Spatial Topics in Music – Songs of the Suburbs
This episode is the first installment of a new feature we’re starting – Spatial Topics in Music – where I select a geography theme and do a little dive into some of the popular songs that pay tribute to that theme.
For this first one, we’re taking a listen to the Songs of the Suburbs. Yes, the suburbs – that geographic entity whose derision is as ubiquitous as its Starbucks and cul-de-sacs. As a mainstay of modern American life, it’s no surprise that quite a few lyrics have been penned to both laud and loathe it.
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Show Notes
Songs Featured + Referenced In This Episode
Ode to the Outskirts
Ray Charles, “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town”
The Beach Boys, “In My Room” + “Busy Doin’ Nothin'”
Pulp, “Joyriders”
Weezer, “In The Garage”
Suburban Ubiquity and Malaise
Pete Seeger, “Little Boxes”
The Monkees, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”
The Members, “Sounds of the Suburbs”
The Kinks, “Shangri-La”
suburban punks
Full-on Angst/Ennui
Radiohead, “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”
David Bowie, “The Buddha of Suburbia”
Everything But The Girl, “Hatfield 1980”
The Wrens, “Won’t Get Too Far”
Daniel Johnston, “Devil Town”
