WAIM Radio #049: California Dreamin' (Full Show)
On this week's episode, we take a long look westward toward the Golden State.
My massive west coast tour kicks off this week as I begin my way to the wild and wide Pacific Ocean and then back home. For roughly two weeks of my journey, I’ll be exploring a huge chunk of California, a place I have hardly even begun to see. To celebrate my extensive amount of time in the Golden State, I have compiled a full hour of songs all about the 31st state added to the Union.
This week on WAIM, we are California Dreamin’. But there is a catch, my friends. I didn't actually the song include “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas & Papas on the show inspire giving it that title. I figured, we all know and love that song already so why not save that three minutes for another choice. If you still feel wanting after the full hour of California sunshine I am about to bring you, feel free to pull that classic up on YouTube and listen again.
For the show itself, I compiled what is certainly one of the most musically diverse set of tunes in our first 49 episodes. Throughout the hour we explore the desert along an infamous stretch of highway, and we traverse the streets of Bakersfield in a pair of country classics. We spend time at the beach, gaze out at the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay, head up to the northern bit of the state for a pair of small town stops, and we do our best to find a chicken shack somewhere down on Ensenada. We’ve got country, classic pop, techno, hip hop, AM Gold, and even a dash of butt rock.
What sun baked classics would you add to the hour? Is there a tune that shouts California to your ears? Tell us all about it.
You can listen to the full show in the player above. Also be sure to check out the full tracklist to see everything that made the show.
Cheers,
Matty C
Love Best Coast's "The Only Place!" I forgot to mention that one is my own list of California songs.
I wrote one - "Californiagain" - about playing my first tour finally at age 47, not unlike what you've described so well in your substack, except only a week long. Hope I get to do more in future. Thank you for being an inspiration to keep trying! Video (with footage of tour) - https://youtu.be/D-IMcjQzF0A?si=Fogcy8PctzU1KdoR