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Cuomo's Ineffable Pre-Show Music Soothes My Pandemic-Stricken Soul
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 19, 2020
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Jen Carlson / Gothamist
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 19, 2020
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For many weeks — I don't know how many, as I've lost all sense of time at this point — I've been tuning in to Governor Andrew Cuomo's press briefings. These typically happen once a day via livestream at governor.ny.gov, where — about 30 minutes or so before each briefing — a message will pop up stating that viewers should "stand by for a live announcement" from the governor. At this time, that static message will be accompanied by music.
There's no set genre here — it ranges from cowboy country-western to '80s B-movie synth jams to Twin Peaks lite to somber acoustic numbers. I call it "Cuomocore," and it's been the best part of my day since I went into isolation.
While I assume it's mostly press viewing these briefings, I imagine very soon more New Yorkers from all over the state will tune in to get the latest vital information on COVID-19 in real time. It will be a surreal shared experience, receiving these live updates from our isolation rooms. And when that happens, I want you to know two things. First, do NOT think of this as our Turner Doomsday music, think of it as our intermission music—this is just a break, we'll be back. Secondly, you must, for your own sanity and pleasure, press play on the livestream well before Cuomo is set to go up, then keep hitting the volume button until it can't go any higher.
At this point you'll want to really let the music wash over you — if it's a slow jam, use it as an opportunity to take a deep breath. If it's a banger, get up and dance. And you know what, if it's one of those somber numbers (honestly, not my favorite part of the Cuomocore catalog) you'll want to dance there, too. Take it away, Phil Chan.
Who curates the playlist? I reached out to Cuomo's press office but for some reason this doesn't appear to be a priority. If they do respond, I'll update here. Until then, I will assume not the obvious (that it's a subscription service), but that Cuomo himself comes home every night, slides into some silk pajamas, and creates the playlist himself after a long day of attempting to reassure New Yorkers.
We all need our outlets during these uncertain times — consider Cuomocore.
UPDATE, March 28th: Following the publication of this piece, the pre-briefing music became quite sullen. Cuomo's office will not comment on that, however, Cuomo Spokesperson Rich Azzopardi did tell Gothamist, "The great mystery is...nobody knows" where the music came from. He added, "This was there before... there are a handful of tracks that media services purchased over the last 10 years, it's royalty free music. It's about 10 tracks that either early in administration or under the Patterson administration were purchased. They go on in a scrambled loop. So nobody knows where they came from, which I think is the best part of it."
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COVID-19
Music
coronavirus
andrew cuomo
gov andrew cuomo
cuomocore
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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