Read this: A brief history of “Licorice Pizza,” the L.A. record store that inspired Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest
Formerly named Soggy Bottom, PTA’s upcoming film will premiere this November

Aside from “Martin Scorsese comments on Marvel movies,” there are few things more exciting to cinephiles than “new Paul Thomas Anderson movie.” Anderson is ramping up the excitement for his next film by making a few changes, including updating the title from Soggy Bottom, which is just an astounding title for a movie, to Licorice Pizza, a confusing one. For many, the title Licorice Pizza probably means as much as Chappie or Finch or Soggy Bottom. But as L.A. Mag explains, Licorice Pizza shares its name with a now-shuttered southern California record store. They write:
The new name comes from a long-gone chain of L.A. record shops founded in Long Beach by James Greenwood in 1969. By the time the Glendale-based chain was sold in 1985 there were 34 locations in Southern California, including Canoga Park, North Hollywood, Reseda, and the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Their logo, featuring a depression-era cook proud of her freshly baked record album, was plastered all over the streets of L.A., and is currently a top-selling T-shirt at the Valley Relics Museum, which registered the apparel trademark just in time to get in on the movie action.
The name for the store comes from a joke made by folk duo Bud & Travis on their live album Bud & Travis…In Concert. Recorded at the Santa Monica Civic Center in 1960, the album features some stage banter, including some choice self-deprecating roasts of their album: