For awhile, I thought we were all heading out west. Isn't that the ultimate dream? Move out to Hollywood, see the big lights, score a record deal or a movie deal, and become a star. Personally, I want to get into UCLA and become a world renowned Popular Music Studies Musicologist. Seriously, my dreams are a little off kilter. But wait a second.. musicians are telling us that this dream isn't real!! At least the music I'm listening to this week has been telling me so. Am I supposed to stay in the Midwest? Seriously, I'm getting confused.
As of lately, I'm on a really big Dawes kick. I've already bought tickets to see them at Metro on March 12th. Dawes is actually an opener (along with Deer Tick) for the super band of Middle Brother, which consists of members from... get this... Dawes, Deer Tick, and Delta Spirit (apparently Delta Spirit didn't want to join in on the fun of opening for themselves). Dawes actually hails from LA and centers on the "Laurel Canyon sound." Remember how Joni Mitchell would host informal jam sessions with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young out in her Laurel Canyon habitat? It's still happening to this day! Only now, we've got Dawes members jamming with Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes) and Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes. Did I mention Conor Oberst is actually from Nebraska? And don't get me started on Joni Mitchell... I mean, she's Canadian.
Anyway, Dawes eventually came up with this sound:
Well how I curse that western skyline.
And yet I thanked it for my start.
Oh lou?, though my dreams did not come true; no they only came apart.
Why do I love this song? Sadly, his dreams did not come true in California and he ends up in Birmingham. I've been there before. I've been there for a grand total of six months, and he's right... it's quite an oddity when it snows there. Did he really bring the snow? Damn him. Here's another treat from the concert that I stole from YouTube. Note the lyrics and the piano solo. So simple and so peacefully in the valley. Why are they so opposed to California? I don't care... close your eyes and listen to the end (but open your eyes to read some lyrics).
And our actor ends his love song
And all these lovers sit and stare.
If I don't find peace in the valley
It's cause there wasn't any there.
I will move somewhere the ocean's never seen.
Somewhere weeds just make their place
Where my best friend's exist only on screen
Where my love all fits and frays
To make a valid point, I probably need to refer the reader to another band, right? Who else is praising this beautiful land? Let's look at the simplicity of Fleet Foxes.
The poor Seattleites just want to build an orchard and work until they're sore. Then they'll strum a guitar and sing beautiful harmonies. None of these dreams of grandeur.
In this next example, Lissie pays tribute to the mighty Mississippi River. Being from Rock Island, Illinois, she knows a lot about being landlocked. The mighty river may take her to other places, but we've got a true Midwesterner here. Let's ignore the fact that she moved out to California and found success there.
And just in case you didn't know it, Ohio is in fact home to some people. Damien Jurado has a beautiful voice, and in the song, "Ohio," he sings about a girl who just wants to get back home to Ohio. Who knew?
So there you have it. Maybe my dreams of fame and fortune are misleading. I'll be in LA at the end of the month. I'll let you know. Should I be finding peace in the land that's only an hour away from me? Or should I seek the chaos of the city? William Fitzsimmons and Andrew Bird locked themselves away in cabins to write their music. But then again, Ted Kaczynski also locked himself away in a cabin to write his manifesto and to mail a few bombs here and there. Maybe I'll find a middle ground.
I leave you with this...
And if heaven was all that was promised to me, Why don't I pray for death?
And our actor ends his love song
And all these lovers sit and stare.
If I don't find peace in the valley
It's cause there wasn't any there.
I will move somewhere the ocean's never seen.
Somewhere weeds just make their place
Where my best friend's exist only on screen
Where my love all fits and frays
To make a valid point, I probably need to refer the reader to another band, right? Who else is praising this beautiful land? Let's look at the simplicity of Fleet Foxes.
The poor Seattleites just want to build an orchard and work until they're sore. Then they'll strum a guitar and sing beautiful harmonies. None of these dreams of grandeur.
In this next example, Lissie pays tribute to the mighty Mississippi River. Being from Rock Island, Illinois, she knows a lot about being landlocked. The mighty river may take her to other places, but we've got a true Midwesterner here. Let's ignore the fact that she moved out to California and found success there.
And just in case you didn't know it, Ohio is in fact home to some people. Damien Jurado has a beautiful voice, and in the song, "Ohio," he sings about a girl who just wants to get back home to Ohio. Who knew?
So there you have it. Maybe my dreams of fame and fortune are misleading. I'll be in LA at the end of the month. I'll let you know. Should I be finding peace in the land that's only an hour away from me? Or should I seek the chaos of the city? William Fitzsimmons and Andrew Bird locked themselves away in cabins to write their music. But then again, Ted Kaczynski also locked himself away in a cabin to write his manifesto and to mail a few bombs here and there. Maybe I'll find a middle ground.
I leave you with this...
And if heaven was all that was promised to me, Why don't I pray for death?
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