[contextly_auto_sidebar id="2X67n54jvsskEeTyvZeL9ZzPV0yO4y6x"] JANET Fitch, a friend whose writing I admire, has written an open letter to Jeff Bezos of Amazon about what the online bookseller is doing to the literary trade and the the nation's "intellectual life." Amazon's dominance means its decisions matter, she writes: "I'd like this profession of author to remain a possibility for young … [Read more...]
An Interview with the Allah-Las
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="lc08pyxv3eSerUA4sZEPFYeA0ka8ZMiw"] ONE of the best bands going these days is an LA group who met at Amoeba Music on Sunset. Their records sound like lost tracks from the West Coast garage collection Nuggets. And unlike a lot of revivalists, these guys can put it across live and make the music sound not retro but somehow timeless. Your humble blogger corresponded … [Read more...]
Creativity and “Powers of Two”
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="h6kHO9RuWKQjpO1pgA06PU80n7f3lQ1n"] JOSHUA Wolf Shenk's new book, Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs, is the subject of my latest story. Shenk looks at more than 100 partnerships -- some overt, some hidden -- to try to distill the process of creation and derive patterns. He works especially with figures in literature and the arts -- … [Read more...]
Phil and Dave Alvin Play the Blues
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="UKi5w9mxgcYp60mSYYXB3aLbyiq9oNKk"] YOUR humble blogger just caught the former Blasters playing a short set from their new Big Bill Broonzy (pictured, right) record, at the Federal Bar in North Hollywood. This exceeded my expectations -- Phil (who almost died a few years ago) was in good voice, not just on the blues numbers, but on a Jimmie Rodgers song (complete … [Read more...]
“An Arts District without artists?”
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="sm1yCVkC5n9okJnqnTpzTSDYpQTHApRe"] WE'VE heard this before, but it's always painful when it happens: The visual artists who have helped tame downtown Los Angeles and given it a hip sheen are now being forced out by gentrification and rising rents. The process is just starting, but it seems destined to pick up speed quite soon. A new story in the Los Angeles Times … [Read more...]
Celebrating the Power of SLAKE
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="sx5hfk7MoWchhQaW7wXbDMvKVh3UKnXl"] HERE at CultureCrash, we're longtime fans of the Los Angeles literary magazine Slake, which put out four smart, handsome, forceful issues full of art, fiction, memoir and poetry. Editors Joe Donnelly and Lauria Ochoa -- both formerly of the LA Weekly -- did something not easy to pull off in sprawling LA: They galvanized a community … [Read more...]
R.I.P., Charlie Haden
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="tnDFZtwLKRma3GhZjOOq3vBDLpuUYWqr"] THE great jazz bassist, long ailing, died Friday at 76. Even for those of us who knew how sick he was -- he had post-polio syndrome -- the loss is brutal. So many musicians played with him, live or on record, or studied with him at the program at CalArts. Ornette Coleman, Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau are only a few of the best … [Read more...]
Taking on Amazon
THERE'S been so much bad news as the online Goliath has crushed bookstores and tangled with publishers, that it's nice to see a bit of silver lining. Two new developments make us smile a bit here at CultureCrash, where we are too often locked into a grim expression. First, a talented first-time novelist has received an unlikely bounce from Stephen Colbert, who used Edan Lepucki's new book as an … [Read more...]
Eric Fischl and Steve Martin
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="Z2ToD122mPHrUfvrPjk39l1JB9c1LnKn"] THE artist and comedian will speak tonight at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, part of what's shaping up to a strong series called The Un-Private Collection. Fischl's memoir, Bad Boy: My Life on and Off the Canvas, is fascinating not only about the path of an artist, but about the strange cultural spot we find ourselves now. Here's … [Read more...]
World Premiere: Donald Margulies’ “The Country House”
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="RH5YHXCUmB0pge4N88BDwP9g0cBKqKe3"] IS there a wittier writer working today than Donald Margulies? Could be, but the New Haven-based, Pulitzer-winning playwright is so consistently on in his best work, and his brand-new play, The Country House, which I caught on opening night at the Geffen Playhouse, is often irresistibly funny. The play is set in a big, open house … [Read more...]