"Vitamin C" is a song by the krautrock band Can from their 1972 album Ege Bamyası. Considering its short length and relatively standard song structure, it is one of the band's more conventional songs.[1] It is one of the band's most recognizable songs. [2]
| "Vitamin C" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 German single picture sleeve (1973) | ||||
| Single by Can | ||||
| from the album Ege Bamyası | ||||
| B-side | "I'm So Green" | |||
| Released | 1972 | |||
| Studio | Inner Space (Cologne) | |||
| Genre | Krautrock | |||
| Length | 3:32 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Can | |||
| Producer(s) | Can | |||
| Can singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Vitamin C" on YouTube | ||||
Background and composition
editThe song was initially commissioned for Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, a German television film by Samuel Fuller. The material for the song predates the commission, however the song was chosen for the film since the band believed it fit the film well.[3]
The song consists of a bass line and drum groove that follows the track with minimal guitar. The outro includes an organ only accompanied by the bass and drums. Damo Suzuki's vocals accompanies the track with two verses and repeating the line "Hey you! You're losing, you're losing your Vitamin C!"
In Popular Culture
editIn 1997, an 8-minute version of the song, remixed by British musical outfit U.N.K.L.E. was featured on Can's double remix album Sacrilege.
The song was featured in the film Broken Embraces (2009) by Pedro Almodóvar.
Vitamin C was featured in the opening of Paul Thomas Anderson's 2014 film Inherent Vice.[2]
An interpolation of a keyboard sample from the song was used in Brooklyn band Woods' 2016 song "Can't See at All".
In 2016, the theme song of Jaden Smith's character Dizzee throughout the Netflix series The Get Down features the lyric "Hey you! You're losing, you're losing..." but instead of "vitamin C" the lyrics were altered to "your mind".[2] In 2018, the DJs Adam Beyer and Bart Skils released their track "Your Mind" which features the sample from the theme song.
In JoJolion, the eighth part of the long-running Manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Damo Tamaki's stand, "Vitamin C", is named after the song. The character of Damo Tamaki is also a reference to Damo Suzuki.
The song was featured in the film Hot Summer Nights (2017) by Elijah Bynum.
The song was featured in season 2, episode 4 of the HBO Max series Euphoria (2019), in the scene where Rue, Elliot, and Jules are driving in the car.[4]
The song was featured in the first episode of the Netflix miniseries Eric (2024).
The song was used throughout the Celine Summer 2022 fashion collection show.[5]
References
edit- ^ "What is Can's krautrock classic 'Vitamin C' about?". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ a b c Renard, David (2018-06-12). ""Can Was 40 Years Ahead of Its Time. A New Book Helps Us Catch Up."". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ Schube, Will (2017-07-02). "Talking 'Singles' with CAN's Irmin Schmidt". VICE. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "All of the Music Played During 'Euphoria' Season 2". www.complex.com. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "ICYMI: Saint Laurent chases the sun, Lanvin reopen their Paris flagship, and Hedi Slimane takes us to Nice". Hero. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
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