Strike!

I feel like I need to wrap things up somehow; to sum up for you and myself the results of the summer.

But the thing is that after my first two college summers, there WAS something to wrap up; some summing to be done. Because they were over, they were finished, and no matter how bad I wanted to (which was a lot), I could never continue them.

But this time? This time is different because it is going to continue. Whether it continues in Los Angeles, with a New Media department, or at a record label is still up in the air, but what’s for sure is that it will still be indie, glam, cutthroat, and more wonderful than words can ever explain.

Most important part of the summer: realizing that I CAN and WILL be able to make a living doing exactly what I love.

But on a more entertaining and less depressing note, here you go:
Top 5 moments/adventures of the summer:
1. "Hi, I’m Pouyan:" Having my favorite keyboardist introduce himself to me.
2. "Wanna sleep on our floor?:" Riding in a band’s tour van to a closed beach, jumping the barrier and playing in the Pacific for an hour in the middle of the night.
3. "Know what I like about you? You eat like a dude:" The amazing guys I worked with every day.
4. "MEET ME AT RAINBOW ROOM!:" The lead singer of some band pulling me into pictures with him for Dutch Esquire at Viper Room when I was the only sober one at the club.
5. "Do you want a drink or something?:" Meeting pretty much every screamo, emo, and punk band on the scene at the first two dates of Warped Tour and the countless cheap shows I managed to get into.
The two music videos I was in, the all-access passes to countless shows, the phone calls to random Immortal bands and the awesome unreleased mixes I listened to everyday don’t even make the cut.

The one thing this summer had in common with every other one was that there was a very specific soundtrack to summer ‘07, all of which I will never be able to listen to again without thinking of this summer...

Side A: Songs I Can’t Sit Still While Listening To:
Scary Kids Scaring Kids– Darkest Hour (This makes the list because even though it’s old, I found myself re-enacting the video with the other label interns every time we went anywhere. Shotgun!)
Halifax– Snow In Hollywood (I never saw snow in Hollywood, but I did see an awful lot of great bands play there.)
Family Force 5– Replace Me (The band has a guy in it named Crouton, which is enough to generally make me not listen to them, but this one’s awfully catchy.)
Aiden– One Love (Oh, come on. Everyone needs more pop goth in their lives.)
Love Hate Hero– Amity (My current pet band. And the remix is somehow even better.)
The Receiving End Of Sirens– Planning A Prison Break (What is wrong with a jailbreak, baby?)
Blaqk Audio– Stiff Kittens (I spent most of the summer counting down the release of this album. I really am a 15-year-old skater boy at heart.)
Knights Are Coming– Sex City (This song is amazing because I think it’s meant to be serious, but the lyrics make it such a joke I’m not sure.)
Emarosa– Casablanca (They slept on the rock star couch, I had to include this one.)
Funeral For A Friend– Reunion (Brit punk pop goes... to Southern California?)
The Academy Is...– We’ve Got A Big Mess On Our Hands (Suck up your FBR and skinny-boy objections, they were good before anyone knew it.)
Against Me!– Thrash Unreal (I was in the video. Enough said.)
Shiny Toy Guns– You Are The One (Reminds me of The Sounds, who obviously are amazing)
A Heartwell Ending– Medicated Kisses (Try to listen and not sing.)
Bonus Secret Hidden Track: Scary Kids Scaring Kids– Faces (SAIL AWAY THESE FACES! I was in this video too. My messenger bag makes a more prominent appearance than I do.)

Side B: Ubersweet Really Chill Indie Rock Ballads I Secretly Wish Were Written About Me:
Boys Like Girls– Thunder Acoustic (Other than this song, they are a pretty silly band, but this one makes up for the shallowness.)
Cartel– The Minstrel’s Prayer (ATL, represent!)
Ryan Adams– La Cienega Just Smiled (Not new and definitely not about a girl, but as a Southern-California-first-timer, the whole idea took on new meaning.)
Plain White T’s– Hey There Delilah (To put it in the words of my former boss, this guy set the bar higher for ugly guys playing guitar everywhere.)
Mayday Parade– Jersey (With an album called ‘A Lesson In Romantics,’ did you really expect them NOT to make this list?)
The National– Abel (Is amazing, and thus even though it’s old, completely deserves this list.)
Rock Kills Kid– I Turn My Camera On (I’m not sure who did this song first, but Rock Kills Kid does an awfully good version)
The Get Up Kids– I’ll Catch You (Not new, but I saw New Found Glory twice in the last six months on two different continents completely by accident both times, and I totally wish I was the one being caught, so it qualifies for this list.)
Hot Rod Circuit– Stateside (shouldn’t really count as either chill or a ballad, but I still wish I was the "crazy girl" for whom Andy Jackson pines... And to whom he brings a half gallon of milk.)

*I don’t like Cold War Kids and I am going to quit pretending like I do.
I don’t think anyone TRULY likes Bright Eyes, and I am tired of everyone acting like he is the reigning king of indie music. I’ll say what everyone else is afraid to: Pete Yorn is better.
There. Now that I’ve lost all taste points forever, if you still want to be my friend, MySpace me or something, because I miss you.

And the lessons? Well, here’s a quick snapshot:
1. No matter how hard you work, sometimes it will never be good enough. Particularly when you’re told to find a dozen vintage metal non-matching lunchboxes with 45 minutes notice on a Thursday in June.
2. If they’re talking about everyone else TO you, they’re probably talking about YOU to everyone else.
3. Ask and you shall receive. Be a good intern and you don’t have to ask.
4. Treat every phone call like they’re your new best friend and you’ll end up with contacts that last longer than the job.
5. Be honest about your feelings; chances are you are less transparent than you think anyway... [Why, at the age of 21, do I still find myself handling those questions by ducking and blushing instead of being able to shrug and tell the truth?]

So things are kind of left hanging, which sucks because for the next two semesters, my life is in the balance and I have no idea where I’ll end up. But maybe it rocks... because no doors were shut, so when it’s time to go back, I’ve got options... and things and people and situations waiting for me.

I miss California, I’ll miss the free schwag, the calling of the rock stars, the drama, the glamour, the glitter, the CD release parties, list concerts, wristbands, phone calls, new friends, new awkwardness, random compliments, random rock stars, awesome job, and perhaps most of all...
you.

So stay in touch. MySpace. Email. Text. Phone, if you want... I don’t really care. But for heaven’s sake, don’t take all this away from me now.

To put it in the words of Mayday Parade, "Oh, Cali is calling, and I'm never going back to Georgia, not at least till I have to..."
~Mayday Blair