LOS ANGELES: DO NOT VOTE FOR RICK CARUSO
We’ve been spending a lot of time in old malls recently. It feels like they’re on the brink of something—not quite a resurgence, but a reinvention. In LA, upscale outdoor shopping centers like the Grove and the Americana once signaled an “evolution” from the fluorescent-lit malls of our childhood, but now they just make us feel sad. As corporate simulations of life in a more pedestrian-friendly city, they remind us of what we’re missing (and anyway, fuck Rick Caruso).
The older malls are scrappier, half-empty, cheaper. The big money went elsewhere, and with it the feeling of constant supervision that comes with proximity to valuable stuff. In an old mall, nobody really cares what you do. You can sleep in the massage chairs and do renegade photo shoots. There are real mom & pops. Immigrant-run businesses. Odd little community centers and art shows. The kiosk vendors are spreading out. Plus it’s air-conditioned.
In Portland, the Lloyd Center Mall—one of the oldest malls in the country—is quietly coming back punk. Our friends Dreem Street took over the old Vans store. Musique Plastique sells rare post-punk LPs and streams DJ sets in what used to be a Spencer’s. Kids are smoking weed in the sneaker shop. All this plus a historic ice rink, a chess club, and a full-on magic theater. It’s either “post-apocalyptic or pre-utopian,” and we (always) vote for the latter.
With climate change, outdoor malls will become wastelands. But indoor malls already serve as official cooling centers during heatwaves in many cities. As the last refuge for climate-controlled shopping, they’ll become interesting to developers and big retailers again. The money will come back. So we figure we have a decade—tops!—to try and claim the mall as our own.
WE RETURN HOME AFTER BRAVING DIMES SQUARE & THE IMPOSSIBLY WET NORTHWEST
Speaking of pre-utopian, we have a big show coming up in Los Angeles!
On November 19th, we’re bringing our documentary, The Computer Accent, to 2220 Arts + Archives, which was recently named one of the best arts spaces in town. The screening will be followed by a conversation with filmmakers Riel Roch-Decter and Sebastian Pardo and a live set from us.
Buy tickets:
This will be the final big presentation of the film this year, and our last live show too. We just tied up a run of screenings and shows in New York and the Pacific Northwest. Big love to all those who came out to those events!
CATCH A SPECIAL RUN AT THE LAEMMLE THEATERS
If you can’t make the big show at 2220 Arts + Archives, The Computer Accent will also be screening at four Laemmle Theaters in the Los Angeles-area that week. We’ll be at every screening, accompanied by different friends, to answer questions and chat it up. Come say hello!
As full of potential as an empty storefront,
Claire, Jona, & Rob
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You present a strong case. We clearly need climate controlled shopping here in Florida (the humidity is a beast) yet those outdoor shopping centers persist. The mall I grew up with has become pretty sad and even a little scary. But then again I haven't been there in a while. Maybe something's happening? Maybe I'll check it out.