Songs about New York vs Songs about California

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California

california girls - beach boys
california - joni mitchell
california-Rufus Wainwright
All the Big Ones Get Away- Buffy St Marie
The Magic Disenycal world tour - Corneilous (sp)
California Uber Alles - Dead Kenendys
california love - Tupac and Dre
California Blue - Roy Orbinson
Doing Time in Bakersfield - JAson MCcoy
California Stars - Billy Bragg
VS

New York
New York New York - Standard
New York City Boy- Pet Shop Boys
Fairytale of New York- The Pouges
Aliggotors in New York City- Radiohead
New York - SEx Pistols
Autumn in New York- Billie Holiday
Chelsea Hotel - Leonard Cohen
New York Telephone conversation- Lou Reed
So which geo region wins

― anthony, Friday, 28 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

New Yark. Not necessarily because of the songs listed above, though. "Los Angeles" by X would add a bit of BEE punch to the Cali list, while Johnny Thunders' glorious shout-out: "You'd best believe I'm from New York City!" on "London Boys", which is as much about NYC than about the Pistols' attack on the Dolls (by opposition, obviously) would definitely nail LA's chances...

― Simon, Friday, 28 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well, California has Randy Newman's I Love L.A., but it also has the very wretched Hotel California and Led Zeppelin's Going To California. And then there's Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N'Roses, but it seems like that could apply to almost any large city. The last thirty years of pop culture have turned California (as it's perceived by the rest of the world) into some kind of mythic surfer's paradise or, conversely, a disease-ridden corrupt seaside wasteland. There's really nothing that new to say about it. It's either Annette Funicello or Nathaniel West.

And NYC has John Lennon's best post-1970 song ("New York City") and Bob Dylan's "Talkin' New York," so that gets the nod.

― Justyn Dillingham, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I like the REM california song because it sounds apocalyptic

― Mike Hanle y, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

see you've got new york, bu u2, and new york cops, by the strokes, so it kinda wins out over california, though billy bragg does reference both i think in "Help Save the youth of america"

― Geoff, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

California - Holiday Flyer is my fave Cali song, New York City - Cub is my fave New York song. anyway cali wins.

― jel, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Kalifornia Uber Alles.

― K-reg, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"We're gonna kill/ The California girls" - 'Expressway to yr Skull' - Sonic Youth.

― Andrew L, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Fave Cali songs - "Two States" (Pavement), "Danger" (Motley Crue), "Tenderloin" & "Death Valley Nights" (Blue Oyster Cult), "Revolution Blues" (Neil Young), "Kid Charlemagne" (Steely Dan), "Sick Again" (Led Zep), "Color Blind" (Ice Cube - not to mention "Fuck tha Police"), "Heavenly Thrills 90210" (Urge Overkill), "San Francisco" (Village People), "Battery" (Metallica),

Fave NY songs - "Black Diamond" (Kiss), "NY Stars" (Lou Reed), "Life During Wartime" (Talking Heads - mentions CBGBs and the Mudd Club) - well let's face it, there's going to be more songs about California because it's a whole state, with 28 million people!

― dave q, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

California - BV3K Drinking in LA, Screenwriters Blues - Soul Coughing, California Stars - Wilco

New York - New York City - The Demics, First We Take Manhatten - Leonard Cohen (eek, I did like the Jennifer Warne(r?)version too), I'll Sink Manhattan - TMBG, Bronx Cheer - Mercury Rev, Buffalo - The Church

― Mr Noodles, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Let's see ... Just Another Band from L.A. has "Billy the Mountain," arguably the greatest song FZ ever recorded; "Magdalena," arguably the most offensive song FZ ever recorded; an OK version of "Call Any Vegetable."

Zappa in New York has "The Illinois Enema Bandit," "Titties and Beer," "Big Leg Emma," "I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth," "Baby Don't You Want a Man Like Me?" (arguably the second most offensive song FZ ever recorded), and great live versions of "Cruisin' for Burgers," "The Torture Never Stops," and "Black Page #2." And FZ gets heckled (Heckler: "FUCK YOU!" FZ: "Fuck you too, buddy, you know what you mean? Fuck you very much!")

Quantity over quality is the name of the game!

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

NYC wins easy. Leaving aside the great early-Dylan nominations (spot- on) and the massive Reed connection - jeez, you never even mentioned 'The Village In The Morning', 'The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side', You're My Only Home', 'If You Don't Cry', 'Epitaph For My Heart', 'Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin' and 'Bitter Tears'. Presumably 'Come Back From San Francisco' = the crossover double.

― the pinefox, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Is this question strictly limited to Rock? Looking at Hip Hop, there are many many other songs about California vs NYC... think west coast rappers like Death Row and East Coast Bad Boy and all the old school. But anyways, the first songs that popped in my head when i read this question was I Love Living in the City and New York's Alright If You Like Saxaphones by the band FEAR. Both of them rag on New York, but it's "i hate it but i wouldn't live anywhere else" sarcastic songs. -Dave

― Dave, Sunday, 30 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Are we counting "Fuck Compton"?

― billy, Sunday, 30 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

California has the whole of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. That pretty much wins it for me. And there's California Dreaming, or do I have to class that as a guilty pleasure?

'Course, it's very nearly lost again by A's "I Love Lake Tahoe", but it's fairly easy to block A out of my memory, so I'm going to ignore that.

― Rebecca, Monday, 1 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Pavement = guilty pleasure. Lots of guilt, and not much pleasure.

― the pinefox, Monday, 1 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Despite California Love being the best song of all time, NYC still wins. Think of all the great rap epics that give shout outs to NYC. It's jsut like that.

― Ally, Monday, 1 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The very fact that you listed California Girls first is telling. You also forgot Ventura Highway by America, I think. But New York probably wins because while California has the whole of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, NYC has the whole of the VU catalogue.

― JM, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"I'll take Manhattan in a garbage pail with Latin written on it that says, "It's hard to give a shit these days." -Lou Reed, New York

― Dave225, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Slipknot - "Eyeless" (chorus: "you can't see California without Marlon Brando's eyes") beats Fear - "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones". Actually, Slipknot - "Eyeless" beats pretty much anything; New York has no chance.

― Kris, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two months pass...

too bad that one line chorus is the only line having anything at all to do with california. Both FEAR songs are actually about new york, not just one line sidenote mentioning the city. Slipknot is gimmick, FEAR was the real deal. This is what Jennifer Newman from Portland had to say about Slipknot in SPIN; "The story about Slipknot reminded me of the good old days when I could see them at Hairy Marys in Des Moines any day of the week. I could always enjoy a great show- because Slipknot members were taking your 5 bucks at the door and pouring drinks while good bands entertained the crowds. It's sad that their little masks gimmick has forced me to be barraged by their name even after I moved across the country." Besides the original lineup with Lee Ving, Johnny Backbeat, Philo Cramer, and Derf Scratch, there was also Flea from RHCP, Richard Presley and Mando Lopez of the Breeders, SPit Stix, and Scott Thunes from Frank Zappa.

― Dave, Monday, 17 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

NY wins, but don't forget California Sun or Goin' Back To Cali.

― dan, Monday, 17 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think NY wins, but at least this thread has reminded me of 'California In Space' by Call And Response, which is wonderful.

― Ally C, Monday, 17 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Mamas and the Papas Vs The Velvet Underground.

― Dave225, Tuesday, 18 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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