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"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 Studio [de] (Weilerswist, West Germany)
Genre	Krautrock
Length	3:32
Label	United Artists
Producer(s)	Holger Czukay
Can singles chronology
"Spoon" (1971) "Vitamin C" (1972) "Moonshake" (1973)
Audio
"Vitamin C" on YouTube

"Vitamin C" is a song by the krautrock band Can from their 1972 album Ege Bamyası. The song is one of the band's most recognizable songs.

Jordan Potter of Far Out magazine noticed that the album's sleeve art features a can of Aegean okra, which is incidentally rich in vitamin C.

Background

In the first half of 1972, United Artists "requested a follow-up 45 rpm single to capitalize on the success of the previous single "Spoon". Can recorded and released "Vitamin C" / "I'm So Green".

When Can was commissioned to perform a piece for the soundtrack for 1973 German television film Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, the band settled on "Vitamin C" as their commission work, believing it fit the film well.

A version of the song appeared as "Dead Pigeon Suite" on 2012 compilation album The Lost Tapes, which features the studio out-takes recorded by Can.

Legacy

British musical outfit U.N.K.L.E. created an 8-minute remix version of "Vitamin C", featured on Can's double remix album Sacrilege (1997). Brooklyn band Woods's 2016 song "Can't See at All" interpolated a keyboard sample from "Vitamin C".

Soundtracks

"Vitamin C" has been prominently featured in film soundtracks, appearing in Pedro Almodóvar's 2009 film Broken Embraces, in Jonny Greenwood's soundtrack for 2014 film Inherent Vice, in the second season of Preacher (2016–19), in the 2017 film Hot Summer Nights, and in the second season of the HBO Max series Euphoria (2019), and in the first episode of the 2024 Netflix miniseries Eric.

"Vitamin C" has been incorporated into the "The Get Down: Original Soundtrack" for the 2016 Netflix series of the same name, used as the theme song of Jaden Smith's character Dizzed. It features the lyric "Hey you! You're losing, you're losing..." but instead of "vitamin C" the lyrics were altered to "your mind". In 2018, the DJs Adam Beyer and Bart Skils released their track "Your Mind" which features the sample from the theme song.

In popular culture

In the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, a character named Damo Tamaki has an ability named "Vitamin C".

The song was used throughout the Celine Summer 2022 fashion collection show.

References

1. ^ 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.
2. Jordan Potter (2024-07-24). "What is Can's krautrock classic 'Vitamin C' about?". Far Out. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
3. Young & Schmidt 2018, p. 175.
4. Young, Rob; Schmidt, Irmin (2018). All Gates Open: The Story of Can (e-book ed.). London: Faber and Faber. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-571-31151-4.
5. Schube, Will (2017-07-02). "Talking 'Singles' with CAN's Irmin Schmidt". Vice. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
6. Rose, Steve (11 March 2011). "Can: the ultimate film soundtrack band?". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
7. Renshaw, David (18 November 2014). "Details of Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's 'Inherent Vice' soundtrack confirmed". NME. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
8. "WhatSong Soundtracks - Stream Songs from the Latest Movies & TV Shows". www.what-song.com. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
9. Sheila O'Malley (July 27, 2018). "Hot Summer Nights review".
10. "All of the Music Played During 'Euphoria' Season 2". www.complex.com. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
11. Kat Mondor (Jun 3, 2024). "Eric Soundtrack Guide: Every Song In The Netflix Series & When They Play". Screen Rant.
12. Hirohiko Araki (w, a). JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: JoJolion, vol. 14, no. 8 (December 19, 2016).
13. "ICYMI: Saint Laurent chases the sun, Lanvin reopen their Paris flagship, and Hedi Slimane takes us to Nice". Hero. Retrieved 2024-10-26.

• 1972 songs
• Can (band) songs
• Funk songs
• United Artists Records singles