5 More Great 9/11 Songs

By Chris Gray Tue., Sep. 11 2012 at 10:00 AM

Categories: Current Events, Pop Life

Continued from page 1

Kimya Dawson, "Anthrax": Even after the shock of the attacks, the creeping dread that the world had changed for the worse (much worse) set in when biological weapons started showing up in the mail of major NYC buildings, including government offices and several TV networks. This ragged, off-key tune from the Moldy Peaches founder's 2004 album Hidden Vagenda takes a small kernel of hope in the knowledge that at least she's safe: "Then we turned on CNN/ Watched the Towers fall again/ And realized our lives aren't so bad." That's cold comfort, though, because a little later she sings, "don't take anything for granted/ If you do, the world will kick your ass."

Living Colour, "Flying": One of the best most underrated rock bands of the last 25 years, Living Colour is actually still aliving and kicking (thank God), most recently releasing 2009's The Chair In the Doorway. This song from 2003's Collideøscope is a jazzy, smooth (but not smooth-jazz) ballad narrated by someone on one of the WTC-bound planes: "I jumped out the window to get to the parking lot/ I'm writing this little song on my way down." Minus Vernon Reid's signature electric-guitar squiggles, the melodious chords and singer Corey Glover's supple tone both serve as a reminder of how gorgeous the weather was that day, and make the grotesque lyrics that much more unsettling.

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