California (Phantom Planet song)

"California" is a song by American rock band Phantom Planet. It was released as a single from their second album The Guest in 2002.

"California"
Single by Phantom Planet
from the album The Guest
Released	2002
Recorded	2001
Genre	Indie rock^[1]
Length	3:14 (album version) 3:17 (demo version)
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Alex Greenwald Jason Schwartzman Joseph Meyer B.G. De Sylva
Producer(s)	Mitchell Froom Tchad Blake
Phantom Planet singles chronology
"Hey Now Girl" (2001) "California" (2002) "Always On My Mind" (2002)

The song was first heard on television on episode 8 of the television show Fastlane. Both the song and the band received major attention when it became the theme song on the Fox television show The O.C. It was also previously in the soundtrack to the film Orange County and featured on the episode "Milhouse of Sand and Fog" of The Simpsons.

The song is about driving on U.S. Route 101, traveling to see a concert.^[2] The song became a top ten hit in Austria, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Republic of Ireland, reaching number 3, number 2, number 9, and number 10 in the respective countries.

Song information

The estates of Al Jolson and his songwriting team are co-credited for "California", presumably because the title and chorus bear strong resemblances to his own "California, Here I Come". Some websites refer to the Phantom Planet song as a cover of the Jolson tune. Some parts of the song, particularly the piano solos at the beginning and end, are similar to the Jolson song, but still contain several differences in melody. It also bears some thematic and melodic resemblance to Joni Mitchell's "California" from her 1971 album Blue.

The song was re-recorded in 2005 by Phantom Planet and re-released as "California 2005", a much mellower version of the song than the original. "California 2005" had its debut in the second episode of The O.C.'s third season, and is featured on Music from the OC: MX-5.

Although normally this version of the song runs as the title song for The O.C., it was switched out for the Mates of State's cover version in a special episode where everything in the show took place in alternate universe, hence a different song for the title sequence.

The song is also featured in the 2005 documentary The Smartest Guys in the Room, which detailed the events leading to the collapse of Enron, including energy market manipulation in California.

Track listing

EP

No.	Title	Length
1.	"California" (Tchad Blake Mix)	3:14
2.	"Always on My Mind" (London Version)	3:16
3.	"The Living Dead"	3:28
4.	"Stiffs"	2:37
5.	"California" (Demo)	3:15

Single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"California" (Jack Joseph Puig Mix)	3:18
2.	"The Guest"	3:44
3.	"Do the Panic" (Live)	3:03
4.	"California" (Live)	3:19

Cover versions

The song was covered in 2006 – again for The O.C., this time being covered by Mates of State for the sixth installment of the Music from The OC series. Canadian rapper k-os samples the song on a track called "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman", from his album Yes! Alvin and the Chipmunks covered this song for their 2007 video game Alvin and the Chipmunks. In 2017, Lisa Mitchell covered the song for her When They Play That Song EP.

Charts

Weekly charts 2002 weekly chart performance for "California" Chart (2002) Peak position UK Singles (OCC)^[3] 83 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)^[4] 35 2004–05 weekly chart performance for "California" Chart (2004–05) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[5] 3 Germany (Official German Charts)^[6] 13 Ireland (IRMA)^[7] 10 Italy (FIMI)^[8] 2 Scotland (OCC)^[9] 7 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[10] 17 UK Singles (OCC)^[11] 9

Year-end charts 2004 year-end chart performance for "California" Chart (2004) Position Italy (FIMI)^[12] 50 2005 year-end chart performance for "California" Chart (2005) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[13] 30 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[14] 96 Germany (Official German Charts)^[15] 57 UK Singles (OCC)^[16] 90

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "California"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[17]	Gold	400,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[18]	Gold	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Molanphy, Chris (June 18, 2022). "A Deal With the TV God Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
2. "21 Place-Inspired Songs To Add To Your Road Trip Playlist". Forbes. March 24, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
4. "Phantom Planet Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
5. "Phantom Planet – California" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
6. "Phantom Planet – California" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
7. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – California". Irish Singles Chart.
8. "Phantom Planet – California". Top Digital Download.
9. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
10. "Phantom Planet – California". Swiss Singles Chart.
11. "Phantom Planet: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
12. "Classifica annuale 2004 (dal 29.12.2003 al 02.01.2005)" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
13. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2005". austriancharts.at. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
14. (PDF). Billboard. VNU Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
15. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
16. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2005". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
17. "British single certifications – Phantom Planet – California". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
18. "American single certifications – Phantom Planet – California". Recording Industry Association of America.