CSI: Miami
I can’t remember ever seeing an episode of CSI: Miami, but I distinctly remember seeing the opening credits to CSI: Miami. They freaking nailed it.
Seriously, what a perfect song choice for the intro. You know the song. It goes, DA-NUHHHHHHHHHHHH DUN DUN… YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Yeah, you know it. I’ll tell you anyway. It’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who, from their 1971 album, Who’s Next.
I wonder if I did the grammar right on that last sentence. Hm. Never mind - What’s even crazier is that while I was questioning the grammar I lost my track and as I paused, trying to remember my point, I got a notification from a headline about a new Alzheimer’s drug that’s been approved but is “still out of reach for many”. That’s the kind of coincidence that a pessimist could twist into a bad omen, but it’s 2023 now and hope and positivity are back in style so… not today, CNN.
What I was trying to say was, I love that intro. A team of criminal investigators, that “won’t get fooled again” - they tell you right there in the song. And yet, these bad guys keep trying to fool them. Every time! They never do, though. Classic TV.
That show came out in 2002 and I started listening to The Who around 2008 so I had about four good years of being like, “I love this song” whenever I heard it on tv. It was chill.
The song truly is epic, though. The synthesizer entrances you and transports you to a place without time and begins you on a revolutionary mission. You can’t tell anybody the moment you enter the flow, but all of a sudden you realize you’re in it and it carries your soul for a while. Declarative power chords, cascading bass lines, frantic drums, that ever developing synth… they fly you all the way up to that cathartic scream, that “yeah”. There, you emerge brand new, with your spirit revitalized and your transformation complete. Now you’re ready to kick ass. Rock ‘n’ roll.
At least, that’s what it does for me. So when Tanner asked me completely out of the blue if I wanted to go see The Who at the Hollywood Bowl on a Wednesday night about two months ago I was like “yeah that sounds cool.” I met Tanner and his cousin and his uncle at a parking lot where a shuttle picked us up and took us to the Bowl. I was looking forward to it but I had no idea what I was in for.
Peter Townshend is 77 years old. Roger Daltry is 78. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, seeing The Who play live in 2022 is one of the greatest, most glorious musical moments I have witnessed in my life. I watched them play songs from 50 years ago with a full symphony orchestra and for a moment my eyes welled up. I guess that’s the spirit of music, but there was something about seeing someone who’s having fun doing the thing they love to do and doing it for so long. Being able to create a moment like the one I was having for hundreds of thousands of people over five decades, and finding joy in that creation - it’s a testament to love and the power of art. All I could think about watching that show was how much fun it looked like they were having, windmilling on the guitar and singing at the top of their lungs, with 80 right around the corner, and how badly I hope to be able to do that at the Hollywood Bowl when I’m their age. When I get down on myself I try to remind myself to be grateful that I’m lucky enough to try to make that moment for myself every day.
So yeah, somebody at CSI: Miami picked a great song for that intro.