How punk band the Ramones memorialized this infamous NYC gay cruising spot
The Loop, an area “where young male hustlers [hung] out and older men [cruised] to buy sexual favors.”The fact that such an explicitly LGBTQ+ cruising spot could exist in Manhattan (and so many avenues away from the neighborhood later known as Hell’s Kitchen, at that) is a testament to a bygone and much seedier New York City.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.But it’s this version of the Big Apple that birthed one of punk music’s most influential bands — the Ramones, who paid tribute to the queer spot in their own unique way.Listen.The track appeared on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees’ 1976 self-titled debut album.
Although the LP includes some of the group’s most notable tracks — including “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” — it was a commercial flop upon release.
Nevertheless, the four-piece’s gritty, thrashing vocals and ferociously sharp guitars were revelatory in the punk scene, alongside their controversial lyrics about violence, sex, dark humor, and drug use.Accordingly, “53rd and 3rd,” penned by bassist Dee Dee Ramone, did not shy away from what really went down at the infamous intersection.As revealed by the opening verse, the song tells the story of a former “Green Beret in Vietnam” who’s fallen on hard times.
With no time for “your fairy stories” — both a reference to fairytales and a homophobic slur — the narrator now finds himself on “53rd and 3rd, standing on the street” and “trying to turn a trick.”Despite the taboo subject, the Ramones infused a bizarre level of humor into the lyrics, with self-deprecating quips like, “You’re the one they never pick” and the loaded invitation: “If you think you can, well, come on man.” Still, the song takes a dark turn in the bridge after the narrator is approached.
