INTRODUCTION Moorish-inspired homes in Atwater Village Atwater Village popped up on my radar soon after I'd moved to Los Angeles in 1999. My roommate with a job had found us an apartment just across the Los Angeles River in Silver Lake (Ivanhoe tract, to be exact) but we all frequently headed across the river — usually … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Atwater Village
Month: November 2014
Happy 30th, Criterion — May your next 30 be even better
Criterion is, without a doubt, the most loved video-distribution company in the video distribution game. No one (outside Korea) packages their films so beautifully and today they released a lovely, book (just in time for Christmas) of their "covers, supplemental art, and never-before-seen sketches and concept art" featured on their releases over the years called Criterion … Continue reading Happy 30th, Criterion — May your next 30 be even better
One album wonders: World of Twist’s Quality Street
WORLD OF TWIST - QUALITY STREET (1991) World of Twist are one of the greatest one album wonders, on par with The La’s and The Sex Pistols — if unfortunately much more obscure than either. Although they’ve been broken up for more than twenty years, their cult still remains small although it seems inevitable that … Continue reading One album wonders: World of Twist’s Quality Street
One album wonders: Shop Assistants’ Shop Assistants
In this week's installment of One Album Wonders, we look at the Scottish band, Shop Assistants. On the eve of the Scottish independence referendum they were officially named on of the Top 50 Scottish bands of all time (see Top 50 Scottish bands of all time). The band formed in Edinburgh in 1984, originally as Buba & The Shop … Continue reading One album wonders: Shop Assistants’ Shop Assistants
Urban Rambles — Exploring the area along Hoover and Virgil with Marvin
Los Angeles is often characterized as a city in which one simply cannot exist without a car. And yet, as the millions of Angelenos who bicycle, take public transit, or walk will tell you, driving a car is no way to get to know the city. Since Los Angeles County is even larger than the … Continue reading Urban Rambles — Exploring the area along Hoover and Virgil with Marvin
One Album Wonders: The Open Mind’s The Open Mind
THE OPEN MIND - THE OPEN MIND (1969) Around 1963, Putney-based musicians Mike "Mike Bran" Brancaccio (guitar), Phil Fox (drums), Timothy du Feu (vocals), and Ray Nye (bass) formed The Apaches, who recorded a demo with Joe Meek. Nye left the band and du Feu moved to bass after they acquired a new singer, Terry Martin (real name Terry Schindler) and … Continue reading One Album Wonders: The Open Mind’s The Open Mind
One album wonders: John’s Children’s Orgasm
[A version of this article originally appeared at the Amoeblog] JOHN'S CHILDREN - ORGASM (recorded 1967, released 1971) Today the band John's Children, when remembered at all, are best remembered for two things: one, for having briefly included within their ranks a pre-T. Rex Marc Bolan and two, for their calculatedly outrageousness and provocative live performances. Both overshadow the fact … Continue reading One album wonders: John’s Children’s Orgasm
Eric Brightwell 