This place is for my partners in comedy. Many of my friends are funnier than I am so I am giving them some space to stretch their chops. This month I present for the first time anywhere the literary styling of Larry. --leftcoastlove--
"Gorillaz in his Midst" or "What the hell is Bob sayin?"
During one of many conversations with the Leftcoaster himself, he suggested that I might have something of value to contribute to the LCL landscape. Never mind that I’ve never in my life written a single sentence for the purpose of humor, drama, or entertainment. Needless to say, I was (and still am) a tad hesitant. I mean, who gives a hoot about what I think anyway? Probably nobody. Then again, maybe somebody. I mean, this is supposed to be all about the love, right? So, I figured, what the hell, why not? I got nothing to lose.
As the local “professor” (a moniker suggested by LCL), and observer of the recent phenomenon that is Leftcoastlove, I thought it might be either educational or entertaining to add my somewhat biased perspective on the cultural scene from time to time. No guarantees of brilliance, just a middle aged take. Of course, since I have experience that only comes with age, I’m most likely right, maybe even more so than Leftcoastlove himself, if that’s possible. If you like what you read here, let me know. Email Leftcoastlove. There’s a link around here somewhere. If you don’t like it, hey, it’s your life. Go read somebody else.
OK, with the intro out of the way, here goes numero uno…..
There
are several musical references and links on this site that demonstrate a
rather broad, dare I say, “eclectic” variety of music that appeals to
Leftcoastlove. I’m going to
relate an experience I had with just one of the more interesting performers
featured here.
I was introduced to those madcap multimedia wackos, “Gorillaz” by the Lovemeister himself. Since my taste in music is broad, and since LCL, youthful though he may be, has demonstrated maturity beyond his years, music taste-wise, I was game. As a matter of fact, so much so, that I didn’t even listen to the damn recording until I unleashed it on my own son, the soon-to-be 19 year old (who no doubt had already memorized every line in every song on the CD). This was not a surprise to me. But I think he was a bit shocked that I would have in my possession a recording of such contemporary, dare I say, “hipness”? Hey, I guess I just got lucky. (Hanging around with Leftcoastlove WILL improve you in so many wondrous ways….)
But
I digress. Just as my son was
just about certain that old Dad wasn’t again going to drag out old ‘60s
tunes to prove that his era, music-wise, was better than today’s (which of
course it was, wasn’t it?), I got back into character.
Well into the first track, it became obvious that Gorillaz had had
more than a little exposure to the music of the pride of Minnesota, little
Bobby Zimmerman (a.k.a. Dylan). Obvious to one is oblivious to another. I halted Gorillaz in mid-track and announced that the history
lesson would now begin. 19 yr
old eyes rolled. Oh jeez, here
goes again.
One trip through “Subterranean Homesick Blues” convinced the young man of the professor’s wisdom. The familiar, dark, nasal, talking blues of Dylan and the haunting and occasionally atonal blatherings of Gorillaz were and are inextricably connected. Maybe Gorillaz have never heard the “Highway 61 Revisited” album. You’ll never convince me. Or my son.
Oh wow, a priceless incident of family bonding. The 60’s and the 00’s linked by musicians that sing through their noses, and do it pretty damn well. Works for me.
---larry@leftcoastlove---
