Drinking in L.A.



I'm am officially no longer 26, and I feel old. This song was the anthem for my friends and I. The rare song that everyone discovered on their own and agreed that this would represent us for our male bonding purposes. I was going to dissect it and delve into the lyrics and the song and band history, but fuck that. There is only one section I'm concerned with here.

Feeling kind of groovy
Working on a movie (yeah right)
But we did nothing,
Absolutely butkus that day
But I say
What the hell am I doing Drinking in L.A.
At twenty six?

This is an accurate representation of how I spent 26. Did I really get anything done? No, but it was a good year. The song is all about wasting time but holding on to that dream and there are moments when you're plugging away and you wonder if it's all worth it or not.

At the end of the day, all I've really done is drank in L.A., both literally and figuratively. Now that 26 has past and I've moved into that golden age where legends dare not pass (think Kurt Cobain), I realize I'm getting old. Twenty six seems like the age when it's last acceptable to wander aimlessly and all the truths of the real world hit home.

Has any else felt this?

I'll keep listening to this song, but it is now less an anthem, and more a reminder of what's past. The carefree days of just drinking in L.A.

3 comments:

Stroker Ace said...

Good post. That pretty much encapsulates how most people feel at this age. Though to be fair, I think that after every birthday I think to myself 'OK, this age is when people are supposed to start getting their act together.' I feel like when I'm 60 I'll look back on my entire 20s and wonder why I sweated the small stuff so much.

While I love this song, I only listen to it twice a year - as I roll over the last mountain and the Las Vegas skyline comes into view. So for me this song is synonymous with Vegas. It gives me a vague anticipatory hangover feeling, actually.

Matt G said...

Drive around LA (Venice, West Hollywood, wherever) on a sunny Tuesday at about 1:20 pm with the window down and a warm breeze when you're not in a hurry to be anywhere and the song takes on a whole meaning.

It's this weird balance that has to take place where you're comfortable in your own skin and with your place in the world.

deepcomputerblue said...

http://deepcomputerblue.blogspot.com/2008/05/it-finally-happened.html

it's weird how such a relatively meaningless pop song can have such an impact on a group of friends. this song, through random chance and sheer coincidence, has effectively changed my life and now, ten years after the fact, i am completely ok with that.

-d