Los Angeles: we tour five video locations
Los Angeles, the city of stars, has been the chosen set for many of the most famous music videos of recent years. With options for the lovers of any musical genre, from the pop of Britney Spears to the rap of Tupac, the indie of Lana del Rey or the unique style of Pablo Alborán. We take a tour around areas of Los Angeles that have been the stage for some of the music videos that have made the biggest impact on pop culture.
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1 Palm trees and the reflection of the sea in Malibu
If we’re talking about beaches, Malibu is probably the favourite setting for films, as well as being one of the favourite destinations for surfing fans. Its warm climate, with an average of 20°C throughout the year, its endless beaches, the surrounding mountains and the large number of leisure activities offered by the city make it one of the most popular in Los Angeles. It’s also the coast most desired by celebrities for building their houses overlooking the sea. Of the coast’s more than 40km, three-quarters are occupied by these private buildings. Lana del Rey shows us one of these mansions in the video for her song High by the Beach.
Malibu´s beach front, one of the celebrities´ favourite - Getty images -
2 A building fit for the movies
Located in downtown LA, the Bradbury Building is, without a doubt, one of the most emblematic office buildings on the big screen. Its Italian-Renaissance-inspired structure surrounds its central courtyard, which has been seen in several films, including Blade Runner, The Artist and 500 Days of Summer. Justin Timberlake and the country music star Chris Stapleton showed off the spectacular interior of this late-19th-century building, declared a National Historic Landmark. Their video Say Something, directed by the Mexican filmmaker Arturo Pérez Jr, invites us to a stroll through the magical interior of the Bradbury Building.
Bradbury Building, featured in many Hollywood films -
3 The Venice of the Pacific
The neighbourhood of Venice Beach is one of the best places to soak up Los Angeles’ artistic vibe or to get into shape at one of the beachside gyms. With canals and homes that look like something out of Venice, shopping is another must along Abbott Kinney Boulevard, which stretches nearly two kilometres long. Venice High School is located on Venice Boulevard, which runs perpendicular to it. Besides being one of the main sets for Grease, this typical high school is the scene of the clip with which, 20 years later, a teenager named Britney Spears would make her debut:...Baby One More Time.
Venice Canal Historic District, built in 1905 by Abbot Kinney -
4 Art and light in the streets
In the city’s west, the Urban Light sculpture comprises 202 lampposts. Chris Burden, an American known for his performances, created this work for Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Thanks to the built-in solar panels, its LED lights (a gift from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation) turn on and off based on available daylight. The light installation has attracted many production companies for their films, series and advertisements. Pablo Alborán also chose it as the main set for his music video Recuérdame.
Urban Light sculpture, Chris Burden collected real street lamps from the 1920s and 1930s -
5 Driving through the streets of Los Angeles
Considered by many to be the rapper Tupac’s best song, the music video for ‘To Live and Die in LA’ was filmed in a Chevrolet Impala that travelled through many of downtown LA’s most interesting neighbourhoods. From the Arts District, where the clip begins, to the Los Angeles Courthouse – a façade renowned for having served as a backdrop for trials including OJ Simpson’s – Tupac gives his take of the city’s underground life in what would be the penultimate video he made before his murder. The video features several famous murals from the Los Angeles street art scene, such as Noni Olabisi’s To Protect and Serve, which celebrates the importance of the Black Panther movement in American history, and the We Are Not a Minority mural by Chicano artists Mario Torero, Rocky, El Lion and Zade, made in honour of the Cuban revolution. It’s at workers’ housing complex Estrada Courts, whose gallery of politically charged murals resonates with Mexican culture in the United States.
Civic Center in Downtown Los Angeles is home to some of the city's best restaurants and the Staples Center (now crypto.com Arena), where the Los Angeles Lakers play.
