Mix CD for traveling to London?

August 23, 2005 11:20 PM

My best friend is flying to London at the end of the month to study there until Christmas, and I want to make her a mix CD (or CDs...)

I'm looking for songs either about travel (flying, etc) or about London and/or England or by British bands. Also, she's kind of the pop-music type, so I was hoping to blow her mind with some stuff she's never heard before (which won't be hard, seriously).

I was thinking about "London Calling" by the Clash to open and then maybe throwing "Transatlanticism" by Death Cab for Cutie somewhere in there, but other than that, nothing immediate comes to mind. I want this to be a generally upbeat CD, as well.

posted by strikhedonia to media & arts (39 comments total)

London Calling is a great starting idea.
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is a pretty sure bet.
John Denver - Leaving on a Jet Plane
Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me
The Smiths? Morrissey? Massive Attack? All pretty safe.
posted by rfordh at 11:50 PM on August 23, 2005

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is a pretty sure bet.

Really? I'd think that if I hadn't heard it before, I'd find the lyrics "And one day we will die and our ashes will fly from the Aeroplane over the sea" a little off-putting if I were sitting on a ten hour flight in Seat 24F. Maybe that's just me though.
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:00 AM on August 24, 2005

Okay, I was looking for title and artist for a song I used to have on a mix tape. I'm pretty sure it's called Londontown and I want to say the musician in question is Ian somebody. Obviously, I didn't find any info on it, but I did find a song called Londontown by James Taylor and another one with the same title by Paul McCartney. If I track down the first one, I'll let you know, as I'm rather fond of it.
posted by Clay201 at 12:30 AM on August 24, 2005

anything by The Streets, The Doves, Madness, Badly Drawn Boy... all remind me of London in a big way
posted by bruceyeah at 12:40 AM on August 24, 2005

Waterloo Sunset by the kinks - best london song ever....
posted by brettski at 12:49 AM on August 24, 2005

Really? I'd think that if I hadn't heard it before, I'd find the lyrics "And one day we will die and our ashes will fly from the Aeroplane over the sea" a little off-putting if I were sitting on a ten hour flight in Seat 24F. Maybe that's just me though.

Yeah, she's kind of freaking out about flying anyway, what with planes falling out of the sky recently and all that.

All the other suggestions are good, though, keep 'em coming.
posted by strikhedonia at 12:53 AM on August 24, 2005

Going Underground / Down in the Tube Station at Midnight / English Rose / London Girl / London Traffic - The Jam
Fly me to the moon - Frank Sinatra
London rain - Heather Nova
The girl who couldn't fly - Kate Rusby
Carreg Lafar - Blewyn Glas/Gwas y Neidr (Fresh Grass/The Dragon Fly)
Bird Gehrl - Antony & The Jonsons
posted by ceri richard at 12:58 AM on August 24, 2005

"London, England" - Cordoroy
posted by arha at 1:13 AM on August 24, 2005

"Cool Brittania" - by the Bonzo Dog Band. In fact, anything by them pretty much sums up England, if not London.
/runs off to dig out old Viv Stanshall albums...
posted by Jofus at 1:31 AM on August 24, 2005

London Loves from Modern Life is Rubbish by Blur, or This is a Low from Parklife (not quite as upbeat though)
posted by jontyjago at 1:47 AM on August 24, 2005

I quite like 'The Ramblin Man' by Lemon jelly. It lists a number of places this guy has been to (in the song) and some of them are places in London.
Unless my Geography really IS that bad and these places aren't really in London, in which case I'm the worst British person ever.
There are also other places in England listed though, and Scotland.
posted by trampesque at 2:01 AM on August 24, 2005

"Take a Picture" - Filter
"I'm a Little Airplane" - Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
"'39" - Queen (this one's about space/time travel)
"Foreign Country" - Mission of Burma
"Victoria" - The Kinks
"English Girls Approximately" - Ryan Adams
"God Save the Queen" - Sex Pistols (though obvious, it must be mentioned)
"Her Majesty" - The Beatles
posted by JT at 2:26 AM on August 24, 2005

"Towers Of London" - XTC
posted by coach_mcguirk at 3:49 AM on August 24, 2005

"Emit Remmus" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
posted by RoseovSharon at 4:12 AM on August 24, 2005

"London London" by Caetano Veloso
posted by dmo at 4:51 AM on August 24, 2005

And "Jet Airliner" by the Steve Miller Band is obvious, I guess, but the original by Paul Pena wouldn't be!
posted by dmo at 5:03 AM on August 24, 2005

Summer On The Underground by 'A'. There are other 'A' songs referencing flying and the Tube, but you really don't want those.

Londinium by Catatonia?

London Calling without a doubt, and all the Kinks recommendations seconded, but if anyone put Sinatra on a mix tape for me I'd never speak to them again.
posted by corvine at 5:15 AM on August 24, 2005

"Plaistow Patricia" by Ian Dury & The Blockheads (although the opening - spoken - line is possibly offensive if you object to strong language).
posted by essexjan at 5:17 AM on August 24, 2005

and not quite within the remit, but Beautiful Feeling by PJ Harvey. I love it, and it has the lyric
'Sometimes I can see for miles/Through water and fire/From England to America/Feel life meet my eyes'

also perhaps Sale of the Century by Sleeper.
'We step through London/The streets holding on to us' (at which my other half likes to shout 'Get off me, Skinner!')

*flicks through ipod*
posted by corvine at 5:26 AM on August 24, 2005

Ralph McTell's folkie chestnut: "The Streets of London."
posted by realcountrymusic at 5:46 AM on August 24, 2005

If I were going to be away for so long, I might also like a CD of American songs when I get missing the States. So I took the liberty of providing you this...
Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
America - Simon & Garfunkle
New York - Ryan Adams
The Painted Desert - 10,000 Maniacs
California - Phantom Planet
Tennesse - Arrested Development
No Sleep Til Brooklyn - Beastie Boys
Rockin' The Suburbs - Ben Folds
Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwick
New York State of Mind - Billy Joel
Lowell, MA - Death Cab for Cutie
Pike St/Park Slope - Harvey Danger
Lights - Journey
Carry Me Ohio - Sun Kil Moon
I Remember California - REM
Portland, OR - Loretta Lynn
Rancho Santa Fe - Evan Dando
Weekend in New England - Barry Manilow
American Idiot - Green Day
posted by FreezBoy at 5:47 AM on August 24, 2005

To actually answer your question, here are some that come to mind...
Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
Jack The Ripper - Colin Meloy (or Morrissey)
Dedicated Follower of Fashion - The Kinks
Whippin' Piccadilly - Gomez
A New England - Billy Bragg
West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys
English Boy - Pete Townshend
posted by FreezBoy at 6:01 AM on August 24, 2005

Oh, and God Killed the Queen by Louis XIV
posted by FreezBoy at 6:02 AM on August 24, 2005

The Pretenders’ 2000 Miles might be an apt song for the latter part of your friend’s sojourn.
posted by misteraitch at 6:03 AM on August 24, 2005

The song "Two Friends" by Cringer has some opening lines which almost beg for inclusion on this mix:

I wish I may, I wish I might
I wish I had an alibi
Some of the hurt won't go away
My best friend moved to London today
posted by 23skidoo at 6:52 AM on August 24, 2005

I've seen no mention of Big Audio Dynamite ("London Bridge" comes to mind), The Charlatans, Oasis, Kasabian, or The Verve, so I'll throw them in for consideration. If you're willing to go dance/electronic/whatever pop, there's Fatboy Slim, the Chemical Brothers, and Basement Jaxx among others.
posted by gnomeloaf at 6:57 AM on August 24, 2005

Common People by Pulp, especially appropriate for study abroad folks.

and Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks is an absolute must, as Brettski says
posted by cushie at 7:16 AM on August 24, 2005

"My British Tour Diary" - Of Montreal

Seriously.
posted by TurkishGolds at 7:25 AM on August 24, 2005

You MUST have National Express by The Divine Comedy. It's all about the bus system in England, and it tells a delightful story. If you have any trouble finding it email me and I can hook you up somehow.

Oh, and one of my favorite travel type songs is The Tourist by Radiohead (from England, woo!). It's not really upbeat, but it's a good final track.
posted by jetskiaccidents at 8:17 AM on August 24, 2005

Almost anything from London Is The Place For Me would work perfectly, particularly Lord Kitchener's track of the same name. If London-based Trinidadian calypso seems like a bit of a curve-ball, then listen to the clips on the Amazon page. Oh, and buy the album too; it's wonderful.

Other things: Waterloo Sunset, correcftly identified above as the best London song. Maybe some of the more accessible end of grime, which sprung from London's east end – Lady Sovereign's 9 To 5 springs to mind – or some British hip hop: Roots Manuva's Dreamy Days or Colossal Insight.
posted by Len at 8:20 AM on August 24, 2005

okay, more:

The Postal Service - Clark Gable ["I was waiting for a crosstown train on the London Underground"...but that's the only reference, so it's not the best]
Belle and Sebastian - Get me away from here, I'm dying [Also from the UK, I always like it for people wanting to go somewhere new]

I have lots more travel oriented songs, but I think you have enough from everyone else.
posted by jetskiaccidents at 8:25 AM on August 24, 2005

God Save The Queen- Sex Pistols
Leaving Here- The Who
Victoria- The Kinks (really, anything off of Arthur, it's all about England)
Happy Jack- The Who (he lived on the Isle of Man)
Guardian- The Mekons
Lonely Planet Boy- The New York Dolls
I Want to be a Sailor- The Scars
(You should throw in So American by the Motor City Mutants too. It's great!)
The Margaret Letters- Tim Monger (if you want her to think about you cheating on her while she's abroad... 'Cuz that's kinda the song...)
The Village Green Preservation Society- The Kinks
Englan is a Bitch- Linton Kwesi Johnston

(If you do want more about the US or global locations, lemme know, as I just made a pretty good mix with that as the theme).
posted by klangklangston at 8:52 AM on August 24, 2005

You Got The Style - Athlete.

It's actually about racial... disagreements in south London a few years ago, but it comes across as an upbeat, happy song, and has the great line "Oh! It's getting hot in here, must be something in the atmosphere/ Oh! We should be laughing about it, making the most of the true British climate"
posted by Lotto at 9:08 AM on August 24, 2005

Camden Town Rain - Mary Lou Lord
posted by Huw at 9:17 AM on August 24, 2005

"Anarchy in the U.K." -- but rather than the original, try the cover by Frazier Chorus.

"Grey Skies" by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin.

if anyone put Sinatra on a mix tape for me I'd never speak to them again.

And it would be a win-win situation, no doubt.
posted by kindall at 9:56 AM on August 24, 2005

Wow, these are all great suggestions. I really like the idea of making a US mix, too! We both live in New England, grew up in Mass, for reference. (For that, "Canadian Rose" by Blues Traveler and "Massachusetts" by the Bee Gees would definitely be on it... they're both about coming back to New England.)

At this rate, she'll have enough music for the entire plane trip!
posted by strikhedonia at 1:19 PM on August 24, 2005

I heartily second The Streets' Original Pirate Material.
posted by nyterrant at 2:36 PM on August 24, 2005

Strk: Do you want US suggestions in this thread?
posted by klangklangston at 7:32 AM on August 25, 2005

Sure. Or you can email them to me.
posted by strikhedonia at 8:41 PM on August 25, 2005