HE wrote a book that a lot of people haven't heard of, but one that influenced many and presaged a lot of the way we live now, especially on the West Coast, where it's set. That's Ernest "Chick" Callenbach, the Berkeley author of the book Ecotopia. Chick, as he was known, died on April 16.This month has seen a lot of death in my world -- a very dear elderly relative, an old friend's mother, … [Read more...]
Roots of a Music Series
THE Santa Monica-based chamber series Jacaranda puts on some of the consistently most intriguing programs I know. Along with UCLA's Royce Hall and the Hammer Museum, it's one of the things that makes me wish I lived on the Westside.Composer Olivier MessiaenThe weekend's program included a piece by Olivier Messiaen, a hero to some in the group; West Coasters Terry Riley and Lou Harrison works will … [Read more...]
The Creative Class: Idle Dreamers
THE latest of my series for Salon on the damage the recession, digital technology and the Internet have exerted on the creative class runs today. I'm consumed with the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend but will try to post on it more extensively later.This piece looked at the crisis and said, Why aren't we hearing about it? Why has it not entered the cultural conversation? And why … [Read more...]
Brooklyn Composer Gabriel Kahane
I'VE been hearing about the rock songwriter and chamber music composer Gabriel Kahane for a few years now, and was glad to have the chance to speak to the hipster hero about his new piece, based on Hart Crane's The Bridge, which makes its West Coast debut this weekend.I also spoke to the esteemed Jeffrey Kahane and got a sense of how Gabe's eclecticism grew out of family tradition. HERE's my … [Read more...]
The Return of the Shins
WHEN I sat down with all four members of the Shins around the time their Chutes Too Narrow album came out, I was already a big fan of the band's gentle, indirect songs and slightly obscure production that made their music sound like it had been recovered from a '60s bootleg.I was also struck, that afternoon at the Authentic Cafe near Fairfax and Beverly, how strong and natural the camaraderie … [Read more...]
The Roots of Leila Josefowicz
I EXPECT I'm not the only one looking forward to the concert at Disney Hall tonight, which continues over the weekend: the new Philip Glass symphony, in its West Coast premiere, with John Adams' Violin Concerto, both conducted by Adams himself. And the violin part in the Adams piece -- some days, my favorite piece by the bearded Bay Area composer -- will be played by the lovely and talented Leila … [Read more...]
Remembering Artist Mike Kelley
THIS ended up being one of the toughest stories I've written in a long time, emotionally or otherwise. The assignment to track down friends and associates of Mike Kelley, the longtime Los AngelesaArtist who -- it's thought -- killed himself at his South Pasadena home a few weeks ago -- almost broke me. People close to someone who's died are always tender; after a suspected suicide, it's even more … [Read more...]
Elizabeth Taylor, Accidental Feminist
OVER here at The Misread City, we've been fans of writer M.G. Lord since her book Forever Barbie. An insightful critic of gender, pop culture and the culture of science -- check out her slim, sharp volume Astro Turf: The Private Life of Rocket Science, set in and around JPL -- Lord has recently turned her hand to actress Elizabeth Taylor. Lord's cover essay in an issue of The Hollywood Reporter … [Read more...]
Dustin Hoffman Falls Into "Luck"
What's this celebrated screen actor doing on television? Dustin Hoffman isn't quite sure either. But he sat down to speak with me recently about what brought him to the David Milch/Michael Mann show Luck, and talked about his career and television in general. HERE is my story.I was struck by how humble and openly neurotic Hoffman was; he spoke about his big break with The Graduate coming after … [Read more...]
The Roots of a Polymath: Lars Jan
FOUNDER of the Los Angeles avant-gartde performance group Early Morning Opera, Lars Jan is a polymath interested in a lot of things, especially our era in which screens of various kinds have infiltrated both public and private spaces.We spoke about the age of the screen, as well as some of his artistic models -- everyone from Gerhard Richter to Fellini -- for my Influences column. Here is that … [Read more...]