Another perk of the L.A. sprawl: Every Fourth of July, a flurry of fireworks can be seen glinting across the Los Angeles skyline like bioluminescent plankton on a wave.

Last year's best time-lapse video of this spectacle — truly a raver's wet dream — was shot from a hill in Highland Park. This year, we zoom out a little:

From his perch in the Hollywood Hills, Vimeo user Brian Townsend captures legal/illegal fireworks exploding across various L.A. hoods, from the Miracle Mile to the Marina. Props to the blog Los Angeles, I'm Yours for digging this one up:

the 4th over los angeles from Brian Townsend on Vimeo.

A similarly mesmerizing time-lapse by Vimeo user Matt Devino shows the light show through a sliver of negative space between two structural landmarks downtown: The Anjac Fashion Building and 818 Santee.

4th of July 2012 Fireworks Timelapse over Los Angeles from Matt Devino on Vimeo.

Pretty fucking lovely, right?

Only downer is knowing that — amid the rain of both city-sanctioned 'works and roman candles smuggled from Mexico — the streets of South Los Angeles were popping off with a different kind of fire on Wednesday night.

We had one of the most violent Independence Days in recent memory: Nine shootings were reported within seven hours, leaving three dead and 11 injured. And when the LAPD tried to shut down a DIY light show in Watts, revelers allegedly threw rocks, bottles and live fireworks at the officers.

So let's reminisce to a more tranquil time with last year's best time-lapse, as observed from Highland Park.

In a word: Bomb.

[@simone_electra / swilson@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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