The Hills of Los Angeles Are Burning August 28, 2009
Posted by alwaysjan in Home Front.Tags: California, Fire Season, La Canada Fire, Music, Southern California, The Hills of Los Angeles are Burning, Topanga Canyon, Wildfires in Los Angeles, Wildfires in Southern California
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For the most recent information on the Station Fire, click on Los Angeles County Fire Department.
I woke up at 6 a.m. when orange light filtered through the blinds. It’s fire season in Southern California. Four big fires are raging at the moment, several nearby. With the intense heat and all that dry brush, the fires came early this year. During the school year, we keep the students indoors when there’s a fire as many have asthma.
My heart goes out to all of those who’ve had to evacuate their homes. We have friends who lived in Topanga Canyon for many years, and it seemed like packing up the car with the kids, pets, and photos was an annual event. But it’s never easy.
It’s been over 100 degrees for three days now and I can’t imagine what it’s like for those fire fighters who are wearing all that heavy gear and fighting Mother Nature with a hose and a pick ax. I have to say that after living in NYC for 11 years, I have the utmost respect (bordering on awe) for firefighters.
When I first moved to California in the 70s, I remember standing on the roof of our garage and watching the hills in the distance burn. We were having a big party and ash fell on the guests like snow. I remember saying, “This is like the last days of Pompeii.” Two days ago, I woke up and walked out into the dining room. My house smelled like a campfire. Fire. It goes with living in Southern California. But it’s never easy.
Lyrics for Los Angeles is Burning by Bad Religion
Somewhere high in the desert near a curtain of blue
A sane man skirts under the wind
But down here in the city of limelights
The fans of Santa Ana are withering
And you can’t deny the living is easy
If you never look behind the scenery
It’s Showtime for dry climes
And bedlam is dreaming of rain
When the hills of Los Angeles are burning
Palm trees are candles in the MURDER wind
So many lives are on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is burning
This is not a test
of the emergency broadcast system
When Malibu fires and radio towers
Conspire to dance again
And I cannot believe the Media Mecca
They’re only trying to peddle reality
Catch it on Prime Time
Story at nine
The whole world is going insane
When the hills of Los Angeles are burning
Palm trees are candles in the MURDER wind
So many lives are on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is Burning
A placard reads “the end of days”
Jacaranda boughs are bending in the haze
More a question than a curse
How could hell be any worse?
The flames are stunning
The cameras running
So take warning!
When the hills of Los Angeles are burning
Palm trees are candles in the MURDER wind
So many lives are on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is burning
Hope & Hip Hop October 29, 2008
Posted by alwaysjan in Art, Artists, Music, Politics.Tags: Art, Barack Obama, Hip hop, MC Yogi, Music, Politics, Popular Culture, Yoga
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Our friend, Dina (The Salsa Queen!) forwarded this link on Youtube. I must confess that my father warned me I should NEVER blog about politics or religion – but this is ART! MC Yogi grew up in a group home for “at risk youth” and then discovered the transformative power of yoga. Who would have thunk it? His music appears on the White Swan label, home to another of my faves, Deva Premal. Got art? If you want to see an AWESOME video, click here: MC Yogi: Obama ’08 Vote for Hope.
My Antony September 30, 2008
Posted by alwaysjan in Artists, Music.Tags: Antony, Antony and the Johnsons, GLBT, I'm Your Man, L.A. Philharmonic, Leonard Cohen, Movies, Music, Transgender
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Antony of Antony and the Johnsons
We’d Netflixed I’m Your Man, the documentary about singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen. An amazing array of artists performed Cohen’s songs, but one artist stood out – Antony and The Johnsons. He had all the stage presence of Joe Cocker wearing a woman’s jogging suit, but his voice was sublime. Who was this angeI? I immediately Googled him and ordered several CD’s off his website. I found them so haunting, I’ve been playing them ever since.
Although he lives in New York, Antony performs mostly in Europe. So I was ecstatic when my husband called to tell me he’d just heard Antony and The Johnsons were performing at Disney Hall with the LA Philharmonic on Oct. 14th. This is being billed as his only West Coast appearance.
The last time we actually paid to go see a LIVE act was several years ago when we saw Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance at the Wiltern. I’m not big on shelling out big bucks for live shows, but Antony is THE exception. Okay, I admit. I still curse the gods that my friend Martha scored a ticket to see Muse, my second favorite band in the universe.
Antony’s X and Y chromosomes are aligned differently than yours or mine. He’s transgender, but who cares? His voice, a wilting passionate vibrato that alternates with a falsetto, can raise the hairs on your neck.
Antony has a cult following (Rufus Wainwright and Lou Reed perform on his latest album, and he did a cover of John Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War is Over) with Boy George). Now that’s one cult I’m happy to claim membership in! Some of Antony’s songs are painful to listen to, so be forewarned – much of his repertoire is not G-rated, but this song is. To me, he has the voice of an angel.
planetjan 