Month: April 2018 (Page 2 of 4)

For the next few weeks The RFC Flashback will go back to the most ambitious series of episodes in Radio Free Charleston history.  In June, 2011 I decided to try and do something sort of crazy. I’d managed to crank out Radio Free Charleston on a weekly basis before, which was no mean feat since the show was basically produced by me alone, with camera help from my now-wife Mel Larch and occasional help from other friends. For FestivALL 2011, I managed to produce eight episodes of Radio Free Charleston in under two weeks.

This week we being you the third special FestivALL 2011 episode of Radio Free Charleston, which features music from The Kingfish Five (pictured), Joseph Hale, 600 lbs of SIn and Uncle Eddy and Robyn. There are also scenes from Sunday Funday at The Clay Center and Dr. Sketchy’s Anti Art Show. By the end of this show we’d posted more than an hour of FestivALL in three days, and next week you’ll see the episode that we posted on the fourth consecutive day of our insane production schedule.

The PopCulteer
April 20, 2018

It’s a short PopCulteer this week. Yours truly is still far under the weather, but if I write any more about being sick here in PopCult it’ll be a HIPPA violation, so let’s just get on with some random notes.

Tonight at 7 PM at Unity of Kanwha Valley, The BrotherSisters are holding their last concert before going their separate ways.

This has been a long-term and fruitful musical union that has produced some of the most thoughtful and entertiaining high concept music in the area, and it’s a shame to see them go, but it’s good that they’re splitting on their own terms.

Your last chance to hear the BrotherSisters before they disband to go their separate musical ways is Friday night at Unity, 804 Myrtle Rd, Charleston. $5 suggested donation. Feel free to bring snacks, wine or non-alcoholic beverages. This is one I’m going to try to attend, if I can quit coughing for more than five minutes.

As one band ends, another finds itself with a new beginning. At 9:30 PM at The Boulevard Tavern the recently reunited band, In The Company of Wolves, finds themselves holding a CD release party for their new album. In support are two other local powerhouses, Scarlet Revolt and Luna Park. Check out the graphic below. Cover is a mere five bucks.

Record Store Day

Record Store Day, the national movement to get people into records shops by offering hundreds of exclusive releases on one day each year, is Saturday, and three local stores are participating.

Bill Lynch covers the story for the Gazette-Mail so that your PopCulteer can just slack off and post a link. This is always fun, and I’m hoping to be physically able to get out and find some crunchy vinyl goodness. Last year I was in Chicago for Record store Day, and had to miss all the local fun down here.

Earth Day

Saturday is also Earth Day, and Fletcher’s Grove is headlining a show at the Bakery…

That’s a wrap

It’s a short PopCulteer this week, but we did offer up a PopCult Comix Bookshelf earlier today, and a PopCult Toybox is on the way later this afternoon, so it’s not like I’m really slacking off much while I’m hopefully in the last days of this infernal crud. Keep checking PopCult for fresh content every day.

The PopCult Comix Bookshelf

Reefer Madness Comics
edited by Craig Yoe
comics by Jack Kirby, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Frank Frazetta, Jerry Robinson and more
Dark Horse Books
ISBN-13: 978-1506702278
$19.99

Master comics historian, Craig Yoe, has gone to pot…literally. This new collection of comics brings together some of the most hysterically dramatic and unrealistic portrayals of the dangers of marijuana that you’re likely to ever find. Reefer Madness Comics may very well be your gateway drug into the world of vintage crime comics.

It’s not all presented for laughs. Yoe’s introductory essay touches on the power of propaganda and how the comics medium was used to help villify marijuana, only to see the same tactics of junk science and ethically dubious evidence used against the comics industry in the 1950s. It’s a meaty topic and one well worth considering now that we seem to be living in the golden age of misinformation.

But beyond that, the real attraction in Reefer Madness are the comics. Comics that, no matter how skillful the creator, or how sharp their storytelling abilities, are solidly rooted in an almost total ignorance of their subject matter. These comics are uproariously entertaining because they are so spectacularly dumb.

The comics reprinted in Reefer Madness Comics (which takes its name from the classic and now campy propaganda film of the 1930s) read like Jack Chick Comics on drugs.

Mostly gathered from crime comics of the 1940s and 1950s (with a few exceptions), these comics are so over-the-top in their presentation of pot as being the most dangerous menace to society ever that they rise to a sublime level of ridiculousness.

With titles like “Satan’s Cigarettes,” “Hopped up Killer,” “Dope Menace” and “Monkey On Her Back,” you can be assured that you’re in for an epic unintentional humor contact high.

Evidently written by people who had absolutely no firsthand experience with marijuana, these cautionary tales are filled with wild behavior that no educated person would ever associate with the use of pot. There are murder sprees, robberies, prostitution and everything they could imagine. The Kirby story (that’s a panel at the bottom of this post) is about a serial rapist/torturer/arsonist/murderer who is driven to kill when he doesn’t get his reefer!

You need to have a fine appreciation of irony and the absurd, and enough knowledge to determine how mind-blowingly silly these comics are, to find them as entertaining as I do. However, if you’re looking for the absolute perfect gift for a pothead or pothead sympathizer, you’ve found it. Processed through the mind of someone who, in their day, may have “smoke too many pot,” Reefer Madness Comics may elicit a manic giggling fit not unlike some of the bizarre antics seen in this book.

If you are looking for a gift to celebrate 4 20, Reefer Madness Comics is your book. Seriously, this is some good sh*t.

Bronchitis week continues on The AIR and rather than croak out a new episode of Radio Free Charleston International, your PopCulteer decided to repackage a classic episode that hasn’t been heard since 2016. This one re-debuts Thursday at 3 PM. Listen at The AIR Website or tune in to this little embedded player…

We threw down the guantlet of free-format radio with this episode of RFC International devoted to complete unpredictability.

You can hear RFC International Thursday at 3 PM, Friday at 7 AM and 10 PM, Saturday at Noon and 1 AM and next Tuesday at 11 PM, exclusively on The AIR.

Here’s what’s in store for you this week…

John Cale “Changes Made”
They Might Be Giants “Black Ops”
Dirty Heads “Oxygen”
Green Day “Bang Bang”
John Anderson “Midnight Dancing”
Frank Zappa “Uncle Remus (Mix Outtake)
Peter Garrett “Homecoming”
DEVO “I Love Ur Gun”
No Doubt “Snakes”
Kate Pierson “Guitars and Microphones”
Neil Young “Vampire Blues”
Mi Sex “Not Such A Bad Boy”
Sabaton “Camoflauge”
The Who “Cook’s County”
A Day To Remember “Bullfight”
DGM “Animal”
Placebo “Twenty Years”
Faith No More “Why Do You Bother”
Paul McCartney “Check My Machine”
Ultravox “There Goes A Beautiful World”
Shakespeare’s Sister “Catwoman”
Screamin” Jay Hawkins “Frenzy”
King Grizzard and the Lizard Wizard “Mr. Beat”
George Harrison “Party Seacombe”
Kate Bush “James And The Cold Gun”
The Temptations “Ball Of Confusion”
Strawberry Alarm Clock “Blues For A Young Girl Gone”
The Radio Department “The Thing Was Bored”

PopCult Magazine Rack

Last year when it was announced that DC Comics was going to move MAD Magazine from New York City, where it’s been headquartered since it was founded as a comic book in 1952, some folks got worried that the very soul of the magazine, and its New York attitude, would not survive the cross-country journey.

When it was learned that the editorial staff would not be making the move to Burbank, more folks got worried. Then, when it was announced that Bill Morrison would take over as the Editor I stopped worrying.

What, me worry?

I’ve been a fan of Morrison’s work since his days as the creative director of The Simpsons Comics, and knew that the magazine was in good hands. There have been changes: A new (old) logo; renumbering the book at #1; adding some new blood to the mix of talent and making a few cosmetic changes to the layout, but happily, if it wan’t broke, Morrison didn’t try to fix it.

This first new issue of MAD is ad-free (save for a subscription page), and Al Jaffee is still on board with his classic fold-in, as are Sergio Aragones, Peter Kuper, Tom Richmond, Dick DeBartolo and a good number of “the usual gang of idiots. There’s also some new blood, and it’s all top-notch. The cover (seen at the head of this post) is by Jason Edmiston, whom I interviewed for Non Sport Update a few years ago, which led to use becoming Facebook friends. His career has taken off and it’s huge that he was chosen to contribute the first cover to the relaunched MAD.

The comics section is expanded, with new work by Bob Fingerman (Minimum Wage), Luke McGarry and Kerry Callen. There’s a two-page spread written by comedian Brian Posehn with art by Peter Bagge. As always, Advertising is in MAD‘s crosshairs, and the movie and TV parodies are still here, and funnier than ever.

In fact, there is a brilliant parody of Riverdale by Ian Boothby and Tom Richmond that starts out with several pages drawn perfectly in the style of Will Elder’s 1950’s “Starchie” parody. When you add that to the fact that the “new” logo is pretty much identical to the one MAD had on it’s very first issue in 1952, you realize that MAD Magazine is in good hands indeed.

That’s bad news for celebrities, ad men, parents, and certain orange-hued politicos, but good news for anybody with a healthy sense of humor.

MAD Magazine #1 should be available nationwide today, with a cover price of $5.99, where ever magazines are sold.

Yesterday afternoon the news broke that Isaac Larian’s bid to buy 215 of the remaining US Toys R Us stores, along with the Canadian arm had been rejected. This was not a shock. His bid was almost embarrassingly low, at under 900 million dollars for both countries’ stores combined, and there was no way the court was going to take such a bid seriously. Larian (right) says that he’s disappointed, but didn’t give any solid hints to his next move.

His bid was so low that “unnamed sources” leaked its rejection to the Wall Street Journal before he’d even been formally notified. What is not clear is whether or not there are any other bids that would keep any of the stores in the US open. Lairan’s bid for 215 US stores was $675 million dollars, which is probably half of the minimum amount it would have had to have been to be taken seriously.

Larian had to have known this. My guess is that he went ahead with his bid in the hopes of bringing other bidders out of the closet that he could possibly team up with them and come up with an offer that might be considered by the trustees. At this moment, building a coalition of investors might be the best hope to keep TRU alive in the US.

While Toys R Us went bankrupt due to the overwhelming debt it was saddled with after a questionable leveraged buyout, it is not a worthless company. The name has value. The website has value. There are large real estate holdings worth a fortune. The reason nobody stepped in to buy them before they were forced into bankruptcy was that debt, estimated at five-to-twelve billion dollars, depending on the source. Aside from the debt, the company is probably worth four to six billion dollars, worldwide.

The Asian Toys R Us operations, of which TRU owns 85%, have reportedly drawn multiple bids of over a billion dollars.

It remains to be seen if there are enough interested parties looking to acquire any of the US stores to see any stores in the chain rescued. If there are, they’ll need to have way more money on hand than Larian had. Otherwise his best effort might be dropping his bid for the US stores, and tripling his bid for the Canadian arm of the company.

This story is likely to develop rapidly over the next few days. By this weekend, the liquidation sales should move into the next phase, with deeper discounts, but that could be pushed back if the court sees a ray of hope that some may stay open. Some stores are now telling customers that they might remain open into July.

Tune in to The AIR Wednesday as Life Speaks to Michele Zirkle examines the art of self-actualization and Beatles Blast returns with a special presentation of a classic Beatles radio documentary. Listen to it The AIR (or this embedded player).

This week Michele talks about how to realiaze your dreams by re-examining how you see yourself. The Importance of your opinion on your role in this world is paramount, and changing how you evaulate your life can help you change your life in postive ways.

Life Speaks to Michele Zirkle replays on The AIR Friday at 9:30 AM and Monday at 12:30 PM.

Beginning the week, Beatles Blast will present a re-edited series devoted to The Beatles Story, a British radio history of the Fab Four which hasn’t been heard since its original broadcast in 1973. This first installment follows the band in their early days as they head to Hamburg, Germany for some pre-fame seasoning, and then return to the UK, almost ready for the big time.

Beatles Blast can be heard Wednesday at 2 PM, Thursday at 11 AM and 9 PM, Friday at 5 PM, and Tuesday at 9 AM.

Stay tuned all day, every day, for incredible music, thought-provoking talk and gut-busting comedy exclusively on The AIR.

Check PopCult later today for posts about the new MAD Magazine and the latest on Toys R Us.

Radio Free Charleston brings you an hour of mostly new, local music this week on The AIR, hosted by your terribly congested PopCulteer. You can tune in at 10 AM and 10 PM Tuesday at The AIR website, or just listen on this little embedded wonder…

Last week I told you about The Mark Beckner Group and how they were playing at The Blue Parrot for a mere five bucks on Friday night with Speedsuit opening. Speedsuit is the latest band featuring Mark’s brother, Stephen Beckner, who was his bandmate in Go Van Gogh, Hitchcock Circus and The Nanker Phelge. I personally rank both Beckners among the finest songwriters in the state. These are two of my oldest and dearest friends in the local music scene, and it sucks that I was not able to get out to see them.

It also sucks that I’m still sick, and therefore declaring “Bronchitis Week” on The AIR. Tune in at 10 AM and 10 PM today to hear me kick off a Radio Free Charleston loaded with new music, not just from Mark Beckner Group and Speedsuit, but also from Sheldon Vance, Poor Man’s Gravy, Emmalea Deal, Ptolemy and more. Just look at this playlist…

RFCv4074

Mark Beckner Group “Nigh”
Speedsuit “Long As Yesterday”
Sheldon Vance “Melody”
John Radcliff “Useless”
Farnsworth “Free Me”
Hawthorne Heights “Chemicals”
Emmalea Deal “Sacred”
Ptolemy “Spin Wrench Non”
Poor Man’s Gravy “The River”
Kerry Hughes “Copycat Blues”
Byzantine “Incremental”
David Synn “The Horror”
Feast of Stephen “Blinded Baby In A Cage”
Hasil Adkins “I Don’t Want Nobody The Way I Want You”

Radio Free Charleston can be heard Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM, with replays Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 8 PM and Saturday at 11 AM and Midnight, exclusively on The AIR. Tune in at 3 PM to see if my voice held up well enough to record a new episode of The Swing Shift.

This week’s art, with the cumbersome title posted above, is based on a years-old photograph I took at at a session of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School starring Jasmine Rose. For this digital painting I copied her face from one photo and her pose from another, and combined them with a mutated and flopped abstract take on “The Great Wave” in the background.

Rather than simply rely on filters, this piece was created by painting over the combined elements on a new layer, using digital brushes that I’ve had in my arsenal for years. Not only does it create a more cohesive look, but it also allowed me to cover up the sloppy compositing on the rough collage.

As always, click the image to see it larger, and also remember to check out The AIR, PopCult’s internet radio station. You can tune in at the AIR website, or on this handy little embedded player…

The plan this week is to deliver fresh episodes of Prognosis, Radio Free Charleston and The Swing Shift on Monday and Tuesday, but that’s a bit up in the air as your PopCulteer, who now announces all three shows, is still battling a lingering cold and sounds a tad stuffy. I’m working a few days ahead on these posts to give me some time to recuperate over the weekend, so I’m hoping I feel like recording shows in time. Tune in and see if I manage to pull it off.

We’ve got some Bad News for you this week, but that’s actually good news. Above you see the classic episode of The Comic Strip Presents called “Bad News Tour.” Bad News were an English spoof heavy metal band that slightly predated Spinal Tap.  The first episode of The Comic Strip Presents to feature them was in producation at the same time as This Is Spinal Tap, but it was released a year before the Spinal Tap movie hit theaters.

The members of Bad News were Vim Fuego (aka Alan Metcalfe), vocals and lead guitar (played by Ade Edmondson); Den Dennis, rhythm guitar (Nigel Planer); Colin Grigson, bass (Rik Mayall); and Spider “Eight-Legs” Webb, drums (Peter Richardson). Edmondson (who also wrote the film), Planer and Mayall were all cast members of The Young Ones, which originally was also going to star Richardson, before he left after a fight with the producers prior to filming the pilot.

The Comic Strip Presents was Richardson’s brainchild, an anthology of alternative comedy using writers and cast members drawn from the comedy scene that exploded in the UK out of the Comic Strip comedy club in the early 1980s. Along with cast members from The Young Ones, other episodes of The Comic Strip Presents also included Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Alexei Sayle, Lenny Henry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry and many others. The series ran on Channel 4 for a couple of seasons, before jumping to several other British TV channels. The most recent episodes of The Comic Strip Presents were produced in 2012, but Richardson has talked about reviving the series with newer cast members.

The most widely-seen episode of the show is the one you see above, featuring the fake band, Bad News. Despite being a joke band, they did score a hit in the UK with their absolutely hilariously awful cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  I posted this in PopCult a few years ago, but YouTube took that version down. It’s possible that this video may be yanked too, at some point, so you probably want to watch it soon. Below you see the lesser-known sequel, from 1988, it’s “More Bad News.”