Songwriter Pays Homage To Brooklyn, Sheepshead

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of New York City transplants wailing the chorus to Jay-Z/Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” in Lower East Side bars. My first reaction is to think violent thoughts, and tell these morons to shove it as I down an overpriced vodka tonic.

But local singer-songwriter Annika Vitolo took a far more productive route. The Marine Park/Gerritsen Beach native composed her own homage to the city’s best borough called “Streets of Brooklyn”, and then produced a video packed with stunning photos of the neighborhoods real New Yorkers live in.

There’s no shortage of love in the video for Southern Brooklyn neighborhoods like Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and Bay Ridge. You’ll see some familiar establishments, including Stella Maris, Delmar Pizzeria, Joe’s of Avenue “U”, L & B Spumoni Gardens, and more. Not to mention some great shots of locals in action along the boardwalks, beaches, Emmons Avenue, Ocean Avenue footbridge, and on and on…

It’s great to see some real love for the real Brooklyn, instead of the endless mainstream gushing over hipster hoods from Williamsburg to Cobble Hill.

As for Annika, the pianist points to influences like Carly Simon, Sade, Carole King, Tori Amos, Alanis Morissette, Bonnie Raitt, and Stevie Nicks. Check out her myspace page for more songs, and help support her budding career by purchasing “Streets of Brooklyn” on iTunes or Amazon.

So next time you hear some drunk corporate frat hound droning, “Neeeewww Yooooorrrkk” on 2nd Avenue, remember that “Everything I’ll ever need I found/ on the streets of Brooklyn.” Then get the hell out of the Lower East Side.

[Thanks to our Facebook readers Bruce T. and Nora B. for bringing this to our attention]