Songs About Los Angeles: Boosting and Debunking Through Music
“I’d be safe and warm if I was in LA”
- The Mamas and Papas, “California Dreamin”
- The Mamas and Papas, “California Dreamin”
“A teenage bride with the baby inside getting high on information, And buy me a star on the boulevard,
it's Californication. Space may be the final frontier but it's made in a Hollywood basement”
-The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, “Californiacation”
it's Californication. Space may be the final frontier but it's made in a Hollywood basement”
-The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, “Californiacation”
“It’s the City of Angels and constant danger”
- 2PAC, “To Live and Die in L.A.”
- 2PAC, “To Live and Die in L.A.”
Joni Mitchell’s “California,” Les Savy Fav’s “Sleepless in Silverlake,” Death Cab for a Cutie’s “Why
You’d Want to Live Here,” “Hotel California” by the Eagles— The list of songs about life in Los
Angeles goes on and on, but what are they lyrics really saying? It seems that music is a medium
through which the image of Los Angeles is both romanticized and revealed. On the one hand you
have Michelle Phillips singing about being safe and warm, and on the other hand you have 2PAC
expressing his own interpretation of a dangerous and unsafe L.A. .
In class we have studied many examples of both booster and debunker images, whether it be
through film, photography, or articles. Many songs that “debunk” LA, such as “Californiacation” tend
to reveal how the city puts on a facade and tries to fake its glory when in reality it is lonely and
dangerous. If you were to write a song about L.A. what would you say about it? Would it have a
positive or negative interpretation? How have you all seen this booster image conveyed through
music and how has it affected the way you see the city?
My song would represent my two perspectives of Los Angeles, portraying the pros and cons. In other words, my song about LA would have some sort of change between the first and second half. In the first half, my song would talk about the weather, accessible transportation, and celebration of the arts, while the second half would talk about the traffic, homelessness, and crime in LA. I notice in “American Boy” for example, the girl sings, “I’d love to see LA.” Here LA is portrayed as a popular tourist destination. This song lyric affects the way I see the city because it portrays LA as a vacation or resort city. This example is obviously a form of a booster image.
ReplyDeleteWhile some of 2Pac’s music reflects a dangerous reality for L.A.’s inhabitants, I wouldn’t say he thinks of the city as a solely dangerous/unsafe place. Much of what he raps about in songs like To Live and Die in L.A. is the stuff that he believes makes Los Angeles so great - the intricacies and faults that make it different from every other city in the world. I think that that is the beauty of songwriting in a city like Los Angeles - that all different types of musicians can speak their truth and reflect the many realities of the city. The artists that portray it as nice and cozy believe that is what makes L.A. the place to be, while 2Pac believes “black love, brown pride…. and gang signs being shown” are the parts that make it a home. Because Los Angeles so clearly revolves around the entertainment industry, it’s inevitable that songs be made about it from the stars that live here - and that results in the diversity of opinion in the music itself.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to have to write a song about Los Angeles, I’d like to make it about everything that makes it a home for me, everything that has made the city special to me - from the city’s diversity, to the food, to the landscape. It would have a positive interpretation, but I also understand why some might go the other route. I don’t think music has affected the way I see the city because I live in it myself, but I think it’s possible that outsiders not from L.A. who listen to “booster” music about L.A. can have their idea of the city changed because of it, especially because the music is all so popular.
I’m honestly pretty tired of hearing the same narrative about LA being superficial in a ton of different songs, all written as, I guess, either criticisms of the alleged fundamental shallowness of the city. In general, I definitely think some songs have shaped the way I think about Los Angeles– songs like “To Live and Die in LA” tell stories about aspects of life in Los Angeles that I haven’t directly experienced and widen my understanding of LA life. I think songs about cities can be powerful when they act as memoirs and create a vivid picture of life in that place, but they should come from an informed place– when an artist isn’t from Los Angeles, or wants to appeal to an outside audience, and thus bases their depiction of LA on basic stereotypes about the city, the product seems boring and misrepresentative. Songs like Death Cab’s “Why You’d Want to Live Here” peddle the same tired tropes about a city with huge cultural and historical significance– the last line of the song, for example, is “You can't swim in a town this shallow - you will most assuredly drown tomorrow.” As a lifelong LA resident, I don’t identify with this view at all– LA has been the center of countless family and cultural stories, has hosted some of the last century’s greatest artists, and is filled with people who aren’t even employed in the entertainment industry that inspired this “shallow” image. For the literal millions of people who have roots in Los Angeles county, the idea that the place lacks any real depth and no one with any dimension survives here just seems kind of ridiculous. If I wrote a song about Los Angeles, I think it’d focus on the experiences and places I associate with the city– the idiosyncracies or patterns of LA life that make it continually interesting to me, and the way the city’s history has shaped my experience here. In the end, I think any city can be interesting– there’s a poet I really like who writes all the time about Columbus, Ohio, a city that doesn’t get a ton of positive coverage in the media or literary arts, and his portrayals of his own connections to Columbus emphasize its importance and value to its residents.
ReplyDeleteOver winter break I went and visited my sister who has been studying abroad this year in the Netherlands. I got to stay with her for a while and hang out in her town, and pretty much everywhere we went the stores and restaurants were all playing American music. And a lot of her friends who weren't American knew these random LA-based bands and singers and it was so weird! I kind of forget how important LA is sometimes haha. This has been a kind of random response so far but I think it relates to the big idea of how powerful and widespread music is. And it's crazy to think so much of that music gets made in LA.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to write a song about LA, similar to Lux I would probably write about my personal connection to the city. I'd talk about where I hang out and my experiences in LA. I don't think I would focus as much on the booster image as other songs about LA do - because the booster image doesn't really have any relation to my experiences growing up in LA. The more I think about it the more I''m thinking that this would be actually super cool project to pursue & we should totally do this!!!
If I were to ever write a song about Los Angeles it would talk about my experience in the city whether that be positive, negative, or a mixture of both. Of utmost importance to me would be authenticity because outsiders would glean the most information if I was forthcoming with my information. My song would be neither positive nor negative but rather my true perspective of Los Angeles. I have heard Los Angeles portrayed in both booster and debunker fashions although neither had any effect on me due to my familiarity with the city and knowledge that allowed me to prove or disprove the statements in songs.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to write a song about Los Angeles, I would comment on my experiences with the city. Although not all of my experiences have been great, I think that the song would be mostly booster. I think that it is important to speak the truth about my experience in the city. However, I have heard many songs that talk about LA in either a booster and debunker style. I think that often the songs speak the truth, and are mostly based on personal experience.
ReplyDeleteLike Lux, I believe that 2Pac's music reflects the real life experiences in LA. Los Angeles isn't as picture perfect as it is described to be. I also feel that people's songs would be different depending on where they come from, if a person is writing a song about LA who's never lived here they would either have a booster image of Los Angeles (California Girls for example) or they describe the place as shallow. As far as people from Los Angeles or its surrounding areas, I feel people from upper-class families would have a more booster image of LA because most haven't faced the problems that 2Pac and many others have talked about. If I were to write a song about LA I would probably have a mix of a negative and positive outlook. I would talk about the relationship I have with LA and also inform people of the struggle people have to go through just to stay afloat in this city.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think many songs about California do in fact glamorize and romanticize many aspects of the city; however, I would also argue that most music does that anyways regardless of the location. I do think there is value in hearing a more accurate depiction of Los Angeles, but I doubt many people who are listening to music want the "debunker" version of Los Angeles to be revealed. Although I can't speak for everyone, I believe most people enjoy these romantisized and dramatized depictions of Los Angeles because, to be honest, they're fun and enjoyable. While I'm not suggesting this music is beneficial to understanding the city's cultural, political, and social culture, because it's not, I do think it plays a significant role in what Los Angeles was built on: entertainment.
ReplyDeleteNow, if I were to write a song about Los Angeles, I do believe I would continue to romanticize and exaggerate as I feel that in doing so, I would be contributing to what made the city globally recognizable in the first place.
Like many people have been saying, I think that if I were to write a song about LA, it would be based on my own experiences and observations about the city. I think that when each artist writes a song about their own story in a city, we get the most authentic and multi-dimensional view of the city, somewhat like the "My LA story" project we did at the beginning of the year. I think that songs that are either solely booster or debunker fail to actually capture the reality of a city with over 10 million people in it, each of whom has their own experience. It's also worth noting that even a single person's experience with a city portrayed through music can be nuanced and even somewhat contradictory : in your example of 2Pac, "To Live and Die in LA" is multifaceted, as it talks about the rampant death/danger in LA but also says "it's the place to be". "California Love" also definitely paints a positive image of LA, so I think that even a single person can explore multiple aspects of their experience through their works.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI've yet to hear a song discussing LA that doesn't contribute to the city's allure. Even some of the artists you've mentioned, like the RHCP, who often speak to the dark, behind-closed-doors view of LA (with mentions of hard drugs and false dreams, etc.) contribute to a certain grittiness that's enticing and assuredly, fascinating, to most people I'd say, myself included. Even music that intends to expose LA, showing that it's the antithesis to what it's chalked up to be - paradisal and embracing, the mecca of stardom and successes of all kinds - still contributes to another sort of attraction. Given audiences' fascination with both sides of the LA picture, I think it's nearly impossible to write a song that successfully debunks the city's boosterism. Songs about NYC are the same way. From afar, even without taking an urban studies course on the place, we can all recognize some of the obvious challenges of living in NYC...that it's not this purely fantastical, dream-like oasis. Then you have songs like Empire State of Mind that go, "Concrete jungles where dreams are made of!" We're all singing along but are really like, 'yeah, sure, for some people'. But I still want to go. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if all music truly showed the real LA, what would happen to the city's image? I'm thinking that maybe it wouldn't change as much as we think.
ReplyDeleteLike many have said above, if I were to write a song about LA, I would write a song about my own experiences in LA and my relationship with the city. I might even add aspects of how LA as a city has an outsiders image that presents it as a paradise. I think most songs talk about the booster image of LA because it is the image of LA that most outsiders see. I think this idea speaks to the difference between 2PAC's lyric in "To Live and Die in LA" vs The Mamas and Papa's lyric in "California Dreamin." The song "California Dreamin" was featured in the movie Chunking Express and the setting of the movie is in Hong Kong. In a particular part of the movie, a girl who works at a food joint is listening to this song on a very loud volume. (I don't know if the following will make complete sense, but I will try my best...) She is listening to this song that is depicting LA as this paradise where the weather and life is perfect; the song provides her with an outsider/booster image of what LA is like. In my opinion, this depiction is something a lot of artist like to produce because it sells. I don't think listening to these songs has altered the way I look at LA just because I wake up and live in the city (sort of) everyday so I always see the truth.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThought’s are all over the place here, my apologies:
ReplyDeleteI think very few artists that write about Los Angeles tell their own personal story - Songs that mention LA seem to always have a line about becoming rich and famous or living in this land of eternal sunshine- and rarely do they discuss any personal experience or truth. It’s interesting how this objective song about LA and its stereotypes tends to be more successful and sells more, so no one ever writes anything regarding their own LA experience. While I probably wouldn’t choose to do it that way, I don’t really see this as a major problem. I think it’s important to recognize that art is about making personal choices, and if the artist chooses to create something that doesn’t accurately reflect LA, or chooses to make something solely for the money, that is their choice (not necessarily saying it’s a great choice). And in making those choices, the artist must also stand by them in receiving any sort of negative feedback or backlash for writing false information.
In my own song about LA, I don’t think that I would choose to write about Los Angeles’s clichés. I think I would write about what I know of LA, and what I think of it, not what I think an audience wants to hear about it. I would include my own experience growing up in the greater Los Angeles area, and because I do love and appreciate a lot of the things LA has to offer, my song would probably be considered a booster song.
During the times when I've lived with groups of people who weren't from Los Angeles, I've noticed that I tend to want to play up the better parts of the city. We all know that the first question most people (who aren't from here) ask is something to the effect of "how often do you see celebrities?" as if the city and county are compact enough that that’s a common occurrence. So do you taint the ~magic~ aura of the city by telling them that no, actually we don't usually see famous people when we go out grocery shopping or to walk our dogs? Or do you think about those times in which you have rubbed elbows with Hollywood royalty and tell them those choice stories first?
ReplyDeleteIn that frame of mind, I think my song about LA would start with the good and intersperse some of the more sobering facts in so that neither the booster nor the debunker elements would be overwhelming. I would hope to achieve a sense of nuance, much like I think this city actually possesses (as opposed to a song that soundly criticizes the superficiality or wholeheartedly lauds the greatness of LA). Los Angeles can be (and is) both the booster and the debunker mentalities in one complex paradox of a place.
When I hear songs about LA when I’m not here, it generally evokes a sense of pride; after all, there aren’t that many other places that get name dropped as much as this city does. This city is still our place, with all of its issues and downsides, and when I was surrounded by people who weren't from here, I felt compelled to "boost" Southern California as superior to everything else. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that, I guess.
If I were to write a song about my LA story, it would definitely have positive and negative tones. I would definitely talk about growing up in the suburbs and not knowing anything about the city near me. I would also talk about how beautiful the city is, especially with all the different faces and cultures I have crossed. I think that I would mostly talk about my family and how their experiences formed my perspectives on LA. Lastly, I would write all about my personal experiences in LA from staying with my cousin at her home in Lynwood to running down Manchester Blvd barefoot and with a dead phone.
ReplyDeleteFROM LUKE: We are home to many diverse cultures, religions, and peoples. Los Angeles is a paradise for some, and a trap for others. A person's access and lifestyle are based on socioeconomic status and ethnicity. There are Blacks and Latinos stuck in poverty who survive in the hood while the wealthy thrive in suburbia. Tupac said, "Cause would it be LA without Mexicans? It's black love brown pride and the sets again". LA represents all people; Mexicans, Blacks, Asians, Whites, Middle-Easterns. Any song that I created would be one that highlighted the fact that there is one Los Angeles for those that have the financial means to enjoy all the amenities that this world-class city affords, and the Los Angeles of the overlooked and forgotten. The song would not just acknowledge those that stroll down Rodeo Drive or the Promenade with their shopping bags filled with expensive purchases of the day, but those who push shopping carts with all of their life's possessions inside. The lyrics would not only extol the beauty of the sandy beaches that make up our beautiful coastlines filled with carefree beachgoers but a recognition of those sleeping under piers.
ReplyDelete