The PopCulteer
April 9, 2010
The PopCulteer is one-year-old this week. It was 52 weeks ago that I decided to snap out of what I felt was a rut, and at the same time pay tribute to the late James Dent, by instituting a new feature here in PopCult (still one word, by the way–we’re working on fixing the heading and links). The idea is that I would do more writing, since I was afraid the blog was devolving into a collection of art, photos and video links, without much text. I’ve been writing PopCult for nearly five years, and from time-to-time I need to reinvent it to keep it interesting for you guys and for me. That’s why we’ve added things like Radio Free Charleston, Monday Morning Art and Sunday Evening Videos over the years.
I felt that The PopCulteer would give me the chance to write some longer essays, which would allow me to ramble on about a diverse array of topics, and it would also force me to simply write more and cover some topics that I was afraid I’d been ignoring, like toys and comic books and local events. The first edition of The PopCulteer took aim at the 
Legislative Biscuit Controversy. I don’t cover politics much here, but that was so epically disgusting that I couldn’t let it go without the proper amount of ridicule.
I hope you guys are enjoying this little experiment. It’s been a blast, filling a couple-thousand words each week, or posting dozens of photos from ArtWalk. I hope I haven’t tarnished the legacy of Dent, the original “Gazetteer.”
Stick around. I intend to keep doing this for a while. We still have to get used to the slightly new look at PopCult, now that we’ve graduated from the Gazzblogs and get to eat at the grown-up Gazette blogger’s table, but I think you’ll get a kick out of the things we have in store.
Captain Crash and The Beauty Queen
Radio Free Charleston’s cutest couple became the first musical act to play at The Fifth Quarter since the 1980s last week. It was a great evening and even the master biscuit manipulator, Oshel Craigo himself, was on hand enjoying the sounds.
The above photos were taken by my buddy, Steven Allen Adams,, who will be joining the RFC crew on camera with episode 100! You can catch Captain Crash and The Beauty Queen at The Fifth Quarter again next Wednesday from 5:30 PM to 7:30. This could turn into a regular gig for the kids. Also…try the blackened tilapia. It’s very good.
Weekend Coolness
There is so much stuff to do this week that cloning is the only sane option.
First, RFC guest (on both the current video version and the original radio show) Doris Fields, AKA “Lady D” makes her Kanawha Players directorial debut with “A Raisin In The Sun,” which counts No Pants Player Stuart Frazier among it’s cast. The show opens tonight at 8 PM at The Civic Center Little Theater. Check out Amy Robinson’s great article for more details.
The Universes, who appeared on RFC number 77, will be at Taylor Books, with Alex Kessler Friday night starting at 7:30 PM. There will be no cover charge.
Five bucks gets you in the door for LiveMix Studio’s “Season Opener,” featuring music from Cousin Larry, The Wegmann Brothers and RFC 66 guests ElectroBiscuit. The show kicks off at 8:30 PM, Friday night.
Whisker Biscuit, The Scalliwags and The Hucklberries will be holding court at The Blue Parrot this Friday night at 10 PM. Five dollars gets you in to see various members of RFC faves (and guests on next week’s show) The Diablo Blues Band having fun with old bandmates. Cover is five dollars.
Saturday night, RFC 35 guest John Lilly will be at The La Belle Theater in South Charleston, performing for a mere four bucks. Such a small price to pay to see one of West Virginia’s most respected troubadours! The show kicks off at 7 PM. Be careful in the mosh pit.
Also Saturday night, 40 lb Snapper will be at The Empty Glass, Mountain Still will be at The Boulevard Tavern and The Nathaniel Good Band with Ghost Fleet will be at The Blue Parrot, all starting at 10 PM. Cover at The Parrot is five bucks. At the Glass and The Tavern, the cover charge is still a mystery.
Rest in Peace, Malcolm
Malcolm McLaren, the manager of The Sex Pistols who later became one of the first Englishmen to release a rap concept album based on an opera, lost his battle with cancer this week. If there’s an all-star band in Heaven, you can bet that Malcolm is up there screwing them out of their royalties.
If it hadn’t been for McLaren, punk rock might never have made the leap to America. Well, that is after he brought it to the UK as the manager of the New York Dolls. So it might not have made the leap across the Atlantic both ways. Either way, we must pay our respects to the man who hired Sid Vicious to play bass in the Sex Pistols, and later created a rap version of “Madame Butterfly.’
Cool Comic Of The Week
This week’s pick is cool on many fronts. First, it’s by Jaime Hernandez, one of “Los Bros. Hernandez” of “Love and Rockets” fame. I’ve been a fan of Jaime for 30 years. His work is amazing, combining a sleek, sci-fi-friendly style with elements of Archie comics and traditional super-hero books. Another cool thing is that this week’s pick, “Las Primas Controla,” is part of MySpace Dark Horse Comics Presents, which is both online and free, meaning you can go read this cool eight-pager for free, right now! Just click on the sample page below and follow the link in the upper right corner.
In case you were wondering, the comic book came before the band. Alan Moore, the legendary creator of Miracleman, From Hell, The Watchmen and V For Vendetta, was friends with Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins from the band, Bauhaus. He even sang lead on a song by them under the name “Sinister Ducks.” Moore turned the guys onto the Love and Rockets comic, from which they, in turn, decided to swipe the name. The band felt it was a nice tribute to some creators whose work they admired.
Los Bros. Hernandez weren’t terribly flattered, since it meant that they had to come up with a new name for their own band.
But since we brought it up, here’s an animated video of “Sinister Ducks” performed by what is basically Bauhaus with Alan Moore taking the place of Peter Murphy.
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Classic RFC Of The Week
Since we’re rapidly approaching episode 100 of Radio Free Charleston, let’s revisit episode 12, from early in 2007. This recap of our first eleven episodes seems especially pointless now!
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Next Week In PopCult
Look for a DEVO-centric edition of Sunday Evening Videos, an as-yet-unchosen Monday Morning Art and episode 98 of Radio Free Charleston, with music from The Diablo Blues Band and David Synn, plus a peek at new Adventure Team GI Joes.
Thanks for the shout out. Loving the redesign.