth it. I mean..even the footnotes make for exceptional reading!

Rifkin is a delight to spend time with. It isn’t just that he knows the material so well. It’s that how much he loves this stuff comes through so well, and that really resonates with me, a reader who really loves this stuff too. For what it’s worth I consider myself pretty well educated on the history of music in New York City, and there was still a TON in this book that was brand new to me. Plus, Rifkin is both terrific at the kind of pacing that makes for great narrative nonfiction and deft at deploying a truly excellent sense of humor.

He also gives tours, and after reading this I cannot wait to try one. This book is an absolute gem and a must read for music lovers, history buffs, and those who enjoy a little bit of both.

[Neeraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim while browsing through the shelves of a bookstore for NYC-related books. To be totally honest, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should've and didn't realize the book focused specifically on music venues and movements; I somehow thought it would trace the history of buildings across the city in general. Nevertheless, as I read (more like devoured) "This Must Be the Place," I was awed by the level of detail and dedication with which Rifkin researched and put this book together. It was truly fascinating to read about how the folk music scene started in the West Village and how quickly it fell out of fashion; how the glam-rock scene emerged and venues like Max's Kansas City, The Loft, and CBGB became prominent; and how the rise in real estate prices in the East and West Village gradually shifted the music scene to Lower East Side and then Williamsburg and other parts of Brooklyn. I'll treasure having this comprehensive book on my shelves and look forward to lending it to friends looking for an encyclopedic deep dive into the NYC music scene.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

NYC, Manhattan to be honest, is a physical place but also a sort of mythical location where any type of art prospered between the 20s and the beginning of this century.
Then it became a sort of rich only place and it disappear from my mind map of places.
This is a intriguing and informative book because music is also related to places, atmosphere. The NYC of the 70s died long ago but there's still creativity and places to meet.
This is a book that want to demostrate that the mythical past was not in a city where living wasn't expesive but it was a place where people with the right drive and ambitions created something special.
It was interesting and I appreciated the interviews with the artists and the style of writing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Karin Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book by my daughter as a Christmas present and, what I say?- the girl knows me. This book was right up my alley. It’s not so much a musical history of New York City so much as a description of what makes a neighborhood someplace that bohemians with guitars, leather jackets and attitudes can find an open spot to congregate, how enough of these areas build a culture of cool, which leads to gentrification and the subsequent pricing out of the bohos, and then the cycle repeats elsewhere. The book focuses on certain areas of NYC I’ve always been fascinated with: Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I’m so enamored with this book I want to take Jesse Rifkins music history walking tour in NYC the next time I’m there. If you’re a music geek like me, I highly recommend this very detailed, entertaining book.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because I passed a sign on Archer Ave outside somebodies house that said "Dis mus be de place" and then when the Austin Public Library had a list of music history/biography books and this book was on there, I had to read it.

The sign on Archer Avenue was pretty smart--this book was right up my alley, telling me all about the New York music scenes over the years with a focus on how the urban environment contributed to different scenes and venues. As much as this book is about music, it's about how music is affected by zoning changes, changing cabaret laws and fluctuating police attention in different neighborhoods. It teaches you an insane amount (and clearly took a bunch of research) while also avoiding falling into a nostalgia trip and makes me want to look around for the scenes happening all around me.

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

finished this last night and wow!! while it’s not a comprehensive history (no attempt at chronicling the music history of nyc would probably ever be), it’s a fascinating look into the venues and passionate people working behind the scenes that gave birth to some of the most exciting underground music scenes of the 20th century and beyond. the questions it posed and explored in regards to the role many of these artists played in the rapidity of gentrification in new york in the latter half of the 20th century was an interesting and essential point of discussion. it could be a bit dense in terms of all the information and names being thrown at you, but the almost conversational approach to the telling of these stories made this an engaging read. highly recommend!

[Bernard Laugen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great cultural history on nyc music scenes; the ups, the downs, and everything in between. It uses the sometimes legendary and sometimes barely known venues that allowed these various scenes to coalesce to tell the story. From the famed stomping grounds of the folkies in the 50s and 60s to the dance clubs of the 80s, to the diy spots of north Brooklyn on the 00s, the author weaves together the stories of how these scenes both came to be, and how they ultimately fell apart. If you are a fan of underground culture and music or just interested in the history of the greatest city in the world, I’d recommend this book.

[Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the most comprehensive discussions of underground music scenes I've come across. The way the author focuses not on individual people or bands, but on the spaces they occupy and how they facilitate the creation of art, as well as the factors that play a role in their survival or downfall, is fascinating, even when I don't have much of an interest in the genre being discussed. The way it serves as a roadmap for how to do one's best to avoid serving as an agent of gentrification and cultural death, especially towards the end, was also very cool. The recommended listening was also very appreciated.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot about the history of NYC music scenes and venues. Even the chapters about scenes that have been covered to death, like the CBGB's and Max's Kansas City era, offered a fresh take and I learned something new. I loved the author's voice and sense of humor too. This book was clearly exhaustively researched, but it never felt pendantic. It was nice to be reminded of why I loved living in the city so much and that the music party will never stop, no matter the naysayers. I truly didn't want the book to end!

[Joseph Lawton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book. Way more than just a rock scene bio, Rifkin looks deeply at the factors that allow and/or cause artistic scenes to coalesce. Economic and geographic factors are just the beginning of his analysis. This book is for anyone interested in learning more about the myriad of influences that make New York New York. Highly recommended.

[Stephen Franco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live for histories and this one is especially fascinating. This Must Be the Place has one of the freshest perspectives on music history that I have ever encountered. Instead of focusing on certain bands or moments this book instead focuses on the venues, proximity, and communities that created the right environment for artists to flourish. I can't recommend this book enough. It is a must read.

[Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. While I am no expert on music communities in NYC and their histories, everything that was covered here was done with good context, connection, and occasionally some humor.

I really appreciated the effort to include the addresses and often, current photos, of the venues and spaces mentioned.

Learned so much!

[Roberto Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history of music bars and clubs in Manhattan and Brooklyn, from 1960 to right before the pandemic. It concentrates on folk & rock and completely misses rap/hip-hop, which is a great shame. There needs to be another book on that only.

[Chris Aylott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting because of its discussion of the personalities and styles of New York music history, but what I got out of it was the discussion of how creativity can be fostered in "in between" spaces, and the kind of people who have to be present for creativity to grow.

[Andrea Janov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on how locations create scenes that influence what music can become. This book only focuses on downtown neighborhoods/venues in NYC and lean towards the writers preferences, which I totally get, but I wanted more!

[Meghan L · Rating 5 out of 5]

History of various music scenes in nyc (primarily East village/west village/soho/lower east side) from ~1960 on. Lots of info! The author, Jesse Rifkin, also leads walking tours in nyc — highly rec the punk rock one!

[Olivia Sirignano · Rating 5 out of 5]

insanely comprehensive and offers a unique perspective on the rise and fall of different abd equally important scenes in NYC. This is such a different viewpoint, as the venues are the main characters.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t help but think about how I started this book on a chaise lounge by the pool and am finishing it while wearing a winter coat… but anyways, this was so interesting! Kept me engaged throughout and put me onto a lot of new (to me) music

[HTP Books]

20th Century History, Middle Atlantic United States History, Philosophy & Social Aspects in Music, History & Criticism in Music

[Nathan Truman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous history of NYC. Great cameo from Matt Taibbi’s dad as a dunce.

[Juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely new and interesting angle on subjects many have covered before - I really learned a lot!

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was way more information than I needed on this topic, but what I did read was well-written and interesting.

[Lem Oppenheimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and well written. Even covering some of the same ground I’ve read in other books it brought fresh perspectives