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.”
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.
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.
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.
In the four or five times that I’ve listened to The Human Fear, the latest album from Franz Ferdinand, since it was released on January 10, I keep going back to one song. “Black Eyelashes” is the band’s take on rembetiko (also spelled rebetiko), a style of Greek music that was particularly popular in the first half of the 20th century, and I’m hooked on it.
It’s sounds like there have been a Greek influence on Franz Ferdinand’s music from the get-go. I can’t really pinpoint exactly what it is, but something in the guitar tones and the rhythms they use has struck me as very eastern Mediterranean since I first heard “Take Me Out” 20+ years ago. On, “Black Eyelashes,” though, the influence is so blatant that you might start imagining that final dance scene in Zorba the Greek. I did.
It’s David Bowie’s birthday, which means that Friday night, January 10, will be Club Underground’s annual Bowie night. Both floors of the Grand Star will be open so ready for some sound and vision with Larry G. and me in the DJ booths and Miho ready to make you up like Aladdin Sane. Underground’s Bowie Nights do sell out, so click on this link to get your tickets asap.
Finally, there’s a movie that truly understands the vinyl nerd, one that gets the crazy, stupid and possibly dangerous lengths we might travel to procure an ultra-rare, likely-cursed album released by a hippie cult a half-century ago. Of course, this movie, Pater Noster and the Mission of Light, is a horror flick served with a good dose of comedy. Where else did you think a hunt for Discogs gold would take you?
Directed by Christopher Bickel, the South Carolina-based, “anti-Hollywood” filmmaker whose previous efforts include Bad Girls and The Theta Girl, Pater Noster and the Mission of Light is no-budget cinema at its finest. It looks good, has a great soundtrack with original music and, most importantly, is a clever, well-written film. Released last year, Pater Noster has been streaming on Night Flight, which is where I caught it. There’s also a Blu-Ray release on the horizon.
Dancing to “Smalltown Boy” at Club Underground’s New Year’s Eve party.
By now, you’ve probably read, and argued with, more Best of 2024 lists than you can recall, but I’m here to tell you now, on the first day of 2025, that the real song of the year was a 40-year-old Bronski Beat club hit whose viral success probably wasn’t as organic as reported. (Seriously, people just happened to ask their parents how to dance to “Smalltown Boy” right at the time of the song’s 40th anniversary and not, like, when it appeared in Euphoria? And there just happened to be contemporary club remixes ready to be released in the aftermath of its success on TikTok?)
But, even if the song’s resurgence was a total marketing ploy, it worked. On the hottest nights of the summer, I would hear people scream for “Smalltown Boy” as they threw their hands in the air and danced with sweat dripping from their faces. After the summer faded, the song’s popularity dipped only slightly. On New Year’s Eve, it still hyped up the Underground crowd. But, to be fair, “Smalltown Boy” is one of those songs that never quite dropped off L.A. club playlists— like “Living on Video” or “Send Me an Angel”— the whole viral thing just gave it an extra kick.
Anyhow, thanks to everyone who made it out to Club Underground’s New Year’s Eve party last night. Scroll down to see what I played. Next gig for me is David Bowie night at Club Underground on Friday, January 10. David Bowie night is a biggie, and it has sold out before, so click on this link to get your tickets as soon as possible.
Just a quick update with my set list from last night’s gig. I played at The Mermaid for Splash Sundays, with a set that went roughly from 8 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. Splash Sundays is a no genre night, but I think last night’s set definitely leaned more towards classic alt and modern indie and darkwave. I don’t plan sets. Really, I just go by what songs make people move and what band t-shirts people are wearing.
Did you make your plans for New Year’s Eve yet? On Tuesday, December 31, Club Underground takes over both floors of the Grand Star Jazz Club in Los Angeles’ Chinatown for a night of indie, new wave, darkwave, Britpop, post-punk and so much more. Larry G., Filthy Rich and I (Liz O.) will be your DJs from 9:30 p.m. until 2 a.m.
Tickets for New Year’s Eve at Club Underground are available now and you should click on this link and snap up yours as soon as possible because this event sells out every year.
