Sunday, June 27, 2010

New York: Shuffle Off to Buffalo

The Stolen Sweets: Shuffle Off to Buffalo


Buffalo is a city in what is now called “the rust belt”. The city’s economy was based on manufacturing, and these are hard times for manufacturers in the United States. But there was a time when these cities were shining and new. The industrial revolution had made them symbols of hope, even in the depths of the Great Depression. So, in the song Shuffle Off to Buffalo, we find that Buffalo is an inexpensive but desirable honeymoon destination.

The song comes from the movie 42nd Street from 1933. Later, it would be a hit for the Boswell Sisters, whose version is the clearest model for the version heard here. The Stolen Sweets bring all of the sentimentality of the originals to these old songs, and they also write originals which sound like they belong to the same era. You can read my review of their most recent album here.

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