Los Angeles is a beautiful, complicated place where darkness lurks in every corner, hiding its face from the bright light of the southern California glare. The first true crime book I ever read (when I was way too young) was the famous Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger and I was hooked. You’d think that book would turn me off, but as any true crime fan knows, it only made me want to go to the Best Coast more. I love LA.
Los Angeles has enough sprawling space to be weird and complicated in your own way, even if no one sees it. It’s a place to get lost and rarely a place to be found. We are thinking about our friends and family and coworkers who are helplessly watching their very special city—and its very special citizens—suffer.
As for the song, yes, I was one of those early 2000s hipsters who knew bands “you probably never heard of.” One of those bands was The Decemberists, the perfect group for kids who read too much and love history class.
