Month: July 2018 (Page 4 of 4)

Dating back to August, 2011, and positioned strategically at the head of this post, you should see this week’s vintage episode of Radio Free Charleston. Our 142nd installment was called “It’s Just A Flesh Wound Shirt.” Our music this week was by InFormation, The Renfields, and the Charleston Light Opera Guild cast of “Hairspray”. In addition, this episode features a quick look at Dan Kehde’s then-new play “Cupid Falling/Cupid Rising,” a short film by K.D. Lett, and animation by Frank Panucci.

This was our first episode back after taking off most of July. We’d produced a 70-minute anniversary show, right on the heels of cranking out eight episodes of FestivAll coverage in two weeks, and needed a break. We came back strong, with a show that combined great live music, and our friends The Renfields making their RFC debut, with a healthy dose of theatre, film and animation in the mix. Anfter busting our asses the the prior shows, it was a relief to get back to a “normal” episode.

The PopCulteer
July 6, 2018

I realize that this is the one week where you’re not supposed to complain about fireworks. But I’m gonna.

Back in 2016 West Virginia legalized the almost unlimited use of fireworks by any citizen. There was no great hue and cry for this. The majority of people didn’t care enough about the issue to object, and the ALEC-afflicted legislature would not do anything else to possibly raise revenue by increasing taxes, so the bill passed on a 96-0 vote, and was signed into law by Governor Tomblin.

A poison pill to keep this law from being repealed pledged 75% of the funds to veterans and the remainder to local fire departments. This cynical move was partially to cover up the politically-connected people who stood to make the real money on this law.

In typical West Virginia political fashion, it’s a safe bet that companies controlled by spouses or siblings of legislators own a good number of those fireworks tents that spring up like weeds on every paved lot in the area in the spring.

Now, after two years of local neighborhoods sounding like war zones from May to December, legalized fireworks are seen as a scourge by the vast majority of voters. If they put a referendum on the ballot in November, I have no doubt that the law would be repealed in a landslide.I have never heard more hostility coming from otherwise peaceful people than I have when listening to the complaints about morons with fireworks. We really need to reverse this wretched decision.

But our current legislature would never let that happen. Veterans groups, who theoretically get most of the money from the 12% tax on fireworks, would be caught between supporting a source of revenue, or representing the interests of Veterans who suffer from PTSD.

Pet owners would come out in full force to criminalize fireworks again. People who simply want some peace and quiet–a vast majority–want this plague gone.

I grew out of any desire to blow stuff up by the time I hit puberty. I have to wonder if some of the attraction people have to fireworks is the phallic shape of most explosives sold in those tents. There are an awful lot of dildo-looking fireworks out there. Makes you wonder what kind of twisted, repressed sexuality is behind all this stuff.

If you asked people this week to name the biggest problem facing this state, chances are that legal fireworks might edge out opiods or Hep-A. In a state that bristles under the label “most miserable,” fireworks have raise the misery levels in this state tenfold. This was legislation by trial and error, and the error is so obvious now that something has to be done to correct this awful mistake. West Virginia cannot afford to further degrade the quality of life here.

However, it’s not kosher to propose a change and a loss of tax revenue without offering up a solution to the lost fireworks tax monies. So how about we re-outlaw fireworks, and at the same time we legalize recreational marijuana?

Just think, we could slap a 30% tax on it. Dedicate half of it to the veterans and fire departments and use the rest to finance a revitalized tourism agency. You know it’ll bring in way more money than fireworks, which are only sold to the small portion of our population that thinks spending money on things that burn and blow up fast is a good idea.

And the folks who are currently bespoiling the lives of their neighbors by setting off fireworks all the time (even in the daylight–the idiots)? Hand ’em a joint and tell them to rub their eyes–it’ll give them the same effect without pestering everybody else, and they’ll still get to spend their money on stuff that they can burn for moments of fleeting joy.

That’s my modest proposal. If the legislators bitch about their families losing their fireworks tent income, let them set up pot tents. I’d rather see this state look like a Grateful Dead festival than a war zone.

Things get mixed up Thursday on The AIR, as we move our Progressive Rock showcase, Prognosis, from Monday to Thursday at 3 PM.  Tune in at The AIR, or listen on this embedded player thingy…

With Mondays now occupied with our Monday Marathon, Prognosis needed a new timeslot, so we moved it to Thursday. Fans of Radio Free Charleston International should not despair. The show where yours truly gets to play whatever he wants will now be heard Friday afternoons at 1 PM.

To celebrate the move, we have a special episode of Prognosis that presents the music of YES with Trevor Horn on lead vocals. We’ll bring you tracks from the 1980 album, Drama, plus the recently-released Fly From Here Return Trip, where Trevor Horn re-recorded the vocals for this album, which originally came out seven years ago with Benoit David’s voice in the lead spot. Since the music was largely co-written by Horn back in the Drama days, and he produced the album, this wasn’t that much of a stretch.  We also have some bonus tracks from the Drama reissue that fill in the gaps between the two albums.

Prognosis can now be heard Thursday at 3 PM, with replays Friday at 7 AM, Saturday 1 PM, Tuesday at 8 PM and Wednesday at 9 AM and 10 PM.

We continue to shake up the schedule here at The AIR. Keep checking PopCult for the latest details on our new line-up and special surprises we have planned.

The Fourth of July means NEW STUFF on The AIR! Tune in to the website, or on the embedded player below for the lastest editions of Life Speaks to Michele Zirkle, Curtain Call and a newly-tweaked schedule…

We have a few new entries on our schedule today, along with our returning favorites. Our new morning line-up on Wednesday’s begins with The Swing Shift at 7 AM, followed by Prognosis at 9 AM, Psychedelic Shack at 11 AM and an encore of a previous week’s Curtain Call at Noon.  We are re-presenting On The Road with Mel at 1 PM.

At 1;30 PM, Life Speaks to Michele Zirkle: Is a special episode devoted a meditation Michele created for the Salt Cave in Ohio. A follow-up to last week’s show, this half-hour will soothe you and lead you to find your angels to help you on your path to enlightenment. Michele’s path is taking her to New York City later this week, and she will present an interview with Mr. Phil on a future broadcast.

Life Speaks to Michele Zirkle can be heard Wednesday at 1:30 PM and 7 PM, with replays on The AIR Friday at 9:30 AM and Sunday at 7 PM.

At 2 PM Beatles Blast presents an hour of some of the worst covers of Beatles songs ever committed against humanity. 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.

At 3 PM Wednesday on Curtain Call Mel Larch presents two brand new shows. First you’ll hear Mel introduce highlights from the Broadway Musical based on Green Day’s American Idiot. After that, you’ll hear the original Broadway cast album of 1776. It’s Mel’s way of marking the holiday in non-traditional and traditional ways.

Curtain Call debuts Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 7 AM and 8 PM and Saturday at 6 PM.

Stay tuned all day, every day, for incredible music, thought-provoking talk and gut-busting comedy exclusively on The AIR. And check out the full schedule below, including our revamped evening programming…

Radio Free Charleston and The Swing Shift both present new episodes today on The AIR. You can also hear the return of Nigel Pye and Psychedelic Shack.  We’ll have changes to the schedule all week on our internet radio station. You can tune in at The AIR website, or just listen on this little embedded radio doohickey…

At 10 AM and 10 PM our latest Radio Free Charleston offers up another great hour of the best local music we can get our grubby little hands on. The show kicks off with brand new music from the reunited band, In The Company of Wolves. We continue with a mix of new and classic tracks from local bands, and we even feature a set of experimental music that might surprise regular listeners to the show.

RFCv4083

In The Company of Wolves “Universal Breakdown”
Speedsuit “That’s When I Feel The Weight”
Poor Man’s Gravy “A Smoke and a Gun”
Johnny Compton “2 Mad 2 Fall 2 Drunk 2 Stand”
Sheldon Vance “This Round’s On Me”
Joe Vallina “Tiles”
Payback’s A Bitch “Do You Wanna Go Out”
Esmerelda Strange “Love Bug”
The Changelings “Xenoglass”
Renaissance “Lock In On Love”
Unawoman “In Pinks and Golds”
The Ruins “It Was No Use”
dog soldier “Goldtown Motel”
Farnsworth “Already Written”
The Irreplaceables “Digital Age”

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.

At 2 PM, replacing Ska Madness, we finally witness the return of Nigel Pye and Psychedelic Shack. This week and next we’ll revisit the original four half-hour episodes of this showcase for Psychedelic Rock, but after that each week will see Nigel present an all-new hour of mind-altering and mood-expanding music from his home base at Haversham Recording Institute.

We hate to see Dexter Checkers and Ska Madness go, but Dexter had to give up the show earlier this year for health reasons, and the door is wide open for him to return as soon as he’s able. We are still ironing out the schedule for the replays of Psychedelic Shack, so keep reading PopCult for the latest.

At 3 PM stick around for a brand-new episode of The Swing Shift. Our most-listened to program, with loyal followers in Europe, China and India, celebrates the soon-to-happen Live On The Levee with The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. CPD opens and closes this week’s show, which also presents a wide assortment of the hottest Swing Music from the last century. Just check out the playlist…

The Swing Shift 048

Cherry Poppin’ Daddies “Drunk Daddy”
Casey McGill “Jump”
Dem Brooklyn Bums “One Good Reason”
Lily Wile and her Jumpin’ Jubilee Orchestra “Onion”
Indigo Swing “Hot In Harlem”
Pete Jacobs and His Wartime Radio Revuew “The Joint Is Jumpin'”
George Gee & his Make Believe Ballroom “Let The Good Times Roll”
Buddy Rich “Bugle Call Rag”
Donny Most “I Wish I Were In Love Again”
Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers “Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good To You?”
Jack’s Cats “Ain’t Gonna Be Blue”
Swing Rocket “Fat, Scat, Bella and Mr. Blue”
Unsteady “One For The Road”
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies “Brown Derby Jump”

You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 7 AM, Thursday at 7 PM and Saturday at 9 AM, only on The AIR. You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Check PopCult every day this week for the latest news on our new schedule for The AIR.

During the month of July, Monday Morning Art will present a series of semi-abstract digital paintings. These are recent works I did to experiment with using new techniques and color palettes, all in an attempt to grow a bit as an artist, and also to depart from the last two month’s worth of cityscapes that I presented here.  I wouldn’t want to get in a rut, you know.

Today’s piece is an expressionistic stab at evoking a sunset. I suppose you could say that it was heavily-influenced by squinting and rubbing my eyes. Click the image to see a larger version.

Changes are coming to The AIR, starting today, which is roughly the second anniversary of The AIR becoming the internet radio station arm of this, the PopCult blog.

You can tune in to The AIR at the website, or on this handy embedded player.

To mark this annivesary (and to shake things up a bit) we are making some changes to the schedule. You’ll get to check back each day this week to see exactly what those changes are, but today we can tell you that every Monday, for at least the rest of the Summer, we will program Monday Marathons, allowing each of our music programs 24 hours to shine all on their own.

Beginning at 7 AM Monday, and running until 7 AM Tuesday, each week will bring a full day of one of our specialty music shows. This week, to ease the transition, we are programming a full day’s worth of Prognosis, hosted by either Herman Linte, or yours truly. Going forward, you will be able to find out what our Monday Marathon featured program will be by reading the blurb which will accompany Monday Morning Art here in PopCult each week.

With Monday’s being otherwise occupied, Prognosis will be moving to a new timeslot, which will be revealed later this week. Tomorrow we’ll take the wraps off of one brand-new program, and bring you new episodes of two of our returning favorites.

It’s our way of celebrating our anniversary without making too big a deal or begging for money. It’s sort of a soft anniversary anyway, since The AIR was around before as “OnTheAIRadio,” and before that, way back in 2014, this little internet radio station began life as “Voices of Appalachia.”

But it’s been two years since The AIR had its mind-meld with PopCult and became completely under my cult-like dictatorial powers. Tune in and find out how I have managed to entice a tiny international audience to listen to this station!

One of the risks of taking a vacation when you write a blog like PopCult is that really cool stuff will happen while you’re away from the computer, so you have to wait until you get back home and catch up with other work before you can mention it.

Case in point: While I was exploring the grand tourist traps of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Sir Paul McCartney announced the release of a new album this September, and unveiled animated lyric videos for two of the songs. Die-hard, and casual Beatles fans have probably already seen these several times, but I’d be remiss in my PopCult duties if I didn’t tell you about them here.

The new album is called “Egypt Station,” sharing its name with McCartney’s cover painting, and evoking a sense of an exotic trip as a loose concept. The lead single, which you can see above is “Come On To Me,” a crunchy rocker that recalls elements of “Spies Like Us,” and “Got To Get You Into My Life.” Below you will find the video for “I Don’t Know,” a slower ballad in the mold of many of McCartney’s previous compositions.

At right you can see the new album cover, painted by Sir Paul, side-by-side with an early 1980s album cover by his former Beatle cohort, George Harrison.

I just put these two together because the color schemes go so well together. George’s “Gone Troppo” album cover was created by Bonzo Dog Band drummer, “Legs” Larry Smith.

It’s been an eventful few days, as McCartney appeared on Carpool Karaoke (seen at the bottom of this post), confirmed that work on a deluxe reissue of The Beatles “White Album” is well underway, and found himself in the middle of a PR stunt as Damon Albarn accused Kanye West of trapping Sir Paul into appearing on his 2015 album, just to use his name.

Ironically, Albarn made that accusation on the same day that his new album dropped, betraying a little more West influence than he’d probably want to acknowledge.