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Author: Liz O.

  • Pet Shop Boys, Optometry, Ride and More New Music

    Cover for Interplay 2024 album by Ride
    Cover for Ride’s new album, Interplay, which I was listening to for the first time while finishing this post.

    It sounds like we’re on the verge of another Pet Shop Boys moment. Or, at least, that’s how I hope 2024 will sound and, judging from the response on the dance floor, the L.A. crowds seem to agree. But, then again, L.A.’s affinity for the British duo has endured since the 1980s. 

    In January, I fell for the cover of “Being Boring” by TR/ST, with guest vocals from Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters. Shortly after that dropped, Pet Shop Boys themselves released “Loneliness,” the first single from their forthcoming album, Nonetheless. It’s a gorgeous dance song that reflects the strange isolation of 2020s life. (The Guardian has a good interview with the band, if you’re interested in reading more about Pet Shop Boys’ new music.) Around the same time, I stumbled across a cover of “Rent” that Sally Shapiro released last fall. I wondered how I missed this release last year, then snapped it up on Bandcamp. 

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  • L.A. Music Events: Thursday, March 28 – Wednesday, April 3

    Flyer for Klub Nocturno at Catch One in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 30, 2024

    I’m so excited to be back at Catch One with Klub Nocturno this Saturday, March 30, in the New Wave vs. Darkwave room. Playing Nocturno’s L.A. party in January was such a wild vibe, as was last month’s party at Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Saturday night has in store. Tickets are already sold out online, but there will be a few at the door, so if you want one of those, please be sure to arrive early. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. for this 21+ event. Catch One is located at 4067 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles 90019. 

    As for the rest of the weekend and into early next week, here are my recommendations. 

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  • Here’s What I Played at Dolce Vita on March 26, 2024

    A mermaid skeleton at The Mermaid in Little Tokyo (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    I forgot to take pics, so here’s an old one of a mermaid skeleton at The Mermaid that I saw right before the night started. (Pic: Liz O.)

    I popped into The Mermaid at the last minute on Tuesday to play about 90 minutes of music for Dolce Vita. I knew that there was a screening of Dave Attell’s Netflix special happening beforehand. What I didn’t know, however, was that Dave Attell was actually going to make an appearance. We didn’t meet, but it was wild to be in the same room as him because I loved Insomniac. 

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  • Lost in Time at WHAMMY! Analog Media

    Hammerman cartoon starring MC Hammer from 1991 on VHS at Whammy! Analog Media in Echo Park. (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    At Whammy! Analog Media, I learned that there was an M.C. Hammer cartoon. (Photo: Liz O.)

    On a drizzly, Sunday afternoon, I half-forgot about what I was looking for inside WHAMMY! I was semi-crouched in a small aisle, scooting out of the way of passersby while scanning the spines of VHS releases of old cartoons. There was the Charlotte’s Web movie that I still vividly recall seeing multiple times on TV as a kid. (Was it one of the Family Film Festival movies? Do anyone else who spent ‘80s weekends watching KTLA remember?) Two Care Bears cassettes were filed next to something called Buttons & Rusty, which I don’t remember at all. 

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  • L.A. Music Events and More: Thursday, March 21- Wednesday, March 27

    Wicker Man 1973
    The Wicker Man is screening at Videotheque this Friday night.

    My next gig isn’t until March 30, when I’ll be playing with Klub Nocturno at Catch One, but, there are more than enough parties and shows to keep the good vibes going through this weekend and into next week. As always, I try to stick to lower-priced events. Everything here is under $30 a ticket and a number of them don’t have a cover. At the time of posting this list, there were tickets available for all the events on this list. (I double-checked because a few that I had initially planned to include were already sold out.) And, in what seems to be increasingly rare in L.A., two of the shows listed below are actually all-ages. 

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  • Who Is Bobby Velvet and How Did He End Up Doing “The Martian”?

    Bobby Velvet "The Martian" Ernest Kohl "Sooner or Later" 12" vinyl singles found at Sonido del Valle in Los Angeles
    Pic taken at Sonido del Valle where I found Bobby Velvet “The Martian” and Ernest Kohl “Sooner or Later” (which I’ll post about later) last November. (Pic: Liz O.)

    Sometimes, I buy a record because it contains a mystery that may or may not ever be solved. Like, who is Bobby Velvet and how did he end up doing “The Martian” in a North Hollywood recording studio for a 12” single released on a label based out of a Pasadena building that’s now a law office? 

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  • The Extended Mix of Toto Coelo “Milk from the Coconut” Is New Wave Heat

    Toto Coelo "Milk from the Coconut" extended dance mix 12" single on vinyl (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    Toto Coelo 12″ single with the extended dance mix of “Milk from the Coconut.” (Pic: Liz O.)

    On a Sunday afternoon, I flipped through a bin of new wave records at Sonido del Valle in Boyle Heights. At this point in the dig, I had already found a 12” of Bananarama’s cover of “He Was Really Saying Something” for 99 cents that was dusty, but definitely playable. I was starting to feel lucky. Not lottery ticket lucky, but lucky enough to take a chance on a Toto Coelo 12” single called “Milk from the Coconut.” 

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  • Night Shift Returns to Bar Franca on April 4

    Night Shift at Bar Franca with DJ Liz O. playing post-punk, synthpop, darkwave, shoegaze on Thursday, April 4, 2024

    Thanks to everyone who made it out to Bar Franca on March 7 for the first installment of Night Shift. We’ll be doing it again on Thursday, April 4, so join me from 9 p.m. until last call for a night of post-punk, synthpop, darkwave and shoegaze.

    If you want to see what I played for the first Night Shift, check out my playlist. And if you want to RSVP for the next event, head over to Restless Nites.

    Bar Franca is located at 438 S. Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles. Look for the neon cherries above the door. There’s no cover and it’s 21+.

    See you on April 4 for Night Shift.

  • L.A. Music Events: Thursday, March 14 – Wednesday, March 20

    The Sopranos pinball machine at EightyTwo arcade in Los Angeles' Arts District. (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)

    My only gig this weekend is a private event, so I want to encourage everyone to get out and hit up one of the many other parties and shows that are happening around town. Here’s what’s happening between Thursday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 20. 

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  • Here’s What I Played at Razorcake Hearts… on March 9, 2024

    Gucci Crew II vinyl 12" for "Sally That Girl"

    Something that happens when I play all-vinyl sets is that I decide on a personal theme that should, theoretically, make it easier for me to narrow down what I pull from my stacks. Take, for example, Saturday night’s Razorcake party at Footsies. My theme for the night was dubby ‘80s, a mishmash of the dub mixes found on 12” singles during that decade and post-punk tunes that are clearly influenced by dub.

    But, now matter how often I say to myself, “Liz, stick to theme,” I just can’t do it. In this case, I started out pulling essentials like The Flying Lizards, Tom Tom Club, The League Unlimited Orchestra, Bauhaus and The Clash. Then I came across a copy of Outkast’s album Speakerboxx/The Love Below and was like, ‘when was the last time I listened to this?’ And then I find my copy of “Sally That Girl” and start thinking about how there will totally be people in the bar who haven’t heard that song since a middle school dance in 1990. But, if I’m going to play that, then I really need to bring Cybotron because that might be the only way I can mix out of Gucci Crew, and then I should probably bring Patrick Cowley too, just because I forgot to bring it to Disco Matinee last week. 

    Long story short, that’s how you end up with set lists like the ones listed below. If this is your jam, you should probably pick up tickets for Disco Matinee: Punk ’n’ Funk Edition on April 7 because it will also be all-vinyl and I know a few of these tracks will end up in my crate for that party as well. 

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