Category: Uncategorized (Page 38 of 739)

The Time Tummlers
by Frank Conniff cover art by Len Peralta
Podhouse 90 Press
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8218523121
$12.99 or $25 autographed by Frank Coniff

TV’s Frank, from Mystery Science Theater 3000, returns with a new novel that straddles two mighty universes. It’s Showbiz and Sci-fi, together as never before.

In The Time Tummlers, an all-powerful alien entity travels across time and space to Earth on a forbidden mission to alter human history by altering show business history. At least that’s what the back cover tells us.

The Time Tummlers is a fantastic tale of the past, the present, and the future, an out of this world story packed with out of date pop culture references. Frank’s work is always delightful, entertaining and engrossing.  I’m looking forward to reading this one myself.

While I’m recommending print editions (follow the links above and below) this title is also available as an eBook from Dumb Industries, featuring hyperlinks to Wikipedia articles for each and every one of Frank’s dated references.

If you have a fan of MST3K on your holiday shopping list, this hilarious, brisk read is the perfect gift.   And it’s the perfect gift for anyone with a sense of humor.

Available from Amazon or via Dumb Industries directly from Frank Conniff himself, who will gladly autograph it for you personally, and then he’ll take it to the post office and personally mail it to you from New York City!

2024 Holiday Barbie
by Mattel
$35 to $45 dollars, available anywhere Barbie is sold

Our first pick today in The 2024 PopCult Gift Guide is this year’s Holiday Barbie. Since 1988, Barbie fans have celebrated the holiday season with a special edition of their favorite global fashion icon. This year, five new dolls join the tradition.

This year’s Holiday Gown, designed by Carlyle Nuera ,is available on Barbie dolls with five different combinations of hair color, skin tone and face.

The 2024 Barbie Holiday Doll embodies the warmth and love of the season with a festive gown for a glamorous celebration. Showcasing gorgeous drama, the dress pairs a draping, one-shoulder, sparkling red bodice with a full, plaid ballgown-style skirt. Big tulle accents offer a modern take on a classic look, while statement earrings add to the elegance. In packaging that’s ideal for display, this collectible doll makes a great gift for anyone looking to build a collection or brighten up their seasonal decorations. (your humble blogger copied that from Mattel’s website and doesn’t understand half of what it says)

The doll comes with a stand, in special holiday packaging, and Mrs. PopCulteer thinks it’s the nicest Holiday Barbie that they’ve had in years.

Recommended for the Barbie collector, or fan of last year’s hit movie who might enjoy regaining a bit of her youth. Available almost anywhere Barbie is sold.

A Fat Wreck: The Punk-U-mentary
Available in different editions from Vinegar Syndrome

This pick in The 2024 PopCult Gift Guide is a bit specialized. It’s for the aging punk rocker who still loves physical media on your holiday shopping list. I’m sure you have one or two on there.

Vinegar Syndrome, the cult Blu Ray and DVD distributor, has cut a deal with ETR Media, which is the brand new film distribution arm of Enjoy the Ride Records, a Long Island based record label, specializing in cult following reissues through a variety of genres. ETR Media releases will adhere to the same quality standards as fans have come to associate with their lavish LP reissues. Their first release is a real winner, the 2016 “Punk-U-Mentary,” A Fat Wreck.

The subject is Fat Wreck Chords… The influential music label that’s proud to say they’ve spent 25 years “ruining punk rock”. A Fat Wreck tells the story of founders Fat Mike (of the legendary punk band NOFX) and his ex-wife Erin Kelly-Burkett, spanning the birth, growth, struggles, and survival of the Fat Wreck Chords label.

Half inspirational story of chosen family and community, half debauchery and occasionally involuntary drug use… A Fat Wreck blazes exciting new ground in the cinematic genre of puppet-driven punk rock music documentary filmmaking. As they say on the back cover, “If you only see one film featuring a dominatrix spanking a puppet in your lifetime… Make it A Fat Wreck!’

The film is directed by: Shaun Michael Colón and stars “FAT MIKE” Mike Burkett, Erin Burkett, Chris Shiflett, Joe Sib, Ryan Greene Joey Cape, Laura Jane Grace, Tim McIlrath, Trever Keith, Chris Hannah, Jim Lindberg, Jay Bentley, Mike Herrera, Axel Kurth, and Kevin Lyman, who at times are seen in puppet form.

In addition to the feature-length documentary, the bonuses on this region-free Blu Ray include several short features, unedited versions of the interviews seen in the movie, extended and deleted scenes of the puppets, loads of music and more.

If you know somebody who loves NOFX or Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, or any of the legendary 90s West Coast punk bands…and they don’t already have this (which isn’t too likely since it just came out a couple of months ago), then A Fat Wreck: The Punk-U-Mentary is the perfect gift. Order it directly from Vinegar Syndrome.

Check out the not-safe-for-work trailer…

Blessed Be
by Rick Altergott
Fantagraphics
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1683967781
$24.99

A great gift for the fan of indie comics on your holiday shopping list, Blessed Be is the first long-from work by cartoonist Rick Altergott, and it’s an absolute gem.  The story stars Doofus, the short, chubby loser with a page-boy haircut and straw boater who was originally featured in short gag back-up comic strips in magazines like HATE and Eightball back in the 1990s.

Originally Blessed Be was serialized in black-and-white in the anthology comic, Raisin Pie, which Altergott split with his wife, cartoonist Ariel Bordreaux, but the story was left unfinished. Since the last issue of Raisin Pie was published in 2007, Altergott has extensively re-written and re-drawn and colored the much-expanded story, and the result is an incredible comic book story, with distinctly adult themes. He’s also incorporated some of the work he did for VICE in recent years, too.

The result is a 150+ page story that grabs you and makes you want to finish it in one sitting.

While Doofus and his dim-witted sidekick, Henry Hotchkiss are the stars of the story, the real main character is the fictional seaside town of Flowertown USA and its mix of bizarre characters and people who are struggling to be normal. There’s lots of drugs, sex and violence involved, and even more biting satire and social commentary. Blessed Be manages to occupy a space somewhere between Archie Comics and the worlds of Charles Bukowski, Todd Solondz and Timothy Leary, with a nod to crime stories and slapstick comedy along the way.

He’s populated Flowertown with a surreal collection of characters: Naked net fishermen who dominate the beach and speak in their own unidentifiable language; A secret society that pulls the strings of power in the town…and has as their secret a most unexpected characteristic; A teen drug-dealer, hellbent on revenge; Denizens and patrons of “Big Disgusting Burger Inc.”; Someone who leaves Chick Tracts all over town; and of course, Doofus and Henry.

Altergott’s art is an almagam of some very impressive influences.  He manages to maintain his own style, while showing nods to Mad Magazine‘s iconic artists like Jack Davis, Mort Drucker and Wally Wood. His storytelling, layout and pacing are terrific and the coloring on this work is spectacular.

The story is filled with nudity, both male and female, and adult themes and drug use. The violence is not gory, but as placed in the story it’s shocking. While the art might make you think that this is simply a light-hearted comedy, it’s actually a pretty intense drama and definitely not for children or for pearl-clutchers of any age.

Blessed Be can be ordered from any bookseller using the ISBN code above, or you can purchase it directly from the publisher. As I said, I loved this book when I read it earlier this year, and enthusiastically reviewed it then. You can’t go wrong if the giftee in question is a fan of indie/alternative comics like Eightball, Hate or Love and Rockets.

CLOAKED CRUSADER
GEORGE WASHINGTON IN COMICS & POP CULTURE
written and edited by Renee Witterstaetter art by various, cover by Michael Golden
Little Eva Ink
ISBN: 9798889554288
$39.99 from the Francis Tavern Museum Gift Shop

One of the cool things that your humble blogger and Mrs. PopCulteer encountered over the summer was when we made the trek to Harrisburg, PA to meet Roger Bumpass, otherwise known as the voice of Squidward on SpongeBob Squarepants. Roger was loads of fun to meet, but we also got to meet Renee Witterstaetter, a long-time comic book editor and writer who’s worked for Marvel, DC and other comics publishers.

She told us about her book about George Washington in pop culture, and an exhibit at the Francis Tavern Museum in New York, which she guest-curated. The subject matter was so intriguing and her enthusiasm so contagious that we bought the book from her and have enjoyed the heck out of it.

Let me quote from the exhibit website

George Washington’s persona has been showcased in comics and pop culture; in traditional reenactments of famous events; and in appearances in modern times with the likes of Superman, Captain America and other famous heroes. He has become a mythical figure and super hero in his own right—a metaphor for good and justice in these tomes. The comic books and original artwork in this exhibition highlight Washington’s continued relevance to our collective past, present, and future. Original artwork and comics on display will feature pieces by Michael Golden, Arthur Suydam, George Evans, George Perez, Neal Adams, Kurt Swan, Graham Nolan, Jose Marzan, Jr, Daniel Scott, Fred Fredericks, and many more!

I believe the exhibit will wrap up early next year, but even if you can’t make it there in time, you can get this terrific book.

This book is a delight for fans of pop culture and comics, as well as fans of the man who could not tell a lie (in sharp contrast to certain other former presidents).  The profusely-illustraed hardcover shows George Washington depicted on plates and tchochkes and loads of comic book appearances.  There are full color reproductions of comic books from the Golden Age to modern times and George Washington seen on everything from vintage tavern signs to Funko Pops.

Your best bet to get CLOAKED CRUSADER GEORGE WASHINGTON IN COMICS & POP CULTURE is to order it directly from the Francis Tavern Museum, and if you like the idea, be sure to grab the 2025 Calendar, too.  They make great gifts for the father of our country.

Our first music pick for The 2024 PopCult Gift Guide is a new vinyl pressing (also available on CD in a deluxe boxed set) of King Crimson’s 1974 masterpiece, RED. This one’s for the more daring music lover on your holiday shopping list.

This is a double 200gm vinyl LP pressing housed in gatefold jacket. This 50th anniversary 2LP edition takes the music to new levels of clarity & power. RED was one of the earliest mixes undertaken by Steven Wilson in 2009 & King Crimson was the first of a number of classic bands & artists to be mixed by Steven so it’s entirely appropriate that he return, some 15 years later, to take the album into the Dolby Atmos era.

While mixing the album for Dolby Atmos, Steven also prepared new stereo & 5.1 mixes. Those new stereo mixes appear on LP1 of this 2LP set.

LP2 consists of a complete album’s worth of Elemental Mixes by long-time King Crimson producer (& band manager) David Singleton – using the original multi-track recordings to present a very different audio picture of the album, with greater separation of instruments & utilising many elements recorded for, but not included in, the original mixes.

This LP features a unique insight into Bruford’s percussion overdubs in place of “Providence” and an extended intro to “Starless.” This version of “Starless” is so striking that I played the entire 14-minute song on Radio Free Charleston in episode 200 last week.

As King Crimson biographer Sid Smith puts it in his new notes for the album: “David Singleton’s elemental mixes pull the veil aside on the original sessions and act as a kind of alternative account, a Red that could have been, revealing the different passes and takes that the band undertook as well as those of Collins, Charig and McDonald as they engaged with the material”.

RED, the final album by the 1970s incarnation of King Crimson was quite the departure.  The band’s strong leader, Robert Fripp, stepped back and let vocalist/bassist John Wetton (pre-ASIA) and drummer, Bill Bruford (formerly of YES and a mainstay of the 1980’s Crimson) run the show.  For the first time the band was something of a Democracy, and it worked wonders for this swansong that closed the first chapter of King Crimson. Epic numbers such as the title track and “Starless” stand among the greatest works of Progressive Rock. Some folks have suggest that RED is ground zero for what became Prog-Metal.

You should be able to order this 2 LP Anniversary edition of RED from any local record shop, or you could take the easy way out and get it online  from Amazon (it’s actually cheaper at Walmart).

If you want a whole hell of a lot more for about the same price, I recommend the Deluxe boxed set that includes two CDs + two Blu-Rays. This box has the contents of the 2 LPs on CD, but also features those completely new Dolby Atmos, 5. 1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround & Stereo mixes by Steven Wilson in full Blu Ray glory along with a generous bonus. RED was recorded immediately after King Crimson’s final US tour of 1974 & the anniversary edition reflects that by including all three Hi-Res Stereo mixes of the live album USA in it’s full concert versions. Also included are a quintet of audio restored bootlegs being issued on disc for the first time, alongside a bootleg of the band’s final US concert in New York in 1974 which Robert Fripp claimed was: “the first gig since the 1969 Crimson where the bottom of my spine registered ‘out of this world’ to the same degree.”

Either anniversary edition of RED is highly recommended as a gift for the fan of Crimson, Prog-rock or just adventurous music in general. As a bonus, fans of ASIA might be thrilled to hear Wetton taking on more challenging material.

On this election day, we have an all-new three-hour show. You’d be surprised how much you can cram into a three-hour show, when you’re hoping for the best, but also hiding in your home bunker because you voted early and just wish it was all over (and the good guys win).

Tuesday means a new RFC on The AIR.  And this week  Radio Free Charleston presents three fresh hours of listenting enjoyment for you. To listen to The AIR, you simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay here, and  listen to the cool embedded player found elsewhere on this page.  

You can hear Radio Free Charleston Tuesdays at 10 AM and 10 PM, with boatloads of replays throughout the week.

This week we offer up two hours of new local, independent and alternative music for you, and then we bring you a special mixtape third hour devoted to some unorthodox covers.

The show opens with a brand-new song from Emmalea Deal & The Hot Mess, one of the Mountain States most exciting artists.  We follow that up with new music from Huntington’s Living Room, as well as The Fleshtones, The Cure and Tears for Fears (for those of you stuck in the 80s) and also new releases from Corduroy Brown, Beth Hart, Rat Ship, Rhoda Dakar, The Surfrajettes, Matt Berry and Lin Manuel Miranda. We spice that up with some more cool local music and some great indie stuff.

Our third hour is a mixtape collection of cover songs that may very well leave you scratching your heads. We open with a new Willie Nelson track, where he covers a song by The Flaming Lips. After that it gets really weird. I’m not even going to warn you about it. Just listen and enjoy the alternate realities.

Check out the playlist below. Where possible in the first two hours, live links will take you to the artist’s pages.

RFC V5 201

hour one
Emmalea Deal & The Hot Mess “Lie To Me”
Living Room “Chasing Ghosts”
The Brogues “I Ain’t No Miracle Worker”
The Fleshtones “Empty Sky”
Orville Rex “Silvertone Jaguar”
Rat Ship “Coffin Meringue”
Devon Townsend “PowerNerd”
Corduroy Brown “Doin’ My Best (live at Blenko)”
Famous Groupies “The Traveller”
Rosalie Cunningham “To Shoot Another Day”
John Radcliff “It’s Not A Dream”
Beth Hart “Machine Gun Vibrato”
Novo Combo “Don’t Throw Your Love Away”
Rhoda Dakar “Private Eye”

hour two
The Surfrajettes “Double Reverb”
Matt Berry “I Gotta Limit (featuring Kitty Luv)”
Bad Keys of the Mountain “Free Ride”
Wolfgang Parker “The Father/The Son”
Ann Magnuson “Man With No Face”
Ryan Hardiman & Moonage Daydream “Ashes To Ashes”
The Cure “Endsong”
Tears For Fears “Goodbye Mum And Dad”
Unmanned “Aliens”
Lin Manuel Mirandas Warriors “Going Down”
Chuck Biel “Mach Turtle”
The Dollyrots “The Vow”
Nu Mutants “Undertaker”
Lords of Atlantis “Temple of Poseidon/Sands of Mauritania”

hour three
Willie Nelson “Do You Realize”
Paramore “Burning Down The House”
Government Cheese “The KKK Took My Baby Away”
The Anchoress “Bizarre Love Triangle”
The Feelies “I’m Waiting For The Man”
Daniel Glass “Smoke On The Water”
St. Vincent “Funkytown”
Frankie Goes To Hollywood “Born To Run”
Max Tundra “This Woman’s Work”
Puddles Pity Party “Paranoid/Driven To Tears”
No Doubt “It’s My Life”
Triggerfinger “Need You Tonight”
Erasure “Heart of Glass”
The Dickies “Sounds of Silence”
Waxx & Pénélope Bagieu “Just Can’t Get Enough”
Gene “Town Called Malice”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM,  Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight, Sunday at 8 PM and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different classic 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 last week’s episodes of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM we bring you an encore of a special episode of The Swing Shift devoted to Quincy Jones’ Big Band, in honor of his passing.

 You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Today’s second entry in The 2024 PopCult Gift Guide is a collection of items inspired by the carpet pattern from The Overlook Hotel, as seen in Stanley Kubrick’s adaption of Stephen King’s The Shining. 

Any devout fan of the movie will get a kick out of these cool things that let you bring a little piece of the horror and madness home with you.  These are all courtesy of Pop Kulture Vulture, a nifty online emporium of cult coolness that also sells stuff based on Ken Russell, Tor Johnson, The Exorcist and more high-quality terror inducements. But this entry will point you to the Overlook.

I actually have the button-up shirt, which is in low supply. I saw folks wearing this shirt with the distinctive pattern at WonderFest USA in June, and it didn’t hit me where it was from until I got to Anthony Taylor’s table (he’s the guy behind Pop Kulture Vulture and the organizer of Monsterama, which we may go to next year) and saw the hotel keychains.  When the circuits in my brain all connected, I bought one on the spot (and a keychain, too).

The cool part about this shirt (which is heavy duty and high quality) is that not everybody recognizes it. Many folks will just think that it’s a particularly striking pattern…but when somebody does recognize it, it’s like an instant secret handshake.

Now, if button-up shirts aren’t your thing, you can also get this pattern on a wallet, handkerchief, shower curtains, throw blankets, face masks, aprons, socks, license plates, scarves, arm sleeves, neck ties, and more. The rabid fan of The Shining can be decked out nearly head-to-toe in Overlook Hotel swag. And as the person giving the gift, you can enable the obsession, and possibly be spared if they snap and start chasing people around with an axe.

What better way is there to celebrate the big Winter holiday than by celebrating the big Winter movie?

Bearclaw’s Realms of Fantasy: Bearclaw’s World Presents Vol 1 Plates 1 – 52
by Brion Woods (Author), Janice Wagoner (Editor)
Independently published
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8332906152
$20 from Amazon

Our first pick in The 2024 PopCult Gift Guide today is an exquiste art/coloring book by local creator, Brion Woods. Bearclaw’s Realms of Fantasy collects 52 of his drawings depicting his fantastic creations.

Brion’s intricate drawings bring to life scenes of warriors, monsters, fierce battles and adventures from a fantasy world that will challenge your imagination.  A longtime devotee of Dungeons and Dragons, Woods has created his of characters that just hint at the tales yet to unfold.

We go to the Amazon description:

The first in a series of coloring books, photo arrays, gaming modules and stories from the adventures and imagination of Brion “Bearclaw” Woods. This coloring book contains 52 impressive drawings meant for an adult audience. They are extremely detailed to keep the user entertained as they find themselves being pulled into Bearclaw’s Realms of Fantasy

Bearclaw’s Realms of Fantasy is a perfect gift for any fan of Sword & Sorcery and D&D.  It works well as an art book, but is intended as a high-end adult coloring book, which will draw you even further into the worlds that Woods has imagined for you.  Plus you’re supporting a local creator.

Not only is this a special gift of art, it’s also the first of what is meant to be an entire universe of multi-media realizations of Brion Woods’ creative ambitions.  It’s your chance to get in on the ground floor of something…magic. Bearclaw’s Realms of Fantasy: Bearclaw’s World Presents Vol 1 Plates 1 – 52 can be ordered from Amazon, and you’ll have it in plenty of time for holiday gifting.

This week’s art is me revealing a bit of my process. Based on a few photos I took in Chicago, this is the beginning of a painting of a couple of distinctive buildings. For this small study on textured paper, I’d planned to lay down a rough ink wash sketch in one color, then build on that with a variety of media until I got it looking the way I wanted it.

This was supposed to be the first step, but when I got this far, I decided that I wanted to go with a different shade of blue for my base, instead of the mix of sky blue and emerald that I used here.  (There’s also some indigo and black in the mix for shading). I’ll be starting this one over, probably with a tweak to the composition as well.

However, this version wound up looking pretty good, despite not being what I wanted my final vision to resemble, so I’m sharing it here as a “happy accident.”

To see it bigger try clicking HERE.

Over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a recent episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM an also recent edition of 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 elsewhere on this page.

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. 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.

At 8 PM you can hear an hour of conceptual random comedy a classic early episode of The Comedy Vault.

Tonight at 9 PM for the Monday Marathon we devote ten hours to five more episodes of Prognosis.  That hat Halloween is out of the way, we are back to alternating between Prognosis and Sydney’s Big Electric Cat for the next several weeks, because we’re going to be pulling the early episodes of those shows from the server soon to make room for newer programs. After they’ve been offline for a year or so, we’ll bring them back into rotation but for now, you can hear them Monday evening into Tuesday morning, and then those episode will go on hiatus.