Beatique

Beatique

  • Hey, Nana, Let’s Go to the Mall

    Nana Apt 707 display at Little Tokyo Galleria 9/06/26 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    The Nana Apartment 707 display for BKawaii’s market at Little Tokyo Galleria, Sunday, September 6. (Pic: Liz O.)

    On Sunday, Little Tokyo Galleria was bustling in a way that I had never seen before. Maybe it was the rain that fluctuated between a drizzly L.A. storm and a for real storm throughout the day. Maybe it was the combination of Labor Day Weekend and a Dodgers game that evening. IDK, but I like to think it was Nana. 

    The Little Tokyo Galleria is a very small, quiet indoor mall on the edge of the neighborhood that borders the Arts District and Skid Row. Outside of a grocery store and Daiso, it’s best known locally for Max Karaoke Studio and the bowling alley XLanes. On the weekends, though, the second floor of the three-story building hosts marketplaces that are similar to the artist alleys at fan conventions. People sell anime-related fan art, cute jewelry and accessories, plus vintage clothes, at stalls that are set up throughout the common area. On this particular Sunday, a group called Bkawaii organized a market inspired by the manga (and anime) Nana called Apt. 707. 

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  • Coyote vs. ACME: We’re All Sisyphus

    In 1990, “Coyote vs. ACME,” a satirical essay by Ian Frazier,first appeared in The New Yorker. Written as an opening statement in Wile E. Coyote’s case against the fictional ACME, the essay documents injuries the cartoon predator suffered as a result of using the corporation’s shoddy products while relentlessly pursuing Road Runner in vain. More than 30 years later, right around the time that the word “enshittification” entered our lexicon, Coyote vs. ACME was adapted as a live-action animated feature with an expanded plot digging into corporate conspiracy and an overarching theme that the system is designed to keep the little guy locked into failure. Then the studio shelved the film as a “tax write-off.” 

    But, a lot of people wouldn’t shut up about Coyote vs. ACME, so, almost three years after it was nearly killed, the movie finally opened on the big screen. I saw it last week and am writing to urge you now to see Coyote vs. ACME while it’s still in theaters, not so much because of the story behind the film, but because of the story in it. 

    The premise of the film is that Wile E. Coyote decides to sue ACME because he keeps getting injured using their products. He goes to an attorney, Kevin Avery (Will Forte), who prefers to settle cases instead of having to go up against slick, corporate attorneys in court. But, after Mr. Coyote tears up a settlement offer, that’s what happens. Then, Coyote’s team catches wind of something called the Sisyphus Project. 

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  • Lia Braswell: The Drummer Takes Center Stage

    Lia Braswell promo photo
    Lia Braswell (photo: James Duran)

    Lia Braswell is center stage at Slipper Clutch, a barrage of multi-colored, psychedelic lights washing over her white outfit. Flanked by a guitarist and a bassist, the L.A.-based drummer and singer plays with all the energy of the lunar eclipse that passed shortly before her set began. By the time she bursts into new single, “If Not for the Chaos,” Braswell is both banging out the rhythm and belting the lyrics with full force. It’s intense. 

    Braswell plays live often, but, typically, not for her own project. Just days earlier, she returned to L.A. from a whirlwind trip to England, where she drummed for two Chelsea Wolfe shows. Later this month, she’ll head out on Wolfe’s U.S. tour before joining up with She Wants Revenge to drum on their European jaunt. 

    “I haven’t been playing a lot of solo shows recently,” Braswell said when we connected for a video call earlier that week. “Just getting my bearings around these songs that I’ve written live has been really fun, but also intimidating because I’m in charge of all of it, as opposed to working for somebody else.”

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  • Indie Rock Shows, Movie Screenings and More Happening Labor Day Weekend

    Healing Gems live at Gloria Molina Grand Park for the 2024 Fourth of July Block Party (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    Healing Gems plays Sid the Cat Auditorium on Sunday, September 6. (Pic: Liz O.)

    The only rule I have for this blog is that whatever I write about has to be to my tastes. In the professional writing I do, I have to tailor what I write about to stuff that normal people like. Here, I can write about whatever the hell I like and recommend whatever I want. That is why, even though it’s Labor Day Weekend, I am not recommending any pool parties. I love swimming, but hate pool parties. If that’s what you want, look around elsewhere for recommendations. Here, you’ll get mostly concerts and movie screenings.

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  • Beatique Mix: September 2026

    Beatique September 2026 Cover

    It’s a rare feat for me to actually have the monthly mix ready on the first of the month, but this is one of those occasions. You can listen to to the September 2026 edition of Beatique on Mixcloud or via the embed below. It’s about an hour and sixteen minutes this time around and features a ton of new music, including songs from Olivia Rodrigo, Fontaines D.C., Slayyyter and a whole lot more. Track list with a few notes are below the embed. Thanks for listening. 

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  • Echo Park Rising, German Punk and More Happening This Weekend

    Nolune live at Echo Park Rising outside of Bar Henry, September 9, 2023 Photo by Liz Ohanesian
    Nolune live outside of Bar Henry for Echo Park Rising 2023. (Pic: Liz O.)

    It’s another busy, and scorching hot, weekend here in Los Angeles. Echo Park Rising is happening at various venues in the neighborhood from Friday, August 28, through Sunday, August 30. Plus, Goethe-Institut is celebrating 50 years of punk, Son Rompe Pera is playing a free show and lots more. Keep reading for my recommendations. 

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  • Meta Is Making Me Sick of the Stuff I Like

    Screencap of Instagram For You feed with Madonna clips
    Remnants of the Madonna loop on my For You page, June 2026

    Fontaines D.C. dropped a new song last week. “Marianne” is the lead single off the Irish band’s forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, and it’s a good one with a sinewy groove that’s similar to ‘90s Depeche Mode. The band, whose last album, Romance, is one of my favorites in recent years, only dominated my Instagram feed for a couple days. It was just long enough to convince me to sign up for the Hollywood Forever ticket pre-sale, which I don’t even know if I’m going to do because I’m not in the mood to fight with bots over tickets that probably cost more than I should spend. I guess I was supposed to pre-order Dopamine Chamber, which is out in October, too. I could take my pick between the $47.58 deluxe gatefold, the $28.03 blue vinyl and the $25.48 regular vinyl on Bandcamp, but, nah, I would rather wait until the record is out and support my local brick-and-mortar indie record store. 

    In the lifespan of today’s clip loops, this Fontaines D.C. one was pretty short. It was quickly supplanted by Slayyyter’s cover of Hole’s song “Violet,” which popped up on my feed through most of the weekend. I don’t think I’ve heard the whole song yet, but the chorus is good, I guess. I don’t know. I had the sound off most of the times it appeared.  All I can tell you is that MTV was never this bad about repetition. Instagram, though, has no chill. Like one song and, all of a sudden, the artist usurps your timeline.

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  • Lisa Molinaro Turns an Impasse Into Art on Blind Trust

    Lisa Molinaro photo by Mary Luczycki
    Lisa Molinaro (photo by Mary Luczycki)

    Lisa Molinaro knows how to turn an impasse into art. “We All Get Stuck,” from the singer and musician’s debut full-length album, Blind Trust, uses a propulsive, yet repetitive rhythm that mimics pushing through the frustration. Strings build and then the drums release near the song’s conclusion, like a breakthrough for both the musician and the listener. 

    “It’s cathartic, but it’s mildly cathartic,” says Portland-based Molinaro during a recent video call. “You don’t get a full release.”

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  • Stop Scrolling and Start Digging at Central Library

    world's largest pop up book in the rotunda at Los Angeles Richard J. Riordan Central Library (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    Luceros y Penumbras: The World’s Largest Pop-Up Book in the Rotunda at Central Library (Pic: Liz O.)

    “I’m going to show you something cool,” I say to my husband while leading him to the back of a room on the bottom level of Central Library. “And, by cool, I mean super dorky.”

    I love browsing through old stuff. It’s not a nostalgia thing. I don’t long for the past. I just like to make connections between what was and what is. It’s how my DJ brain works. Like, a significant moment in my evolution as a music nerd came in my late teens, when I stopped thinking of ‘60s soul as my parents’ music and realized it was the basis for most of what I liked. Every song builds on what came before it. DJing is just figuring out how it all fits together. 

    Movies are similar. The other night I just happened to catch I Want to Live! on TCM. Susan Hayward plays a woman found guilty of murder and sentenced to death in the 1950s. It’s a terrific movie – Hayward won an Oscar for her performance – and, in the midst of it, I thought, OMG, this is Female Trouble! Divine as Dawn Davenport was totally channeling Susan Hayward as Barbara Graham! 

    This is cultural literacy, something that’s lost when you’re served media via a corporation’s algorithm. You think you’re learning something because your feed is overloaded with variations of the same “How New Order Made ‘Blue Monday’” video, but you aren’t. You’re just parroting AI-generated summaries of Wikipedia entries. If you want to be really culturally literate, you need to get out into the world and figure things out for yourself. That’s why I love thrift stores and record shops, museums and libraries. Particularly, I love Central Library. 

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  • Just Like Heaven, Slayyyter, VinylCon and More Happening This Weekend

    Driptone Records booth at VinylCon in Los Angeles on August 23, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    VinylCon 2025 (Pic: Liz O.)

    It’s another jam-packed week of shows and stuff in Los Angeles. I’ve broken down my recommendations day by day for Thursday, August 20, through Wednesday, August 26. Before we get into the list, I just want to point out that there are a mix of events here with ticket prices ranging from free to a lot.  The venue names all link back to the ticket pages. Check those for prices, as well as age limits. Have fun and lmk if you make it out to any of these events. 

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