It came from the Post Office

"Black bandana, sweet Louisiana, hmm hmm hmm blah blah blah blah, California rescue me...." That would be Dani California from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. My 5 year old, Ian, loves it....and I'm beyond baffled on how he learned it. Not the the Chili Peppers are in the same category as Slipknot, but we don't let the kids listen to anything except Radio Disney, so how did he pick up a RHCP song?

The answer: It came from the post office!!

No lie. I think it was the post office. Either that or Anthony Keidis quit the band, got hired as a VPK teacher in Tampa, taught the kids the words to Dani California as a form of viral marketing to the younger crowd, quit the VPK gig, then got rehired as the singer of the Chili Peppers, all in a matter of 24 hours. It could have gone down that way...or...

Back the theory #1, the post office. The post office by the airport plays music in their main lobby. I never noticed until I heard Weird Science by Oingo Boingo, a couple weeks ago. I laughed because I imagined someone telling Danny Elfman in 1984..."hey, your song will be blaring in a post office lobby in 2010". Danny, heavy on the eyeliner, would respond with something vulgar and continue writing the band's other hit, Dead Man's Party.

Since that day, I've noticed lots of songs I never thought I'd hear at a post office, such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood "Relax" and Jill Sobule "I Kissed a Girl". It's the 80s channel - should be safe, right? Like contraception, only about 99% of the time. Someone must have said something, because now, the mix of music is newer and more pop alternative, like Nickelback/Lifehouse/Dave Matthews/etc. Wouldn't that format play a number of songs from the Red Hot Chili Peppers? And since it was a hit, do you think that Dani California be one of those? The defense rests. Pre-kids, I made fun of businesses that played Lite Rock...now, I welcome it, because I don't want to have to ask my 5 year how he learned the lyrics to Poison "Talk Dirty to Me", another fine post office classic.

Until next time, buh bye.