Art Brut in LA. Photo used with permission.

This is not a deep post about a life-changing song. Art Brut have not provided the sound track for my life’s crises or revelations. This is a post about a pop song sung by a British pop band who are fun and cute and put on a great show.

I admit, I’m not all punk rock. I’ve seen Art Brut three times, and I will no doubt see them again when they set up camp in LA for four days running in June. Art Brut will play Spaceland June 16-18 and The Echo the 19th. If you haven’t seen them and you have any fondness for Brit pop, do yourself a favor. They are lots of fun and they love LA almost as much as we do. Their song “Moving to LA” is a celebration of all those illusions Lucinda Michele (and Lisa Marr) warn us we had better put aside to make our peace with this place :

When I get off the plane
The first thing I’m gonna do is…
Strip naked to the waist
And ride my Harley Davidson
Up and down Sunset street
I may even get a tattoo
My problems are never gonna find me
I’m not sending one letter
or even a postcard back
I’m drinking Henessey
With Morrissey
On a beach
Out of reach
Somewhere very far away

Because here’s the reality: We’re all way too jaded at this point to believe any of those tired old saws about LA anymore aren’t we? We are not going to get discovered. Schwab’s has been gone for more than 20 years now.  Our problems have long since caught up with us. We are not drinking Henessey with Morrissey. We are not even drinking IPA with the Ting Tings. But Art Brut, quintessential pop music that it is, let’s us revel in a time when we might have believed LA to be capable of turning our water into wine. So we’re older and wiser now…ah well…let’s dance anyway. (The rest of the lyrics are here.)

To see a listing of the rest of the posts in this series, check out Julia’s introduction.

Related posts:

1. Win tix to see the Moving Units at the El Rey this Friday, 3/6!
2. Songs About Los Angeles: A Wrap Up
3. Songs About Los Angeles: "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N’ Roses
4. LA Metblog Series: Songs About Los Angeles
5. Songs About Los Angeles: "California Dreaming" by The Mamas & the Papas