Boyfriend (Best Coast song)

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"Boyfriend"
Lindstrøm remix cover
Single by Best Coast
from the album Crazy for You
ReleasedJune 29, 2010
Length2:30
LabelMexican Summer
Songwriter(s)Bethany Cosentino
Producer(s)Lewis Pesacov
Best Coast singles chronology
"Far Away"
(2010) 		"Boyfriend"
(2010) 		"All Summer"
(2010)

"Boyfriend" is a song recorded by American rock duo Best Coast and produced by Lewis Pesacov for their debut studio album Crazy for You (2010). It was released as the lead single from the album on June 29, 2010.

Background[edit]

The song opens with a drum fill that the Los Angeles Times likened to the one from "Badlands" by Bruce Springsteen.[1] Cosentino later noted this was unintentional, saying "People think we ripped it off, but Bobb claims he had no idea."[2]

The duo performed the song in their television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on January 3, 2011.[3]

Reception[edit]

The song was released on June 29, 2010 as an iTunes free Discovery Download.[4]

Pitchfork Media designated it Best New Track upon its release, with reviewer Larry Fitzmaurice writing, "'Boyfriend' is the latest in a string of great songs from [Best Coast]...their sun-kissed sound is here to stay, and at this point she wears it like a good pair of shades—the scrubbed-up production values are a good thing."[5] The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot felt the song "almost uplifting, in part because she [Cosentino]'s got the kind of strong, transparent voice that recalls the charm and innocence of the best girl-group singers of the ‘60s. She’s yearning for something she can’t have, yes, but it’s nothing a walk on the beach couldn’t cure."[6]

Allan Raible of ABC News noted that "These two styles [surf and punk] are not often put together, but make an appealing combination."[7]

Accolades[edit]

NME included at number 49 on its 2012 list of "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years", stating "It was the timeless quality of the track that made it feel like it could have been made at any point during rock and roll’s 60-year history."[8]

Music video[edit]

The song's music video, directed by Taylor Cohen, depict Best Coast as a party band for a girl's quinceanera. The clip was shot at Kenneth Hahn Park in September 2010, and it debuted on MTV the following October.[9] "All the other ideas we got were about me being with a dude, which seemed too straightforward and obvious," said Cosentino of the concept. She described quinceaneras in general as "very L.A., very California."[9]

10th Anniversary Edition[edit]

In 2020 the duo rerecorded the song with LGBTQ-inclusive lyrics and released it as a single.[10] For example, the new song opens:

I wish he was my boyfriend
I wish she was my girlfriend
I’d love them till the very end
But instead they are just a friend
I wish he was my boyfriend

The proceeds from the new song were donated to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ youth.

Formats and track listing[edit]

  • Digital download and 12" single[11]
  1. "Boyfriend" (Lindstrøm Remix) (Extended version) – 9:06
  2. "Boyfriend" (Lindstrøm Remix) (Radio edit)  – 4:52
  • UK CD single
  1. "Boyfriend" – 2:30

References[edit]

  1. ^ Matt Diehl (January 27, 2011). "The Pop & Hiss interview, Part 2: Nathan Williams of Wavves and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  2. ^ David Greenwald (May 7, 2012). "Boyfriend". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  3. ^ Larry Fitzmaurice (January 4, 2011). "Watch: Best Coast on "Fallon"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  4. ^ Kerri Mason (August 16, 2010). "Best Coast Rides 'Crazy' Wave of Blog Buzz to Success". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  5. ^ Larry Fitzmaurice (June 29, 2010). "Best Coast: "Boyfriend"". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  6. ^ Greg Kot (May 14, 2012). "Album review: Best Coast, 'The Only Place'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  7. ^ Allan Raible (August 10, 2010). "Review: Best Coast's "Crazy for You"". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME. 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Margaret Wappler (October 25, 2010). "Best Coast: Coming to a Quinceanera or Bat Mitzvah near you". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  10. ^ Strauss, Matthew (7 August 2020). "Best Coast Release New Version of "Boyfriend" With LGBTQ-Inclusive Lyrics". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Boyfriend (Lindstrøm Remixes) - Single — Best Coast". iTunes Store (US). 13 January 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2015.

External links[edit]

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