california roll

although i’ve spent nearly half of my life as a new yorker, i still love coming back to oakland.

when i first arrived in new york as a grad student, i hated the place. it was crowded, loud, and filthy; life there seemed so much more complicated and difficult. however, as i returned to the bay area for a post-doc 5 years later, i found myself constantly comparing new york and oaktown – the weather, the people, the food, the record stores - and to my surprise, no longer sure that west is best.

i realized i’ve fallen in love with new york’s tempo. at the risk of sounding cliché-ish, i love the hustle bustle of the city, so full of life and promises. i like the idea of being able to have great greasy-ass fries at the odeon 3 in the morning and a full korean breakfast on west 32nd an hour later, even if i only do that very occasionally. if death is the end of possibilities, then new york makes me feel i can live forever.

but oakland is also home. it’s where i grew up, first fell in love, had the best carne asada burrito, and bought my first record. it’s also where my family is. whenever i’m in oakland, i shift to a lower gear; life flows more gently by lake merritt.

for most of my adult life, i’ve felt torn between the coasts, and i’m still not entirely sure where i would ultimately end up. i guess like all things, time will tell.

the soundtrack of my bicoastal dilemma starts with olu dara’s elegiac “harlem country girl”, taken from his 1998 album “in the world: from natchez to new york” (atlantic) and bobby womack’s sublime cover of “california dreamin’”, available on the 1999 charly compilation ”the very best of bobby Womack”.

riz (aka small fish with spine, neotropic) produced “the city stinks” for the “fugu” ep i released in 1997. needless to say, she was inspired by new york’s unqiue olfactory bouquet, but it also captured quite nicely the moody sophistication of the town i love. tuggin’ in the other direction is leon ware’s “why i came to california”, a song i used to hear on kblx all the time. the version here is taken from his self-titled album released on elektra in 1982, and was most recently found on kon & amir’s excellent “uncle junior's friday fish fry: the cleaning” compilation on uncle junior (2004).

war’s “city, country, city” from “the world is a ghetto” album (rhino, 1972) is a mad 12-plus minutes instrumental workout that traverses as many musical territories as there are neighborhoods in new york. by piecing together sounds and textures that reflect the rich and varied ethnic and cultural mosaic that is new york, the song gives me hope: as a new york song (a favorite at dave mancuso’s legendary loft parties) made by a quintessential cali band, it suggests the two coasts may be closer than i think.

Posted by cellpharmer at August 6, 2005 09:01 PM