Today’s history lesson:Scott Hawthorne of Canyon Country...

Today’s history lesson:

Scott Hawthorne of Canyon Country was sitting near a juke box when a young man in his 20s began to examine the play list.

“Do you like Spanish music?” the young man asked.

“I like all kinds of music,” Hawthorne replied. “As Louis Armstrong said, ‘There’s only two kinds of music: good and bad.’ ”

Puzzled, the young man asked: “Was he the one that walked on the moon?”

BLIMEY: As part of our Angelenos-abroad series, you may recall that we last brought you a set of dueling signs snapped by Superior Court Judge Lance Ito while on vacation in Israel. Next up, we have Roger Barkley, the witty radio personality. While in London, Barkley took a photo of a warning that the locals obviously consider rubbish.

SPINOFF? Paul Moshay of Van Nuys photographed adjacent signs in East L.A. that he hopes are not related.

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL: Art Fein is writing a second edition of his “L.A. Musical History Tour” and asks if readers know of any ‘90s rock stars who attended local high schools. (We can’t name any ‘90s rock stars, period.)

Fein wondered specifically about the 26-year-old singer who goes by the name of Beck. We checked and found Beck told The Times’ Steve Hochman that he dropped out of school after junior high. Beck, who has a frail build, explained, “I woulda got my ass kicked in high school.”

MORE ANGELIC? A partial picture of life in L.A. in the 19th century can be deduced by a report of the arrests for a one-year period, published by The Times. Our thanks to Ralph Shaffer, a history professor emeritus at Cal Poly Pomona, for alerting us.

Covering Nov. 1 1884 to Oct. 1885, the list breaks down arrests for violent crimes this way: robbery (36), assault with a deadly weapon (20), assault with intent to commit murder (17), threats to shoot (1), manslaughter (1) and attempted rape (1).

No arrests for murder or rape were listed, indicating that the City of Angels, population then perhaps 25,000, was a more heavenly place.

Or, perhaps, a lot of bad guys got away with their crimes. Shaffer notes that the police chief during that period was fired by the City Council for “incompetence.”

LIST OF THE DAY: Some of the other arrest totals for 1884-85:

* Drunk and disorderly, 558.

* Violating hitching ordinance, 20.

* Opium smoking, 12.

* Sick on street, 11.

* Vulgar language, 10.

* Boys out after midnight, 4.

* Keeping hogs in city, 3.

* Dealing fan tan (a card game), 2.

* Doorkeeping fan tan, 2.

And, finally, a category that may catch the eye of ex-Rep. Robert Dornan (R-Garden Grove):

* Illegal voting, 1.

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The New York Post reports that Malibuite John McEnroe is being sued by an artist whose exhibit was terminated at McEnroe’s gallery in Manhattan. The artist, Arthur Robins, alleges that McEnroe said of one of his works, “Who’s the artist that made that [expletive]?” Such language. It’s difficult to believe that McEnroe was once an astronaut.