A huge part of a person's identity is based on the place where they come from, so it's inevitable that musicians are going to explore this idea in the songs they write. Here are seven alt-rock songs about the artist's hometown.
1. The Modern Lovers - "Roadrunner" (1972)
On its surface, the Modern Lover's debut song "Roadrunner" is about the joy of simply driving around at night. However, it's actually about something much more specific: the joys of driving around the Boston suburb of Natick, Massachusetts, the hometown of frontman Jonathan Richman. Though many artists love to put down the place where they grew up, "Roadrunner" is an unapologetic love letter, with Richman plainly singing, "I'm in love with Massachusetts."
2. Blur - "Essex Dogs" (1997)
Though the four members of Blur met in college and formed in London in 1989, singer Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon actually met as children in the London suburb of Colchester, Essex. After writing plenty of songs about London on Blur's earlier albums, Albarn looked back to his childhood home for 1997's experimental "Essex Dogs," where he recalls Essex's graffiti, tiny lawns, and "terminal pubs." This is certainly not a fond look back.
3. Interpol - "NYC" (2002)
Along with the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol turned New York City into the epicenter of the indie rock universe in the 2000s. Though it's unclear whether the band's second single "NYC" is a loving tribute or scathing criticism of the city (the pavements are a mess, but New York cares, so it's a toss up) it's undoubtedly inspired by the city's dark ambience.
4. LCD Soundsystem - "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" (2007)
While Interpol's cryptic lyrics give off the impression of both love and contempt for New York, LCD Soundsystem's "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" directly tackles the city's polarizing nature. No other song (or work of art, for that matter) better captures New York's gentrified 21st century identity, with lines such as "New York, you're safer/And you're wasting my time/Our records all show/You are filthy but fine."
5. Pavement - "Unfair" (1994)
Though most Americans know Stockton, California as the largest US city to file for bankruptcy (before it was surpassed by Detroit), indie rock fans know it as the home of Pavement. The band's 1994 classic "Unfair" was inspired by the band's Northern Californian identity ("Manmade deltas and concrete rivers"), and to a further extent, it disdain for Southern California ("The south takes what the north delivers").
6. Morrissey - "Late Night, Maudlin Street" (1988)
During his time with the Smiths, Morrissey would name-check the band's hometown of Manchester when singing about its brutal school system ("The Headmaster Ritual") or its infamous child murders ("Suffer Little Children"), but his sprawling solo track "Late Night, Maudlin Street" offers his most complete portrait of the city. Though there are few physical descriptions of Manchester in the song, the bleak lyrical vignettes coupled with the gloomy atmosphere of the music reveal more than images possibly could.
7. Wilco - "Sky Blue Sky" (2007)
Wilco may be based in Chicago, but lead songwriter Jeff Tweedy originally hails from the city of Belleville in southwest Illinois. In the alt-country title track to Wilco's 2007 album Sky Blue Sky, Tweedy recounts a childhood memory of a Memorial Day parade in his hometown.
What other artists have written songs about their hometown? Let us know in the comments section!
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