City Girl (song)
"City Girl" | |
---|---|
Single by Kevin Shields | |
from the album Lost in Translation: Original Soundtrack | |
B-side | |
Released | June 2003 |
Recorded | Summer 2002 in London, United Kingdom |
Genre | Alternative rock |
Length | 3:48 |
Label | Inertia, LIT |
Songwriter(s) | Kevin Shields |
Producer(s) | Kevin Shields |
"City Girl" is a song by the Irish
Produced by Shields, "City Girl" has been described as a mid-tempo
Origin and recording
"City Girl" is one of four songs Kevin Shields composed for Sofia Coppola's 2003 film, Lost in Translation. Shields became involved with the film's original score after being contacted by the film's music co-ordinator Brian Reitzell in Tokyo, Japan. Reitzell and Shields began impromptu jam sessions in London, United Kingdom during summer 2002, where Shields composed "City Girl". The duo "adopted a late-night recording schedule" that consisted of them recording between midnight "and seven in the morning".[1] According to Shields, "it was [their] productive time. It's basically as though the world's disappeared."[1]
Describing the song's origins in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), Shields said that the writing and recording of "City Girl" was "very simple, in the sense that it was just me teaching Brian the chord structure and Brian just jamming along to it."[2] The duo recorded an instrumental rehearsal version of the song, after which Shields said there was "no point in rerecording it." He later wrote lyrics and recorded vocals for the song but emphasised that there was no need for "elaborations [or] overdubs."[2] Shields described this method of recording as a "slapdash approach", noting that there was no "point in labouring over something … because you don't know what's going to work".[3]
Music and lyrics
"City Girl" has been described as "mid-tempo, with an unusual repeating melody and a two-note chorus. The guitar is simple and rough, a bit garage-rock, bouncing over characteristically buried drums that seem an afterthought."[4] Rolling Stone noted that the song—and other tracks Shields contributed to the Lost in Translation soundtrack—feature "My Bloody Valentine's ethereal sensibility, but they are more fragile in their construction, without Shields' furious sheets of guitar."[1]
Shields has referred to "City Girl"'s composition as "average and vulnerable"[5] and said of the lyrics: "It's kind corny words, like 'I love you' and 'you're beautiful' and the kind of corny, simple things that people tend to think when they actually get infatuated with somebody."[2] According to Rolling Stone, the song's lyrics "aptly reflects the quiet nature of the film" and Shields has said that both he and Reitzell were "under the influence of the film" while Shields composed the song.[1]
Music video
The music video for "City Girl" was directed by Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola.[6] The video was filmed in Tokyo, Japan—where Lost in Translation is based—and features the use of handheld cameras, production techniques such as jump cuts, and "blurry visuals" of the city. Coppola used footage from Lost in Translation that was not included in the final cut alongside selected sequences from the film to create the video.[7]
Critic Geoff King said that the "City Girl" music video, like others Coppola directed around the same time period, "offer little else to go on for an
Release and reception
"City Girl" was released as a one-track promotional
Upon its release, "City Girl" received moderate critical acclaim.
"City Girl" was among the material that earned Shields nominations for a
Track listings
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "City Girl" | Kevin Shields | Shields | 3:48 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "City Girl" | Shields | Shields | 3:48 |
2. | "Just Like Honey" | Jim Reid, William Reid | The Jesus and Mary Chain | 3:01 |
Personnel
All personnel credits adapted from Lost in Translation: Original Soundtrack's liner notes.[19]
- Performers
- engineering
- Brian Reitzell – drums, engineering
- Technical personnel
- Bryan Mills – engineering
- James Brown – engineering
- Rob Kirwan – engineering
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Dansby, Andrew (24 September 2003). "Kevin Shields Found on Lost | Music News". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ a b c "From My Bloody Valentine to Lost in Translation" (MP3). NPR. National Public Radio. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 23 March 2013. N.B. User must click "Listen" or "Download" to access the audio stream.
- ^ a b White, Michael (26 September 2013). "My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields: An Enigma Emerges". Exclaim!. 1059434 Ontario. Archived from the original on 15 February 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ a b Richardson, Mark (1 October 2003). "Various Artists: Lost in Translation | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ LaGambina, Gregg (2003). "Kevin Shields, Lost in Translation and a My Bloody Valentine Promise". Filter (Holiday 2003). FILTER Creative Group.
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
- ^ King 2010, p. 116.
- ^ King 2010, p. 55.
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- Buzz Media. 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ S. Rich, Jamie (30 December 2010). "Lost in Translation (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Internet Brands. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ "City Girl" (CD). Kevin Shields. Inertia. 2003. 80 PG20235.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "City Girl"/"Just Like Honey" (7"). Kevin Shields/The Jesus and Mary Chain. LIT. 2003. LITEP450612.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Lost in Translation: Original Soundtrack – Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ Unterberger, Andrew (25 March 2004). "VA: Lost in Translation Soundtrack". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ "Film | Anthony Asquith Award for Original Film Music in 2004". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- Irish Film and Television Awards. Irish Film and Television Academy. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ "2003 Awards (7th Annual)". Online Film Critics Society. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ Lost in Translation: Original Soundtrack (CD). Various artists. Emperor Norton Records. 2003. ENR70682.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Bibliography
- King, Geoff (2010). Lost in Translation. ISBN 978-0-7486-3746-1.