Summer Sounds in Los Angeles

"Single Fins & Safety Pins" by Japanese Motors was a song I never knew I had until just today when it popped up on my iTunes shuffle. I'd probably downloaded it for free in some distant time of my musical wanderings online, and it got lost in the mix. For a moment, I considered switching the track until I listened closer to the lyrics and found that it was a song written about summer in Los Angeles. 

What I found was that the music video and lyrics replicated much of what we've talked about in class: this glamorized idea of LA, where beach babes suntan abundantly and you can "kick your shoes off and just unwind". Once outside of the clutches of congested freeways, the band members sing out their love for a carefree beach-bound summer. 

I thought the music video was funny, with its 50s-inspired glam vintage look that my generation tends to wistfully attempt to replicate. The video's got this rebel-without-a-cause feel with the band members rockin' out oceanside. Even when the waves try to overtake them, they keep on jamming, breaking guitars and mounting fury against the forces that rise against the sounds of their song. I don't quite understand why all the musical equipment need go to waste in such an unnecessary way, but some might say differently. Perhaps they are true to the spirit of Los Angeles: a distinctive voice that refuses to be suppressed. Or, they could be unfortunate perpetrators of the pretentiousness associated with L.A. and the music industry.  

Either way you see it, the song and video still merits enjoyment. Although it may not be a true representation of all our lives in Los Angeles, I can definitely appreciate the fun-loving spirit and carefree attitude on a hot, summer day at the beach that this song embodies. 

Single Fins & Safety Pins by Japanese Motors

Well I'm stuck on the 405

Red lights, traffic... I don't really dig that vibe

Trying my best to carry on

But the traffic's, no fun, in the summer

I said...so come on down

To the beach where the sun shines

Kick your shoes off and enjoy some wine

When the sun is shining in the summer

The summer time...

More the merrier, don't be a bummer

Dance like the waves of summer

Thank your momma for the summertime

The summertime

Drop your pants and grab your shades

And those single fins

Tell your girl to grab her suit

Weell come on...make it soon

We got time..the weather is fine,

To lay around all day

Hey dudes...what about that new swell

It's going to be breaking in the bay

Do you see the sun when it shines

Don't you know you can get so wild

When the sun is shining in the summer

The summertime...

More than ever, don't be a bummer,

Dance like the waves of summer

Well the sun is shining 

The summertime

I don't even know how much pain you've put me through

I just want to tell you baby

I'm giving up on you

To the beach where the sun shines

Kick your shoes off and enjoy some wine

When the sun is shining in the summer

The summertime...

Don't got a bike, you can borrow mine

You get drunk off and enjoy wine

When the sun is shining in the summertime

The summertime

-- Jennifer Pellerito

The Anti-College Fest Celebration

AS THE majority of LMU students marched in rank and file to College Fest, a concert featuring live acts from The Hush Sound and Gym Class Heros, there was another group of people celebrating music in a very different way.  Right out of LMU's back gates at the cleverly titled IHOP (International House of People),  a homegrown concert was brewing under the wonderfully antagonistic title, Anti-College Fest.  This concert, one that was held literally 500 yards away from LMU's College Fest, celebrated roots music and community in a way that seemed much more heartfelt and authentic than the drunken parade of College Fest, where an overdose is easier to witness than a gesture of sincerity. LMU's College Fest has built a reputation for itself amongst its student body for being a day that borders between Dionysian ritual and a modern Sodom and Gomorrah.  Someone always get hurt and a lot of people get drunk.  It's a busy day for EMT's and liquor stores, but the people always appear to be having fun (forgetting about the lineup that they were complaining of days before).

Anti-College Fest aroused from the idea of Chris Rowntree, an international student at LMU.  He came up with the concept because he was dissatisfied with the College Fest lineup.  Belonging to a community within LMU that has more musicians that one would imagine, it wasn't too farfetched of a notion to put on a homegrown show.  The idea was to set up a DIY show in the living room of IHOP and invite as many people as possible.  He called up his friends in Mojo Stone and Major Large and asked them to play.  Though Major Large couldn't do the show, their frontman Carey Alexander played a solo set to kick off the day before The Barefoot Bandits and Mojo Stone plugged in and things got nice and steamy.

As a participant and witness at the concert, the most overwhelming sentiment that was expressed went something along the lines of, "I'm so happy I came here instead of College Fest."  It was a self-contained event put on by the same community that it sought to entertain.  After Carey Alexander, The Barefoot Bandits, and Mojo Stone finished up their sets, the musicians took a break to hang out with their audience.  A couple drinks and a handful of laughs later, all of the participating musicians took the stage together for a collective jam session.  The audience continued to watch for another 20 minutes or so as the musicians - 2 drumsets going at once - played on the spot.  The whole event was loosely organized, intimate, and full of love.  It was an offering to the LMU population who felt the need for an Anti-College Fest experience instead of a standard celebration on one of LMU's biggest party days of the year.

-- Carey Uhl

 Photo Credit: Mane Entertainment