West Coast Playlist
June 7, 2013 4:24 PM   Subscribe

Help me make a summer mixtape of west coast/california songs.

My stupid, idiotic, outdoor buddy, drinking partner and best friend has taken a fanastic job in New York city for this summer. This will put a serious dent in our adventures in the mountains of California. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for him. However, I want to make him a tongue-in-cheek mix tape of nothing but songs about how awesome the west coast/ california is and songs about how much New York and the east coast sucks.

Ideas so far

Going to California - LZ
East Coast Fuck you - Bouncing Souls
New York I love you - LCD sound system
West Coast - Coconut records

Thanks so much!
posted by JimmyJames to Media & Arts (47 answers total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
 
California Stars - Billy Bragg & Wilco
posted by scody at 4:39 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


From New York to LA-- Patsy Gallant
Come Back To California--
Shangri-La-- YACHT
Join Me In LA-- Warren Zevon
Moving to LA-Art Brut
Meet Me In California-- Plain White T's
California--Metro Station
Bi-Coastal--from The Boy From Oz
California--Wave
Beautiful in Los Angeles--Garrison Starr
Pacific Coast Party--Smash Mouth
Big City--Wall of Voodoo
Californication and Under the Bridge--Red Hot Chili Peppers
Free Fallin--Tom Petty
Back to California- Carole King
The Only Place--Best Coast
Let Me Back In- Rilo Kiley
Feels Like Home-Orianthi
In This City-Iglu and Hartley
California--Delta Spirit

Most of my list is taken from the Wikipedia entry on songs about LA, so there's a theme here...
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:39 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


California Love - Tupac
LOVE this tune - despite being a NY native. :)
posted by deliciae at 4:42 PM on June 7, 2013 [6 favorites]




California - Joni Mitchell
Goin' Back to Cali - LL Cool J
Goin' Back to Cali - Notorious BIG
posted by box at 4:47 PM on June 7, 2013


I was gonna say, how did we get so far without Goin' Back to Cali?

Tape from California, Phil Ochs
posted by Miko at 4:49 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


California Sun - The Rivieras
posted by trip and a half at 4:52 PM on June 7, 2013


Elvis Presley - Promised Land
Grateful Dead - Estimated Prophet
posted by knile at 4:54 PM on June 7, 2013




Paper Tongues - Ride to California
Phantom Planet - California
Katy Perry - California Gurls
posted by capricorn at 4:58 PM on June 7, 2013


San Francisco - The Mowgli's
Nothing Like LA - Ice Cube
Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus
It Was a Good Day - Ice Cube
posted by bonifate at 5:02 PM on June 7, 2013


Put California Sun by The Ramones on there instead of The Rivieras.

California One by the Decemberists, West Coast by Coconut Records, California Stars by Woody Guthrie or Billy Bragg and Wilco are all great songs but they feel pretty romantical to me.

Also California Love by Tupac makes me choke up whenever I hear it. I love my state.
posted by elsietheeel at 5:12 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Pretty much all of Brian Wilson's album, "That Lucky Old Sun".
posted by davebush at 5:13 PM on June 7, 2013


For the anti-NY side:

Pop-O-Pies - I Love New York
The Randoms - Let's Get Rid of New York
posted by Room 641-A at 5:15 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Led Zeppelin - Going to California
David Lee Roth - California Girls
Lindsey Buckingham - Holiday Road (not specifically about California, but that's where the Griswold's were family-truckstering to!)
posted by 1367 at 5:16 PM on June 7, 2013


X, Los Angeles
posted by scratch at 5:30 PM on June 7, 2013


Ice Cube - I Rep That West
posted by soleiluna at 5:31 PM on June 7, 2013


X's Los Angeles - oops, wrong attitude. Disregard.
posted by scratch at 5:32 PM on June 7, 2013


Another fave in the anti-NYC pile: Kelly McFarling's FNYC.
posted by soleiluna at 5:35 PM on June 7, 2013


She's Miss California (Max Raabe YT link)
posted by small_ruminant at 5:47 PM on June 7, 2013


Mendocino County Line (Willie Nelson YT link)
posted by small_ruminant at 5:49 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


California by Rufus Wainwright
posted by mermily at 6:00 PM on June 7, 2013


Unfair by Pavement
Los Angeles, I'm Yours by the Decemberists
posted by seemoreglass at 6:12 PM on June 7, 2013


Also California Love by Tupac makes me choke up whenever I hear it. I love my state.

Me too. I would completely support changing the state song to California Love.

An oldie to consider is Cheap Trick's California Man. Also in the vintage is the Dead Kennedy's California Über Allies.

A cheesy song is "More Bounce (in California)"

Not quite super positive about the west coast Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood reminds me of this time of year (June Gloom). A song I like but contains the lyrics "Fuck California" is "California on my Mind" by Wild Light.
posted by birdherder at 6:12 PM on June 7, 2013


Goldenwest, Fuck You, I'm from California
HooDoo Gurus, When You Get to California
Chuck Berry, Promised Land
posted by drlith at 6:16 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Because I heard it on the radio the other day (and I still know all the words from 15 years ago): Everclear's Santa Monica.
posted by hydropsyche at 6:19 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


oh and "the only place" by best coast. The song that asks the question: why would you live anywhere else?
posted by birdherder at 6:20 PM on June 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


ohh ohh ohh... This one!!

Mates of States, California
posted by Rocket26 at 6:37 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


America - Ventura Highway
Randy Newman - I Love L.A.

Huell Howser - California Here I Come
posted by Room 641-A at 7:24 PM on June 7, 2013


"It Never Rains in Southern California" by the great Tony! Toni! Toné!
posted by mgr at 7:56 PM on June 7, 2013


LA punks the Randoms delivered the definitive West Coast f**k you to New York in '77 with "Let's Get Rid of New York".

The Animals' "San Franciscan Nights" remains one of my favorite love letters to California - it starts with:

This following program is dedicated to the city and people of San Francisco, who may not know it but they are beautiful and so is their city. This is a very personal song, so if the viewer cannot understand it - particularly those of you who are European residents - save up all your bread and fly Trans Love Airways to San Francisco U.S.A., then maybe you'll understand the song. It will be worth it - if not for the sake of this song, but for the sake of your own peace of mind.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:38 PM on June 7, 2013


Marlena Shaw - California Soul (maybe the Diplo Remix)
posted by drwelby at 9:02 PM on June 7, 2013


Oh yeah, seeing the Animals, there's People Under The Stairs' San Francisco Knights.
posted by drwelby at 9:04 PM on June 7, 2013


Bran Van 3000 - Drinking in L.A.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:38 PM on June 7, 2013


This should go well with Bouncing Souls:

Youth Brigade -- Sink with California
posted by salvia at 9:45 PM on June 7, 2013


California One by the Decemberists
posted by hwickline at 9:55 PM on June 7, 2013


John Doe -The Golden State

Frank Black - Los Angeles

Lyrics Born - The Bay

The Mamas and the Papas -Pacific Coast Highway

REM - I Remember California

St Etienne - Downey, California

Concrete Blonde - Still in Hollywood

Los Lobos - West LA Fadeaway
posted by oneirodynia at 10:11 PM on June 7, 2013


It Never Rains in Southern California - Albert Hammond (pretty sure it's a different song than TTT's)

Going Back to Cali - both Notorius BIG and LL Cool J versions

Hotel California - The Eagles

California Dreamin - The Mamas & The Papas

California - Rogue Wave

California - Akia

Sorry no links, on my phone but I've totally made this kind of playlist before.
posted by lovableiago at 10:22 PM on June 7, 2013


Malibu - Hole
posted by SisterHavana at 11:34 PM on June 7, 2013


I have always had an inexplicable fondness for Sausalito Summernight [sic] by Diesel. It is very very early eighties.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:30 AM on June 8, 2013


If you have LA songs, then you obviously need Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Obviously.
posted by artifarce at 9:35 AM on June 8, 2013




Another by Frank Black, an unplgged version of "Calistan" (with annotations).

People out-of-state may not know our great local band, the Orange Peels. They do many California songs, like Back in San Francisco. I also like their "West Caast Rain" and Redwood City.

And going old school, there's always Lesley Gore and the Fifth Dimension.
posted by Rash at 3:56 PM on June 8, 2013


Did somebody say 'California Soul' yet? There are a bunch of versions, and they're all pretty good.
posted by box at 8:19 PM on June 8, 2013


if you're not tied 100% to contemporary music, aquariumdrunkard.com put together two mixtapes a while back, L.A. Burnout and its sequel, L.A. Burnout 2: Still Burnt. Both are basically typified by vol 1's description:
L.A. Burnout is made up of the sounds floating around Los Angeles in the late ’60s and ’70s; a faded aural imprint of the canyons, beaches, wildfires, neighborhoods, late-nights and early mornings of a bygone L.A.
The track listings are up on the pages and they're pretty varied. Many of the songs are funny in their own right.
posted by nsfmc at 5:41 PM on June 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


I wish I could favorite nsfmc's link a thousand times. This playlist is like an IV drip of the late 70s in a sunny clime.
posted by Miko at 8:58 PM on June 9, 2013


Matthew Sweet - Come to California
posted by Allez at 8:05 PM on June 12, 2013


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