I'm a travelin man, Movin through places, space and time, Got a lotta things I got to do, But it's all love coming back to you...
...Apparently this blog is a giant Mos Def reference.
Well, it's been two years. A lot has changed since I first arrived in LAX, wide eyed and on the cusp of the legal drinking age. As my first and last stop since that epic semester, LAX seems like the appropriate arrival point for my second adventure on the west coast. Thus, Biggie is the perfect go-to.
In any case, I have just barely finished my packing and am hoping the traffic and weather hold out so that everything will be on schedule. But with my luck, nothing ever goes quite as planned...
As my final hours at home tick away and my suitcases are just as empty as they were when I unpacked (read: dumped all contents on the floor) last month, I find comfort in listening this song. To me it's the sound of a melancholic goodbye, but a hopeful homecoming. I've had to say a lot of goodbyes over the past month and half, to new friends and old. Despite the anxiety of moving cross-country, I know I have a lot to look forward to.
Oops, since I missed yesterday I guess I'm allowing myself to correct the day countdown while I'm at it.
Anyway, Los Rakas is a group based in Oakland with roots in Panama. Above is their super polished video selected for the SXSW 2011 Artist Showcase.
But I think this video--though at times employing obscenely cheesy video effects (2:54)--speaks more to their hood, East Oakland, and is more representative of the city and its incredible diversity. I mean, when I'm hopelessly perusing Craigslist ads I always come across at least two or three brief ads entirely in Spanish (they all tend to be creepily to-the-point like this one) and I've been told that a number of the clients at my new job will be native Spanish speakers. Los Rakas are definitely a group to watch out for, as they've already been featured on NPR and the FADER, have collaborated with great artists like E-40 and Uproot Andy, and are getting attention from such reputable festivals as Central Park Summerstage and SXSW, among others.
Ronnie Hudson & the Street People - West Coast Poplock
I remember first hearing this song at a rollar rink in Chino, CA where there was an itemized list of prohibited clothing due to gang affiliations. I thought I was really cool for identifying the song sampled in 2pac & Dre's "California Love", which I won't be including on the playlist simply because it all too obvious (not that Phantom Planet wasn't). But apparently GTA San Andreas made this song super popular amongst then-pre-pubescent teenage boys. Anyway, you should click that link to enjoy a pre-Rush Hour Chris Tucker in a post-apocalyptic steam punk tribe (and a song with that bomb-ass hemp beat?).
When frustrated friends/family/coworkers ask me, "Why are you so damn late all the time?" I simply reply that I was born this way--I came into this world two weeks late and I've been that way ever since. So it should come as no surprise that I really suck at paying attention to deadlines and returning things on time.
What does this have to do with the Dead Kennedys? Well. This morning I had to get to the library first-thing since I forgot that I was supposed to return two DVDs yesterday (them's some hefty fines!). It must have been fate, but Milk, which I still had yet to see, was sitting right at the front counter and I grabbed it on a whim. You see, I spent much of yesterday watching Anthony Bourdain's jaunts in San Francisco as "research" (ie avoidance of packing), so I figured this was a sign from god to continue my "education".
Ok, I knew Milk was supposed to be good, but, holy shit, this film is incredible. (Yes I cried. Multiple times.) Aside from being an incredibly inspirational, moving film, it also shed some much needed light on the Dead Kennedys' version of "I Fought the Law". In fact, I heard their cover before I even started listening to the Clash (yes, I know that's not the original either) and was genuinely surprised to find that the first line wasn't "Drinkin' beer in the hot sun". Anyway, the song is about the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone and, in classic DK/Jello style, satirizes the outrageous outcome of Dan White's trial and the "Twinkie Defense".
Beside today's discovery, I really have to confess that the Dead Kennedys are a huge part of why I am relocating to the Bay. DK was probably the first punk band I ever seriously got into. I've always loved Jello Biafra's satirical, hilarious, scathing lyrics mocking politicians and other social/political bullshit of the day. His words forced me to take a deeper look at social issues of the past and re-evaluate the seemingly very similar problems of our current society. I'm sure this influence had no small impact on my political leanings as a teenager and certainly has shaped the human being I am today. Thus, I think "California Über Alles" is a necessary addition to this list.
And, to be completely honest, the impetus for my application to this position was almost entirely because of the guitarist's name, East Bay Ray. On the AmeriCorps listings, I saw that this non-profit was hiring someone do to something and it happened to have something to do with the East Bay, so, like, whatever dude, I went for it (I didn't even know what the East Bay was at the time). Turns out this "something" I am assigned to do is actually pretty cool (I hope?), even though I might not even be assigned to the East Bay in the end.
Ah, well. Cheers to you, DK, for continuing to push me along on this here journey-o-life.
Clichéd? Sure. Overplayed? Certainly. Theme song to the best show on television for the entirety of my high school years? You bet Seth's sweet ass it is.
Random little known fact: Phantom Planet gives credit to previous playlist song "California, Here I Come", crediting the song as being part of their inspiration and, though this sounds like a stretch to me, the line "California, here we come / Right back where we started from" is supposedly a nod to the song.
And, if I may, to bridge the gap between past and future life experiences, let me throw down "On the Run" (originally "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman", apparently changed for US distribution) by Toronto's K-os, which samples Phantom Planet's Cali anthem.
...as for me, I'm off to indulge in some O.C. reruns on the Soap Network. (Season 4 still kicks ass--haterz!)
I have a soft spot for Bill Evans. He was my study-buddy for much of my final year of university. As for the song, it's the official unofficial state song of California (who knew states had official songs?). After a scandalous setback in the form of a state legislature resolution favoring "I Love You, California" in 1951, the song suffered its final defeat in 1988, when "I Love You, California" was officially declared the state song (according to Wikipedia).
Wikipedia tales aside, I think it says something about Californians if "California, Here I Come" is a strong contender for their state song. It's the Golden State, everyone dreams of seeing the sun set over the Pacific--even the most callous of New Yorkers secretly indulge in this fantasy. There's an undeniable allure to the state that's home to movie stars, gangstas, and governators; deserts, mountains, and beaches. Perhaps it's just that California is still kind of stuck in the years where they felt they had to advertise themselves to settle the place (state motto "Find Yourself Here" seems indicative of this very affliction). But ultimately I think there's more to it than that. The song resonates with the American Dream, Manifest Destiny: the almost absurd adherence to the belief that in America, we can just pick up, move out, and carve out a new life for ourselves in the sun. And maybe it was this very notion that brought me there in the first place, helped push me back one more time...
Though the fact that "I Love You, California" won out may speak volumes more about the self-absorbed, self-reverent reputation the state's inhabitants are known for. Just sayin.
Mac Dre was from the Bay Area, where he was a notable dude in the local hyphy scene. The creator of the Thizzle Dance, Mac Dre was an avid user of ecstasy and coined the term "to thizz" (see also: http://thizzface.com/). Basically, this song is fun and hilarious, and I am ready to openly embrace the ridiculousness of hyphy, which sets Bay Area hip hop apart from anything else.
My return from the European continent--a journey in itself--was a long awaited one. Between the annoyances of stuffing a sleeping bag and giant purse magically into one bag on super-budget airline flights, of intercity buses and traffic jams, of utter confusion and disorientation, of the sound of the German language (sorry, it's just nails on a chalkboard to me) I had seen and experienced a lot, but had really had quite enough of the Euro-steez. The entirety of my flight from Prague was spent staring at the route map, celebrating landmark progress over London and (finally North America!) Nova Scotia. Sad, I know.
Never thought I'd be saying this, but THANK YOU GOD.
But throughout this journey, those quiet moments spent after the rush to the local transportation hub on whatever mode of transport I happened to be on were spent reflecting upon my time in the camp... and sleeping. (Mostly sleeping) But, looking back, of course I felt I could have done more, perhaps should have done more. I had second thoughts about my indulgences in personal travel that cut short my time in the camp, regretted not taking more chances and making a more concerted effort to actually get things done. I
can safely say that my experience there was not what I had expected. But, all said and done, I learned a great deal, dealt with setbacks, and enjoyed some incredible moments. I suppose that's all I could hope for.
Now I find myself in a transitory period that is simultaneously both stagnant and hectic. I'm scrambling to find affordable housing, filling out paperwork, researching obnoxious federal things like just the the fuck I'm going to make a dent in my larger-than-expected student debt and how to apply for food stamps, not to mention questioning my decision to accept this position in the first place. Yet I've been waking up no earlier than 11 o'clock every day, have perhaps left the house three times in the past week (two of those times to merely drop my dad off at the train station), and littered the floor of my basement with virtually my entire wardrobe (it's at least 2 feet deep). At this point I've probably seen every episode of Wife Swap, with the occasional Jersey Shore/Teen Mom 2 combo thrown in.
Oh, how I've missed you, utterly dysfunctional Americans.
For those of you unaware, the official countdown starts now (or yesterday?): in 10 days I will be lying poolside at the LAX Crowne Plaza. Ok, maybe not poolside and more like immersed in discussion about public service and poverty alleviation, but one can dream, right? Anyway, I've committed myself to a 12-month AmeriCorps service term in Oakland, CA. My almost-official position is a Regional Evaluation Associate with Women's Initiative. You can read their blurb here--I'm crap at explaining it, and frankly a bit tired of trying to:
Women's Initiative is seeking an individual passionate about and dedicated to the mission of building women's entrepreneurial capacity to achieve the following major goals: Goal 1: Support the research department by conducting first person data collection interviews with clients. Goal 2: Evaluate the current outreach strategies and document best practices and recommendations for individual regions to increase the response rate, maximize the time spent on this project, and better serve clients by addressing regionally-specific needs. Goal 3: Develop and implement a pilot strategy in individual regions to test the recommendations of regionally-specific outreach, create a report evaluating the pilot, and make final recommendations to Research Department.
So in celebration(?) of my newest adventure, I've decided to post one song somehow related to California each day I have left remaining safely on the east coast. Maybe these songs can shed new light on my future home, help me channel my feelings on moving there, or just be a fun excuse to indulge in some cheese-tastic west coast stereotyping. Regardless, Day 10 starts now. Or yesterday... whatever.
