All posts by Liz O.

I'm a longtime, cross-genre DJ and writer living in Los Angeles.

David Lynch Movie Screenings and More Happening in L.A. from January 30 – February 5

Eraserhead movie poster

Mulholland Drive! Lost Highway! Eraserhead! There are a lot of David Lynch screenings happening through greater Los Angeles this week and, as of Wednesday night, a handful of them still have tickets available. I did the digging for you and added the screenings that weren’t sold out to the list.

Elsewhere, there are some worthwhile local shows happening in L.A. Dildox plays Damaged Disco at Gold-Diggers tonight. Big Black Delta is at the same venue on Friday, while Pearl and the Oysters are at Alex’s Bar. On Monday, Total Pleasure kicks off their February residency at Zebulon on Monday night. For DJ-driven events, Saturday night is Boombox’s annual tribute to J Dilla, which is always a big night, and Junior Sanchez heads to Clinic Wednesdays on February 5. But, that’s not all, keep reading for more. 

Continue reading David Lynch Movie Screenings and More Happening in L.A. from January 30 – February 5

The Faint Drops Previously Unreleased ’00s Jam “Zealots”

Cover for The Faint Wet From Birth Deluxe Edition out on March 14, 2025
The deluxe edition of The Faint’s 2004 album Wet From Birth is set for release on March 14, 2025

Recently, maybe at the CSS show last week, I said to a friend that you know we’re living in dark times because people are all nostalgic about the ‘00s. I’ve written about it here before, but that decade was not cute. Bleak is probably a better word to describe an era marked by wars, financial shenanigans and rising social conservatism. And, at least in comparison to other decades, there weren’t many musicians addressing the turmoil in their work. Amongst the few who did was The Faint. 

Continue reading The Faint Drops Previously Unreleased ’00s Jam “Zealots”

Beatique Mix: January 2025

Screenshot

Like colds, earworms spread pretty easily. And it was an earworm that I caught from my husband— “El Rey y Yo” by Los Angeles Negros— that inspired this mix. It’s more of an old school college radio-style set than a club set and that’s by design. If you want to hear my club sets, you can go to the clubs. This is for listening when you’re at work or in the car or doing dishes or whatever. 

Continue reading Beatique Mix: January 2025

New FKA Twigs and More Music You Heard at The Mermaid on Sunday, January 26

FKA Twigs Eusexua album cover

FKA Twigs dropped a new album, Eusexua, on Friday. I haven’t had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, but, I really like the song “Drums of Death,” so I tried it out to open last night’s set at The Mermaid and you’re probably going to be hearing it more in my sets. Splash! Sundays is genre-free, so the set ranges from ‘60s rock and soul to new darkwave and indie.

I woke up Sunday morning with “Silver Rings” from Matt Berry’s new album, Heard Noises, stuck in my head, so that made it into last night’s set, sandwiched in between Shocking Blue and Los Bravos. Other new-ish songs in the set include “No Longer Mine,” from South Bay soul group Thee Heart Tones, and Male Tears’ latest synthpop jam, “Little Doll.” Keep scrolling for the rest of the set list. 

Continue reading New FKA Twigs and More Music You Heard at The Mermaid on Sunday, January 26

Matt Berry Drops A New Batch of Psychedelic Earworms on Heard Noises

Matt Berry Heard Noises 2025 album cover

Years ago, Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher had a show called Snuff Box, a comedy about two executioners who hang out at a gentleman’s club— the British kind, not the Bada Bing! kind. The show itself is fantastic, but the most memorable thing about it is the theme song. That melody has haunted me for years, even when my content-addled brain struggles to recall what actually happened in the series. Matt Berry writes a good earworm. 

Berry, the actor who has been in cult favorite shows like Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh, starred in the British series Toast of London and recently ended a six-season run as Laszlo in What We Do in the Shadows, has a parallel career as a musician. His latest album, Heard Noises, was released on January 24 and it’s potentially as sticky as that Snuff Box theme song. 

Continue reading Matt Berry Drops A New Batch of Psychedelic Earworms on Heard Noises

Happening in L.A.: January 23 – January 29, 2025

Splash at The Mermaid on January 26, 2025 with DJ Liz O.

This Sunday, January 26, I’ll be DJing at The Mermaid for Splash! This is an open format night, so anything goes as far as the music is concerned. Music starts at 8 p.m. and goes until 1 a.m. There’s no cover and it’s 21+. You’ll find the Mermaid at 428 E. 2nd Street in Little Tokyo. There is street and lot parking in the neighborhood and The Mermaid is just a couple blocks away from Metro’s A/E Line station. Hope to see you there!

As for the rest of the weekend, and early next week, check out the list below to see what’s happening in L.A. While Jamie XX’s dates at the Shrine are sold out, there are some other fantastic shows happening around town, from Tropa Magica at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach to Nuovo Testamento at Saturday night’s Abortion Access Benefit at the Lodge Room and Travis on Tuesday at The Wiltern. 

From the looks of it, the David Lynch film screenings— like Fire Walk With Me at Brain Dead on Thursday night and  Blue Velvet on Sunday at the Aero— are sold out. Some other worthwhile screenings include Oldboy at Gardena Cinema on Friday and Viridiana at Vidiots on Saturday.If you’re in/around Orange County, Tank Girl (!!!) Is playing at The Frida on Monday night. 

Keep reading for details on these and more events happening in L.A. between Thursday, January 23 and Wednesday, January 29. 

Continue reading Happening in L.A.: January 23 – January 29, 2025

CSS Live at The Regent January 19, 2025

Marquee for sold out CSS show at Regent Theater in Los Angeles on January 19, 2025
Pics: Liz O.

Near the end of CSS’ set at The Regent, singer Lovefoxx reminisced with the crowd about the band’s previous gigs in Los Angeles. There was their first show in the city, somewhere in the Fashion District. At least one person in the audience was there. There was some back and forth about a show where Lovefoxx lost her voice. As for this show, it was jam packed. But, Lovefoxx said to the crowd, the love for CSS in the room might not have been about the band itself. 

“We were playing in the background of your life,” she said. “And I think that you’re all here because you just love your history and your songs. We’re just lucky to have been in the background on your MySpace page.” 

Continue reading CSS Live at The Regent January 19, 2025

Mary Ocher Live at 2220 Arts + Archives January 16, 2025

Mary Ocher live at 2220 Arts + Archives in Los Angeles on Thursday, January 16, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Mary Ocher live at 2220 Arts + Archives in Los Angeles on Thursday, January 16, 2025 (Pic: Liz O.)

“It feels like the apocalypse,” Mary Ocher said on stage at 2220 Arts + Archives. “But,” the Berlin-based artist added, “it feels like the apocalypse everywhere.” 

It’s Thursday night, one week and one day after the wildfires began, and we’re in a small, indie theater on Beverly Blvd., just outside of downtown Los Angeles. In all honesty, the city looks better than it did a week ago. Last week, the downtown sky was orange-gray, casting a haze over streets, still littered with the debris from the windstorms, that made everything look like a 1970s photograph. Even with a mask, it was hard to walk around those first few days without feeling ill. Headaches, sore throats, coughs— the sort of things you might expect when wildfires loom in the distance— came and went with open windows and errand runs. 

Continue reading Mary Ocher Live at 2220 Arts + Archives January 16, 2025

New Wave vs. Darkwave at Klub Nocturno on January 17, 2025

Nosferatu statue at Klub Nocturno in the New Wave Darkwave room on January 17, 2025
Nosferatu welcoming you to the New Wave vs. Darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on Friday, January 17, 2025

If New Wave vs. Darkwave were a real battle, IDK who would have won. Last night, in the Loft at Catch One, where I DJed all night for Klub Nocturno’s fundraiser for those impacted by the recent wildfires, new wave was visibly the clear winner. Nothing packed the floor like the ‘80s jams last night. However, the requests were overwhelmingly for the darkwave bangers and the groups nearest to the DJ booth, some of whom were dancing virtually the entire night, definitely were into Boy Harsher, French Police, Molchat Doma, etc. , so darkwave was also a winner.

Anyhow, here’s the set list from the New Wave vs. Darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on January 17, 2025. The only new song— as in the first time I’ve played it out— in the set is “God Whispers” by Soft Vein, whose latest album, Through Blinds, came out on Friday. Check it out if you’re into dark, EBM-influenced synthpop, which you probably are if you’re reading this post. 

Continue reading New Wave vs. Darkwave at Klub Nocturno on January 17, 2025

It’s So Lonely In Heaven on Legendary Pink Dots’ New Album

Legendary Pink Dots So Lonely in Heaven album cover

In 2022, Legendary Pink Dots released The Museum of Human Happiness, their first album since the pandemic. It was one of my favorite albums of that year and, really, one of the finest releases from a band who celebrated their 40th anniversary just before lockdown. Now, two weeks into 2025, they’ve dropped the follow-up, So Lonely in Heaven, via Metropolis Records and I humbly recommend that you listen to the two albums back-to-back. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but from the listener’s perspective, The Museum of Human Happiness and So Lonely in Heaven sound as if they are part of the same extended body of work. 

Continue reading It’s So Lonely In Heaven on Legendary Pink Dots’ New Album