Dude Stops People Wearing Headphones To Ask What They’re Listening To (London Edition)

Jun. 6, 2011

By Paul Barker info

Paul is a musician and never was.

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Inspired by Tyler Cullen, a student at School of Visual Arts in New York City who went up to random people in Manhattan and asked them what they were listening to on their headphones, Joseph Jenson and Michael Fostiropoulos have applied the concept to London. Now, the natural question: from this random sample, who has better taste in music? London or New York? Here are the respective playlists:

New York City

  1. The Bee Gees: More Than A Woman
  2. Fenix TX: Abba Zabba
  3. Eminem: Not Afraid
  4. Keni Burke: Keep Rising to the Top
  5. Beyonce: Smash Into You
  6. LCD Soundsystem: Dance Yrself Clean
  7. The Black Keys: Too Afraid To Love You
  8. Kanye West: Blame Game
  9. Kinky: Mas
  10. Lil Wayne: Lollipop
  11. Oasis: What’s the Story Morning Glory
  12. Frank Sinatra: The Best Is Yet To Come
  13. Korn: Counting on Me
  14. Britney Spears: How I Roll
  15. Panic! At the Disco: From A Mountain In The Middle Of The Cabins
  16. Kid Cudi: Day ‘n’ Night
  17. Bob Marley: Buffalo Solider
  18. Wiz Khalifa: Black & Yellow
  19. Big Punisher: Still Not A Player
  20. NPR2
  21. Tub Ring: No One Wants To Play
  22. Lady Gaga: Just Dance

London

  1. ABBA: Money Money Money
  2. Coldplay: Cemetaries of London
  3. The Clash: Rock the Casbah
  4. Common: Play Your Cards Right
  5. Podcast Tour of London
  6. The Bravery: An Honest Mistake
  7. Corrine Baily Ray: Seasons Change
  8. Vangelis: Conquest of Paradise
  9. Nadia Ali: Fine Print
  10. Plastician: Japan
  11. Rihanna: Disturbia
  12. Beirut: Elephant Gun
  13. Burial: Endorphin
  14. Nine Inch Nails: Deep
  15. Gospel Choir: You are Worthy of My Praise
  16. Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze
  17. Danny Byrd: Ill Behaviour
  18. Bruce Springsteen: Down to the River
  19. Podcast Japanese 101
  20. Katy Perry: Teenage Dream
  21. Jay Z: Jigga that N***a
  22. Disney’s The Junge Book: I Wanna Be Like You.

You decide. TC mark

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  • vicki

    nyc has sik beatz

  • Shwax

    In my opinion, in this small sample size there were just 7  songs by listeners in both cities that I would not put up an argument to if someone claimed it was good music.

    Also, I love the coincidence that the first person in each city was listening to an hilariously awful song. My question is who is worse: ABBA or the Bee Gees?

  • http://twitter.com/JohnathanIsMe Johnathan

    London, all the way

  • http://twitter.com/JohnathanIsMe Johnathan

    For me it was 5 – 7 to songs I'd nod my head in approval too

  • http://twitter.com/henryevil andrew

    Nothing beats the woman in the NYC video listening to Frank Sinatra. Spirit animal!

  • Tory

    Haha the girl listening to Teenage Dream is walking to the beat as she walks away. That's sweet.

  • Easy

    London.

  • 20 GOTO 10

    The people in London seemed more likely to know straight away what song they were listening to.

  • justeunefille

    i have a girl crush on the chick listening to jigga that by jay-z.

  • http://twitter.com/FeHaciente Fernanda Cortes

    From NYC I just dig two songs, from London let's say four. I based my decision on tha fact that every city playlist that has BEIRUT in it, has better taste in music :D

  • StyleForGuys

    I love how like proper adults also listen to Gaga's latest :-)

  • Anonymous

    ew you're shitty

  • Mary Quite-contrary

    no.

  • Mary Quite-contrary

    that guy was listening to a song from The Jungle Book soundtrack. I googled the lyrics. “I Wanna Be Like You” THE JUNGLE BOOK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

  • Mary Quite-contrary

    If you think about it, listening to bad music is the best punishment for listening to bad music.

  • Mary Quite-contrary

    oh look they already did that for me. *blush*

  • Emily

    London, definitely.

  • Josip Lisec

    Did like every person from London have an iPod/iPhone? oh, and there was that lady with an iPad(!?)

  • JEAmaty

    “Bad Music (Is Better Than No Music At All)” – John Hartford song title

  • liker

    Someone do Australia!

  • Anonymous

    whatever happened to britpop and alt rock

  • yeeaah

    3:09 swag, lol

  • Charles Reinhardt

    I want to see a Paris version.

  • padface

    I KNOW THESE PLACES!

    My playlist is equal parts great and awful, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

  • Guest

    Major props to the guy listening to “I wanna be like you” from The Jungle Book!

  • http://twitter.com/taylafederer Tayla Dam

    it's called the river not “down to the river” how dare you disrespect springsteen

  • Beth

    Loved that someone was listening to a song from the Jungle Book, if I’d got stopped in London I probably would have been listening to an embarassing Disney song too.

    Londonders seemed to actually know what they were listening to without looking a lot more than New Yorkers, which I like.

  • KC

    Travis – Love Will Come Through <3 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=584245207 Layla Janvrin-Pinti

    He hadn’t heard this: http://youtu.be/7iSRr3ZuLL8

  • Stephanie Watson

    Come to Glasgow! <3

  • http://www.goodmusicstillexists.com Jacob

    The guy listening to Fleet Foxes makes it an automatic win for London!

  • Melissapottier

    Obviously, London wins. Starting off with ABBA and then ending off with a Disney song.
    Yeah, New York got beat.

  • http://twitter.com/piroteknix John LaPine

    London’s got it, simply for the Nine Inch Nails girl.

  • Viv

    Are you on crack?

  • Kryso

    Saw them at Glastonbury this year… Amazing.

  • Jperrryy

    I think it paints quite an interesting picture. Instead of seeing people on the street just with headphones, it’s cool to think everyone who does have headphones has something else unfolding in their head, completely different to whatever you’re hearing; everyone is in their own different world. 
    On another note, personally I preferred the London one.

  • Wptexas

    No Zappa?

  • guest

    bonobo, coldplay, and beirut! some great taste in london

  • Guest

    London’s got Nine Inch Nails and Jimi Hendrix, but apart from that, I worry about the future of humanity

  • Wacktastic0

    The guy with the dreads has the same headphones as me!! Bayerdynamic, so comfortable

  • Luff

    Take you existential views and shove them up your ass.

  • Amk

    I weep for the future of music in the US T_T I’m moving to london

  • http://www.crabgrasscomic.com/ Coffeepillow

    You should really come to Minneapolis. We are now officially the hippest city in the US and we celebrate our awesome music scene proudly. Great video, there was a surprising amount of American music being listened to, I guess Britain just isn’t what it used to be…

  • http://www.crabgrasscomic.com/ Coffeepillow

     They are amazing! James Vincent McMorrow opened for them here in Minneapolis, who is also great. I would have killed for a ticket, but they sold out…

  • http://www.crabgrasscomic.com/ Coffeepillow

     They are amazing! James Vincent McMorrow opened for them here in Minneapolis, who is also great. I would have killed for a ticket, but they sold out…

  • Deedee6265

    Forgot Drake – sooner than later

  • Gretchenlopezayala

    You can have a clue about peoples musical taste by the way they dress, act, ect.  Everywhere will be the same.  Besides, cultural experience varies from one country to another.  My point is: its hard to decide that.  At least that evidence is not that empiric. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1349747486 Danika Harris

    Neat idea!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1349747486 Danika Harris

    Awesome! I found some new music!
     

  • guest

    London, clearly

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Kathy-Hilliard-Lies/1312516 Kathy Hilliard Lies

    I’m usually listening to a book…didn’t see any books on there!

  • http://www.fajascolombianas2.com Vedette

    In this category, I would like to say that new yorkers have the better music than those of london.

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