Griffith Park – En Fuego

Took a few pictures from the roof of my building. Pretty crazy – they just had the Observatory shut down for two years to remodel.

Helicopters are everywhere.

The latest from local news provider KTLA here.

5/9 PM Update: Helicopters are still everywhere. Most recent report is that the fire is “75% contained.”

KTLA calls this area an “urban tinderbox.” It’s melodramatic, but strangely appropriate for me as the fire against the back drop of the Hollywood sign was visible from my office window and now this one from my roof. Both started by carelessness as well. Considering how little trees LA has – and the cost of insurance here – this sucks.

On a lighter note…

To the Angelenos out there, rest-assured that I won’t sleep until that cross at the Highland exit of the 101 is adequately fireproofed.

Click on the image (or here) for the full collection of shots.

Featured Electronic Artist – Jesse Rose

Jesse Rose, like Claude Von Stroke, virtually came out of nowhere and is a big part of the hot minimal/tech-house sounds coming from Berlin at the moment. In my opinion – right now – it is collectively the best production output of anywhere on the planet.

Booka Shade’s uber-label Get Physical spearheaded the charge, but artists like Jesse Rose are churning out quality beats that successfully straddle the line of most house sub-genres while defying easy categorization.

31 of his tracks are available for download on Beatport.

MySpace Music profile here.

Rocking WMC 2007 (and the obligatory Who’s Afraid of Detroit throwdown):

The Inaugural Post – Coachella 2007

I recently attended my second Coachella this year with a large group of very close friends.

We had an eye-opening experience.

Despite the incredible time I had with a smaller group last year, I still was not prepared for the intensity of emotion that accompanies such a profound experience as Coachella. While you’re there, time takes a much more ethereal quality, passing in massive yet hardly distinguishable lumps of fun. One thing is certain though: you feel an undeniable closeness with those sharing the experience with you.