“All of a sudden I feel very old and very tired. Maybe when I get to California, the smog, brush fires, floods, and earthquakes will cheer me up.”
- Erma Bombeck
I've had the same experience in Texas, Idaho and Nashville. Some person of persons will say something along the lines of: "This place used to be great, but it's different now since all those people from California started moving here." From 2010 to 2024, 10 million people left California for other states - kind of a reverse gold rush. Take your pick as to the reasons why.
Music-wise, California is rich, rich, rich, or has been, anyway.
Best Band: I wave the white flag on this. Think about it: The Eagles, Creedence, Van Halen, Journey, Guns and Roses,The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Green Day, Metallica, The Mamas and the Papas, Toto, Blink-182, Sly & the Family Stone, The Bangles, The Dobie Brothers, The Byrds, Stone Temple Pilots, Counting Crows, Merele Haggard, The Go-Gos, Huey Lewis and the News, America, Jane's Addiction, Motley Crew, Three Dog Night, Audioslave, The Wallflowers, Cracker, Tonic ,Toad the Wet Sprocket, Jefferson Airplane…I can't go on and I can't pick.
Best Solo Artist: Just for kicks, I'll bypass the sane and obvious choice, Merle Haggard, and say Jackson Browne. It's quite a resume he has, plus, he wrote These Days when he was 16 and that kinda seals the deal for me. His Running on Empty album brings back good memories from a summer long ago and that sort of thing carries greater weight as the years go by.
Wildcard: Concrete Blonde. They were a post-punk, alternative band from Hollywood fronted by Johnette Napolitano on vocals and bass. Their 1990 album Bloodletting earned high marks with me. Haunting, melodic and muscular songs elevated by Napolitano's distinctive vocals made it one of my most memorable records of the 90s.