Melissa Kacar

La La Land represents the importance of believing that the city of stars really is shining just for you, and that no dream is too big or too far away to reach. It serves as a reminder that if you pour yourself into the art you make, other people will inevitably feel that passion and connect with it. There is such a specific integrity in the pursuit of creating something long before anyone else notices it, or even with the chance that no one ever will, and this film honors that act beautifully. It also focuses on the importance of the people that come into your life for a brief period of time to inspire and guide you into the next stage of the person you're becoming - even if they aren't meant to stay forever. Their influence still will always linger though, and the mark they leave becomes a formative part of your own journey. La La Land is a love story, but it's also ultimately a portrait of two people chasing their dreams and learning how to build a life alongside one ano...

Greetings from The Crux Hotel! 🐭🗝️☆  Back in August 2025 when I visited Los Angeles , one of the biggest highlights of the trip was getting to take a tour of Paramount Studios. Of course tons of iconic movies and TV shows were filmed there, but one of my personal favorite parts of the tour was seeing the building facade used on the cover of one of my favorite albums ever - The Crux by Djo !! I absolutely love Djo 's music and this was so cool to see in person. Not to mention, this is also one of my favorite album covers of all time too! The cover was shot on Paramount's outdoor cityscape backlot. It's a part of a massive set that's been used in countless projects, meant to mimic the look of New York or Chicago. The tour guide drove through this part of the lot really quickly because they were actually filming something there that day, but I'm so glad I got to get a few pictures of it. Hopefully one day I get to go back and take pictures in front of it!  The Cru...

To celebrate the release of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things , Netflix released a special limited edition ten song compilation vinyl sold exclusively at Target, titled The WSQK Collection . An integral part of season five is that so much of the story unfolds in and around the local radio station called WSQK in Hawkins, Indiana. It essentially becomes a headquarters for the characters as the events of the final season unravels. Music has always been an essential part of the show, Stranger Things has delivered some of the most iconic TV music moments of the past decade, so centering a major location of the show around a radio station feels especially fitting.  This season, Robin and Steve - portrayed by Maya Hawke and Joe Keery - work at the station, with Rockin' Robin hosting her own show. I love that duo, and I wish we got more scenes of them working inside the station the way we did in past seasons because they have such a fun dynamic together. In season five, ...

Joni Mitchell wrote "California" all over the world, each verse was written in a different country and vividly depicts both the physical and emotional place she was at in those moments. From France, to Spain, to Greece, she writes a travelogue of her time in each country, but continuously wishes she were home in California instead. "Sitting in a park in Paris, France, reading the news and it sure looks bad," Joni sings in the opening lines of the song. "They won't give peace a chance, that was just a dream some of us had". She wrote this song in a very conversational, stream-of-consciousness style. Her talent for storytelling is like no other, her writing is so vivid and detailed that allows the listener to be transported right to the setting of the song. "California" was written sometime in the summer of 1970, while she was traveling through Europe. Throughout that journey, she ended up writing much of  Blue , which was released the followi...

♥  "the coffee's out at the Beachwood Cafe"  ♥ On my recent trip to Los Angeles back in July, one of the most anticipated destinations was finally getting to visit the iconic Beachwood Cafe! This cute restaurant is located in historic Beachwood Canyon, which is the neighborhood right below The Hollywood Sign. It is also referenced in Harry Styles ' song "Falling", which is a beautiful ballad that truly feels like the heart of Fine Line to me. He sings, "and the coffee's out at the Beachwood Cafe, and it kills me 'cause I know we've run out of thing we can say".  I love visiting places that represent a piece of music history, or places that inspired some of my favorite songs, even if it's just in a small way like this! It's one of my favorite topics to research anytime I'm travelling. Of course, the amount of music and art that was made in and inspired by the city of Los Angeles is literally endless, it's impossible to ...