All it takes is an idea to get a great songwriter off and running. Even if that idea comes from an outside source, the writer can turn it into something special and unique based on their own sensibilities and point of view.
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Randy Newman was able to achieve just that kind of transformation, writing the song “I Love L.A.” based on a suggestion from his fellow Southern Californian rock legend Don Henley. The resulting song, released in 1983, took on a fascinating vibe in that it managed to be both celebratory and accusatory about the City of Angels.
“L.A.” Story
At the beginning of the ’80s, Randy Newman lacked motivation to write a new album. His series of releases in the ’70s has scored him great acclaim as a songwriter who had a way with beautiful music and biting lyrics. He even scored a big hit with “Short People” to fill his coffers. Luckily, he became inspired to shake off his lethargy by a conversation he had with Don Henley.
The two were on the same plane ride when Henley mentioned to Newman how it was strange Los Angeles didn’t have many songs written about it, a la other big cities like New York or Chicago. If anyone was going to do it, Henley mused, Newman should be the guy.
Intrigued by the idea, Newman decided to give it a shot. But anybody who knew his work should have realized he’d never take on such an assignment without putting some kind of satirical or sardonic spin on it. He explained to interviewer Robert Hilburn how he viewed the song’s narrator:
“The guy in the song is sort of aggressively ignorant. He thinks the great thing about the city is rolling down Imperial Highway in a convertible with his redhead at his side. To him, everything is so great that he doesn’t really see things at all. He doesn’t distinguish between ‘that mountain … those trees … that bum down on his knees.’”
Looking at the Meaning Behind “I Love L.A.”
Newman pushed all the classic West Coast rock buttons on the recording of “I Love L.A.,” employing a group of the best session players in the area on a recording that’s grandiose and fist-pumping. He even nabbed Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie to add to the Beach Boys-style harmonies.
This only adds to the slyly subversive nature of the song. Because, as Newman mentioned in the interview quoted above, the guy telling the story is so in love with his location he can’t distinguish its faults. The key couplet: Look at that bum over there, man / He’s down on his knees. Not exactly what you expect to see on a brochure from the chamber of commerce.
But this guy just plows right past that ugly truth to get back to the superficial qualities of the city: Look at these women / There ain’t nothing like ’em nowhere. As you inspect the lyrics to “I Love L.A.” from this perspective, it becomes clear this guy is describing a place too good to be true: perpetual happiness and eternal sunshine. (Not for nothing did Newman name the album that contained the song Trouble in Paradise.)
That said, you also can’t deny that “I Love L.A.” does a pretty good job of playing up the positive qualities of the city. In the intro, he decries New York and Chicago as being too rugged, preferring the laid-back environs the pleasant weather seems to engender in the citizenry. Those warm Santa Ana winds certainly seem quite inviting when considered against the sweep of the music.
“I Love L.A.” did become a kind of unofficial city anthem. Hearing that song at Lakers games in the ’80s certainly was a scene. Leave it to Randy Newman to find a way to idealize and chastise his hometown all at once.
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