A teenager’s ode to lip gloss. A song whose lyrics include “Down in Jamaica we give it to you hot like a sauna.†A dash of M.C. Hammer, with a hint of Vanilla Ice. And perhaps the least subtle of Marvin Gaye’s myriad paeans to passionate embrace.
For those who tuned in at noon on Thursday for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s final State of the City address, it appeared for over half an hour that a dance party had broken out at a municipal function.
As guests in the Barclays Center and viewers online awaited the mayor’s entrance at the arena â€" which came more than 30 minutes after the scheduled starting tie â€" they were exposed to a playlist loaded with arresting choices.
Some seemed befitting of the setting, like “Where Brooklyn At†by Notorious B.I.G. (not the part where Biggie says “The two weed spots, the two hot glocks / That’s how I got the weed spot /I shot dread in the head, took the bread and the lamb spread,†but, you know, the “Where Brooklyn at†part) and, predictably, “Empire State of Mind,†the Jay-Z anthem that blared as Mr. Bloomberg approached the podium.
Others were more curious: a remix of Mr. Gaye’s “Sexual Healing,†“Temperature†by the reggae artist Sean Paul and a mix involving at least one if not both of “U Can’t Touch This†by M.C. Hammer and “Ice Ice Baby†by Vanilla Ice. The mix played during a dance performance by a group of children before Mr. Bloomberg spoke. Adult dancers from the Brooklyn Nets also appeared at one point, set to a remix of “Respect†by Aretha Franklin.
Occasionally, the songs lent themselves to interpretation. For those who view Mr. Bloomberg as a singular figure â€" or others seeking evidence of his high self-regard â€" there was “Ain’t No Other Man,†by Christina Aguilera.
More often, though, the music’s relationship to city politics seemed tenuous. The strangest entry was perhaps “Lip Gloss†by Lil Mama, whose chorus reads: “My lip gloss is cool / My lip gloss be poppin’ / I’m standin’ at my locker / And all the boys keep stoppin’.â€
The song list was a sharp departure from politicians’ often conservative forays into musical selection. In his runs for the nation’s highest office, President Obama turned to songs whose very titles conveyed a desired message, like “Signed, Sealed, Delivered†by Stevie Wonder or “We Take Care of Our Own†by Bruce Springsteen.
The soundtrack was the work of the disc! jockey Whitney Day, whose Web site says she has “an instinct for reading the crowd and an ability to artfully mix genre-blending sets.†Some of the early reviews for Ms. Day were quite favorable.
“I’m recording Bloomy’s pre-State of the City soundtrack for future usage,†Colin Campbell, a New York Observer reporter, wrote on Twitter. “This is bananas funky.â€
