Author Archives: Jon Sidel

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

We are not like all the rest / You can see us any day of the week. / Come around, sit down, take a sniff, fall asleep / Baby you don’t have to speak. / I’d like to show you where it is / But then it wouldn’t even mean a thing. / Nothing is easy, baby just please me / Who knows what tomorrow may bring. / Well if for just one moment / You could step outside your mind. / And float across the ceiling / I don’t think the folks would mind…

Let’s face it, this week was pretty shitty. Watching the hatred unfold and yesterday’s terror in Spain, I don’t feel like writing.

The good news is the world’s not all bad. There are summer BBQs, backwards three pointers, and even ol’ Randy Newman can still sing his ass off.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Mister mister mister I’m just looking for a change in my luck / Mister mister mister I’m just looking for a change in my luck / Looking for a change / Baby baby baby I’m just looking with my eye to the sky / Baby baby baby I’m just looking with my eye to the sky / With my eye to the sky / Looking, I’m gonna keep on looking babe / Keep on looking, I’m gonna keep on looking babe, for a change / Sister sister sister I’m just looking for a change in my love / Sister sister sister I’m just looking for a change in my love / Looking for…

Things in life don’t always have to make sense. Like Trump being elected president. The taste of Taro frozen yogurt. Or why LA public schools start on August 15th.

It’s not that I feel so bad for the kids, but I do think about it. An upside down world where the kids are back in school Tuesday has me daydreaming about what songs I would spin if I had school next week.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could wake up / In the morning when the day is new? / And after having spent the day together / Hold each other close the whole night through / Happy times together we’ve been spending / I wish that every kiss was never ending / Wouldn’t it be nice?

Yesterday was my son’s 9th birthday. I took the day off—well, almost completely off—and man I needed that. Yesterday’s mindset was making things right for my kid and his pals. I drove in circles around the San Fernando Valley picking up the boys, filled the car, and headed to the ocean for an old fashioned beach picnic.

With all the hacking and gaming going on, it was cool to see Joe and his friends party like it was 1972 on Long Island! With a perfect amount of sunshine, waves, breeze, Dr. Pepper, and Watermelon, an epic summer day was had.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Oh I am a lonely painter / I live in a box of paints / I’m frightened by the devil / And I’m drawn to those ones that ain’t afraid / I remember that time that you told me, you said / “Love is touching souls” / Surely you touched mine ’cause / Part of you pours out of me / In these lines from time to time

Just the other day a number of female writers at NPR posted a list of “the greatest albums made by women between 1964 and the present.” They said it’s to be an “intervention, a remedy, a correction of the historical record and hopefully…”

…the start of a new conversation? Well, hey ladies! Let’s get our playlist on!

Although some of the selections are obviously political—therefore “whack”—everyone loves a playlist in the summer 2017. Even if it puts Beyonce up there with Joni and Aretha…no stress. A playlist is a playlist and the women at NPR have been on the same wavelength with me this week. Turns out, I have been digging through steamy crates selecting some of my favorite heroines on wax for this week’s Idelic Hour “All Girls” playlist.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Well the old world may be dead / Our parents can’t understand / But I still love my parents / And I still love the old world / Oh, I had a New York girlfriend / And she couldn’t understand how I could / Still love my parents and still love the old world / So I told her: / I want to keep my place in the old world / Keep my place in the arcane / Cause I still love my parents and I still love the old world

Well, the truth is I still love my parents. In fact I hope my kid will always love me too—and occasionally return a text.

This weekend Goldenvoice and LA native Sean Carlson host the annual FYF Festival. I’ve always been proud of the fact that Sean, the FYF festival creator, was once a short-lived intern for me at V2 Records. The truth is Sean didn’t do the greatest job—the kid was going places too fast to work at a record label.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Hot thoughts all in my mind and all of the time, yeah / I’ll tell it to your soul / I want you to know / Hot thoughts all in, all in my mind all of the time / Took time off from my kingdom / Took a break from the walk / Took time off from my kingdom / Raise up my creatures / Diamonds from space / Pure…

A trusted friend told me that his key to happiness was to express gratitude for all the things in life you’ve lost. Lovers, jobs, guitars, and cars—thanks for sharing yourselves over the years.

Oh well, on occasion I miss a random “bit.” Like those big brown tortoise rimmed shades I use to wear back when I was in a band. It’s true, along with Jim Morrison I always wanted to look like Ian Hunter. How fucking cool was Ian? I would be grateful to have seen Mott, but I only got to see Hunter and Ronson. Those two were way cooler than the summer of 2017.  “Holy smokes!”

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Summertime, if I was getting paid / For getting drunk and getting laid / I’d grab a phone, call you up and say / “Quit your job, ’cause I got it made”

Anytime / Baby, let’s go / Everyday should be a holiday

Summer nights man, they are special. That lazy feeling that comes over you when the skin finally cools and sun begins to fade. Last night I went from a 95 degree baseball field in the deep valley to the Santa Monica Pier.

It was a classic southern California summer’s eve. Brings me back to my first summer in LA in 1985. I was stunned by the comfortable evenings and how Californians ease into the season. It’s likely those summer nights in ’85 that swayed me to stay here and identify as a Californian.

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Greetings from Cottage Grove!

Today I woke up at Sweet Springs Family Farm in central Oregon. When I first arrived Wednesday I entered the property as I would a home in the canyon—walking in through the facade and observing my AirBNB accommodations much like a hotel room. It wasn’t until the next morning, after a very strong pot of coffee, did I begin to explore my surroundings.

This isn’t my first time on a farm. Around 15 or so years ago I lived with a real deal farmer from Kansas. She convinced me to visit her family for a few days—I think she had to beg them not to put me to work in the fields. I was game and they would have me, except I couldn’t drive a tractor. (On a real farm everyone works at least six days a week.)

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

My makeup is dry and it cracks round my chin / I’m drowning my sorrows in whiskey and gin / The lion-tamer’s whip doesn’t crack anymore / The lions they won’t fight and the tigers won’t roar / La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

So let’s all drink to the death of a clown / Won’t someone help me to break up this crown? / Let’s all drink to the death of a clown / La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la / Let’s all drink to the death of a clown

The old fortune teller lies dead on the floor / Nobody needs fortunes told anymore / The trainer of insects is crouched on his knees / And frantically looking for runaway fleas / La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Last Sunday I dropped my eight year old son off at the bus for his first trip to sleepaway camp. It’s an exciting rite of passage. That morning both Jonah and Susan were in quite a state. It was like a Super Bowl Sunday with the entire Sidel family blasting onto the Rose Bowl field, confetti bombs blowing in the wind! Mom was trying make sure every detail was packed while Jonah was jumping out of his boots waiting for the whistle and the opening kick off.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I need a shelter / I need a friend / Someone to hold me / To lend a hand

Grateful to be home sipping bulletproof coffee on a beautiful canyon morning. I’m listening to a fresh Idelic Hour set cut last night thinking I’ve been a bit out of sorts on the show of late. It started weeks ago when my computer started to run at a snail’s pace. After I installed a new hard drive, I couldn’t get some of the software I used to make the show work. Then I hit the road for Europe. I did manage to get a show out of my Paris hotel, but due to several factors (one being jet lag) the set did not include any new records. I’ll call that show a postcard from abroad.

Since getting back from Europe life has been challenging. I started my trip with a sore shoulder and by last weekend I couldn’t throw a baseball. Later on I got into a freak accident and snapped the tendon in my left middle finger. I can no longer throw or catch a baseball! Typing and driving are a drag. In short, I have the “broken finger blues.”

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