Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Going Back to Cali

Woohoo! The last of the crew has finally come to his senses and committed to a return engagement. Coachella, here we come (again)!

There's something quite special about Coachella. Attending the festival last year was a life-altering experience.

I've always been rather obsessive about music, at least since the day in seventh grade when I discovered New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle." Before that, I listened to whatever was played on the radio, along with my sister's crappy Columbia House selections, which included the likes of Air Supply, Kenny Rogers and Bon Jovi. (Yeah, New Order rescued me just in time.)

I can't explain it, really. There was just something about "Bizarre Love Triangle" that sang to me. From there, the natural progression led me to Depeche Mode, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys and so forth. I quickly amassed quite the stack of CD's and 12" singles. (What your mom and dad call "vinyl.")

But something happened after I got out of law school and moved to New York. Perhaps law school killed my imagination. Who knows. In any event, I fell out of the loop. I used to buy at least a couple of CD's a month -- at least. And I'd scour the web and record shops relentlessly for that obscure new sound. After I got to New York and started working, I fell into a void and just lost touch.

Then I went to Coachella, and all was well again. It was as if I underwent a musical rebirth. I felt reconnected with the me of old.

Can't wait to go back.