The O.C., and California in General

I just finished watching the first season of The O.C., and in the spirit that this blog was created in (reviewing the world), I will both praise and critique it in my next post. This post, however, needs to be devoted to the state of California.

California always was (and still is) incredibly mystical to me. It's like Disneyland and hippies and movie stars and Hollywood and East of Eden and everything sunny and wonderful and oddball all focused in one place. I think my fascination started with Francesca Lia Block's novels (go Weetzie Bat!), and it just never stopped. She made California, LA in particular, seem magical and weird and amazing. Part of this was probably due to the genre: young adult magical realism.

It's more than that, though. The Beach Boys, the numerous California-themed songs (Rufus Wainwright, Phantom Planet). Not to mention punk. And ska. And most music that I listen to. Starting with Goldfinger, No Doubt, and Reel Big Fish, and then onto Social Distortion and Green Day and NoFX and Rancid and Tiger Army. I realize these aren't necessarily great musicians, but they mean a lot to me, or at least did at one point in my life.

Like any good teenager, I was never totally satisfied with my life. And I thought California could fix it. I could be liberal, like punk, dye my hair pink, and be vegetarian without anyone harassing me. I know it's ridiculous, but California seemed like a panacea for me. Of course I realize that California is probably none of those things. I still have never been there, and most people I talk to say how it's not really that great. But I still want to go. I think everyone feels that way about at least one place. I know I have impossible expectations for The Golden State, but isn't that part of the fun?

To end, I'll leave you with Phantom Planet, and the song that always gives me chills.

John Denver, I Heart You

So I am not truly unemployed - I work as a busser/"waiter's assistant" Friday night, Saturday morning, and Sunday morning. This is a really odd work schedule, to say the least. It's kind of like a negative image of everyone else's schedule. Anyway, it's really hard work. Lots of lifting and running around, and when I get home, I just want to veg out and relax. Today I got home and collapsed in front of the television. After flipping through endless sports games, I found A Song's Best Friend: John Denver Remembered on PBS.

This isn't really a dirty little secret, but it feels like one, for an unabashed lover of rock and punk. Here it is: I've always really liked John Denver. My mom had one of his tapes and would play it in the car when we were little - that's the only logical explanation I can come up with. Regardless, both "Leaving On a Jet Plane" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" always give me shivers. Country Roads usually also brings tears to my eyes - I think because we would drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains (in West Virginia!) to go from Kentucky to my visit my mom's college roommate in Roanoke, VA. I could identify with those lyrics. Shit, the Shenandoah River. I also know I really love a song if I don't like its covers more (which is usually the case). Here is a sweet duet of John Denver and Johnny Cash singing Take Me Home, Country Roads. It's pretty awesome, but nothing near the original. And if Johnny Cash doesn't improve your song (see here), then I don't know what can.

One person I always associated with John Denver is Lou Reed. I know that they are actually quite different, but my first exposure to Reed was Transformer, which I think has a similar singer-songwriter vibe. Or maybe it's just two similarly-aged white men doing solo albums. Another is John Lennon, but I think that might just be the fact that they both wore glasses and had similar haircuts. If you have any John Denver-related connections or experiences, please share! I know I'm not the only one with an irrational love.

Line Dancing

After a very unfortunate dance unit in fifth grade (which involved learning line dancing, the bunny hop, and the hand jive), I pretty much forgot that line dancing existed. Unfortunately, St Louis's CBS station reminded me tonight with "St Louis Country! With Billy Ray Cyrus!" at 12 am Sunday morning (night?).

First, a little background on line dancing. All of my previous knowledge was from my gym teacher's enthusiasm (really, she loved that shit), and a five-second segment in Dirty Dancing (it really couldn't get high billing - line dancing is by nature, not dirty, which I'll discuss later). Wikipedia tells me that line dancing is "choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines (British English, "rows") without regard for the gender of the individuals, all facing the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time."

This whole dance style just smacks of fascism and obedience and mob mentality. People line up all facing the same direction, and perform choreographed steps in unison. The lines are parallel, and no one touches each other, and watching this country western concert on television is disconcerting. There are not merely random groups of four people scattered around in lines - there is a large group of at least 30 that has miraculously come together to line dance in uniform, parallel lines. I'm fascinated - did these people know each other? Did they confer and agree that they should all dance in unison? Or is it more magical, with the whole group spontaneously forming to walk sideways? This brings up another point - while line dancing looks very much the same all the time, there are different ways to walk sideways and rotate - how does this group of people know how to do the exact same steps and rotations every time? How???

I suppose the group mentality isn't all that different from the group consent that takes place in a mosh pit, but a dance pit feels like it has a bit more anarchy. You can get kicked in the head or punched in the face! You could fall down and get trampled to death! I don't see why anyone would prefer a safer form of concert activity! (kidding) Even without going to extremes, "regular" dancing, such as swing or salsa, isn't quite dancing if there aren't steps, but in other dances, there is room for improvising, and that is what makes dancing fun to do and fun to watch.

To end this brilliant comparison by stretching tenuous connections even more, The Electric Slide could even be seen as commending and encouraging capital punishment. See for yourself: It's electric, boogie woogie woogie.

Introduction

I'm starting this blog as I'm sure many great writers began: unemployed. Actually, many more not-so-great writers probably also started that way, too.

As a recent transplant from the largest city in the Great American Midwest to one not quite as large, I've spent a lot of time in my air-conditioned apartment. My goal is to explore the city more, but laziness has interfered so far. As has the lackluster public transportation program. Really that's just a poor excuse - the bus routes are comprehensive, just infrequent.

The purpose of this blog is to give me a public forum in which to pass judgment. I do it so well privately, I thought I should share my gift with the world at large. I will review music, movies, businesses, local attractions, and anything else that merits a decree of some sort. Hopefully, it will evolve into something more meaningful over time.

Of course, your all's judgments are welcome as well. There's room for everyone to have an opinion in this great Interweb of ours.