School system doesn’t sap all of her energy

Writer, performance artist and radio commentator Sandra Tsing Loh has parlayed a solo stage show about parenting, schools and dysfunction into a bestselling memoir, “Mother on Fire.” The L.A. native recently set up a website, at www.askamagnetyenta.wordpress, to assist weary parents in navigating the public school labyrinth in Southern California.

Her weekly radio commentary series, “The Loh Life,” runs on KPCC-FM (89.3) in Los Angeles. Loh, a regular contributor to the Atlantic Monthly, is also the author of “A Year in Van Nuys” and “If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home by Now.”

She recently shared her views on pop culture with Liesl Bradner.

Heavy rotation on your iPod:

I like very cliche, non-updated music like Donald Fagen. I clean the house to Django Reinhardt. When I’m moody, Joni Mitchell. I like classical too, Chopin’s Barcarolle.

I’m an amateur violin player, so I enjoy old American music like Stephen Foster and Ken Burns-style documentary fiddle music.

Soundtrack for your commute:

The news. KPCC, of course.

In your Netflix queue:

With kids, the only time I get to see any movies or TV shows is on JetBlue. I recently got to see “Mad Men” and “John Adams.” I see all the good series on JetBlue.

TV picks:

I was recently on “The Office,” so I’d like to see more episodes.

In your bedside library:

I do a lot of reading for the Atlantic, so I have a huge pile of books by my bed. “One Day, All Children” by Wendy Kopp, Robert T. Putnam “Bowling Alone.” I really enjoy “Slackonomics” by Lisa Chamberlain. It’s a new twist on my generation. I recently reread “Lolita.”

Under my bed I have “Salvation on Sand Mountain” by Dennis Covington, a fantastic book. “Faith in Carlos Gomez” by Samantha Dunn, “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” by Chip and Dan Heath, “The Black Swan” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I’m also rereading Erika Schickel’s book “You’re Not the Boss of Me,” and “The Art of War.”

Top Internet destination:

LAObserved, Google, Wikipedia, laughoutloud.net and icanhascheezburger.com -- I look at that with my daughter. It’s really stupid photos of cats with bad, poorly spelled captions.

Guilty pleasures:

Lay’s chips and “The Bridges of Madison County.” I can now see why 70-year-old women in South Dakota were crying over it.

I just don’t get it:

I was in a hotel room recently and caught Flavor Flav and “The Flavor of Love.” I was in such horror, yet I couldn’t stop watching. I felt like I needed to have a shower after watching it. Why do we have these shows?