It's a while since I took a stop on my American music tour... so let's take a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge...
10. Train - Save Me, San Francisco
The bloke from Train looks like a Hollywood version of David Gedge. Doesn't sound quite as good...but there are far worse ways to spend 4 minutes of your life.
9. The Flower Pot Men - Let's Go To San Francisco
This is spookier than I remember it. I'm getting acid flashbacks from the video, and I never did acid in my life.
8. Scott McKenzie - San Francisco
If you're going, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
7. Rufus Wainwright - San Francisco
Rufus does Judy Garland. Classic.
6. The Lucksmiths - The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco
Probably my favourite song by The Lucksmiths. If you've never heard them before and you're wondering what they sound like, the fact that they also have a song called There Is A Boy That Never Goes Out might give you a clue to their influences...
5. Tony Bennett - I Left My Heart in San Francisco
There appear to be numerous comedy routines which lead exhaustively to the punchline, "I left me harp in Sam Clam's Disco". I advise you to ignore them all.
4. American Music Club - All The Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco
Being that they hail from the city by the bay, it's no wonder that Mark Eitzel and co. have written a few songs about it (they even named an album after it).
A city built by fire trucks!3. Magnetic Fields - Come Back from San Francisco
Dirty old bastards drunk on love
And mean old queens who never forgive
The compromises they made to live
One of Stephin Merritt's most beautiful love songs, as performed by Shirley Simms on the majestic 69 Love Songs...
Come back from San Francisco and kiss me; I've quit smoking.2. Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales Of San Francisco
I miss doing the wild thing with you.
Will you stay? I don't think so, but all I do is worry,
Pack bags, call cabs, and hurry home to me.
You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham......is probably the lyric that made me fall in love with the Arctic Monkeys way back when.
Sad to hear that in the video edit, they replaced the line, ""The band were fucking wank
And I'm not having a nice time." with the far less interesting, "The band weren't very good..."
1. Chris Isaak - San Francisco Days
Probably my favourite Chris Isaak record, there's a real aching melancholy to his voice.
Special mention to Weightless Again by the Handsome Family...
This is why people OD on pills and jump from the Golden Gate Bridge.But which San Francisco song makes you feel weightless again?
Anything to feel weightless again.
Any top ten that includes Tony Bennett, The Arctic Monkeys, Chris Isaak and Rufus Wainright is a goldie...didn't Ocean Colour Scene have a song about the Golden Gate Bridge?
ReplyDeleteAll About Eve - Flowers In Our Hair. Bit of a long shot but they open with "are you going to San Fransisco".
ReplyDeleteGreat to see Chris Isaak top this list, that is a great song. I wouldn't say its his best, but its a great track none the less.
ReplyDeleteScott McKenzie, would have been a good one for the best one hit wonders list..hehehe
Re Train - I remember seeing them live once, they were the support act for someone else, I forget who, and I gotta say, they were amazing, their lead singer has a great voice.
The missing song from the list, in my opinion is "San Franciscan Nights" by the Animals.
oh, and one more that I missed - San Francisco Bay Blues by Eric Clapton, unless you are saving that for your "top ten songs featuring kazoos". Would enjoy it fighting it out with Queen's "Seaside Rendezvous"!
DeleteDon't tempt me!
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