And all of western civilization
The sun may rise in the east
At least it settles in the final location
It’s understood that hollywood
Sells californication.




Living in the suburbs has really left me sympathetic to this music, to these images and ideas.
Especially these days, and for my age group- images and clichés of California are so important and popular (think, The OC, Laguna Beach, MTV in general) This Red Hot Chili Peppers song may not be the highest artistic achievement of the 21st century, but it is important- it gives voice to a kind of post-modernist california-philia, something which i think Baudrilliard expressed to a much greater degree decades ago.

The endless, zone-less sprawl of suburbia is part of this californication (a term which i believe was first used by the city of Portland in their wise (if belated) attempts at zoning restrictions)- the companies, the cars, the asphalt parking lots and strip malls, the social organizations even to the mannerisms and tastes of a generation, shaped by Hollywood’s self-marketing and self-aggrandizement. Has Hollywood culture ran through so many ideas that the only thing left is to start glamorizing the world just outside their production rooms? Its sunny and warm, there are those beautiful palm trees and botox faces galore- why not?

excuse my writing, i blame it on the mango rum and the late hour.