In the past six months/year or so, two songs have come out lauding the qualities of New York and California (Los Angeles) respectively. Having lived forty minutes or less from New York City for most of my life, and having just been to L.A. for the first time (albeit briefly), I find the differences between the songs quite telling. I think it might be interesting to examine the differences between other New York/L.A. (California) songs, but for now, due to time constraints and the fact that I've had a few drinks, I'll stick to the most recent odes to these cities.
First, Jay-Z/Alicia Keys' ode to New York, "Empire State of Mind":
yeah
Yeah I'm out that Brooklyn.
Now I'm down in Tribeca.
Right next to DeNiro
But I'll be hood forever
I'm the new Sinatra
And since I made it here
I can make it anywhere
(Yeah they love me everywhere)
I used to cop in Harlem
All of my Dominicanos (Hey yo)
Right there off of Broadway
Brought me back to that McDonalds
Took it to my stash spot
560 State Street
Catch me in the kitchen like Simmons whipping Pastry
Cruising down 8th street
Off-white Lexus
Driving so slow
(but BK, it's from Texas!!)
Me I'm out that BedStuy
Home of that boy Biggie
now I live on Billboard
and I brought my boys with me
Say what up to Ta-ta
Still sipping Mai Tais
Sitting courtside
Knicks and Nets give me high-5
N**ga, I be Spiked out
I could trip a referee
...tell by my attitude that I'm MOST DEFINITELY FROM...
[Alicia Keys]
New York!!!!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can’t do,
Now you're in New York!!!
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York
[Jay-Z]
I made you hot n-gga,
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game,
sh-t I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can,
you should know I bleed Blue, but I ain't a crip tho,
but I got a gang of n-ggas walking with my clique though,
welcome to the melting pot,
corners where we selling rocks,
Afrika bambaataa sh-t,
home of the hip hop,
yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back,
for foreigners it ain't fitted act like they forgot how to act,
8 million stories out there and they're naked,
city it's a pity half of y’all won’t make it,
me I gotta plug a special and I got it made,
If Jeezy's payin LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade,
3 dice cee-lo
3 card marley,
Labor Day parade, rest in peace Bob Marley,
Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade,
long live the king yo,
I’m from the Empire State thats…
[Alicia Keys]
In New York!!!!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can’t do,
Now you're in New York!!!
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York
Welcome to the bright light..
[Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding,
girls need blinders
so they can step out of bounds quick,
the side lines is blind with casualties,
who sip the lite casually, then gradually become worse,
don’t bite the apple Eve,
caught up in the in crowd,
now you're in-style,
and in the winter gets cold en vogue with your skin out,
the city of sin is a pity on a whim.
good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them,
Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out,
everybody ride her, just like a bus route,
Hail Mary to the city your a Virgin,
and Jesus can’t save you life starts when the church ends,
came here for school, graduated to the high life,
ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight,
MDMA got you feeling like a champion,
the city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien
[Alicia Keys]
New York!!!!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can’t do,
Now you're in New York!!!
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York
[Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty,
no place in the World that can compare,
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeaaahh
come on, come,
yeah,
[Alicia Keys]
New York!!!!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can’t do,
Now you're in New York!!!
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York
I'd love to do a close read on this song, but this isn't really the time or place for it. I am, after all, drunk in Boston and feeling both nostalgic and contemplative. So instead, I'll try to hit the more salient points.
A common thread in many New York ballads/love songs/etc. is the idea of "making it." The song begins with Jay-Z telling his rags to riches story, amplifying his own greatness parallel to the city's. This self-aggrandizement is a common trope of hip hop, but is also entirely apropos to a New York ode, given both the image the city enjoys in the American (world?) consciousness and the attitudes of many New Yorkers themselves. The story of struggle, of coming from nothing and becoming great is one of the classic New York themes, and perhaps one of the reasons New York continues to be a beacon for so many - a place where not only is escape possible, but metamorphosis into something greater than one ever imagined. The chorus itself drives home this theme, which is the heart of the piece.
The song continues to name-drop and place-drop. It is, after all, a love song, and names all the parts that the author feels connected to and enjoys. The song also, however, frankly names some of the sadder, seedier elements of New York - the theme of innocence lost (good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them / Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out), of the sacrifices made for the dream, and the many people for whom the dream goes unrealized (8 million stories out there and they're naked / city it's a pity half of y’all won’t make it). This is telling of a gritty realism that is an integral part of the Northeast's character, exemplified in the New York "no bullshit" attitude. It is understated but still poignant, an acknowledged casualty of the city's greatness.
OK, so there's that.
Next, we have Katy Perry (with Snoop Dogg)'s "California Gurls":
Snoop Dogg:
Greetings loved ones
Let's take a journey
Katy:
I know a place
Where the grass is really greener
Warm, wet and wild
There must be something in the water
Sippin' gin and juice
Laying underneath the palm trees (undone)
The boys
Break their necks
Try'na creep a little sneak peek (at us)
You could travel the world
But nothing comes close
to the golden coast
Once you party with us
You'll be falling in love
Oooooh Oh Oooooh
California girls
We're unforgettable
Daisy Dukes
Bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin
So hot
we'll melt your popsicle
Oooooh Oh Oooooh
California girls
We're undeniable
Fine, fresh, fierce
We got it on lock
West coast represent
Now put your hands up
Oooooh Oh Oooooh
Sex on the beach
We got sand in our stilettos
We freak
In my jeep
Snoop Doggy Dogg on the stereo (oh oh)
You could travel the world
But nothing comes close
to the golden coast
Once you party with us
You'll be falling in love
Oooooh Oh Oooooh
California girls
We're unforgettable
Daisy Dukes
Bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin
So hot
we'll melt your popsicle
Oooooh Oh Oooooh
California gurls
We're undeniable
Fine, fresh, fierce
We got it on lock
West coast represent
Now put your hands up
Oooooh Oh Oooooh
Snoop Dogg:
Toned, Tanned
Fit and ready
Turn it up cause its gettin' heavy
Wild, wild west coast
These are the girls I love the most
I mean the ones
I mean like shes the one
Kiss her
Touch her
Squeeze her buns
The girls a freak
She drives a jeep
The men on the beach
I'm okay
I won't play
I love the Bay
Just like I love LA
Venice beach
and Palm Springs
Summer time is everything
Homeboys
Hangin' out
All that ass
hanging out
Bikinis, tankinis, martinis
No weenies
Just a king
and a queen-ie
Katy my lady
(yeah)
now look at here baby
(uh huh)
Im all up on you
Cause you representin' California
(ohhh yeahh)
Katy:
California gurls
We're unforgettable
Daisy Dukes
Bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin
So hot
we'll melt your popsicle
Oooooh Oh Oooooh
California gurls
We're undeniable
Fine, fresh, fierce
We got it on lock
West coast represent
(West coast, west coast)
Now put your hands up
Oooooh Oh Oooooh
Snoop Dogg:
(Californiaaa, Californiaaa)
California girls man
I wish they all could be
California girls
(Californiaaa)
I really wish
You all could be
California girls
(Californiaaa, girls)
My understanding is that the genesis of this song came from Katy Perry being in a club in California (presumably Los Angeles), and witnessing the room singing along to "Empire State of Mind." Unhappy with the fact that her fellow Californians were singing (along) the praises of New York, Ms. Perry supposedly then decided to write an ode to California.
The first thing I want to note is that Katy Perry names this song "California Gurls," but, having been to both Southern and Central/Northern California, and also having known a number of people who are either from or have spent a great deal of time in either or both areas, I think it's safe to say Ms. Perry is really talking more specifically about girls from Los Angeles, or at least, SoCal. The lack of specificity in the song can probably be attributed to Ms. Perry's desire to achieve a certain meter/rhythm, but even so, it's a distinction worth making, since Jay-Z's song is not entitled "East Coast State of Mind," which would almost be comparable, given California's size and variety of residents.
Lyrically, the song is much lighter than "Empire State of Mind" - it essentially has one verse sung by Ms. Perry, then a (well-executed) rap by Snoop Dogg, with an extremely catchy chorus. The lyrics are light in content as well as words - the song is essentially about sex and partying, and little else. It's catchy, fun to dance to, and easy to learn the words to, but doesn't have much else going on. One can't help but draw the comparison to Los Angeles - or at least, the image for which Los Angeles is so broadly known. Shallow, pretty, and concerned with only the most superficial of themes, the song is little more than a party anthem for the summer. And really, that's all the song really needs to be - there are other songs about California that convey more depth, or are more thematically complex, than "California Gurls." However, in light of the recent riots (or in the context of Los Angeles, perhaps "mini-riots" might be a better term) over the Lakers' victory in the NBA finals, one has to wonder at such frivolity in the face of a city that clearly has so much more going on.
I guess it's not entirely necessary for me to get into the idea that maybe L.A.'s propensity for rioting has something to do with this bubbly, pretty, cheery facade dominating the image that the city projects (or perhaps with the vast wealth and privilege that allows it to be projected) while so many of its citizens live in squalor, without access to the same education, resources, and opportunities that these privileged few enjoy. But it's something I can't help but think about having been given a 48-hour tour that ranged from Inglewood to Malibu, and seeing how underrepresented one side is compared to the other.
It makes me wonder what Ice Cube would say about "California Gurls." Or rather, what Ice Cube would have said about it in 1989.
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