(Photo: Lisa Kahane/Do Not Give Way To Evil/ Powerhouse Books)

The Fiery Furnaces

1. Stevie Wonder, “1-2-3 Sesame Street.”
Well, there are three kids in the picture. And the vocoder vocals are relevant in this “Death of Auto-Tune” summer.

2. Eric B & Rakim, “To the Listeners.”
They certainly look as if they are listening, as they are not all looking in the same direction.

3. Dizzy Gillespie, “Manteca” (Carnegie Hall concert, 1961).
The photo looks like New York in the summer, doesn’t it? And “Manteca” is still the ultimo New York summer tune, no? Especially this not-the-most-famous recording.

4. Eddie Palmieri, “Vamonos Pa’l Monte.”
The youth are climbing the mountain, figuratively speaking.

5. Duke Ellington, “Warm Valley” (from Money Jungle).
I imagine it was pretty warm down there on that blacktop.

6. Louis Armstrong, “Don’t Fence Me In.”
I think the reason for this is clear—and he’s Queens’s greatest.

7. Ramones, “Pinhead.”
I don’t think I need a reason to put this down, though the fella on our left has maybe met a nurse that he could go for.

8. The Who, “Join Together.”
The Who, among other things, are a great New York band, and are the young men in the photo already joined together, or do they “need” to join together?