
An Oral History of Laurel Canyon, the 60s and 70s Music Mecca (2015) - tintinnabula
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/02/laurel-canyon-music-scene
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ArtWomb
This argument came up during discussions of Amazon HQ2. Whether its better to
distribute. Or concentrate talent all in one location to foment a collision of
ideas and egos.

I think about The Eagles and Hotel California a lot. It took them 2 years to
record that album. Their previous rock-country records went platinum. But
Hotel California sold like 10M+. That's what 10X improvement looks like. And
it's obvious the effect of having Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, Lindsay
Buckingham, et al right next door or down the street to bounce around riffs
and lyrics.

PBS doc Soundbreaking also has some great Laurel Canyon apocrypha:

[https://www.pbs.org/show/soundbreaking/](https://www.pbs.org/show/soundbreaking/)

~~~
CPLX
Perhaps. They also had just completely changed their lineup, getting rid of
Bernie Leadon and adding Joe Walsh.

And they had been surrounded by amazing musicians the whole time, Glen Frey
lived above Jackson Browne before they formed, and they started out as Linda
Rondstat’s backing band.

But hey it’s a good story.

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tokyodude
All this amazing music came out of one place. Is it possible part of that is
connections in promotion? Especially in the gate keeper era? In other words
there might be great music in many more places but unless it gets promoted by
the right people no one ever hears it.

~~~
woah
A bunch of very talented pop musicians moved there, and made pop music. That’s
why you’ve heard it, and that’s why you like it. These people were very good
at making music designed to appeal to you.

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zabzonk
Seems to miss out John Mayall -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues_from_Laurel_Canyon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues_from_Laurel_Canyon)

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oldmancoyote
I'm 72 and nothing in my life has ever touched me like the music of that era.
It breaks my heart that I'll never experience anything like that again.

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yodon
I have a few musician friends who lived in laurel canyon in that era and swear
by that article. Sounds like it was truly a magical place and time

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johnohara
When I think of Laurel Canyon in the 60's and early 70's, I always think of
Frank Zappa and Joni Mitchell.

Plus the miles and miles of tape they produced that has yet to drop as a
compilation or make it to air (figuratively).

To me, they always seemed to be more at the center of those artists who were
at the center of things creatively.

~~~
throwaway8879
I love that album Joni did with Jaco Pastorius. Coyote is a beautiful song and
the bassline is one of the most melodic I've ever heard. It's really difficult
to describe how amazing it really is...

~~~
johnohara
Agree. I saw her live in '79 at the Coliseum in Portland. Backed up by Jaco
and Pat Metheny, both of whom performed separate solos that featured them
playing against loops recorded in the moment.

Similiar to Dovydas:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsOCQFRWUng](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsOCQFRWUng)

She released a live album in 1980 that featured some of these performances. I
think there's video on youtube of the Santa Barbara shows.

For me, FZ's Black Napkins guitar solo, live at the Palladium in 1977, ranks
as one of his best. It's included in his movie "Baby Snakes." Watermelon in
Easter Hay is another that makes you put the pen down and listen.

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here2day
The real story of Laurel Canyon was written by Dave McGowan and it goes into
great detail of how the hippie counter culture and music scene was completely
created by the MIC. Anything saying anything else is just propaganda.

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avn2109
What is the MIC?

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
Military Industrial Complex

I was sold on McGowan's piece until I read his work on the moon landings,
which was utter raving nonsense. I was much less sold after that.

But I think it's still fair to question the extent to which psychedelia and
pro-peace (as opposed to anti-war) culture was deliberately seeded and
manufactured - in the same way that abstract art and music were promoted to
intellectuals by the US primarily for nationalistic and political reasons.

~~~
baruchthescribe
It's always important to know when someone is out of their specialty. The
researcher I practically worship on a particular subject once wrote a defence
of something I personally know to be complete nonsense because I was there and
know what happened.

Dave's Laurel Canyon piece is meticulously researched and he's in his
specialty. He's wrong about the moon landings.

~~~
infradig
Doesn't matter how meticulously researched it is if the conclusions are just
plain bonkers.

