"Hotel California" isn’t a very cool song anymore, but try
telling the rest of the world that. In middle school my friend Alisa, told me her
Russian immigrant father’s favorite song was "Hotel California." I think I
mentioned this to my mom, she having been to an Eagles concert on a date one time, assured me it was not a very good song. My Dad told me he wasn’t allowed to listen to
it at Bible school because it’s about the Devil.
Then I didn’t think much about the Eagles for a long time; until
I studied abroad in Peru, where I learned that Germans like "Hotel California" even more than they like David Hasselhoff. In Lima I lived with two Germans,
three French kids, and two Koreans who all thought the Eagles were America’s best
export. And that our Peruvian friends who came over were inclined to agree.
Before I arrived in Thailand, I had no idea how much of my
life would be karaoke. Thais love karaoke and I'm encouraged to participate in the etiquette-free display of self-indulgence as often as possible. Being well acquainted with karaoke rules of conduct stateside - where singing Free Bird or some song nobody knows is practically a criminal offense- I wanted to cater my song selection to my Thai audience. I had a hunch "Hotel California" just might be a hit. Incidentally, it was such a hit, I got a standing ovation and chance to sing, "My Heart Will Go On."
I’m actually listening to "Hotel California" right now, still trying
to understand its foreign appeal. My best guess is that the melody line is easy
to sing and California is the coolest place non-Americans can think of. In
Thailand when I say I’m from the US people say, "oh do you live in California" and I
say no I live in the north, “functionally, I live in Canada” And then no one
cares. I guess that’s why there’s no internationally iconic karaoke ballad called, “Hotel
Toronto.”
