Wednesday, October 04, 2006
The third installment of the always entertaining The Underground Guide to Los Angeles was recently released and Skylight Books hosted its launch with the editors Pleasant Gehman and Iris Berry on hand to read excerpts a few weeks ago. The book is filled with lots of not-so-underground hip locales around town that most people who have lived here more than a year already know about or at least heard about through the millions of different resources on Los Angeles. Much more indispensable, however, are the various writers' takes on places that most Angelenos know as just "that place where all the hipsters go." ("Hipster," incidentally, is considered a bad thing in this book -- we're glad they got the memo).
Particularly enjoyable are comments from our favorite writers, known to most in the club/bar/concert/restaurant/house party/bed hopping scene as glitterati literati legends. Libby Molyneaux and Joe Hill's fascinating bike route guide through the hidden treasures of Laurel Canyon. Margaret Cho's wonderful insider view of our underappreciated downtown area -- which most people in the valley consider another country (totally serious) and to others it just scares the shit out of them. Ryan "The Mad Lovers" Leach's old school rock take on L.A. is probably the most spiteful and although a lot of what he writes is true (his blurb on The Sunset Strip is dead accurate), he could relax a bit. It takes all kinds, Mr. Leach. And we'll read anything Pleasant Gehman puts to paper.
Most people kind of can figure out after the first few pageturns that this is just another "Best of L.A." thing, but what's wrong with that? L.A. is just too big and badass to be covered by just one resource. In fact, everyone should be doing their own BoLA's so that we can finally put to rest who makes the best damn burger in Los Angeles (cough, cough... Apple Pan). Our longtime favorite scenester columnist Lina Lecaro summed it up best: "There is so goddamn much to do here that sometimes, nothing feels like it will do." Los Angeles loves you, Ms. Lecaro.
The Underground Guide to Los Angeles is available everywhere where books are sold but buy it at Skylight Books because that's our favorite bookstore and that's where all the hipsters go to buy their issues of BlackBook and anti-Bush/9-11 conspiracy literature.
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good stuff you've been posting lately. just lately though. everything before kind of sucked ;)
# posted by 
: 10/04/2006 11:04:00 PM
: 10/04/2006 11:04:00 PM
new reader. nice to have another l.a/ based music blog.
aquariumdrunkard
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aquariumdrunkard
# posted by : 10/05/2006 12:32:00 AM
: 10/05/2006 12:32:00 AM<< Home
