MUCH of the literary world is mourning Gore Vidal, who died at his home here in the Hollywood Hills. Vidal was important, of course, as a social and political critic as well as a as a novelist. (He was also of course, an actor, television writer, playwright, bon vivant, curmudgeon, and so on.)Photo by Carl Van VechtenI encountered Vidal just twice -- once by phone, for a story I wrote after the … [Read more...]
The Roots of an Opera Singer
For my latest Influences column, I speak to left-of-the-dial opera soprano Juliana Snapper, who will be part of a festival of new work at REDCAT starting this Thursday.Snapper's work, some of which she's created with LA artist Ron Athey, is pretty out there. She was part of what's considered the world's first underwater opera, for instance.I found her down-to-earth and easy to talk to, and was … [Read more...]
The Jazz Standards
Music history looks different when you track it not by groups or musicians, eras or styles, but by the songs themselves. That’s part of the fun of Ted Gioia’s new book, The Jazz Standards, which looks at more than 250 songs --. He pays special attention to their origins, the varied way jazz artists have interpreted each one, and a handful of the finest versions of each. (There are a few technical … [Read more...]
Surfing With "Savages" Writer Don Winslow
ONE of my liveliest conversations with an author came the day a few years ago when I met with the crime-fiction writer Don Winslow. We met in Laguna Beach to talk about what was then his crisp new novel, The Dawn Patrol, which includes a posse of surfers.Winslow struck me right away as a great storyteller -- he talked about growing up in a Navy family where well-told tales were taken very … [Read more...]
The Roots of a Film Composer
THIS week, British film composer George Fenton -- he wrote the scores to Gandhi, Groundhog Day, The History Boys, lots of Ken Loach films, and dozens more -- comes to the Hollywood Bowl to conduct Frozen Planet, a documentary that's shown on the BBC to much acclaim.I corresponded with him for my Influences column and he came up with some expected choices -- playwright Alan Bennett, who he's worked … [Read more...]
The Roots of a Theater Company
THIS week my Influences column looked at Ellen Geer, who runs the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. For those many miles from the wilds of Topanga Canyon: This is a theater company, in a very rustic setting, founded by her father, blacklisted actor Will Geer, known to many as Grandpa Walton.William Holman Hunt paintinginspired by "Measure for Measure"Ellen Geer spoke to me about her family's … [Read more...]
Playboy Jazz Festival
ONE of the best things about Los Angeles -- hands down -- is the Hollywood Bowl, and it's become a sign of the coming of summer for a lot of us.Today I wrote an advance on the 2012 Playboy Jazz Festival, including interviews with several of the musicians who'll play there.There's a range of good and bad here, as there always are at big jazz festivals. One thing that continues to confuse me, … [Read more...]
RIP Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012
TODAY The Misread City mourns the death of Ray Bradbury. He was the first science-fiction writer, and the first Los Angeles writer, many people read. I still remember devouring the stories from The October Country and The Martian Chronicles in elementary school.In a rush of emotion and recollection, I wrote my first piece for Zocalo Public Square on Bradbury's complicated relationship with Los … [Read more...]
"I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts"
EVER wondered what it would sound like if the British writer J.G. Ballard fronted an L.A. punk band? I hadn't either, frankly, but the question crossed my mind reading the new anthology of essays and articles by Mark Dery. Twisted, brilliant, overly ornate and penetrating, I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts brings him to Skylight Books on Tuesday. (I only regret there is no essay on the Bavarian … [Read more...]
Wily Finn Magnus Lindberg
NEXT to Esa-Pekka Salonen, the most visible Finnish classical musician over the last few decades has been his old partner in crime Magnus Lindberg, who is completing a three-year term as composer-in-residence with the New York Philharmonic.Lindberg is a playful kind of modernist who has recently, as he told me, started to blend his avant-garde tendencies (interest in electronica, industrial music, … [Read more...]