10 Songs To Listen To That Will Take You Around The World
In the spirit of Spring Break (or the upcoming season, wherever it may be), I assembled a list of spots around the globe - whether they be places you want to vacation in, have always planned on travelling to, or even dream of living in.
1. Vegas – Katy Perry
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-pUaogoX5o&w=584&h=390%5D
According to Katy Perry, the old adage remains true: Whatever happens in Vegas (should) stay in Vegas. Other than painting the picture of a typical Hangover scenario, Katy Perry states the obvious: “Why are these lights so bright? Did we get hitched last night? Dressed up like Elvis. Why am I wearing your class ring?”
2. Oh…Canada – Classified
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF62J3vxPdQ&w=584&h=390%5D
While somehow legally mimicking our national anthem in a rap, Classified summarizes all your thoughts about Canada in one song. Alluding to our biggest and best spawn (“Or Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, hell we claimin ’em all; It’s the great white north, home of the funniest actors”) or parodying ourselves through self-depreciating context of our home and native land (“‘Cause our movies and TV shows are so amateur?”), Classified manages to bottle Canuck charisma and accomplishments in multiple sentences. Most impressive is when he reminds us of our historical value: “we invented the telephone, We made Yahtzee, the lightbulb, hockey and bred the greatest players – Gretzky to Crosby.”
3. Welcome to Miami – Will Smith
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwBS6QGsH_4&w=584&h=390%5D
In all the songs about Miami (ahem, LMFAO), Will Smith appears to have nailed a slogan in one or two lyrics:”Everybody party all day, All night, on the beach till the break of dawn.” Pitbull seems to have taken pointers from Will Smith then corrupt them in his own perverse ways. At least, Will manages to articulate the beauty of various ethnicities in an appropriate manner: “Real sweet faces, Every different nation, Spanish, Haitian, Indian, Jamaican, Black, White, Cuban, and Asian” – just in case you were inquiring about a tour of the world’s adult female population.
4. Empire State of Mind (New York) – Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjsXo9l6I8&w=584&h=390%5D
If you ever had any doubt about NYC living up to its stereotype of only being affordable for insanely rich celebs and socialites, well now you have Jay Z and Alicia Keys to confirm it – with a glimmer of hope. While Alicia Keys validates your fantasies about making it big with this inspirational chorus (“New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, There’s nothin’ you can’t do, Now you’re in New York, These streets will make you feel brand new…”), you can always count on Jay Z to instantaneously convert into your tour guide – a cool tour guide, nonetheless. At least for the first two verses…
5. Kokomo (Jamaica) – Beach Boys
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP07Oyr7enQ&w=584&h=390%5D
The Beach Boys invite us all to the Caribbean paradise that is their song – or ear candy symbolic of their imagination – of the island of Jamaica. Words like “Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand, We’ll be falling in love, to the rhythm of a steel drum band” make everyone wanna soak up the sun on a beach where an attractive patron will hand feed cherries in their mouths…
6. California Love – 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wBTdfAkqGU&w=584&h=390%5D
In what seems like gibberish, the (arguably) two greatest rappers to ever exist join forces and spit discourse about one of America’s (or globe’s) most famous places – with the most famous people, at least! What’s seldom comprehensible are their names for it as the “city of sex” and the “sunshine state.” Not to mention their points about “pimps be on a mission for them greens” and “lean mean money-makin-machines servin fiends” to imply that there’s an apparent dark side behind California’s sunny light demeanor. Of course, it isn’t a battle until someone’s listing each town and city ie. take note, “longbeach in tha house, uh yeah, Oaktown, Oakland definately in tha house hahaha.” Oh, and there’s more.
7. We’re Going To Ibiza! – Vengaboys
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXXRHpVed3M&w=584&h=390%5D
Not only do Vengaboys have a Vengabus, but they have Venga Airways too! If their songwriting skills and original lyrics ie. “Boom, boom, boom, boom, I want you in my room” didn’t prove adequate to you, then add their repetition of the chorus “Whoah! We’re Going To Ibiza, Whoah! Back To The Island, Whoah! We’re Going To Ibiza, Whoah! We’re Gonna Have A Party, Whoah! In The Mediterranean Sea” and their ever-so-coined “Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh.” Other than that, there’s nothing really said about Ibiza in this song. It’s just the only song I can think of that mentions it…
8. Africa – Karl Wolf/Toto
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMkPDOdOZMA&w=584&h=390%5D
Karl Wolf’s version is obviously much more recent. You may not be able to understand the lyrics, since they’re in rap slang but the tune and lyrics like “The sun is rising on east side and every former life is waking us” and “The feeling of sacloga makes you wanna dream away of fall in love.” As I interpret it, Karl’s view on it seems to cater to the emotional saviour of a specific girl.
9. Sweet Home Alabama (All Summer Long) – Kid Rock
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwIGZLjugKA&w=584&h=390%5D
There are at least two versions to this song, but I think we’re most familiar with Kid Rock’s rendition of it, so we’ll stick to analyzing that. Even though it isn’t about Sweet Home Alabama and more like “summertime in Northern Michigan,” Kid Rock captures the essence perfectly with a modern country/rock twist. Describes the relaxed setting and takes you there: “Catching Walleye from the dock, Watching the waves roll off the rocks, Splashing through the sand bar, Talking by the campfire.”
10. International Love – Chris Brown feat. Pitbull
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdXesX6mYUE&w=584&h=390%5D
Ok, this is a tribute to women globally from all different ethnicities.Using sexual analogies in regards to football and baseball; mentioning Romania, Lebanon and Greece, thereby serving the purpose of this article with a summary of places we haven’t covered. Attributing to Brazil’s biggest Ass-ets and Colombia’s plastic perfection – before he randomly spews into raps in Spanish. The video basically reflects the song. 
