California Love #9: Tool > Aenima

I'm off to Los Angeles this weekend, heading down with a friend to go check out the new Largo location. Jon Brion is playing, it should be pretty cool.

In any case, the LA trip brings me to another song about California, Tool's Aenima. From what I know, this song is based on part of a Bill Hicks routine about how he hates Los Angeles. Part of the song refers to Arizona Bay, which is what might be left if California fell into the ocean. Arizona Bay is also the title of an album by Bill Hicks.

The singer calls LA a "great big neon distraction" and warns listeners that they'd best "learn to swim", as he is hoping for the big one to hit. My favorite part is his rant about the Los Angeles inhabitants.

Fuck L Ron Hubbard and Fuck all his clones. Fuck all those gun-toting Hip gangster wannabes. Learn to swim. Fuck retro anything. Fuck your tattoos. Fuck all you junkies and Fuck your short memory. Learn to swim. Fuck smiley glad-hands With hidden agendas. Fuck these dysfunctional, Insecure actresses. Learn to swim. Cuz I'm praying for rain and I'm praying for tidal waves I wanna see the ground give way. I wanna watch it all go down.

I don't know. I joke about hating LA quite a bit, but I really don't care in all honesty. I wouldn't want to see it obliterated like in the song, LA has its charms, and I suspect that Tool might be being a bit cheeky since they are still based there. It's still a great song, though, so check it out if you're unfamiliar with it.

Tool > Aenima