viewfromaloft

Downtown Vid Pick: 'Blood and Glory'

 

Blood and Glory (2011) Midnight Radio /  Directed by Dalit Diva

The Museum of Neon Art is the backdrop for “Blood and Glory,” a new single by Midnight Radio, an indie band who have performed at the treasured neon museum during Art Walk.

The song and location was a good pick. It almost comes across as MONA's goodbye note to Downtown Los Angeles.

Lead singer Dalit Diva (Thenmozhi Soundararajan) comes out of USC, and directed the Bolly-Noir music vid. The lyrics, subtitled in Hindi and English, help move you through a song about moving forward after a relationship: "I want more. I want more. I want love. That's the point."

You can almost hear Downtown Los Angeles, a long-time partner to MONA, say "Ouch."

MONA just signed a 15 year lease with the City of Glendale and expected to inhabit new space in spring of 2012. “Glendale is rapidly becoming the regional leader in arts development,” brayed Glendale Councilmember John Drayman in a press release about the lease and move.

As for the single, Soundararajan––or Diva if you prefer––told Buzzline Bollywood: “It’s exciting to have been one of the first Indian artists to have a 3D video. At the time, I didn’t realize how historic it was, but as a desi woman who is a rock and roll artist and a 3D film director, it is inevitable that some records get broken.”

That's right. Records and hearts were made to be broken. Put on your 3D glasses and move on.

 

More Downtown Vid Picks: [view]

A L.A. Noir Tour via The Wall Street Journal

Neal Pollack has a drive-by guide for noir-tourists visiting the City of Angels, "still a magnificently dark place."

The Wall Street Journal travel section, no less.

The story comes with a nifty interactive guide that shows the spots where shadows are waiting for you. Of course, Downtown is represented well; Millennium Biltmore Hotel, LA River, and Cole's.

Also on the list is King Eddy Saloon. No surprise. There is something romantic––or destitute–about being the last surviving skid row bar. And the King Eddy Saloon website sounds like it was written by someone willing to take any hipster developer into the back alley if they try and change it.

However, supplementing the article is "What to Wear There: Tinsel Town"  that recommends 40ish style Roksanda Illincic Elyseon Dress for her, and Archdale Wingtips for him.

First, don't wear those if you go to King Eddy Saloon. Second, if you do, don't expect the regulars to be endeared when you label all of Los Angeles as Tinsel Town.

DotDotDash: A Bridge to Noir

OPENING CREDITS:  The dignified ladies lay across the river with cement ankles standing in green water; one at 6th Street has her face cracking, becoming a monument to Raymond Chandler’s decay of a city . .–– They are the bridges and viaducts of the Los Angeles River; functional, majestic, and making the occasional film appearance  . . –– Last Sunday, volunteers lead tours in the heat while swapping stories of the imprint they leave on Angelenos.  Among those welcoming the hearty 400 visiting the Rio was Hollywood Escapes author Harry Medved, seen holding court at 4th and Santa Fe sharing the bridges’ lore in film.

Ana & Jonathan: Can I Have a Witness?

I Do, Your Honor: On a warm Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, Ana Gamboa took a break from her chemistry PhD studies to elope with long-time boyfriend Jonathan Weisberg, a newly-appointed Deputy District Attorney working in and for the County of Los Angeles. Weisberg, also with a full workload, arranged for a lunchtime ceremony in judges chambers at the Downtown Los Angeles Superior Court building.

While notifying friends and family Ana, who feels kitsch is a high art form, wondered which scenario was more surreal of the two; going to a Rabbi Elvis in Vegas or having the Phil Spector Prosecution Team witness the couples vows.

At the Far Noir Bar

Noir is the new black, and LA wears it well.