Xanadu News (first part of 2026)

Earlier this year, Los Angeles Time published a large article rating the best movies about and filmed in Los Angeles. In the piece ‘The 101 Best Los Angeles Movies, Ranked’ by Greg Braxton, Xanadu is ranked along side iconic movies like Chinatown, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Blade Runner and L. A. Story. On Xanadu, author writes:

“I've always been charmed by the ELO soundtrack, plus Gene Kelly's final film appearance represents its own kind of Hollywood history. But this roller disco musical is also a Los Angeles time capsule: The film spotlights the Pan-Pacific Auditorium, an iconic venue that once hosted major events. The auditorium was already closed and in disrepair during filming and it burned down in 1989. (If you go to Pan Pacific Park, you can see some smaller-scale replicas of its distinctive Art Deco spires.) Other key scenes were performed at the chic Fiorucci showroom in Beverly Hills and the Venice Beach Boardwalk.”

My thanks to Kira Lehtomaki for sending me a copy of the text as I can’t get beyond the paywall.

Another sudden surprise was a package I received from Robert Porter of the grand ELO site, Jeff Lynne Song Database. As part of his elaborate search for Jeff Lynne/ELO material to cover the universe, he took the bold choice by taking an A. I. audio program and applying it to each of the tracks from the Xanadu OST! Each track (bonus tracks included) is separated into 8 ‘stems’ in order.

I have taken the liberty of sharing this fandom insanity by putting all up on Internet Archive! You can read my liner notes and hear it all HERE.

My thanks to Robert Porter for putting this together

…..and may Kira help us all with this mountain,

Don-O