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West Covina, California: The Music of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

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RevmodDon

RevmodDon

The best thing about the music is the surprising variety of it all.  A Fred and Ginger number paired with a Britney-style oversexed pop song?  Last week we got a Broadway anthem and a boy band number.  And it's all so unbelievably catchy.

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

(edited)

Has anyone seen any kind of comprehensive coverage on the creation of the songs? Adam Schlesinger is the overall composer for the show -- does he supply music for each of the songs? Rachel Bloom has been described as writing some lyrics; does she write all of them? Who are the arrangers who create the right orchestral or keyboard sounds for all these different genres? I want to know more!

 

LATER ADDED: I have since discovered that the YouTube videos that Rachel posts on her own channel, racheldoesstuff, generally give credits for music and lyrics, and sometimes director and choreographer as well. So I'm glad to know that.

Edited by Rinaldo
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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

Now that we have an "intermission" (with a suitable Act I finale!) before the remaining 10 episodes, I'm pondering my favorite musical numbers so far. I mostly liked all of them, but just on a personal basis the ones that are specific parodies of music videos aren't my favorites because I generally don't know the originals and I don't care as much. Still well done and clever, just not my thing as much as the musical theater stuff.

 

So I start with "Settle for Me," then "What'll It Be" (Greg/Santino bias evident), then a nod to the dead-on-ness of "A Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes" and then the awesomeness of Donna Lynne Champlin in "His Status Is Preferred." Winding up with a couple of production numbers: "California Christmastime" and "West Covina."

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cleo57

cleo57

"Settle for Me" is definitely my favorite. That number sold me on the show, honestly. I can't help but love a show that does a black and white Fred and Ginger pastiche.

 

But in general, I prefer the songs that feel like they have a real narrative reason for existing. The ones ones where emotions are so overpowering that breaking out into song becomes the only appropriate means of expression. "West Covina" (both times it's sung in the pilot) is still maybe the gold standard for this. The first time it's sung it's the cheerful ditty of a girl on the verge of a nervous breakdown, willing away the ridiculousness of her random life decisions through a brightly colored musical number. The second time it's sung it's the half-terrified ballad of a girl who realizes she's had a nervous breakdown and is now stuck with her decision (but also she's made a friend! A real human connection! Maybe it wasn't such a terrible decision after all! etc). 

 

I think it's harder for the purely comic songs to tap into the character's psyche quite as well. "Feeling Kinda Naughty" does it well, I think. "I Have Friends" and "I'm a Good Person" are both charged with Rebecca's particular brand of anxiety.   

 

But I've enjoyed almost all of the songs, to be honest. The only one that I didn't really like was the yoga song.

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

(edited)

"West Covina" (both times it's sung in the pilot) is still maybe the gold standard for this. The first time it's sung it's the cheerful ditty of a girl on the verge of a nervous breakdown, willing away the ridiculousness of her random life decisions through a brightly colored musical number. 

This gives me a cue for something I've wanted to say for a while: one of my favorite walk-on characters in the whole series is the guy on the sidewalk to whom Rebecca tosses her lawyer jacket as she strides toward us to launch her big song. Off in the background he's looking around, all "WTF do I do with this?"

 

That song has a whole batch of great bit players: Porn Dude, Pretzel Boy, Wig Girl, Cash Into Gold (!) Woman, Accidentes! Gentleman, Real Estate Lady, Destiny, and of course the lovely West Covina Middle School Band getting their funding cut before our eyes.

Edited by Rinaldo
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OptimisticCynic

OptimisticCynic

This gives me a cue for something I've wanted to say for a while: one of my favorite walk-on characters in the whole series is the guy on the sidewalk to whom Rebecca tosses her lawyer jacket as she strides toward us to launch her big song. Off in the background he's looking around, all "WTF do I do with this?"

.

Yes! I also love the sound guys in I'm a good person.
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Wax Lion

Wax Lion

I like the more traditional musical numbers but I'm more partial to the pop parodies, maybe because they often deal with the themes I like best on CXG. "The Sexy Getting Ready Song" won me over, especially when it lead to that coda and I think "Sex with a Stranger" was the first time I saw a network show make jokes about worrying you hooked up with a murderer.

 

However, my absoloute favorite is "Face Your Fears" for its wrongness combined with the perfect imitation of an inspirational ballad. Plus the backup choir gets some great lines, "Literally touch a star/Stars aren't that hot"

 

Then again, The Bad Idea Bears gave me the biggest laughs when I saw Avenue Q and that's the song where we learned Donna is Rachel's personal Bad Idea Bear.

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

Pretty sure she sang "Bella and Edward".

Thanks! It makes sense that I'd have trouble with that as it's not part of my own pop culture literacy. (Paula did explain them in the "stalking" scene later so I recognize it now.)

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SeanC

SeanC

My favourite songs are the original "West Covina" (I was a bit concerned after seeing the first one whether the show had set the bar so high it would be hard to get anywhere near it in the future), "I'm A Good Person" and "Settle for Me".

 

"I Love My Daughter" is the only one that really doesn't do anything for me, because it doesn't feel very logical for the characters.  But the sequence itself is a pitch-perfect recreation of an older-style country music video (before 'bro country' took over the genre).

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Eyes High

Eyes High

"I Love My Daughter" was a pitch-perfect parody of that genre of father/daughter country songs. I couldn't help but be reminded of "Butterfly Kisses," and I think that that song's lyrics were in the writers' minds when they wrote the lyrics: "She's looking a little more like her mama everyday" (vs. "I Love My Daughter"'s noting that he did have sex with her mother), "She'll make a promise and I'll give her away" (vs. "I Love My Daughter" commenting that the father never "had" the daughter, so how could he give her?), etc. So funny. So on point.

 

"Settle For Me" was perfection, not just for the fantastic look of the sequence (costuming, Art Deco set, etc.) and the beautiful singing. The melody and the instrumentation were just right for that kind of number: old-school Broadway in the best way. It's also crazy catchy; it's been stuck in my mind since I heard it. 

 

"A Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes" had all the right elements--goofy choreography, spoken interludes using the word "girl," twangy autotune, etc.--but I kept thinking of my favourite boy band parody in recent memory, "Girl, You Don't Need Makeup" from Inside Amy Schumer. 

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ToxicUnicorn

ToxicUnicorn

(edited)

After weeks of nagging, my husband finally is watching the catch-up on Hulu and has been laughing his head off with me.  Everything holds up very well, especially the best musical numbers.

nosleepforme said:

if I were made to pick, I think my favorite number would probably be the West Covina reprise, because I love how Rachel Bloom and Donna Lynn Chapling sing against each other in that number and I think it's a number that is very charged emotionally.

 

The West Covina reprise (and Settle for Me), were so very, very well done.  When Rebecca and Paula start their duet, the show served notice that it was really serious about its quality and the Sexy Getting Ready song was not a fluke.  Those three, plus Sex with a Stranger are the ones that would have to be my absolute favorites.  I also laughed all the way through Face Your Fears - but when I'm not watching it, I can't remember it very well.

 

The Sexy Getting Ready song is the one that gets in my head and won't leave it for days.  I have woken up with it in my head.  Fortunately, it is funny enough that I haven't minded yet.

 

I think there have been quite a few clunkers, mostly by the supporting characters.  I, too, hate the yoga song.  I thought it was the actress, but her Sisterhood is much better, so I think it's the song.  (Also, I'm not that big a fan of Bollywood, plus I was a little confused about all the mixing of cultures.  But, that's all entirely my fault.)  I also cringed through the Daughter song, hated Rachel's mother's song (although I appreciated how well it imitated songs of that nature), and didn't appreciate the boy band song as much as most here did.  If any one of the three leads (Rachel, Donna, or Santino) were less able, I think I wouldn't be nearly as much of a fan.  But, I can forgive nearly anything else because those three are so terrific.


After weeks of nagging, my husband finally is watching the catch-up on Hulu and has been laughing his head off with me.  Everything holds up very well, especially the best musical numbers.

nosleepforme said:

if I were made to pick, I think my favorite number would probably be the West Covina reprise, because I love how Rachel Bloom and Donna Lynn Chapling sing against each other in that number and I think it's a number that is very charged emotionally.

 

The West Covina reprise (and Settle for Me), were so very, very well done.  When Rebecca and Paula start their duet, the show served notice that it was really serious about its quality and the Sexy Getting Ready song was not a fluke.  Those three, plus Sex with a Stranger are the ones that would have to be my absolute favorites.  I also laughed all the way through Face Your Fears - but when I'm not watching it, I can't remember it very well.

 

The Sexy Getting Ready song is the one that gets in my head and won't leave it for days.  I have woken up with it in my head.  Fortunately, it is funny enough that I haven't minded yet.

 

I think there have been quite a few clunkers, mostly by the supporting characters.  I, too, hate the yoga song.  I thought it was the actress, but her Sisterhood is much better, so I think it's the song.  (Also, I'm not that big a fan of Bollywood, plus I was a little confused about all the mixing of cultures.  But, that's all entirely my fault.)  I also cringed through the Daughter song, hated Rachel's mother's song (although I appreciated how well it imitated songs of that nature), and didn't appreciate the boy band song as much as most here did.  If any one of the three leads (Rachel, Donna, or Santino) were less able, I think I wouldn't be nearly as much of a fan.  But, I can forgive nearly anything else because those three are so terrific.

 

ETA: As great as the singing is, probably my most favorite musical moment is the moment Santino and Rachel start their side-by-side tap dancing.  That part makes me ridiculously happy.

Edited by ToxicUnicorn
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Jesse

Jesse

I've heard the thing about how they are doing different genres for every song, but were there not two rock songs this week? Or did they give them different sub-genres? Is there a place to see how they are categorizing all the songs? 

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SeanC

SeanC

I'm not aware of them having said each song will be a different genre as a hard rule, just that they're going to experiment with many different genres -- though they have, for the most part, adhered to that idea.  In this case, the 80s rock band just provided multiple songs for Rebecca's attempt to delete the text (unusual in other respects, too, since they're guest players).

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

I agree with that. And the various songs for Rebecca that have spoofed recent music videos (most of which I had to be told about, because I don't know the "originals") were not always musically that different from each other: it was the visual styles and the points of view that made them all distinct.

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STOPSHOUTING

STOPSHOUTING

Of course, an official soundtrack for $9.99 comes out the DAY after I buy all the songs individually for more. Seems about right.

 

Also, Glen Wheldon of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast put out his rank order of all the Crazy Ex-GF songs. Very entertaining read. http://glenweldon.tumblr.com/post/138798955330/the-100-definitive-empirical-ruthlessly

 

For me, I think the Sexy Getting Ready Song (this is horrifying!), Sex with a Stranger ("please don't be a murderer"), West Covina and I Have Friends ("I definitely have friends!") are the ear-wormiest, and funniest, of the series, which I've binged in the past week, and am already mourning (sigh). I even really life California, Christmas and how they make the line "We may have Gonorrhea, but at least it’s not frostbite ... Because this is California and we do Christmas  right!” actually feel festive. Definitely going into my Christmas playlist next holiday season.

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

I like Glen Weldon on PCHH, but on his list he's so misguided he's just preposterous. (Yes, I know he was writing deliberately provocatively, just to bug readers like me; well, mission accomplished.) Rating "What'll It Be" and "Settle for Me" so low, just because they don't conform to his invented rule that "a song must start at one point and end at another" etc. etc., are you kidding me? 

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SeanC

SeanC

The riff on The Music Man this week (the second direct musical film parody) is something that probably should have been expected.

 

I liked parts of the Shakira parody, but the subject of the song (the "group hang" and Rebecca's growing irritation with the restaurant's grab-bag of ethnic themes) seemed wholly unrelated to "Whenever, Wherever", so it doesn't have the same bite as, say, the very on-point parody of "I Kissed A Girl".

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jecibels

jecibels

I can't find the article/tweet anymore, but I could swear someone asked Rachel Bloom not long ago about whether they were doing a Hamilton parody and she mentioned there was something coming up - guessing that's the rap battle in the next episode. I can't wait for it! 

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allonsyalice

allonsyalice

I can't find the article/tweet anymore, but I could swear someone asked Rachel Bloom not long ago about whether they were doing a Hamilton parody and she mentioned there was something coming up - guessing that's the rap battle in the next episode. I can't wait for it! 

the best news out of anything ever tbh

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jecibels

jecibels

the best news out of anything ever tbh

 

I should add that if I could find the actual thing, I am pretty sure she didn't call it a direct parody but like, in a similar spirit or tone or something. Still, definitely exciting! 

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SeanC

SeanC

(edited)

I can't find the article/tweet anymore, but I could swear someone asked Rachel Bloom not long ago about whether they were doing a Hamilton parody and she mentioned there was something coming up - guessing that's the rap battle in the next episode. I can't wait for it! 

That song looked amazing, but nothing about it specifically reminded me of Hamilton.

Edited by SeanC
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allonsyalice

allonsyalice

I should add that if I could find the actual thing, I am pretty sure she didn't call it a direct parody but like, in a similar spirit or tone or something. Still, definitely exciting! 

 

but still! the cabinet battles are a work of art, and if its even slightly along the same vein, it'll be a knockout.

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Eyes High

Eyes High

(edited)

That song looked amazing, but nothing about it specifically reminded me of Hamilton.

Not even the cabinet meeting rap battles?

 

The list of genres/artists being parodied that's racking up is impressive:

 

"Sexy Getting Ready Song" - R&B

"Good At Yoga" - Bollywood

"A Boyband Made Up of Four Joshes" - Boyband (not really a genre, but I find boyband songs have a really specific sound that this parody nailed)

"Settle For Me" - Old musicals (this one had a Gershwin kind of sound)

"I Love My Daughter" - Creepy country music songs about fathers loving their daughters (e.g. "Butterfly Kisses")

"I Give Good Parent" - Nicki Minaj

"His Status is Preferred" - Jazz

"Put Yourself First" - Fifth Harmony (specifically "Worth It")

"Having a Few People Over" - EDM

"Textmergency" - 80s rock

"You Stupid Bitch" - Lady singer power ballad (the instrumentation reminded me of Japanese pop songs for some reason)

"Group Hang" - Shakira

"Cold Showers" - "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man

"JAP Battle" - Rap battles, but this looks to be a shoutout to Hamilton

"Flooded With Justice" - Les Miserables

"Gettin' Bi" - Huey Lewis and the News/Footloose

"The Villain In My Own Story" - The Little Mermaid (specifically "Poor Unfortunate Souls")

 

I'm missing several, but even this sample is very diverse.

Edited by Eyes High
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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

(edited)

I love this list, and I append comments to fill out the annotation from my point of view.

"A Boyband Made Up of Four Joshes" - Boyband (not really a genre, but I find boyband songs have a really specific sound that this parody nailed)

Some of the references are visual almost as much as musical, and this was one. But there's also a particular kind of timbral preference (which VR3 imitated perfectly) and harmonic voicing that summons up the style. And the featuring of autotune (which the show otherwise avoids) was a big characteristic too; we could hear the moment when it clicked in.

"Settle For Me" - Old musicals (this one had a Gershwin kind of sound)

This too had a very specific visual reference point (which I know we all commented on at the time), the 1930s series of musicals filmed by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, all in black and white. The big dance numbers would always take place on sleek Art Deco sets, with pillars at the edge, and a shiny floor. I concur about the Gershwin sound (though the Kern or Berlin of the period isn't a world away, and they both wrote scores for this team too), and one stretch of lyrics ("schmoopy pie," "little girl") especially satirizes the woman-infanilizing lyrics of the period (Rachel tweeted that much as she loves them, half the songs of that period seem to say "baby girl" or "sweetie pie"). Ira Gershwin is not immune here, with "Don't be a naughty baby, come to poppa do."

"His Status is Preferred" - Jazz

Yes, and one particular strain of jazz (the sultry he's-so-wonderful ballad). So if they want to revisit jazz in the future, there are other styles they can use without repeating themselves.

"You Stupid Bitch" - Lady singer power ballad (the instrumentation reminded me of Japanese pop songs for some reason)

I don't know those, so the examples this called up for me were the lady stars of the past (and present) with ultra-devoted followings, who will occasionally do a sold-out concert in which the more they fall apart, the more their fans love them. Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli....

Edited by Rinaldo
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Eyes High

Eyes High

This MTV article has more detail about how the songs for the series are written than I've seen before. Warning: it does give more detail about songs (and thus, situations) for upcoming episodes than some may want to know.

 

It's hilarious to me that the same guy cowriting songs for the show also cowrote "Stacy's Mom."

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jjjmoss

jjjmoss

(edited)

Heavy Boobs is just the 2nd song for the show to get past 250k views, with 630k currently. After Sexy Getting Ready song with 1.12 mil + another (censored?) version with 269k.

 

Not sure if it's cuz of quality or cuz of...um...people using the visuals for reasons.

Edited by jjjmoss
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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

I hear you, jjjmoss, and it's noticeable that those are two songs to feature scantily-clad females prominently.

 

But more charitably, I can hypothesize that a lot of viewings are from people just passing it on incredulously or with appreciation for the humor, as in "OMG, take a look at this video! I can't believe they went there!"

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aiherz

aiherz

I love the Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers vibe in Settle For Me, that one is still my favorite. But everything with Santino Fontana rank high in my list, he has the perfect voice IMO. So Hey West Covina, what'll be?, I could if I wanted to, and probably the UTI song for next episode are also my favorites. 

California Christmastime reminds me of Buenos Aires at the end of the year. 

The Jap Battle cracks me up, the same with Cold Showers Lead to Crack

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SnideAsides

SnideAsides

Not even the cabinet meeting rap battles?

 

The list of genres/artists being parodied that's racking up is impressive:

 

"Sexy Getting Ready Song" - R&B

"Good At Yoga" - Bollywood

"A Boyband Made Up of Four Joshes" - Boyband (not really a genre, but I find boyband songs have a really specific sound that this parody nailed)

"Settle For Me" - Old musicals (this one had a Gershwin kind of sound)

"I Love My Daughter" - Creepy country music songs about fathers loving their daughters (e.g. "Butterfly Kisses")

"I Give Good Parent" - Nicki Minaj

"His Status is Preferred" - Jazz

"Put Yourself First" - Fifth Harmony (specifically "Worth It")

"Having a Few People Over" - EDM

"Textmergency" - 80s rock

"You Stupid Bitch" - Lady singer power ballad (the instrumentation reminded me of Japanese pop songs for some reason)

"Group Hang" - Shakira

"Cold Showers" - "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man

"JAP Battle" - Rap battles, but this looks to be a shoutout to Hamilton

"Flooded With Justice" - Les Miserables

"Gettin' Bi" - Huey Lewis and the News/Footloose

"The Villain In My Own Story" - The Little Mermaid (specifically "Poor Unfortunate Souls")

 

I'm missing several, but even this sample is very diverse.

If you're looking for specific inspirations, "California Christmastime" seemed to be more than a little reminiscent of Prom Tonight (NSFW; the boobs are censored but the lyrics are still remarkably obscene) from Not Another Teen Movie.

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

(edited)

In that instance, it seems to me that it's more a matter of a common source. Both songs are written and staged as a takeoff/homage to the "catchy group number uniting all the main characters" sort of song found at a crucial plot point in traditionally structured musicals (stage or film).

Edited by Rinaldo
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ToxicUnicorn

ToxicUnicorn

Both songs are written and staged as a takeoff/homage to the "catchy group number uniting all the main characters" sort of song found at a crucial plot point in traditionally structured musicals (stage or film).

Rinaldo, any insight on the inspiration for the UTI song?  I immediately thought about the 80s, but I wasn't sure why (except for the references to the Tom Cruise movies Risky Business and Cocktail).

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