I'm still buzzing from the Ride show at the Warfield. "Cool Your Boots" has been running through my head non-stop for a week (although there was a break, at least in my sleep, when I had a dream which involved listening to Cedric Im Brooks). Since the show, I've been listening to a lot of shoegaze … Continue reading The Top 10 Shoegaze Bands of All Time, or, The Godlike Genius of Shoegaze
Author: Eric Brightwell
Eric Brightwell is an essayist, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener. He lives in Los Angeles, not because he was born here, but because he chose to... for all of the things for which its famous: its verticality, its mass transit, its diversity, its schools, its liminal spaces, its architecture, its wildlife, its museums, its night markets, its cinemas, its theaters, its enclaves, its restaurants, its bars, its libraries, &c
No Enclave — Exploring Taiwanese Los Angeles
Diversity has long been part of the fabric of Los Angeles and Southern California. Humans first arrived here at least 13,000 years ago and more than twenty Native American nations made their home here before the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish pueblo of Los Angeles was itself founded by people of Native, African, European, and mixed ancestries and … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Taiwanese Los Angeles
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Ride rolls into the Warfield — and their thirteen most massive tunes
I'm currently down in San Francisco (well, Richmond actually) to see Ride play. Ride, for those keeping score, were the best of a crop of bands known way back in the early 1990s as shoegazers. Like most British bands that survived into those dark years of the mid-1990s, when a collective craze for slow motion guitar … Continue reading Ride rolls into the Warfield — and their thirteen most massive tunes
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Mini-Mallism — Visiting Atlantic Place Shopping Center
Strip malls (also called mini-malls, pod malls, power centers, retail parks, shopping centers, and shopping plazas) and malls in general are symbols of suburbia that although overabundant are rarely paid much attention. I find them interesting, however, mainly because I’m amused by their often pretentious names and ornamentation which I guess is designed to elevate … Continue reading Mini-Mallism — Visiting Atlantic Place Shopping Center
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High Rising — Architecture, Urbanism, and the Cinema
April is National Landscape Architecture Month. This got me thinking about an idea for a piece but, as often happens, I found myself tumbling down a rabbit hole of research tangents and decided I’d start with a post about architecture of the non-landscape variety. Apparently there is no "National Architecture Month" and Los Angeles proclaimed October … Continue reading High Rising — Architecture, Urbanism, and the Cinema
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California Fool’s Gold — A Riverside County Primer
In 2007, California Fool's Gold began exploring Los Angeles County one community at a time. In 2010 I expanded my adventures into Orange County. It's now 2015 and I would like to turn my sites to Riverside County. ***** Riverside County is one of the ten counties of which Southern California is comprised. At 146,366 … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — A Riverside County Primer
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The Dragonfly Collector Reviewed
Clementine Castro recently released his solo debut under the name Dragonfly Collector. Castro also was the leader of the popular bands, Orange and Lemons and The Camerawalls. Orange and Lemons released three albums in the 2000s (Love in the Land of Rubber Shoes and Dirty Ice Cream (2003), Strike whilst the Iron Is Hot (2005), … Continue reading The Dragonfly Collector Reviewed
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Nobody Drives in LA — An Interview with Alissa Walker
With bicycles, buses, ferries, planes, rideshares, sidewalks, subways, taxis, and trains at Angelenos’ disposal, why would any sane person choose car-dependency? Nobody Drives in LA celebrates sense and sensibility in transportation. ***** In the past most of my posts for Women's History Month have focused on historical figures. This year I decided to instead focus on living breathing women who're … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — An Interview with Alissa Walker
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Southland Parks — Visiting Ascot Hills Park
Parks comprise more than 14% of Los Angeles’s landscape and the city is home to hundreds of these cherished public spaces. From the largest park within any American city (Topanga State Park) to the smallest pocket parks and parklets, I hope to showcase them one park at a time, in the series Southland Parks. ***** Ascot Hills … Continue reading Southland Parks — Visiting Ascot Hills Park
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A San Fernando Valley Playist
So the bad news is that I missed out on CicLAvia — The Valley. Cream Soda (my bicycle) was in the shop (nothing serious) and I was dog-sitting on the Eastside. I thought about bringing and walking the dog there but they’re not allowed on Metro buses or trains and there were further complications too that I … Continue reading A San Fernando Valley Playist
Eric Brightwell 