sometime between when "the chronic" came out and now, the music and fashion sensibilities of much of l.a. has moved from gangster to a bunch of other sub-cultures, mostly ones that involve wearing a lot of black. punk and metal seem to be the leaders, with some skaters roaming around, all mixed and blended to suit the individual. the likely but unfortunate truth is that this shift may have been forced on the youth by lapd and society's seemingly insatiable fear of gangs. for some time, there was no better way to get harassed by authorities than by looking the part. whatever the reason, all i can say is the kids i see sporting punk and metal today seem to be a happier lot.
enter a man in a light blue shirt with white stripes and a beret. by virtue of carrying this book:
he and a high-school girl proceeded to have a conversation about music, the bands they and their parents have been in and listen to and the long, twisted history of metal music. it's good to know people still read books and even better to know that they, like their vinyl brethren, can produce a spontaneous, shared experience.
that high school girl could have been me. the twisted history of metal is fun. ozzy was once asked, "do you really conjure spirits from the dead?" he said, "we can't even conjure ourselves out of bed."
ReplyDeleteso many kids at RHS into "rock" (broad definition) because of pot head parents or parents with open minds or parents who like to rock the fuck out. hail Seitan!
ozzy's a funny dude. i know the rest of his family got most of the attention on that reality show of their's, but nothing beats him waving his arms and telling the ocean "fuck off!" while he tries to make a campfire on the beach.
ReplyDeletei gotta say it's a weird day when people are into the music their parents are into. i always thought you were supposed to rebel against that in high school.