"Bohemian Like You" is a song by American alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols. The song was written by frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor after seeing a woman pull up in her car to the traffic lights outside his apartment. It was released as the second single from the band's third studio album, Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia, in August 2000. Upon its original release, it failed to reach the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 42, even after a yearlong tour. After featuring in a popular Vodafone advertisement, it was re-released in 2001 and peaked at No. 5.
Background
Lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor explained the song to The Independent.
Music video
The music video for the song has been the subject of controversy and is rarely broadcast on television during the day, since it contains full-frontal male and topless female nudity. However, when played on some music channels, these areas are pixelated. The video shows the band playing in a karaokebar while many different people mime to the lyrics of the song. This is intercut with a video accompanying the lyrics on the television screen at the bar. In this video, the scenes correspond with the lyrics. In the first verse, a man approaches a young woman who is fixing a car with her friends. They both flirtatiously sing the lyrics to each other as a sign of attraction. The man is so attracted to the woman that he stares at her lower body and then visualizes her naked. Then the video switches to a waiter while he is serving a group of customers at a table. One of the girls in the group is attracted to the waiter and the two begin to flirt and mime the lyrics to the second verse. She visualizes him naked. It then turns out that the waiter and the mechanic who was fixing the car live in the same "pad". From the lyrics in the third verse, it is likely that the waiter is the mechanic's ex-boyfriend, as the man she was flirting with earlier is also with her. While the mechanic and her new love interest exchange a look, the woman from the restaurant emerges from a curtain wearing a nightgown. She then takes the waiter's hand and pulls him away. The video ends with the characters from the video miming the lyrics in the karaoke bar along with many other people including a man spinning a hula hoop around his waist.
Critical reception
Louis Pattison of NME called the song "the quintessential Dandy Warhols moment to date". Robert Webb of The Independent called it "a defining song of the last decade". The A.V. Club noted the various influences from "retro" music present in the song, including how the guitar intro seems to imitate that of 'Little Bitch' by The Specials as well as 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' by the Rolling Stones.
In popular culture
The song has been featured in several movies, including The Replacements, Summer Catch, Igby Goes Down, Clockstoppers, Flushed Away, Little Nicky, Foolproof, Delirious, and Man of the Year. Among the television series it has been featured on are Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Numb3rs, Six Feet Under, Daria, Fresh Meat , and Chuck. A very obvious variation of the song is used as the opening theme song for the American version of the game show Cash Cab. The song was also featured in season 7 of Dancing with the Stars for Cody Linley and Julianne Hough's tango performance. For many years it has been the theme music for the BBC Radio phone-in show 6-0-6. It has also been featured in the PlayStation game Test Drive Le Mans in 2000. In 2006, a mashup between the song and "Horny" by Mousse T. was released as the single "Horny as a Dandy". It reached No. 17 in the UK charts. The song was the subject of a minor controversy in 2011 when British conservative politician Theresa May played the song as she walked from a conference speech. It was initially speculated that the track was "Rocks" by Primal Scream, who posted a statement on their website condemning her "inappropriate" use of their song, calling her a "legalised bully" and "the enemy". After discovering the track was his, Dandy Warhols frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor posted an angry tirade on the band's official website, writing: "Why don't these assholes have right-wing bands make them some right-wing music for their right-wing jerkoff politics? Oh, because right-wing people aren't creative, visionary, or any fun to be around." In 2015, the song was played at the opening of John Bishop's tour DVD Supersonic.
Advertising
The song was used extensively by British telecommunications provider Vodafone when it introduced its brand to many of its worldwide operations in 2001–2004. Elsewhere, it featured prominently in a number of advertisements commissioned by Ford Motor Company for its Ford Focus car range. It also enjoyed a short runin America in 2002 in a commercial featuring the Ford Mustang. In Australia, Holden used the song in an advert to promote its Holden Astra range, although the line "You got a great car/Yeah, what's wrong with it today?" was edited out. The song also featured in a 2004 advertisement for GM Summerdrive in the United States. In November 2008, it featured on advertisements for the Citroën C4 Picasso. In summer 2010, the track was used in an advertisement for Next clothing.
