Month: February 2022 (Page 2 of 3)

From November, 2009, this episode of Radio Free Charleston, “Adamfest VI Shirt” features music from The Limbs, The Buttonflies and WATT 4, plus animation from Frank Panucci, and a short video showing off the photography of Clayton Spangler.

You can read the original production notes HERE.

The PopCulteer
February 18, 2022

We have a very special treat for fans of New Wave Music on The AIR Friday.  It’s a great new episode of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat for you, courtesy of Sydney Fileen. As you probably now by now, The AIR is PopCult‘s sister internet station, and you can listen to it without even leaving the blog. It’s cool, it’s free and we don’t pester you for money. All we ask is that you listen and enjoy.

Following an encore of last week’s bonus edition of MIRRORBALL at 2 PM, Friday brings a brand-new episode of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat to The AIR. The AIR is PopCult’s sister radio station. You can hear these shows on The AIR website, or just click on the embedded player at the top right column of this blog if you’re reading on a desktop.

At 3 PM, Sydney Fileen graces us with a very special show that’s loaded with pure ear candy, as Sydney describes it.  It’s a killer mix of killer hooks as Sydney brings you hits, deep cuts and obscure rarities. Each tune is a potential earworm for somebody.

Just check out the playlist to see for yourself…

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Thomas Dolby “Europa and the Pirate Twins”
Romeo Void “Myself To Myself”
INXS “Stay Young”
Orchestral Manouvers In The Dark “Romance of the Telescope”
Bow Wow Wow “Why Are Babies So Wise”
Simple Minds “Theme For Great Cities”
DEVO “Working In A Coal Mine”
Modern English “Black Houses”
Siouxsie & The Banshees “Into The Light”
Aztec Camera “Lost Outside The Tunnel”
Heaven 17 “We’re Going To Live”
Talk Talk “Mirror Man”
Marthat & The Muffins “This Is The Ice Age”
Gang of Four “Paralyzed”
Wall of Voodoo “Crack The Bell”
Killing Joke “Butcher”
The Cars “Shake It Up”
The Eurythmics “Take Me To Your Heart”
Public Image Limited “Flowers of Romance”
B-Movie “Rememberance Day”
Magazine “The Honeymoon Killers”
Au Pairs “Love Song”
The Cure “All Cats Are Grey”
Fun Boy Three “The Lunatics”
Icicle Works “When Winter Lasted Forever”
UB40 “One In Ten”
The Beat “Too Nice To Talk To”
Human League “The Things That Dreams Are Made Of”
The B 52s “Give Me Back My Man”
Duran Duran “Girls On Film”
The Ramones “It’s Not My Place”
New Order “Chosen Time”
Lene Lovich “New Toy”

Sydney’s Big Electric Cat is produced at Haversham Recording Institute in London, and can be heard every Friday at 3 PM, with replays Monday at 7 AM, Tuesday at 8 PM, Wednesday at Noon and Thursday at 10 AM, exclusively on The AIR.

That’s what’s on The AIR Friday, and that is this week’s PopCulteer.   I decided to jettison a couple of other topics for this week’s column because, to paraphrase Rowan Atkinson, “When the wind comes, it will be strong enough to blow down the awning.”  Still, check this blog for fresh content every day. I may be busy and distracted, but at least I’m stubborn enough to keep doing this.

Okay, I’ve given this feature a few months off while Omicron was out and about, but West Virginia’s pandemic map is no longer completely red, so even though I’m not ready to go out to shows yet, that doesn’t mean you can’t

As always, please do what you can to remain safe and alive. Get vaccinated and/or wear a mask, or better yet, do both. Don’t be reckless. Refrain from putting your tongue up strangers noses and if you find yourself in a mosh pit, for God’s sake, wear a condom.

Here are some great shows happening in our local area this weekend. Be smart and support the local scene as much as you are comfortable doing.

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Wednesday afternoon The AIR brings you brand-new episodes of Beatles Blast and Curtain Call!  You can tune in at the website, or if you’re on a laptop or desktop, you could just stay on this page, and  listen to the convenient embedded radio player lurking over in the right-hand column of this blog.

At 2 PM,  we serve up a mixtape collection of obscure Paul McCartney B-sides, ranging from the 1970s to the 1990s. These are gems of songs that, for whatever reason, did not make it onto an album, instead winding up on the B-sides of singles or 12″ singles. Some of my favorite songs by Paul from this era were consigned to B-side infamy.

Check out the playlist…

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McCartney’s B Sides

“Ode To A Koala Bear”
“No More Lonely Nights (Dance Mix)”
“My Carnival”
“Tough On A Tightrope (remix)”
“Back On My Feet”
“Flying To My Home”
“Ou Est Le Soleil?”
“C Moon”
“B-Side To Seaside”
“I’m Partial To Your Abracadabra”
“Party Party”
“On The Wings Of A Nightengale”
“Incredible Thing”

Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday afternoon.

At 3 PM on Curtain Call, Mel Larch dishes up a mixtape of her own. It’s “Showstoppers With A Twist” as Mel brings you…different versions of classic tunes from musical theater.  Some of these are from solo albums, some are from revivals, some are from concerts, and Mel even brings you famous musical numbers performed in Spanish and Yiddish, and in rock and jazz. She starts out with a couple of tunes from Hamilton, performed by the Workshop Cast.

See what other surprises Mel has in store…

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Showstoppers With A Twist

“My Shot” Hamilton (Workshop Cast)
“You’ll Be Back” Hamilton (Workshop Cast)
“Anything Goes” by Elaine Page
“I Dreamed A Dream” Patti Lupone”
“Merrily We Roll Along” Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC
“Nice Work If You Can Get It” Dick Van Dyke”
“Children Will Listen” Susan Egan
“A Little Priest” Michael Cervaris and Patti Lupone
“Some Enchanted Evening/All I Do Is Dream of You” Kyle Taylor Parker
“Suddenly Seymour” Tammy Blanchard and Jonathan Groff
“If I Were A Rich Man” from Fiddler On The Roof in Yiddish
“The Greatest Show” Panic At The Disco
“Pretty Women” Terry Vosbein & The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra
“There’s No Business Like Show Business (reprise)” Bernadette Peters
“Todo Se Tine De Rosa (Everything’s Coming Up Roses)” Kika Edgar

Curtain Call can be heard on The AIR Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM, Saturday at 8 PM and Monday at 9 AM. A six-hour marathon of classic episodes can be heard Sunday evening starting at 6 PM, and an all-night marathon of Curtain Call episodes can be heard Wednesday nights, beginning at Midnight.

The PopCult Toybox

Last week, World of EPI (Entertainment, Publishing and Inspiration), the leading multicultural toy manufacturer, announced a collaboration with Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing to create fashion dolls, collectible figurines and accessories for the new Disney+ series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder and the upcoming Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur series on Disney Channel. These will be the first toys based on either cartoon property.

This is also, I believe, the first time that World of EPI has entered into a licensing arrangement, and it’s a real coup for this toy company that specializes in ethnically diverse dolls, plush and collectibles. These are the folks who make Fresh Dolls and The Fresh Squad, and I’ve been a fan for a long time.  I wrote about World of EPI and it’s founder, Dr. Lisa Williams, late last year, and this is a pretty huge deal for them. I’m sure that, had the International Toy Fair in New York happened this year, this would have been one of the high-profile announcments.

World of EPI will create a series of 10” fashion dolls with rooted hair, collectible figurines, poseable plush, role play accessories and more based on the ethnically diverse characters of The Proud Family and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Each doll and figurine will exemplify the distinct characteristics of each character, and celebrate diversity, self-love and empowerment.

“It speaks volumes that Disney has collaborated with us on these high-profile projects,” said Dr. Lisa Williams, founder of World of EPI. “Our mission is to create dolls so children of all ethnicities and colors can grow up seeing a true representation of their beauty. What a dream to create licensed dolls and toys for these powerhouses Disney and Marvel properties. Together we’re changing how Black and brown children everywhere embrace their own beauty and build their confidence.”

The World of EPI is committed to authentic representation to help children see their true beauty and brilliance. The company creates unique sculpts that are true pieces of art, created to empower all kids.  The characters have beautiful full lips, custom-blended skin tones and more representative articulated bodies. The collections feature hair textures and styles ranging from afro, afro puffs, wavy, braids and straight. Everything is mindfully and intentionally done to represent the beauty in multicultural children.

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, the highly-anticipated revival of the groundbreaking Disney Channel series, The Proud Family, is set to debut February 23 on Disney+. The upcoming series will pick up the story of its central character, Penny Proud, and include her madcap family: parents Oscar and Trudy, twin siblings BeBe and CeCe, and grandmother Suga Mama (and Puff!). Cast members reprising their roles are: Kyla Pratt as Penny Proud, Tommy Davidson as Oscar Proud, Paula Jai Parker as Trudy Proud, JoMarie Payton as Suga Mama and Cedric the Entertainer as Uncle Bobby. From Disney Television Animation, the series is executive-produced by Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar, both of whom led the original series.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, based on Marvel’s hit comic books, follows the adventures of 13-year-old super-genius Lunella Lafayette (voiced by Diamond White) and her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur (voiced by Fred Tatasciore). After Lunella accidentally brings Devil Dinosaur into present-day New York City via a time vortex, the duo works together to protect the city’s Lower East Side from danger. From Disney Television Animation, the series is executive produced by Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland’s Cinema Gypsy Productions and Emmy Award-winner Steve Loter. Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur premieres Summer 2022 on Disney Channel. This is a real treat for comic fans because Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is an updated revival of concepts created by Jack Kirby over forty years ago.

In addition to Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, more Marvel products are in development from World of EPI. We will keep you posted on what those are as soon as possible.

Once again we have come to Tuesday on The AIR  and for the first time in a few weeks we deliver unto you a one-third-new, three-hour  episode of Radio Free Charleston.  You simply have to poke your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay on this page, and  listen to the cool embedded player over at the top of the right column (If you’re reading PopCult on a desktop, that is. Phone readers have to go to the website).

We have yet another  hybrid edition of Radio Free Charleston at 10 AM and 10 PM Tuesday.  This week we open with a full hour of local, independent and new music, which you can find your way to purchase by following the links in the playlist below.  The show begins with Ann Magnuson’s cover of David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream,” and then we have new tracks from three Chicago indie bands (one by way of North Carolina now), Kerosene Stars, Walcot and Cosmic Bull. The rest of hour one is filled with crunchy musical lovliness, both local and not.

Our second and third hours are comprised of an episode of Radio Free Charleston International from early 2017. Five years back I was really taking the whole “free format radio” thing seriously and delivered a head-scratching two hours of excellent music which flows together better than it has any right to.

Check out the playlist below to see all the goodies we have in store (live links will take you to the artist’s pages where possible)…

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hour one
Ann Magnuson “Moonage Daydream”
Kerosene Stars “Purpose Of a Friend”
Walcot “Another Man”
Cosmic Bull “Joe Namath Moment”
Mother Nang “Buy The Farm”
Cassius At Best “Alabaster”
Byzantine “My New Casket”
The Bob Thompson Band “Hot Shot”
Drawing Hands “Wake Up”
Hello June “Wish I Could Fly”
The New Relics “Say It Like You Mean It”
Paul Calicoat “Cold Dead Hands”
Shaky Graves featuring Sierra Ferrell “Ready Or Not”
Eddie Vedder “Invincible”

“A Jarring Clash Of Musical Styles”
hour two
Ennio Morricone “Frantic”
The Aquabats “Love Without Anger”
The Vandals “The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprise”
Voodoo Glow Skulls “Time Out For Fun”
Don Knotts Overdrive “Snowball”
Peter Gabriel “Das Fishermelz”
Plymouth Fury “Maribor”
Ray Davies “The Getaway (Lonesome Train)”
Luciferian Light Orchestra “Thunder Perfect Mind”
David Bowie “Killing A Little Time”
All Them Witches “Cowboy Kirk”

hour three
Babymetal “The One”
Foxygen “Mrs. Adams”
The Murlocs “Wolf Creep”
Skytown Riot “Devil’s Masquerade”
Diablo Swing Orchestra “Voodoo Mon Amour”
No Resolve “Love Me To Death”
Jordan Max “Hell”
Symbolic “Chameleon”
Go Get Gone “Chasin’ My Baby”
DEVO “Soo Bawlz”
Keith Emerson Band “Marche Train”
The Who “Pure and Easy”
The Rutles “Piggy in the Middle”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Thursday at 3 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight,  and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I’m also going to  embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.

After RFC, stick around for encores of MIRRORBALL at 1 PM, and Ska Madness at 2 PM. At 3 PM we have two recent episodes of The Swing Shift.

This week our art is a bit of an abstract, imaginary cityscape, composed using lessons that I learned from imitating Edward Hopper for a month, but veering completely away from his style of rendering and level of detail. I’m sure he’d be appalled by it.

This was an attempt at using acrylics on paper for pens. It’s a study for a potential larger work, but I don’t know if I like it enough to transfer it to canvas. At least not without major changes.

If you want to see this one a bit bigger, just click on it.

Meanwhile, Monday at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you love-themed editions of  Psychedelic Shack, followed at 3 PM by a Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player at the top of the right-hand column of this blog.

Nigel Pye dipped into his archives for Valentine’s Day collection  of amazing psychedelic rock, expanding your minds and your hearts.

Check out the playlist for all the peace and love…

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Frijid Pink “I Want To Be Your Lover”
Jimi Hendrix “The Power To Love”
Tears For Fears “Sowing The Seeds Of Love”
Janis Joplin “To Love Somebody”
Ramatan “I Can Only Love You”
Aphrodite’s Child “Let Me Love , Let Me Live”
Iron Butterfly “It Must Be Love”
Uriah Heep “Love Machine”
Strawberry Alarm Clock “Strawberries Mean Love”
The Rutles “Love Life”
The Turtles “Love Minus Zero”
Badfinger “Love Is Gonna Come At Last”

Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM. Classic episodes can be heard Sunday at 9 AM as part of our Sunday Haversham Recording Institute collection.

Following that hour of Psychedelic candy, Herman Linte’s Prognosis will bring us two hours of romantic progressive rock, Assembled, relunctantly I might add, by Herman as a Valentine’s Day mixtape.

Check out the playlist…

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ELP “Still You Turn Me On”
King Crimson “Heartbeat”
Kate Bush “L’amour Looks Something Like You”
Different Light “In Love And War”
Kevin Gilbert “Fall In Love With Me”
ASIA “Love Under Fire”
Gary Moore “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”
YES “Real Love”
Big Big Train “All The Love We Can Give”
Queen “Somebody To Love (live)”
Peter Gabriel “Love To Be Loved”
FM “Love Is The Law”
Neal Morse “Come Let Him Love You”
Frank Zappa “Bamboozled By Love”
Genesis “Let Us Now Make Love”
Ajalon “What Kind Of Love”
Klaatu “The Love Of A Woman”
Steve Hackett “Love Song To A Vampire”
John Wetton & Robby Kreiger “All You Need Is Love”

You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM. You can hear two classic episodes of the show Sunday at 2 PM.

At 8 PM, as promised, we bring you an overnight marathon of MIRRORBALL, kicking off with four hours of love-themed Disco hits, courtesy of Mel Larch, your PopCulteer’s own personal Valentine.

The American Dream Mall, in New Jersey, just a few miles from New York City, is now open and it is the second-largest shopping mall in the United States.  Having mutated many times since it’s original conception, the mall is now 70% Entertainment and 30% retail. Within this mall you will find a Nickelodeon Universe theme park, a Dreamworks Animation water park, and an indoor year-round skiing faclility.

There’s a ridiculous amount of stuff here, a Legoland, an aqaurium, a bowling alley, a multiplex cinema, an ice-skating rink, over 100 places to eat and 450 retail stores.

The video above is just over an hour, and it’s popular YouTuber, Action Kid, just walking through the mall showing what he can find on his first trip there, while providing an amusing running commentary. He just shot this in late January, so it’s very current.

Normally, this is not the sort of thing I’d post here in PopCult unless I shot the video myself but there is something besides the excessive consumerism that is particularly delightful about The American Dream Mall. The walls are covered with a  wide variety of surrealist, geometric and abstract art. We’re talking about murals that are maybe 20 feet high and 80 feet long in places. There’s even a bizarre topiary garden in one area of the mall, with sculpted plants residing in planters that look like human heads with multiple features and giant disembodied hands. Another area has a secret garden filled with strange gnomes and mushrooms. This mall may well be the largest installation of surreal art in the world.

Seriously, I don’t advocate drug use, but if there was ever a place to go when you’ve dropped acid, this is it.

Action Kid’s video shows off a lot of this stuff as he’s walking around, and it’s a real kick.  Mrs. PopCulteer and I are seriously considering a trip to this place later this year. Aside from all the cool SpongeBob stuff, there’s a brand-new two-story Toys R Us and a three-story It’s Sugar there.

Next up in our chronologicalish trip through the history of Radio Free Charleston is one of our most celebrated episodes, our Halloween 2009 show. This one is loaded with music from The Big Bad, Flare Baroshi, CYAC and more, and has a storyline and skits provided by members of The No Pants Players, Mark Wolfe, Amy Williams and Mel Larch.

You can find the original production notes HERE, and enjoy Halloween in February! Consider it a gift to those folks who just aren’t into Valentine’s Day.

The PopCulteer
February 11, 2022

Friday On The AIR

Friday afternoon, just like last year, we offer up some special Valentine’s-themed episodes of our music specialty shows, including a bonus edition of MIRRORBALL at 1 PM, another brand-new episode in the show’s regular timeslot at 2 PM and an encore of last year’s love-themed edition of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat at 3 PM.

If you want to hear the super-sweet Valentine’s ear candy  yourself, you simply have to move your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay on this page, and  listen to the cool embedded player over at the top of the right column.

At 1 PM, Mel Larch unleashes the first of two arrows through your Disco heart with Friday’s double-shot of MIRRORBALL! The AIR’s showcase of classic Disco music brings you two romance-soaked hours of primo mushy-lovey Disco tunes, and the first one is like a heart-shaped box of chocolates, filled with great beats that you can dance to.

Check out the playlist…

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Ultimate “Touch Me Baby/ Love Is The Ultimate”
The Spinners “One Of A Kind Love Affair”
Donna Summer “I Feel Love”
The Salsoul Orchestra “Love Letters”
The Undisputed Truth “You + Me = Love”
Roy Ayers “Don’t Let Our Love Slip Away”
Goody Goody “It Looks Like Love”
KC & the Sunshine Band “Hooked On Your Love”
Barry White “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love”

Then at 2 PM, Mel is back with another hour of love-themed Disco classics, to get you in the mood for a pre- Valentine’s Day weekend-long lovefest. This show is loaded with  romantic classics. Just look…

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Love & Kisses “I Found Love”
Roy Ayers “Don’t Hide Your Love”
Frankie Knuckles featuring Adeva “Love Can Change It”
Earth Wind & Fire “Love’s Dance”
Donna Summer “Love To Love You Baby”
D Train “You’re The One For Me”
Gloria Scott “Just As Long As We’re Together”
Chic “My Forbidden Lover”
Carol Williams “Love Is You”
Alec R. Constadinos “Romeo and Juliet”

You can hear MIRRORBALL every Friday at 2 PM (with a bonus show at 1 PM this week), with replays this Saturday at  9 PM (kicking off a mini-marathon), Sunday at 11 PM, Monday at 9 AM, and Tuesday at 1 PM  exclusively on The AIR. And Friday night this week, you’ll get a special marathon that combines this year’s double-shot of Valentine’s shows, with last year’s, giving you four hours of romantic Disco to get you in the groove and in the mood. That begins at 8 PM, and then at Midnight you can stick around for more of the marathon as The AIR becomes an all-night Disco!

At 3 PM, Sydney Fileen graces us with a love-themed episode of her own last year, as Sydney’s Big Electric Cat delivered a Valentine to us from the lockdown in the UK. This year we decided to replay this gem of an episode, filled with New Wave at it’s most infatuated.

Check out this playlist:

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Thompson Twins “Love On Your Side”
Joy Division “Love Will Tears Us Apart Again”
Heaven 17 “I’m Gonna Make You Fall In Love With Me”
Klaus Nomi “Falling In Love Again”
XTC “Love At First Sight”
Transvision Vamp “I Don’t Want Your Money (I Want Your Love)”
A Flock of Seagulls “The More You Live, The More You Love”
The Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen In Love”
Julian Cope “Beautiful Love (Live)”
Kate Bush “Hounds Of Love”
Donny Iris “Love Is Like A Rock”
Psychedelic Furs “Love My Way”
Howard Jones “What Is Love”
ABC “Look Of Love”
New Order “Bizarre Love Triangle”
Soft Cell “Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go”
Missing Persons “Hello I Love You”
DEVO “Ton O’ Luv”
Lene Lovich “What Will I Do Without You”
Frankie Goes To Hollywood “Power of Love”
New Musik “All You Need Is Love”
Depeche Mode “Love, In Itself”
Eurythmics “Love Is A Stranger”
Ian Dury and the Blockheads “Wake Up Make Love With Me”
Mike Batt “Love Makes You Crazy”
Oingo Boingo “Wild Sex (In The Working Class)”
Pretenders “Lovers Of Today”
Elvis Costello “Mystery Dance”
Art of Noise “Moments In Love”

Sydney’s Big Electric Cat is produced at Haversham Recording Institute in London, and can be heard every Friday at 3 PM, with replays Saturday afternoon, Monday at 7 AM, Tuesday at 8 PM, Wednesday at Noon and Thursday at 10 AM, exclusively on The AIR. You can also hear select episodes of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat as part of the overnight Haversham Recording Institute marathon that starts every Monday at 11 PM.

And that is it for this week’s PopCulteer.  Check back for fresh content every day and all our way-cool regular features.