Drinking in L.A.

"Drinking in L.A."
Single by Bran Van 3000
from the album Glee
Released	February 1997 August 1999
Format	CD single
Recorded	1996
Genre	Alternative rock, alternative hip hop, electronica
Length	3:56
Writer(s)	James Di Salvio, Larson
Bran Van 3000 singles chronology
"Drinking in L.A." (1997) "Couch Surfer" (1998)

"Drinking in L.A." is a song by Canadian electronica collective Bran Van 3000, released as the band's first single; in the U.S. "Drinking in L.A." failed to generate interest from Alternative stations, yet in the UK and Canada it continues to generate airplay. Some vocals were done by Stéphane Moraille.

The song was covered specially for BBC Radio 1 by English indie rock Band The Twang in 2007, and featured on the album Radio 1 Established 1967. The song is also featured on the MuchMusic compilation album, Big Shiny Tunes 2. It was also featured in television commercials for Rolling Rock beer in the United Kingdom, which contributed to chart success in that region, peaking at number 3 (having only reached number 34 a year earlier when originally released). The song is also the title song for the film Playing by Heart.^[1] In the music video for "Drinking in LA" a copy of a Toronto album is clearly visible in several shots.

Content

On VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders, James Di Salvio was quoted saying: "It's about me being in LA trying to make a movie and getting really bored with it and going out clubbing and DJ-ing, eventually taking the jump into making the record. It's kind of like falling out of love with one medium into the next. When you impose things in your life you have to do things because of your ego, you have to accomplish so much at a certain age and you want to do something else and you have to take the plunge and do it."

Music video

The music video was directed by Adam Courneya and premiered in April 1998.

Chart performance

Chart (1997-1999)	Peak positions
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[2]	40
Canada (RPM)	35
Ireland (IRMA)[3]	14
Italy (FIMI)[4]	9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[5]	46
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[6]	30
Norway (VG-lista)[7]	7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[8]	9
United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)	3

Cover versions

Year	Artist	Album
2007	The Twang	Push the Ghosts EP
2011	The Xcerts	Stairs to Noise

References

1. Playing by Heart soundtrack — IMDB.com
2. "Ultratop.be – Bran Van 3000 – Drinking in LA" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
3. Search for Ireland peak
4. "Italiancharts.com – Bran Van 3000 – Drinking in LA". Top Digital Download. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
5. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bran Van 3000 – Drinking in LA" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
6. "Charts.org.nz – Bran Van 3000 – Drinking in LA". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
7. "Norwegiancharts.com – Bran Van 3000 – Drinking in LA". VG-lista. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
8. "Swedishcharts.com – Bran Van 3000 – Drinking in LA". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 21, 2011.