It has been a month since we arrived at our new home in a new city, a new state. It is taking a while to hit me; the realness has been slow to seep in. Now, when I walk outside, I don’t see the Pacific glimmering in the distance. Instead, I’m more likely to see a random guy wearing a “Don’t California My Arizona” tee-shirt.
I totally get it; California has done plenty to earn the stereotypes that the other states pin on it. I left because of some of them. But there are more Californians who don’t live up to those stereotypes than Californians that do. Not that I’m a Californian, I’ve just lived amongst them enough to speak with some authority.
I grew up in the Arizona desert. Every summer we’d drive to Carlsbad and I fell in love with it; the warm beach, cool evenings, green everywhere, beautiful yards, it was perfection to me. I was a kid, so I had years to dream of moving to California. It took a while, but eventually I did it; I spent fifteen years in a beautiful Southern California town.
I referred to the freeway as “the five” and I ate a lot of excellent sashimi. I saw concerts at classic L.A. venues like The Wiltern and The Hollywood Bowl. I don’t regret a minute of my time there; I savored SoCal with gusto. Judge me if you will, but I loved it and I will always miss it.
Not surprisingly, I have plenty of playlists that can transport me back to the coast. I may not be able to swing by my favorite beach, but I can almost hear the waves crashing just behind the melodies that swirl in my beach bungalow playlist. I can’t take the dogs to run around at San Onofre, but I swear I feel the grey ocean breeze in my hair when I hear my PCH playlist. I can no longer presume that the weather will be perfect everyday, but I still feel at ease when I hear my love letter to the Golden State, San Diego, 1988.
It was time for us to move on, but saying goodbye is never easy. These playlists have made the transition so much easier for me. My lovely life on the California coast will always echo in the music.
San Diego, 1988
If you can tune out the politics and insanity you’ll find a million things to love about California. Or maybe not. It is a state that has inspired many a song; songs about loving it as well as songs about hating it. Songs that capture the dreams and hopes attributed to going west; songs that expose the dark, ugly side of the left coast. Musicians have long fallen under the spell of the golden muse and we are all better off because of it. Musically speaking, of course.
I used to travel for work and found myself in the habit of hearing this playlist on my flights home. It contains songs that are in some way about California. It’s a mix of songs from different points in time and different genres. It is all over the place at the same time it is cohesive and, for me, comforting.
For some reason, I am rather smitten with the first track, San Diego, 1988. I know nothing about the band, not even another song, but every time it comes on I have to sing along. It always ends too soon. It psyches me up for the roller coaster ride of listening that I jumped onto when I hit play.
On The Shore
The southern coast has a vibe. There is something special about the cool air and warm sand; something about the meeting of cold indifference, like the endless ocean horizon, with the dusty heat of the wild west still aglow from the summer of love. On The Shore captures this vibe. I might not be able to pin point it with words, but I can with music.
PCH
The longer I lived on the coast, the more fond I became of the sea reflecting maudlin under the marine layer. The most beautiful shades of gray and blue appear under the misty blanket that obscures the heavens. We missed pretty much every cool celestial event underneath our cozy blanket.
This is perhaps not the coastal weather that flocks of tourists come to visit, but it is a powerful aspect of California’s personality. The damp, misty days and subtly glowing nights were more dear to me than the sunny summer days. I miss walking through that landscape, but can attempt to revisit it anytime I listen to PCH.
Coincidentally, it provided a great soundtrack for a rainy winter day in the desert as well.
Which songs or playlists give you a California vibe? I know I’ve omitted some obvious choices like The Beach Boys or any version of California Girls (or Gurls). What else have I overlooked? Share your California love or lack thereof here!
Okay I got one. “Northern California Girls” by Camper Van Beethoven. And did you have “California Son” by Morrissey”?
I'm gonna have to work hard to think of a California song you haven't picked in your playlists. And maybe you explained this and I overlooked it, but what is the relevance of the number 47? Did you have "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin in your list? I am too lazy to double check. I'll come up with a few you missed. Those are the sorts of challenges I like to procrastinate doing the shit I should be doing.