Live from the Left Coast

...or, to be more precise, from a Starbucks on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. We'll keep updating as long as we can score WiFi connections along Highway 1 but for now let's take this opportunity to sum up our Coachella Festival experience this past weekend as being "off the hook."

"Off the hook," as we learned by speaking to the youngsters at the Festival, is Gen Y's (or Gen Z's or Gen AA's) "rad" new way of saying "keen" or "groovy" or "the cat's pajamas." It's most commonly used in such statements as "M.I.A. is going to be off the hook!" Or "New Order was off the hook!" Or "There is no way in fucking hell that Keane can even remotely be off the hook."

Now, when we Gen Xers were in high school, "off the hook" was best known as a desperate rationalization for why we had not received a personal call for upwards of five freakin' months. But given today's new face of telecommunication--what with all the wireless and cordless and cellular and, uh, pointed shouting--clearly the phrase had to be redefined. True, "off the hook" can also be defined as "relieving one of their obligations," but today's kids apparently strongly believe in responsibility--whether it be moral, personal or fiscal--and so are not so quick to use the remark in such a forgiving manner. Of course, "off the hook" can also be employed in such everyday statements as "Your straw boater fell off the hook" or "I just grabbed a hunk of raw meat off the hook" but then we enter a semantics debate that won't soon end so best that we just share some of our photos from Coachella instead. Enjoy.


Gang of Four


The Futureheads


New Order


Wilco


Performance at the Drum Sphere


Carol Representin' "Off the Hook" Jowdy! Wear