Trouble in Paradise: Music and Los Angeles 1945-1975 

MOCA's "Under the Big Black Sun: California Art, 1974-1981" was the only exhibit under the Getty's Pacific Standard Time umbrella to even briefly look at L.A. music, namely the all-white face of ye olde punk. The Grammy Museum's new "Trouble in Paradise: Music and Los Angeles, 1945-1975" — co-curated by museum executive director Robert Santelli and USC Journalism professor (and former L.A. Weekly contributor) Josh Kun — digs a whole lot deeper, exploring not only the city's multicultural musical landscape across three crucial decades but L.A. as a flawed bastion of fun and sun. While the timeline covers various scenes beginning with jazz and the rise of clubs (including Hermosa Beach's seminal Lighthouse Cafe), much of the exhibit focuses on the '60s, from soul rockers in East L.A. to the hippie longhairs of Laurel Canyon and the Sunset Strip, not to mention the accompanying social upheaval, including the riots in Watts and curfew protests along the Strip. Among the hundreds of artifacts are photos from the Herald Examiner and Los Angeles Public Library; LPs, album art and concert posters; audio and video stations; a drive-in installation; and loads of memorabilia belonging to Art Laboe. Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., dwntwn.; Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; thru June 3; $12.95. (213) 765-6800, grammymuseum.org. — By Siran Babayan

Price: $12.95