HOLLYWOOD ROUND UP

Man, I've never been able to squeeze so much out of one short trip. I LIKE IT THAT WAY.

After we left the L.A. Philharmonic rehearsal at the Hollywood Bowl, we headed out to grab a quick Mexilunch (why can't I get horchata here? oh, right, I live in the Seattle suburbs). Following Todd's red Acura is similar to tracking an off-duty NASCAR driver.

Look! There's Capitol Records! I've been coming to L.A. for almost 30 years. Someone always says that, though. And then I take another picture, and go YUP.

I'm not a huge booster of people getting stars on Hollywood Boulevard. It doesn't seem like such a huge honor, does it Miss Vikki Carr, when you've got some tourist with crocs walking all over you.

Michael Jackson was our parking attendant.

I like the colorful look of this place, but it didn't seem exactly appropriate with the kids and all.

After getting full of beans, we drove over to the legendary SHEER AWESOMENESS of Amoeba Records, the largest independent music store in the entire WORLD. YAY!

Now, ladies and gents, I can tell you that I have sought out many a fine rekkid store in my day. These venues were always the very top of my priority list when traveling in the days when the interhoot was being created by Captain Kirk and MP3 was a trio of bayonet-wielding military police. I gotta tell you -- you simply MUST visit Amoeba when in L.A. I don't care WHAT you are looking for -- new, used, music, movies, movies about music, music about movies, posters, toys, rarities, clothes -- in every genre there is...Amoeba HAS IT. The sheer size of the place is just unreal. Here I am rifling through the small posters like a hungry demon.

Not only did they have the coolest stuff, but their prices were surprisingly cheap, too! I picked up a t-shirt, a New Wave-on-the-Tom-Snyder-Show DVD, and a DVD of music on the Dick Cavett Show for myself, and a reprint of an original King Kong movie poster and a Simpsons "Cletus" figure for MissSeven for under 60 bucks! I asked her why she wanted the King Kong poster so badly, as to my knowledge she has never seen the movie and has no idea what the story is about. Her answer: "King Kong is COOL!" OK, I said. It should look pretty good next to her Beatles poster and her own rather abstract child art there.

I was kind of surprised that the kids didn't really pour over the music like I thought they might, and then it occurred to me: they are not at all used to the idea of music coming to them in a physical way. For them, music arrives via the air: the car radio or digital files magically placed upon their respective iPods. They don't play records or CDs, don't hold them in their hands and read the liner notes or look at the photos or the artwork. They are the generation who will continue to drive streaming music. My passion for vinyl and that "feel" is as old to them as Victrolas and 78's were to me, maybe more. I try not to get too "well, in MY DAY..." on them. It's just the way things are, and there are many positives to the way they receive music too.

I got to chatting with the very nice young girl at the the Amoeba checkout (people like to chat with me; I must look safe or at least not psychotic) and she was kind enough to throw in some cool Amoeba swag into my bag along with a nice smile and well wishes for our trip. Do click on Amoeba's website link up there -- they also hold live shows, have free music downloads, and lots lots more cool stuff. LONG LIVE AMOEBA!

The kids were all ready to head back home for some chill time before Mr12 got to attend the Dodgers-Mets game that night (thanks for the tickets, Geoff!). He was so excited, and came back later that night all bubbly about the experience.

Ah, man. What fun!