Author Archives: Jon Sidel

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Been careless with my friends / Even harder on myself / There’s A few stars in the sky I’ve killed / Pieces of my heart broken off along the way / I’ve been a long way falling down.

Pretending I’m pretending that everything’s ok / So many masks I’m wearing my own face / I can feel my toes burning from my deeds along the way / Before you get up you’ve got to go down.

Indian summers are romantic here in our canyon. Nighttime feels darker while days are short, crisp, and bright. The sun appears from a different angle through the hills, disappearing like two lovers into the night.

Although Spring is associated with lovers, there is plenty of romance swimming in my head this week. Here, it’s a combo of celebration and cuddling up for a long winter.

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I’m so happy ’cause today I found my friends / They’re in my head / I’m so ugly, that’s okay, ’cause so are you / Broke our mirrors

Sunday morning is every day for all I care / And I’m not scared / Light my candles in a daze / ‘Cause I’ve found God / Yeah-yeah / Yeah-yeah

October 23 is one of my special days of the year. It was on this morning, many moons ago, my daughter came into being. It’s a weird thing to write, but having a child and being a parent is more mind-blowing than what I’ve referred to in this column as a “mind-blower” (IE: a once in a once-in-a-decade music moment).

Today is Zoe’s Day—truly as cool of a kid in every way I could have possibly imaged.

On a side note, Jonah stopped by the house. He walked into the kitchen and asked me, “Dad, have you hear of Alice In Chains?” Took out his phone and played me “Rooster.” “Dad, I’m thinking of using this as my ‘walk up song’.” (For when he walks to the mound to pitch.)

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

And I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel / You were famous, your heart was a legend / You told me again, you preferred handsome men / But for me you would make an exception / And clenching your fist for the ones like us / Who are oppressed by the figures of beauty / You fixed yourself, “You said well never mind / We are ugly but we have the music

I just returned from ten days on the East Coast, half of which I spent roaming the streets of “New York town,” the Apple, as my old man used to call it. The weather was immaculate, and for the most part, these songs were playing in my head.

The words of Bobby Dylan, LC, and Lou Reed. The buzzin of Johnny Ramones’s guitar, my Idelic soundtrack for a New Your City stroll.

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Daddy / Hold me / It seems so very dark tonight / And day

Daddy / I can’t sleep / I need you to come and sing to me / That the stars up in the sky / Will shine down gently on the two of us tonight / And soon enough it will be light / We’ll hold on tightly to each other, you and I / And I won’t cry

I’m calling today “Kenny’s day.” Four years ago to the day, my dad passed in Vegas. Losing my dad has been a mind-blowing experience. Please know it wasn’t a tragedy.

He passed as peacefully as Kenny could on an absolutely beautify day in the Las Vegas desert. An infamous stock broker and gambler, he died with likely not more than a few hundred dollars to his name. I can see him shrug and smiling at me saying, “I left it all on the table.”

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

The water’s wide / And I cannot cross over / Nor do I / Have wings to fly / Build me a boat / That could carry two / And both shall row / My love & I

There is a ship / And she sails the sea / She’s burdened deep / As deep can be / But not as deep / As the love I’m in / And I know not if / I sink or swim

“The Water is Wide” is my kind of soulful lyric. The song points to the challenges of love. At first glance, it’s a simple metaphor, but the longer you sing the tune, the deeper the meaning can go.

I gather that the song has been around for well over 100 years. It’s even older than my dear mom, who is visiting us this week for Jonah’s high school graduation.

Mom turned 90 last year. Elly, like all our family, seemed to get older this year. She likely doesn’t remember taking me to see a legendary Cat Stevens concert at Philharmonic Hall or the Sly & The Family Stone concert at Forrest Hills Tennis Stadium when I fell asleep in the bleachers and Sly pulled a no-show.

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Well, I ride on a mailtrain, baby / Can’t buy a thrill / Well, I’ve been up all night, baby / Leanin’ on the windowsill / Well, if I die / On top of the hill / And if I don’t make it / You know my baby will

Don’t the moon look good, mama / Shinin’ through the trees? / Don’t the brakeman look good, mama / Flagging down the “Double E?” / Don’t the sun look good / Goin’ down over the sea? / Don’t my gal look fine / When she’s comin’ after me?

Rocking through September. While I recover from my covid brain fog, I’m keeping it simple. Work, music, and watching sports on TV. The highlight of my week came in the form of a snapshot of an old fishing buddy.

In it was an old sailor named Bob who used to fish every Tuesday night on a tuna boat called The Condor. Those days at sea on The Condor with Bob, Sheriff, and the big Rondo were carefree and now precious—all of us loved being on the water in September and October.

Here’s to calm, warm waters and smiling fishermen.

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I’m so sick of T.V. / You know, I’m getting bored of the tube / I’m so sick of romance / And I’m gettin’ real sick of you

I wanna get on out of here / Find me somethin’ to do / Yeah, get on outta here / Just ain’t nothin’ to do

It’s crazy for me to think that we’re midway through September. Fuck me—but okay. It was a long, hot August, and Labor Day weekend was hot and seemed to go on for days. I spent that Saturday at the Rose Bowl watching Guns ‘N Roses. The band together, sounding big with Slash shredding on a mesmerizing amount of guitars!

After the show we spent hours hanging with Axel. I hadn’t hung with him in over 30 years. Funny how alot doesn’t change. Maybe, in this case, with the exception of how happy Axel has become. That’s cool.

Read More »

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.

Read More »

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…

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

On the path with my restless curiosity / Beyond life, before me / A passenger on no ordinary journey / It’s one of a kind, won’t get left behind

I’m floating on a moment, don’t know how long / No one knows, no one can stay / All going to nowhere (nowhere) / All going, make no mistake

I think this week’s Idelic Hour may have melted. Maybe it was just the DJ?

I’m a bit scared to check the garage. My crates of vinyl might resemble the wicked witch after a dip in the pool.

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes / Let them know you realize that life goes fast / It’s hard to make the good things last / You realize the sun doesn’t go down / It’s just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

On Tuesday, we dropped our youngest off at college—a new chapter for the Sidel family. I don’t know if I have a soundtrack for my thoughts and feelings this week. Excited, emotional, grateful, proud, and anxious as any parent would be. File under: Mindblower.

When I started playing records last night, the song that came to mind was “Rock On,” but I believe I dropped “Thunderwing” instead.

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I got a baby’s brain and an old man’s heart / Took eighteen years to get this far / Don’t always know what I’m talkin’ about / Feels like I’m livin’ in the middle of doubt

‘Cause I’m eighteen / I get confused every day / Eighteen, I just don’t know what to say / Eighteen, I gotta get away

It’s Friday, late morning, and I’m sitting in the dining area of our groovy pad in the canyon, having a late breakfast with my son Jonah. Last week, the kid turned 18. On Tuesday, he went off to college for his freshman year.

I’m not saying this is the last breakfast we’ll have together, but I was up late last night alone with my turntable and crate of old records, memories of turning 18, and dropping a needle on my worn copy Alice Cooper’s Greatest Hits.

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Well, I got up feeling so down / I got off being sold out / I’ve kept the movie rolling / But the story’s getting old now / Oh yeah

Well I just looked in the mirror / And things aren’t looking so good / I’m looking California / And feeling Minnesota / Oh yeah

So now you know / Who gets mystified / So now you know / Who gets mystified

Show me the power child, I’d like to say / That I’m down on my knees today / Yeah it gives me the butterflies, gives me away / ‘Til I’m up on my feet again

Our summer heatwave is here and so are my “summer lazies.” Last week I was so knocked around I couldn’t even spit an Idelic minute, let alone an hour.

Ultimately, LA is the coolest city to spend the summer in. The humidity is low, making summer nights relatively comfortable. As I flipped through my crates of melting vinyl, I felt urges for grunge, ’70s punk, oddballs, and a few new bits.

Read More »

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?

Read More »

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I’ll make you a deal, like any other candidate / We’ll pretend we’re walking home ’cause your future’s at stake / My set is amazing, it even smells like a street

There’s a bar at the end where I can meet you and your friend / Someone scrawled on the wall “I smell the blood of les tricoteuses” / Who wrote up scandals in other bars / I’m having so much fun with the poisonous people / Spreading rumours and lies and stories they made up

Some make you sing and some make you scream / One makes you wish that you’d never been seen / But there’s a shop on the corner that’s selling papier mache / Making bullet-proof faces, Charlie Manson, Cassius Clay / If you want it, boys, get it here, thing

This year’s summer heatwave finally made it to LA this week—it’s too hot to do much more than work and watch the World Cup. Tip of the hat to my poor Brit pals. I was pulling for them and knew that so many old friends were holding fast.

Luckily for me, I’m a UCLA grad and fan. Unlike most big universities, at least in my day, Bruin fans always took sports in stride. If we made it to a match, we enjoyed the sunshine more than the beer. A loss would be easily forgotten with a ride, pretty friends, and the top down on the way to the beach.

Read More »