And Now, A Chance To Celebrate The Cities That Helped Build Certain Parts Of Rock And Roll
It’s 7 a.m. here in Los Angeles, the news wires have been shocked into silence by the news that Britney Spears will try to become famous for something besides driving around this city, and I just hit Apple-Q when I meant to hit Apple-W, thus losing a (kind of long!) post that I, like an idiot, did not save neither early no often. What better time to post Randy Newman’s semi-sardonic love letter to the City of Angels, “I Love L.A.”–which I always get in my head when I visit this town, against my will–and ask you to talk about your favorite songs that double as snapshots of the world’s burgs, large and small?
Of course, no entry on this topic would be complete without me mentioning Billy Joel’s “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant,” which is one of the few songs to celebrate the fine burg of Hicksville, N.Y. The Village Green in the song? It’s a real place! With a Carvel and everything! And there’s a Sears right in the middle of town, too, although its massive parking lot has been getting slowly eaten away by fast-food joints, banks, and a park & ride.
The drunk singalong is a nice touch of Long Island “authenticity,” no? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go try and start a fight between Soulja Boy and Lily Allen or something.
Randy Newman – I Love L.A. [YouTube] Scenes From An Italian Restaurant [YouTube]
