Music & People Scene In D.C.

I've glorified D.C. Now for the criticism. My second week in D.C., someone was shot and killed one block away. Police put yellow tape to block off our road. That's the "good area". Then, a few days ago, at the place where I work, just outside, a regular patron had their teeth punched in and broken. The alley where this was done is the site of a recent murder as well. And the closer to the White House you get, at night, the better ones chances of meeting a hooker are. But my reeeeaaaal complaint?

The music scene. Now maybe I don't know where to go yet, and I think I've remedied this problem as of 1 a.m. last night, but I was disheartened before that golden hour. In Portland, there really are some decent musicians. I've found a few very good jazz musicians here, but little else. I took the good music in P-town for granted. In D.C., however, it seems quite a few people don't want to admit the art & music scene is lacking, as if it's a personal reflection on their worth (especially if they're an artist) or choice of town. This one woman, very exotic and freakish, with an artsy streak and an artery for drama, got all over me when I dared say such a thing, yelling at me in jerky gestures, with an exaggerated Russian accent, that I didn't know the shit about art and maybe it was because I missed all of the velvet posters with marijuana leaves and the dirty weed dealers wearing tie-die shirts and making lumpy clay figurines out, because, she said, what would I know about art, coming from Portland, Oregon? I have to be easy on her though, because she's quite talented. She has not only a steady boyfriend, and they remain committed to one another despite their constant cheating on eachother, she has a few sugardaddies her boyfriend doesn't even mind. That video of Mr. Brightside? She's the woman with the apple, sitting by the old man and the younger, but the difference is that they're not fighting for her affections--they're sharing them. I guess she has old men who feed her and care for her and see to it her needs are met, and that she does drug dealing on the side. She's also the daughter of some former Russian ambassador (correction: he ran for President in Russia at one time), and was held hostage in her country, and kidnapped more than once. So I have to be easy on her, because she does have genuine anxiety issues, and mood swings, but who can really blame her? At least she speaks her mind. She got jealous of her boyfriend talking to me and told him she told him not to speak "to theeeese sheeet" and motioned towards me. He humbly obliged, head hanging down in a fallen nod. She can get away with it because she's drop dead beautiful, face and figure, and without any make-up on. If this woman were ugly, she's be on the street holding out a can for change.

So anyway, it's easy to offend in this town. This other woman fancied herself a clothing or jewelry designer.

The truth is, and discerning ears know, this is NOT the town for good new bands and music. I went to a venue last night and was so disappointed...the worst part was that the people at the bar really seemed to enjoy it. They were even buying CDs, saying it was good music to chill to. It was teerrible. I mean, on the verge of falling apart altogether without synocopation, rhythm wasn't tight, and the lyrics were awful. The raping went something like this: "I tell you I'm on the make/your mama got cake/bake me a fake one for yo daddy's wake/oh! need a shake now, chocolate is nice, cinnamon and sppiiiice/rub it on your body like a soy sauce on rice..."

I think, actually, that what I just wrote is probably better, although I must be hungry. It was awful and I was looking at this tight room, with tables filled with people, and felt very sad. Sort of incredulous. I was looking around the room for signs of boredom, to find someone who felt the same way. Then I wasted my whole fucking night talking to some guy from Canada who said he had applied to CSIS (Canada's version of the CIA) and was rejected, and that he was an ENTJ, and played the piano . On paper, he should have been interesting. In reality, he was a terrible bore. I said we should get together and jam but he said he played classical, which I said could be cool. A lot of rock stars play classical first, or are classically trained... and then admitted it was actually the pipe organ. He played the pipe organ for church. I was still trying to work with it. I said it could be interesting experimentally. He tells me he doesn't do improv. I should have dropped him there, but I wasted my night away talking to him, and he said he was in a policy program at Georgetown. Policy should be interesting too, right? The guy even frickin' knew about Christopher Hitchens and his waterboarding experiment. Perfect on paper. I went with him and his group, more policy people, to a bar that was very dull. We sat at a table and if they had at least talked about policy it could have been interesting, but it was just a half hour of generalities. The most interesting guy was a guy from India who was studying International policy, and he was at least somewhat witty of his own accord. Canada-man was witty when he made an effort to be but it was this apparent effort that made you feel like you had to laugh at the cue. He was studying policy for foreign trade and he part Croatian. I met him while he was waiting at the bar to order a drink, for over a half hour. After he told me he had tried to get into the Canadian CIA, I said, as he still stood without a drink and the bartenders kept ignoring him, even when he was waving his money out in front... I said, "Man, they totally fucked up. You would have been a GREAT spy--No one even sees you!" To which he laughed and said he didn't know how to take that. "Yeah, I'm invisible he said."

Now, these people were nice, and I could tell they were very intelligent. But witty dinner companions they were NOT. No one ribbed the other person. I thought to myself that these people could all be CIA employees and I wouldn't give a shit. They were boring the hell out of me, so I left. I also thought, "There is no way that guy is an ENTJ". I don't know.

How someone is on paper is sometimes different from what is reality. I'm much more boring in person, I think, until someone gets to know me. I write all my crazy exciting thoughts on paper but I'm very mellow in person.

At any rate, I was disappointed. I left, wondering if there would be anyone left at the other bar we'd come from. I ran into some people on the corner, hipsters, who sympathized with my need for good music and art, and they gave me a whole list of places to go. Also gave me their email so they're going to keep me informed. They said some of the better bands are hitting it on "H" street downtown, towards the WH. Also said the BlackCat was excellent last night. I wish I'd been there. I heard the dancing was good.

It's just hard to find good DJs, good music, and good art around here. Most people are here for politics and civil rights and international stuff, which is cool, but the other end is lacking a little bit. So then you have the self-defined "hipsters" and I guess, as it turns out, I'm one of them, because a hipster is, I guess, someone with taste. Well, with good taste in art and music. I don't really dress like a hipster but it's difficult to make trendy styles last as long as classic lines when you're on a budget. However, I do have a fucking ear for music and art, and I guess this makes me part of the hipster set. In P-town, I don't remember needing to be part of a set to be acknowledged or included as one who knows what the hell art is supposed to be. And there were some hipsters at the first venue who seemed to be enjoying themselves so maybe they were visual artists and/or deaf.

I guess if I'm to fit the part, which I already do, I'll have to look the part. A fucking hipster at 33. This is so sad.

I'll have to check out more of the jazz too. If jazz is good, maybe I can find someone who would be interesting in having me sing along for Diana Krall ballads.

As for my last romantic sort-of interest, he is so screwed up. But at least he wasn't boring.

He was, and is not, boring.

Good for me? No, probably not. But not boring.

I realized, with the policy maker group, that, they said, one can get into policy without going to law school. But the kind of policy I'm interested in, is with regard for the justice system. I want to change the justice system. So for that, law school is good. They were suggesting international law because it's humanitarian and you discover how to apply another countries models to our own. Sounds like something to explore at least. However, after last night, I decided law school was better for me than policy programs. At least in law school I might meet some risk-taking types and alcoholics. Those policy people are very conservative.

As for music, I like all kinds, but I like GOOD music of all kinds. Post punk, hip-hop, rap, experimental, jazz, alternative rock...