Olde Timey YummyI was excited to find Cup O Gold at Galco’s (read more about it in the drinks section). My mom would often reminisce about the chocolate/coconut/marshmallow cup of deliciousness as the one thing she craved while pregnant. It’s hard to find but more popular in California than anyplace else. It’s super yummy and I wish the candy, which has been around since the 1950’s, was more available.
5702 York Blvd, Los AngelesIn a town rife with nondescript strip malls, Galco’s Soda Pop Stop is amongst the most nondescript and strip mally. Its bare bones appearance would never necessarily compel a visitor or local to stop by unless they had inside knowledge that this place is completely awesome (I owe this insight to my friend Shaun and this week’s book pick, LA Bizarro). The soda pop super store has been family owned and operated for over a hundred years: a wild achievement in our world of chain super-stores.
Inside you can find almost every kind of soda pop known to man. Jim guzzled a molasses Root Beer from Rhode Island while Laura and I found bliss in a cucumber soda that the owner told us would change our lives. Not surprisingly, the beer selection is also impressive and they boast quite an array of olde timey candies. Jim dared the Idaho Spud (a coconut and chocolate covered grayish marshmallow that tastes better than I just described it). I was thrilled by a plastic-wrapped tube of just the innards of my beloved Butterfinger as well as the famed (at least in my home) Cup of Gold, a coconut/chocolate cup filled with gooey marshmallow creme: the one thing my mom craved while pregnant with me.
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366 N La Cienega Blvd.Our good friend Matthew made sure that one LA experience we had was a Jon Brion show, so I felt absolutely horrible when Jim, Laura and I began dozing off early in the performance!! In our defense: we were totally jet lagged, it was warm and dark, and Brion was playing soft, Aimee Mannish piano tinkles that could easily be released on a collection of lullabies.
But things got wildly entertaining and even the most tired of us perked up when Brion began a mind-bending and mind-blowing cover of Tomorrow Never Knows complete with a Maria Callas video loop, his own looped drumming and guitar, and video of a great looking George Harrison. The rest of the evening consisted of more audience-requested covers (though none of mine took: Sex in the Kitchen, Pony, Thunder Road…) including a xylophone and audience participation version of Don’t Stop Believing, a trippy Wish You Were Here and a straight forward acoustic rendition Gigantic. It was invigorating and amazing to watch: every element of the songs he performs is created right in front of you. He’ll start on the piano, then drums, loop them then add guitar, loop that, they play around with video and voice… it’s totally amazing.
I had no idea what I was in for: admittedly a dunce when it comes to the modern soundtrack scene of Paul Thomas Anderson, I figured Brion was a comedian or something, but in fact he’s the highly respected genius behind not only the (PT) Anderson soundtracks, but the production of Aimee Mann, Rufus Wainwright, Elliott Smith, Kanye West, and Fiona Apple records!
At the new Largo location, the show seems to be almost monthly and sells out quickly; be sure to arrive on the early side to get pick up your tickets if you desire up close seats.
On Sale March 7thWhile my personal list of must-haves from the Gaultier Target collection arriving in stores this Sunday might not be quite as long as some other designer collaborators (Rodarte, Tracy Feith, Anna Sui), there’s still plenty to get excited about starting with that bright yellow dress that will have me up first thing in the morning shopping online. Also like the sailor stripe, but wish there were more of his signature stripes sprinkled throughout the tattoo prints (never my favorite), lovely painted florals, and chic leather. I do hope the fingerless gloves are for sale and not just styling extras.
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9341 Venice Boulevard, Los AngelesThe Museum of Jurassic Technology is by far the strangest museum I’ve ever been to and was the top thing on my to-do list after missing out on it on my last visit to LA. It’s so unusual that I can’t really explain it to you but I can tell you that it’s got nothing to do with dinosaur machines. Dark and winding, the quiet two floor space contains everything from Hagop Sandaldjian‘s Goofy sculpture the size of a needle head to a collection of Decaying Dice from Ricky Jay.
My favorite section may have been the one about various old wives tales and superstitions complete with dioramas of mice on toast, children’s hand growing hair and a man kissing a goose. I was also pretty taken with Athanasius Kircher‘s confounding but beautiful creations and where else can you walk into a velvet room and be confronted with large oil portraits of Soviet Space Dogs. There are trailer park models, more art that needs to be viewed through a microscope (the pretty but pretty insane work of Henry Dalton) and a myriad of other things that I could barely even wrap my head around. It was tough to get too many photos with the low light, but there’s enough below/after the jump to intrigue you to make your own visit.
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Astrology SongsThe astrological interpretations of one Harvey Sid Fisher are another spectacular find courtesy of the guys over at The Found Footage Festival. A public access artist extraordinaire, Fisher, clad in a tuxedo, captured his collection of 12 zodiac songs (just try to get “Talkin’ bout the Taurus, talkin’ ’bout the bully bull bull” out of your head once it gets inside) back in 1989, setting each to an amazing interpretive dance.
So do enjoy and make sure to check out the compilations of The Found Footage Festival available on DVD (which we just picked up at Amoeba) for more gems, many of which have (or soon will) appear on this very blog.
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from Cooking LightWhen I was a kid I used to love to eat yakitori at a place called… Yakitori! They’d serve the skewers in a red car-shaped plate to kids who ate in-house and it was there that I had my very first taste of sushi at a very young age (octopus).
I even have a bottle of their custom yakitori sauce (the place is still going strong in my home town) so I was hesitant to try my own hand at the dish. This Cooking Light recipe (do I cook from anyplace else lately) was not a disappointment. It’s quick, easy, not too heavy or fatty and full of flavor.
directed by R.J. Cutler (2009)The September Issue is a fairly straight-forward documentary that offers an exclusive peek into the creation of Vogue’s biggest, most important and most popular issue, yet still manages to feel a bit remote and arm’s length. The film focuses primarily on the tight-mouthed and crossed-hand critiques (which I seldom agreed with) of Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and, at the other end of the spectrum, the spirited work and luminous presence of Creative Director Grace Coddington. And while you can almost glimpse the actual woman behind the severe haircut when she reveals that she’s pretty much the family’s frivolous black sheep and hangs out with her daughter (who has no apparent interest in following on her mother’s footsteps), Wintour remains as aloof as you’d expect – though not quite the industry monster Meryl Streep portrayed he as (but not quite as redeemable, either).
Aside from coming off dismissive and ice cold, her most monstrous deeds are, in my opinion, touted throughout the film as her greatest achievements: bringing back fur and putting celebrities on the covers of fashion magazines. Quite frankly, I am not impressed – particularly with the latter. It was tough to watch this epic fashion tome built around the mediocre starlet that is Sienna Miller, especially when the more adventurous Italian Vogue broke ground with their all Black issue the same year and pictured Agyness Deyn with soldiers on their September issue… but I’m digressing into my own qualms with the publication (which I stopped subscribing to years ago in protest of Jennifer Aniston’s 14th cover story).
While the September Issue is an obvious must-see for fashion fans, those of you who have never been inclined to pick up an issue of Vogue will still find it rather amusing (to borrow from Wintour’s lexicon). It’s at its best when Coddington, who is this week’s style icon as well as the author of this week’s book, is on-screen.
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by Grace Coddington and Didier Malige (2006)Fashion and cats! That’s a sure-fire combo for a perfect birthday present and my very kind co-workers knew it when they got me Grace Coddington and Didier Malige‘s totally charming The Catwalk Cats.
Consisting of quirky line drawings by Coddington and stunning photographs by Malige of their pets Henri, Coco, Baby, Puff and Bart, the book is a delight. The drawings of the cats in designer clothing are incredible.
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by The Yardbirds (1966)Whether it’s presaging the darker sludge of Black Sabbath (Since the World Began), a gentle Crimson and Cloveresque beauty (Shapes in my Mind), a roadhouse rattle (Nazz are Blue), some psychedelia (Hot House of Omagarashid), or capturing an energetic catchiness (Over, Sideways, Under Down) The Yardbirds’ Roger the Engineer is a perfect snapshot of the sound of its time.
This album is pre-Page Yardbirds with a heavy influence by the innovative guitarist Jeff Beck. The reissue I have includes several bonus tracks as well as a combination of both the US and UK original releases which were inexplicably different.
The band never seemed to resonate with the American public quite as strongly as other British Invasion acts did, but as it was the launching pad for Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page, it’s hard to look back on the Yardbirds without wonder. Roger the Engineer is an eclectic display of their talents and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorites of the era. Plus, I adore the cover art: a wonky, trippy pen drawing by band member Chris Dreja.
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