headphones are on

Let’s take it back to early 2007, it’s my senior of college, final semester. Deeply entrenched in the indie music scene (I miss you, 2000’s), I was spending a lot time between college, Boston, and my beloved New York City. An interesting era as lower Manhattan climbed from the ashes, and small clubs became victim again to the relentless progress machine that is NYC. But that’s for another day.

This was also the infancy of on demand video services (beyond PPV) and online streaming, tapping into the beginnings of the yet unknown that Netflix would capitalize on.

So, as every TV worshipper does, I planned much of my week around shows I couldn’t miss, agonizing over which to prioritize if time slots were doubled up, and utilized the quickly becoming ancient VHS tape to record anything I’d miss, on my little TV with its built in video tape deck and timer features.

I’d heard rumor of a new show set in Hell’s Kitchen, an NYC neighborhood with a long list of real and fictional Irish Mob and Italian Mafia dramas playing out in its streets for years. (more…)