Author Archives: Jon Sidel

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

You always act so stupid / You always talk so dumb / But this is partytime / And you’ve got to say its better than a war / This is partytime / And its better than a cold bath with someone you dislike / This is partytime / And its good to drink for free when you haven’t any money / This is partytime / Oh, she might just possibly take me home

Right on cue, fall seems to finally have come to Southern California. This said, it’s mostly just the angles of the sun and moon. After a gloomy Friday we’re back to sensational weather. We still have watermelon in the fridge.

Call it baseball weather with old friends, new artists, songs, and fall baseball.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

John the baptist was the opening band / That no one paid to see, except you and me

His cousin Christ / He was strange but he was nice / They tried to kick his ass / He didn’t fight back

We all die / When it’s our time

Fall has officially come. In many parts it means a change in the seasons. Here in LA, it’s really summer until Halloween. That said, the angle of the sun changes and so does the vibe. It’s the sentimental season—a great time for watching sport. Whether you fancy baseball, football, soccer, surfing, fishing, bike riding, or just a walk. Let’s get out there and get active. If you want to support your favorite sports teams by placing bets on them, you may explore gaming platforms like ufabet เว็บตรง.

Also, it’s a Jewish tradition to pray for friends and family who are no longer. So, per that tradition, I started this week’s episode with my sadly departed pal Richard Swift. The rest of this Idelic episode features mostly new songs and young bands. I listened back this morning and I’m impressed.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Once upon a time, not too long ago, we took a day out in Manchester / We all fall down, there’s not enough hours in the day / Played a bit of football, fell into the union / Barged our way into the toilet with the kung fu king

There’s not enough hours in the day / I remember seeing someone dressed in a suit, looking like a lunatic / And we all fall down, there’s not enough hours in a trip

Growing up Jewish on the east side of Manhattan, our family went to the theatre. I’ve always had a soft spot for 1960s Broadway musicals. I’ve always wanted to do a modern take on A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

The musical tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The plot displays many classic elements of “farce,” including puns, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class. The title derives from a line often used by vaudeville comedians to begin a story:

“A funny thing happened on the way to the theater.”

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Inn í þig / (ÞAð er) svo gott að vera (hér) / En stoppa stutt við

Ég flýt um í neðarsjávar hýði / (Á hóteli) / Beintengdur við rafmagnstöfluna / (Og nærist)

Tjú, tjú / Tjú, tjú

En biðin gerir mig (leiðan) / Brot (hættan) sparka frá mér (og kall á) / Ég verð að fara (hjálp)

Tjú, tjú, tjú / Tjú, tjú, tjú / Tjú, tjú, tjú, tjú, tjú

Ég spring út og friðurinn í loft upp

Much of what I love about music is beyond explanation—magical. Somehow a song can bring me back to a place and time. I’m not too sure who hipped me to Sigur Rós. Funny, it might have been Beck. It was around the time I was his A&R man. I remember Sigur had a small slot at Coachella. I was excited to see them.

I remember it was a beautiful warm spring night in the desert. In truth, I was a bit surprised to come upon Jónsi, a skinny boy singing to a small crowd. My posse of beautiful festival friends I dragged across the field—we were totally interested in the textures and sound of this music. I believe I told them to meet me at the bar in the VIP.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

You picked me up / Oh, yes you did / When nobody else would / I know you did / And you did things / For me, my baby / That nobody else could / I know you did

It’s another hot one here in LA. Actually at 90 degrees, we’re on a cooling trend. After two short weeks it’s like…I’m getting my pencils sharped and notebooks organized for a busy, busy fall. The trick is to be happily working away. Honestly those summer cucumbers and watermelon help.

Per tradition, September marks the beginning of school and triggers the time for young bands to release new songs. So, with that in mind…

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I met a girl who sang the blues / And I asked her for some happy news / But she just smiled and turned away / I went down to the sacred store / Where I’d heard the music years before / But the man there said the music wouldn’t play

And in the streets, the children screamed / The lovers cried and the poets dreamed / But not a word was spoken / The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most / The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost / They caught the last train for the coast / The day the music died

I guess one could say, “Any day is a good day to release a new song.”

Honestly, I’m a bit stumped on what to report this week. I did give a nod and a wink at this week’s stack of new vinyl. This Idelic Hour set shows that even in dark times, music thrives.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

The dancing days of late summer are here!

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

We’re bound to wait all night / She’s bound to run amok / Invested enough in it, anyhow / To each his own / The garden needs sorting out / She curls her lips on the bow / I don’t know if I’m dead or not / To anyone

Come on and get the minimum / Before you open up your eyes / This army has so many heads / To analyze / Come on and get your overdose / Collect it at the borderline / And they want to get up in your head

‘Cause they know and so do I / The high road is hard to find / A detour in your new life

I guess we never really know where we “land.” On any day, really, anything. For today, I’m gonna try to enjoy a summer’s day. I’ll keep drinking specialty coffee, eating cucumbers and melon.

Uncle Barry is in town and he’s taking us to a Dodgers game.

This bunch of songs is a bit all over the place. Bunch of new jams, a few from 2010, an ’80s or two, and a couple of oldies in dedication to love birds hearing wedding bells.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I’m a sailor on this dark and dreadful sea / And I need courage just the same as you need me / And I’ve been fishing for a cup of sympathy / But I keep getting waves that just won’t let me be

And I’m gonna be late getting home tonight / If the tide won’t come in / And I’ll be tired from the journey / But I’ll be seeing you again / Thank God for you and me and the deep, deep blue sea

It’s a hot August day. I’m back from my trip, jet lagged, happily working away, eating cucumbers and watermelon.

Here’s a bunch of new songs I’ve been peeping and a few oldies. Hi to all who have shown me their warmth and affection.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Now that you’ve found your paradise / This is your kingdom to command / You can go outside and polish your car / Or sit by the fire in your Shangri-la / Here is your reward for working so hard / Gone are the lavatories in the back yard / Gone are the days when you dreamed of that car / You just want to sit in your Shangri-la

Put on your slippers and sit by the fire / You’ve reached your top and you just can’t get any higher / You’re in your place and you know where you are / In your Shangri-la / Sit back in your old rocking chair / You need not worry, you need not care / You can’t go anywhere / Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la

Nothing is ever truly perfect than a sunny, clear Friday morning in July. Well, let’s call it pretty fucking good. The weather in LA these past few weeks has actually been pretty ideal. Today we’re as lucky as we’ll let ourselves feel. Jonah went surfing with friends. Kid is turning 16 next weekend. I tired to take his photo but he said no and shushed me into the house for fear his buddies would see old rocker dad.

Meanwhile I’m absolutely over the moon to share my daughter’s new music project L’ESPIRAL. Over the past couple of years I’ve watched and listened to my lil “wild flower” turn her poems into songs and become quite the singer. Today’s debut release is a cover celebrating the one year anniversary of Sinéad O’Connor’s passing. Maybe it’s the Sidel way of ushering in a new “season of the witch.” Our country, our planet, needs you (females) to take charge!

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Sous aucun prétexte / Je ne veux / Avoir de réflexes / Malheureux / Il faut que tu m’expliques / Un peu mieux / Comment te dire adieu

Mon cœur de silex / Vite prend feu / Ton cœur de pyrex / Résiste au feu / Je suis bien perplexe / Je ne veux / Me résoudre aux adieux

Je sais bien qu’un ex-amour n’a pas de chance, ou si peu / Mais pour moi un explication vaudrait mieux

Can you guess where I am?

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Kelly watch the stars / Kelly watch the stars / Kelly watch the stars / Kelly watch the stars / The stars the stars the stars

Feeling pretty swell today. Why not keep it simple on a summer’s day? As I get older, I’ve found that often less is really more. With song lyrics too, well, with Bobby Zimmerman and a stack of others being the exception.

Flipping through crates, I happened to stumble on a copy of Air’s Moon Safari. I hear the French duo is touring this fall. Well, in any case, “watching the stars,” fishing, or in my case, driving my kid to the ball park—those simple things of summer seem to be working for me, at least for today.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Everybody’s looking at me / Feeling paranoid inside / When I step outside I’ll feel free / Think I’ll find a place to hide

Tell me people, am I going insane, insane? / Tell me people, am I going insane, insane?

Today I’m in a pretty good summer mood, hanging in my canyon garage office listening to cool new bands and old favorites. I was cool to see my Instagram feed fill up with old friends on stage at Ozzy’s farewell show in Birmingham.

I’ve lived a lifetime listening to Sabbath. Last Saturday, I paid my respects by listening to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage back to back.

It brought me back to staying up late as a kid to watch Cal Jam on ABC’s In Concert. Even at the age of 13, I realized this group was for me. And so were rainbows and California!

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Time for livin’, time for givin’ / No time for makin’ up a monster to share / Time for livin’, time for givin’ / No time for breakin’ our own fairytale

Ain’t, ain’t, ain’t nobody’s got to spell it for me / Ooh, ain’t nobody got to yell, I can see / Ain’t nobody got to think, I can hear / But if I have to, I will yell in your ear / Aah, ooh

Where did June go? Did summer jump the gun?

Most of you know I became hooked on rock ‘n’ roll at a young age. Along the way, I’ve experienced several “magical moments.”

To be “astonished” has kept me on my journey. Like this moment, I reposted on Facebook.

I remember as a kid in NYC when twenty thousand people and I simultaneously realized we were in a room with The Rolling Stones on stage playing “Honky Tonk Woman.” Reflecting on that moment, that feeling of shared group adulation, brought tears to my eyes.

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Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Kiss me hard before you go / Summertime sadness / I just wanted you to know / That, baby, you the best

I got my red dress on tonight / Dancin’ in the dark, in the pale moonlight / Done my hair up real big, beauty queen style / High heels off, I’m feelin’ alive

Oh my God, I feel it in the air / Telephone wires above are sizzlin’ like a snare / Honey, I’m on fire, I feel it everywhere / Nothin’ scares me anymore (one, two, three, four)

As a New Yorker, I first came to California for college. I showed up with a green duffle bag and a banged-up surfboard I bought in East Hampton. I grew up spending my summers on the beaches of eastern Long Island and returned there for summer break my first few years of college. At the end of my senior year, I stayed in LA. That was 40 years ago. My first California summer was “endless.”

Like a midsummer’s night dream, I guess? All said, there’s no doubt that we change our listening habits with the change of the seasons. There are songs about summertime and summertime hits. On the eve of the solstice, I felt like listening to artists and songs that reek of summer.

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