Memories of September 11, 2001 by Kim Gordon

What do you remember about September 11th, 2001 and the days afterward?

For those of us who lived out of state when the trade towers were hit, our experiences were vastly different. We have our memories that were mostly shaped by television coverage and the reactions within our own communities.

But Kim Gordon, formerly of Sonic Youth, lived in New York City at the time and shares a little about what that time was like in her recent memoir, "Girl in a Band".

"It was a surreal, terrifying day. People....were wandering around... in a daze."

"The next morning...the streets were empty. I got very emotional thinking about New York as I looked down to where the towers once were and I saw a big nothing. It felt like the end."

 "Every morning I got up early and turned on CNN just to make sure nothing else had happened, and I woke up in the middle of the night, too. This is still my sleep pattern."

"Later I found out that most of the power downtown in the financial district ran directly underneath Murray Street....Murray Street itself had chain-link fencing on both sides of the sidewalk and for months it was one big gaping hole, with the sidewalks and pavement regularly wetted down to dissolve the dust still permeating the air. 'Is this to wash away the dust of all the people killed in the towers?' I kept thinking."

It's hard to imagine being so close to the events that changed our world that tragic day.  

Please share: 
What do you remember about September 11th and the days afterwards? 
What happened in your community after September 11th?
How did your friends and family deal with and handle the tragedy?
 

Commemorate 9/11 - I Can't See New York by Tori Amos

You may have heard the song “I Can’t See New York” by Tori Amos. The song is the 12th track from “Scarlet’s Walk” album, which was released in 2002. “Scarlet’s Walk” debuted at “US #7, selling 107,000 copies in its first week and reaching RIAA Gold status about a month after its release” according to Wikipedia. 

St. Paul's Cemetery, World Trade Center NYC

According to TheDent.com, which interviewed Tori Amos regarding her 2002 album, “‘New York’ is an emotional highlight of Scarlet's Walk, which Ms. Amos calls a ‘sonic novel.’ It's an intriguing and complicated journey following one woman at least partly based on Ms. Amos herself across the country, searching to discover what America means.” Wikipedia notes that “the 18-track concept album details the cross-country travels of Scarlet, a character loosely based on Amos, as well as the concept of America post-September 11th (2001).”

TheDent.com also notes, that although Ms. Amos began writing “I Cant’ See New York” prior to September 11th, she was in New York on that fateful day, and very inspired by the events that unfolded that day. On writing the song, she said “It cooked for a long time" and the material came "fast and furiously" after Sept. 11. “Questions began to form in her mind about the nation.”

Taken at St. Paul's Chapel Cemetery at the World Trade Center

“I Can’t See New York” is a very emotional remembrance of September 11th. When chorus 2 states “But I can't see New York, As I'm circling down, through white cloud, falling out”, one can imagine all those people who jumped from the World Trade Towers through the smoke. When chorus 1 states “and you said, you would find me here, and you said, you would find me, even in Death” one can imagine all those who died in 9-11, many of whom were never found. The song does a remarkable job of capturing some of the most horrifying events that unfolded on September 11th, in a most respectful, beautiful and moving way.

Please share your memories of September 11th or visiting the World Trade Towers. What do you think of Tori Amos's song? Have you heard other songs that memorialize the events of September 11th in a moving way?
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