Let me say first that this was a vexing, taxing enterprise -- not because there aren't enough songs about Southern California; God knows there are a gracious plenty, and L.A. may own the record. There just aren't, in my opinion, enough GREAT songs about Southern California, with the exception of some standout classics. I wanted a 100-song playlist; I'm settling for 60.
Why? Many reasons, I suppose. Songwriters seem to move here and get jaded or downright pejorative about the subject matter, and I wasn't interested in much of that. (My time here has been an overwhelmingly positive experience.) In other cases, often I'd stumble across a song with a great title that's either out of print, or poorly recorded and almost unlistenable. Many, many more are just bad songs period -- rambling, incoherent, basically just lists of L.A. tourist spots. Not what I'm looking for. And it's always jarring to discover that a well-respected band just so happened to write an absolute clunker about the City of Angels.
But I also found the inverse was true; some artists that I might otherwise cringe to hear pop up on my radio dial have tended to write one or two epically terrific songs, specifically -- and maybe only -- about L.A.
I did bend my rule in a couple of cases against including the same artist twice. And a few of the songs below have no obvious tie to Los Angeles. For example, "All Kinds of Time" made the list because I moved out here to take my first job in sports journalism, and that song spoke to me.
The obvious classics are, well, obvious, and so they're mostly included. I don't feel like you can compile a list like this without including Tom Petty, The Beach Boys or The Mamas and the Papas. Purists may wonder where The Doors' "L.A. Woman" is below, or why I didn't include Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." The short answer is I don't care for The Doors and that, while I love the sentiment behind Newman's ode, I just find it a bit dated.
And so without further ado, my favorite songs about Los Angeles.
SIDE ONE
--"Southern California," Wax
--"Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings," Father John Misty
--"Midnight City," M83
--"The Only Place," Best Coast
--"City of the Angels," Bill Withers
--"Desperados Under the Eaves," Warren Zevon
--"Went Looking for Warren Zevon's Los Angeles," Lucero
--"Go West," Liz Phair
--"All Kinds of Time," Fountains of Wayne
--"Spectacular Views," Rilo Kiley
--"I Left My Wallet in El Segundo," A Tribe Called Quest
--"California Gurls," Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
--"Time Spent in Los Angeles," Dawes
--"Surfin' U.S.A.," Beach Boys
--"Electrolite," R.E.M.
--"It Was a Good Day," Ice Cube
--"Out on the Weekend," Neil Young
--"The Ghosts of Beverly Drive," Death Cab for Cutie
--"Sin City," The Flying Burrito Brothers
--"Paradise City," Guns 'N Roses
--"Walking in L.A.," Missing Persons
--"Promised Land," Chuck Berry
--"Los Angeles," The Bird and the Bee
--"Tiny Dancer," Elton John
--"This Is Why I Came to California," Leon Ware
--"Ventura Highway," America
--"Come to California," Matthew Sweet
--"I'm Writing a Novel," Father John Misty
--"California Love," Dr. Dre and 2Pac
--"All the Gold in California," The Gatlin Brothers
SIDE TWO
--"California," Joni Mitchell
--"No Room in Frame," Death Cab for Cutie
--"California Stars," Billy Bragg and Wilco
--"Free Fallin'," Tom Petty
--"L.A. Rain," The Mynabirds
--"Mulholland Drive," Gaslight Anthem
--"Southern California," Tammy Wynette and George Jones
--"A Long December," Counting Crows
--"St. Francis Dam Disaster," Frank Black and the Catholics
--"Hollywood," The Runaways
--"L.A.," Elliott Smith
--"L.A. Freeway," Guy Clark
--"Going Back to Cali," LL Cool J
--"Route 66," Nat King Cole (but there are hundreds of versions, so take your pick)
--"Pulaski," Drive-By Truckers
--"Pico and Sepulveda," Felix Figueroa & His Orchestra
--"California Dreamin'," The Mamas & the Papas
--"La Cienega Just Smiled," Ryan Adams
--"Sunset and Vine," Waylon Jennings
--"California," Phantom Planet
--"If Hollywood Don't Need You (Honey I Still Do)," Don Williams
--"Santa Monica Sunshine," Sweet
--"Malibu," Hole
--"Another Nice Day in L.A.," Eddie Money
--"Release the Stars," Rufus Wainwright
--"Things Are Looking Good (Out in Hollywood)," Baker Knight
--"Santa Monica Pier," Noel Harrison
--"Dizz Knee Land," Dada
--"L.A. (My Town)," Four Tops
--"Let Me Back In (I Love L.A.)," Rilo Kiley