Category: Uncategorized (Page 5 of 749)

Our first entry today in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is not for just one item. It’s another retailer spotlight. And today’s pick is a brand-spanking new retailer, located at 7 East Main Street in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It’s a fun day-trip from Charleston and is a quick trip from Morgantown, Fairmont or Clarksburg.

I’m talking about Volume Bookshop & Studio. It’s primarily a bookstore, with lots of extras, and it’s co-owned by Spike Nesmith, who is currently Director of Production, Producer, Presenter, Voice Talent at WVRC Media, but is well known in the Charleston area for his years at WKLC, Rock 105. Spike’s partner is his wife, Nicki Bentley-Colthart, and they have created a charming and unique shop, located on Main Street in Buckhannon.

They have an online store offering new and gently-used books of all kinds, but the real treat is in visiting the store in person. In addition to books, they have video, vinyl, handmade quilts, totes, and…a nod to Spike’s Scottish origins…a selection of teas, candies and snacks from the United Kingdom.

On top of that, right in the middle of the store is a working podcast studio. You can rent it to record your own show at very reasonable rates.

Volume Bookshop & Studio is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 6 PM, and it is a gem of a store that’s just getting started. The place is dripping with charm and while you can find all kinds of great gifts there, taking somebody there in person is a pretty great gift itself.

Last week, your humble blogger and his wife decided to do something that might not have been the most sane of things, but right in the middle of yours truly writing The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide, we took a 650-mile road trip over four days, the results of which you will see in this blog in the coming weeks.

We drove from Charleston to Cambridge, Ohio to Canton, Ohio to Hermitage, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh and then Fairmont, before stopping in to check out Volume last Tuesday.

We were the first people in right after they opened, and it was Veteran’s Day, so I was able to grab all these photos before the crowds showed up. As you can see, it’s a great little bookshop with plenty to offer.

If you decide to make the trip to the store your gift, be sure to check out the other cool places in Buckhannon, and on the way back you can stop in Flatwoods and hit Everything Fiesta for your FiestaWare needs, then zip over to the other side of I 79 for lunch at Luzader’s and dessert at The Custard Stand. Make a whole day of it!

As soon as you walk in, you notice that the store is charming and cozy, and there’s a recording studio right there in the middle.

They have a great assortment of current bestsellers.

Plus they have vinyl and DVDs (except for Ferris Bueller…Mel boughtt that)

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Anybody who tells you that art can’t be silly is lying.

Some of the greatest works of art are silly as hell. Michaelangelo’s “David” is hanging out in church buck-assed nekkid. The table in DaVinci’s “The Last Super” is so thin that people could only sit on one side of it. And the girl with the pearl earring? That’s not real pearl!

My point here is, sometimes as an artist, it’s your duty…perhaps even your calling…to dare to be silly.

Exactly one week ago today Mel and I took my sister, Debbie, to the Christmas Spirit store just South of Pittsburgh. In it we saw, in all its holiday glory, a massive flaming red rubber chicken. It was over two feet tall, and I grabbed a photo on my phone.

Bu that image haunted me. It taunted me. I couldn’t get it out of my head.

In my mind I heard the chicken clucking in its chicken-y voice (not unlike that of RFK Jr.) “Paint me like one of your French girls.” Even though I don’t have any French girls, and the original line from Titanic was “draw,” not “paint,” I felt compelled to pull out the acrylics and illustration board and grid out the photo so I could do a painting.

Since I’m in the middle of The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide and this was the only piece of art I worked on last week, you sorta get stuck looking at it.

If you want to see this image larger, click HERE.

Later today we continue The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide.

Meanwhile, over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a new episode of Psychedelic Shack.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page.

Nigel has put together a really cool hour-long collection of mind-exanding music. Check out the playlist:

Psychedelic Shack 107

Ancient Grease “Women and Children First”
Circus Maximus “Wind”
Peter Brown & His Battered Ornaments “The Politician”
Goat Generator “Far From Devine/Kingdom Gone”
Astral Magic “Sea of Infinite Possiblities”
White Witch “Auntie Christy”
The Beach Boys “Cabin Essence”
Love Sculpture “Sabre Dance”

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.

At 3 PM Herman Linte also has a new episode of Prognosis, but it’s tied in to the second pick in today’s PopCult Gift Guide, so you’ll have to check back to see what we’ll have on the show.   That post should be live by Noon.

Tonight at 9 PM we bring you our newish Monday night line-up featuring two hours each of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast, plus six hours overnight with an assortment of our programming from Haversham Recording Institute,

Above you see a fantastic music video created by visual artist Shane Swank for “The Floating Chamber,” from the Custard Flux album Enter Xenon (2025).

Custard Flux, is a cool Psych/Prog band from Detroit that was brought to our attention via the Chicago pipeline that I talk about on Radio Free Charleston a lot.  Custard Flux, led by Greg Curvery of The Luck of Eden Hall, and visual artist Shane Swank, have dropped an animated video for the Custard Flux track “The Floating Chamber”

“The Floating Chamber” is the final track on Custard Flux’s acclaimed 2025 album Enter Xenon.  You can buy the track HERE, and get the entire album HERE.

Find out more about the animator, Shane Swank HERE.

Custard Flux is:
Curvey: Vox, Guitar, Arp Odyssey Synthesizer, Pro One Synthesizer, Mellotron, Tape Loops
Vito Greco: Guitar
Timothy Prettyman: Bass Guitar
Nick Pruett: Drum Kit, Percussion
Andy Thompson: Mellotron

Special thanks to August Forte of NoVo Arts Management for turning me on to this.

While it’s November now, this week and next, we present our June, 2012 two-part coverage of FestivALL 2012. Unlike our FestivALL coverage the previous year, we didn’t do eight shows with three hours of content in two weeks, but we did manage to give you nearly two hours of FestivALL in nine days.

Included in this episode is music from Red Audio, Andy Park, Emily Burdette, The Kanawha Kordsmen and Sweet Adelines and Paul Calicoat. We are also treated to an Effects Makeup demonstration by Rob “RJ” Haddy, Charleston FX makeup guru.  Much of the show is devoted to the FestivAll Art Parade, while we finish with scenes of The East End Main Street Streetworks Art Auction and Celebration, and auctioneer Ted Brightwell.

Among the Art Parade fun you’ll see Razor Sharp Productions with Porkchop and Pig Girl, Dale Morton Studio Mascots, Zombies and ghouls from Shocka Con, The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, The Chemical Valley Roller Girls, The Charleston Light Opera Guild and more!

Next week in this space you will see part two of our coverage, with music recorded at the Derick Kirk Scholarship Benefit, and cool stuff from the Capitol Street Art Fair, plus even more FestivALL spectacularity.

The PopCulteer
November 14, 2025

As I have mentioned many times here in PopCult, one of my other gigs is that I am a contributing writer to Non Sport Update, the magazine devoted to the non sport trading card hobby.

Well, I have some good news, and I have some bad news.

The good news is that the latest issue of NSU, featuring a new card set based on Star Trek on the cover, goes on sale starting this weekend nationwide.

The bad news, as you might notice on the banner across the top of the cover, is that this will be the final issue.

These are not great days for print media. Magazines are dropping like flies and have been for years. Competition from the internet, which can cover developments in hobbies instantly, has eaten away at most of the niche magazine market.

The non sport hobby itself is seeing a pretty major shift as Topps, which was acquired by the sports merchandising behemoth, Fanatics, seems less inclined than ever to explore or exploit non-sport topics.

The really exciting stuff happening in the hobby is the work of smaller companies using internet-based crowdfunding to create loads of new and exciting non-sports cards. The only downside to this development is that with these small producers, the cost of advertising in a print magazine just does not provide a great return on their investment. It’s risky to advertise a Kickstarter campaign when you have to have the ad submitted two months in advance.

Non Sport Update‘s publisher, Beckett Media, has run into a few problems of its own, with a collapse of their card-grading business and some high-profile misadventures that have caused a shake-up of their finances and management team.

It simply got to a point where they could not afford to keep publishing Non Sport Update.

Good Times

I’m really going to miss the gig. My editor, Alan Biegel, was a joy to work with and never got too irritated if I blew a deadline. Harris Toser, the son of the founders of the magazine, stayed on when NSU was sold to Beckett back in 2016, and kept the magazine feeling like a family organization, even with new corporate owners. I’d be happy to work with these guys on any projects they might have come up in the future.

It was really cool to be able to walk into Barnes & Nobel or Books A Million and find a magazine that I wrote for on the stands. I’m going to miss that little bit of joy. I feel lucky that I got to contribute to this beloved institution that was created by Roxanne and Marlin Toser back in 1991. I am proud to say I was a contributor to this magazine.

I wrote for Non Sport Update, I think, for 28 years, after being recommended for the job by John Michlig. I started out covering action figures for them, but after two or three issues they realized that their readers didn’t really care about action figures, and instead of showing me the door, they invited me to stick around and write about trading cards.

I was glad to do it, even though, at the time, I was not an avid collector. I collected the Dinosaurs Attacks card set, and I’d been a fan of Wacky Packages since I was a kid. I also bought the reissue of the Batman trading cards from the 1960s, but in most ways I was a novice.

That’s changed quite a bit in the nearly three decades since. I really got into the hobby and I learned from the experts, who were my colleagues at NSU. I had the thrill of having a few of my articles illustrated by the late Jay Lynch, who was one of my underground cartoonist heroes, and I’ve made dozens of friends along the way.

Writing for NSU also forced me to new levels of professionalism as I tackled the occasional subject about which I knew nothing, and had to research it intensely so I didn’t come off as totally clueless. More than once I wrote a feature article about a TV show or movie that I’d never watched (and in some cases, still haven’t–sorry iCarly).

Non-Sport And Pop Culture

When I began writing this blog, several years after I began with NSU, my editor at the time asked me to avoid covering non-sport cards in PopCult, since they were paying me to write about them for NSU. I felt that was a reasonable request, and except for the occasional Kickstarter Alert, I’ve stuck with that.

Going forward, you can probably expect more in-depth coverage of non-sport cards in PopCult. Over the years I have become a big fan of Richard Parks of RRParksCards, and Robert Jimenez of ZeroStreet, as well as some other folks who do great card sets like Christopher Irving and Kurt Kuersteiner and others, and I’ll be telling you more about them in the future. I may even finish my history of Wacky Packages cards here.

My last article for NSU covered a new card set from Todd Riley and NostalgiCards based on the movie, Metropolis. This set took 30 years to bring to fruition, and you can read about it in that final issue of Non Sport Update. That set will be launching on Kickstarter soon, and I’ll remind you about that when it happens.

I have to be honest here and say that this was not exactly a shock to me. I’ve sort of been expecting the “pencils down” email since the magazine was sold to Beckett almost ten years ago. That feeling has gotten stronger over the last year. It’s to Beckett’s credit that they kept it going as long as they did.

I want to thank The Tosers, my long-suffering editor, Alan, and the many friends I’ve made along the way. I hope some of them join me as I begin to mix non-sport trading cards into the pop culture soup that is PopCult.

That is this week’s PopCulteer. Check back for fresh content every day, as well as our regular features. The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide will resume on Monday, and I am seriously considering extending it for a week into December this year, so I’ll let you know if that happens.

Today’s second entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is a must-have item for fans of The Who, and would make a great gift for any fan of classic rock from the 1970s.

The Who “Who Are You” Super Deluxe Boxset
Geffen Records
$124.99

First a quick note on today’s gift suggestion: You may have noticed that all this week our second entries for the day were music. You may have also noticed that, up until today they were all Beatles-related, featuring the music of John, Paul, George and Ringo, in that order. The logical pick for today would have been The Beatles new Anthology Four album.

However, I did not realize when I made my schedule for The Gift Guide that Anthology Four will not be released until a week from today. So I had to switch out that entry with the one I’d planned for next Friday, which is, luckily, rather a nifty replacement.

Who Are You is considered by many fans to be the last “real” Who album, and now you can explore all the nooks and crannies of its creation with this Limited Edition 7CD / 1 Blu-Ray Super Deluxe Boxset.

This extensive collection gives an unprecedented insight into how The Who made what was to be their final studio album with Keith Moon. The eight discs are housed in a 12” by 12” slipcase and include a newly re-mastered version of the original album, plus demos and out-takes from the Who Are You sessions as the band developed the songs.

This set also includes the 1977 Shepperton tour rehearsals, and the 1978 Shepperton studio recordings made for The Kids Are Alright movie.

Also part of this Super Deluxe package is a 100-page hardback book with extensive sleeve notes by Matt Kent covering the period before and after the album’s release, plus track-by-track details, and session notes, as well as sleeve notes by Steven Wilson on his remixes for Dolby Atmos. The book is lavishly illustrated with previously unpublished photographs, memorabilia, tape boxes and original print ads.

Who Are You is the first album by The Who that I bought back when I was transformed into a giant music nerd, and it’s always going to have a warm place in my heart. This presentation is a terrific artifact of that last Who album with their original line-up.

The Who Are You Super Deluxe Boxset is available from retailers who carry, or can order, boxed sets.

Steven Spielberg’s classic movie, JAWS, turned fifty this year, and chances are you know someone who’s a massive film buff that adores this movie. The problem is, they probably already have books and DVDs and Blu rays, and maybe even action figures that commemorate JAWS. But today’s entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is the perfect gift for them because it was just released!

From the folks at Fright Rags, we have the Officially Licensed Jaws Lunch Box (thermos included!).

It’s a mere twenty six bucks (plus shipping) and it’s made of sturdy metal, embossed and with faux distressing to make it look like a vintage item from half a century ago.

In addition, it comes with a tin-wrapped 12 oz. thermos with a bright blue cap that doubles as a cup.

The lunchbox measures 7.75″ wide x 6.75″ tall x 4″ deep and features JAWS artwork by Geoffrey Blasiman & Joe Guy Allard. The bright yellow thermos features the logo and motto of The Amity Island Police Department.

In case you don’t know, JAWS is the story of a lovable, cuddly Great White Shark (named Bruce), who goes on vacation to Martha’s Vinyard and while innocently enjoying the local cuisine, is stalked and hunted by three dangerous psychopaths.

It’s a fun collectible based on the movie, but it’s also functional, so if you know a lawyer or nuclear physicist who absolutely loves JAWS, they can take their lunch to work in this.

The JAWS lunchbox and Thermos can be ordered directly from Fright Rags.

Thanks to The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide, I will once again be running a scaled down version of STUFF TO DO, without the lengthy boilerplate (you can find an example HERE), and with fewer than ten graphics, instead of the ever-ballooning number that has topped 20 at times in recent months. The reason for this is to make your humble blogger’s life a little easier during his busiest month.

The big news this weekend is the West Virginia International Film Festival.   A few eeks ago the news broke that this year the West Virginia International Film Festival would take place, in part, at the currently-shuttered Park Place Stadium Cinemas in Charleston. This is great news on a couple of fronts.  First, it means that the folks at WVIFF expect crowds that will be larger than the Floralee Hark Cohen micro Theater can hold. It’s a nice space, but it is tiny. Second, that means that Park Place is being kept in decent enough shape that it could be up and running in short order should a new owner be found. It’d be great to see that happen. It’d be even better if the new owners don’t try to turn it into some kind of “drafthouse” theater. Charleston needs to have at least one thing going on that doesn’t involve beer. The opening ceremony is Thursday night (that’s tonight for those of you reading this when it’s posted)

You can find the full schedule and details about the Film Festival HERE.

Until we get back to normal in December, more than ever, you should remember that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.

We very happily remind you that Cristen Michael has created an interactive calendar that is way more comprehensive than this list of STUFF TO DO, and you can find it HERE. Just click on the day and the event and you’ll be whisked away to a page with more details about loads of area events.

You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look.  Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Here we go, roughly in order, it’s graphics for local events happening over the next few days that I was able to scrounge up online…

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Today’s second entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is, as has been the case all week long, the perfect gift for the Beatles fan on your holiday shopping list, and it’s also great for the fan of one Ringo Starr, as well as fans of early 1970s rock and pop. Plus it’s really four (make that two) gift suggestions.

I mean, it’s been over two years since I got to see Ringo perform in my hometown, and I’m still buzzed about it. These are vinyl reissues of Ringo’s first four albums on colored vinyl, complete with faithful reproductions of the original packaging. And they are exclusive to Ringo’s online store. Each of the LPs sell for $29.99, plus shipping.

Fans can enjoy brand new limited-edition pressings of Sentimental Journey on Buttermilk Yellow color vinyl, Beaucoups of Blues on Baby Blue color vinyl, RINGO on Molten Lava color vinyl, and Goodnight Vienna on Psychedelic Waves custom color vinyl.

The PR quote says, “For decades, Ringo has shaped music and inspired audiences worldwide, revered for his artistry and for his mission to spread peace and love around the world. We are honored to be entrusted with preserving his body of work, from his early work to his solo albums throughout the years. These reissues highlight his depth, his creativity and his lasting cultural impact.”

Ringo introduced himself as a solo artist with Sentimental Journey, which originally arrived on March 27, 1970. During an exchange with producer George Martin, the artist set the tone for the record when he famously proposed, “Why don’t we take a sentimental journey?” As such, he recorded 12 covers of staples from the American songbook, tipping his hat to the songs that shaped him during his formative years. It showed the world another side of the iconic performer for the first time.

A bonus is that each tune boasts an arrangement by a different person, with George Martin, Paul McCartney, Quincy Jones, Klaus Voorman, Maurice Gibb, film composer Elmer Bernstein and Ringo’s future producer, Richard Perry, among others.

You can order Sentimental Journey HERE. 

Sadly, Sentimental Journey sold out after I wrote this. 

Ringo tracked the follow-up Beaucoups Of Blues at Music City Recorders in Nashville, TN alongside producer Peter Drake. Released on September 25, 1970, the 12-song body of work saw him embrace his passion for country and folk, delivering a benchmark solo offering in the process.

This time Ringo put himself in the hands of Drake and a team of Nashville songwriters and session men, and the album is overlooked for it’s key place in the evolution of Americana, after the Country Rock breakthroughs of The Band and The Byrds. Notable contributors to the album included D.J. Fontana, Charlie Daniels, Jerry Reed, Scotty Moore, The Jordanaires and Jeannie Kendall. The entire album was recorded in three days, and there are still unreleased tracks from those sessions.

You can order Beaucoups Of Blues HERE.

Thhe biggest deal of the four reissues is his namesake album, RINGO. This was Ringo’s first time recording a solo rock album, and it was an all-star affair.

Throughout its creative process, he teamed up with producer Richard Perry and notably collaborated with his Beatles bandmates John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison as well as The Band’s Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, and Rick Danko and Marc Bolan of T-Rex, among others. After dropping on November 2, 1973, it reached #2 on the Billboard 200 and went RIAA Platinum. It houses classics such as “Photograph,” “You’re Sixteen (You’re Beautiful And You’re Mine),” the Lennon-penned “I’m The Greatest,” and “Oh, My My.” The reissue boasts the original 24-page booklet, illustraed by Klaus Voorman, in a gatefold jacket.

This is an album that belongs in ever Beatles fan’s collection. All four Beatles appear. Three of them on one track (augmented by Voormann and Billy Preston). We also get most of The Band backing up Ringo on a George Harrison composition, and Ringo covering an early Randy Newman tune. Plus the cover and “I’m The Greatest” are sly sequels to Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

You can order RINGO HERE.

Finally, we have Ringo’s follow-up, Goodnight Vienna, originally released on November 15, 1974. This time around, he worked with everyone from Lennon and Sir Elton John to Dr. John, Billy Preston, Robbie Robertson, and Harry Nilsson. Cutting the record at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, he reteamed with Perry for production, and the album yielded “No-No Song,” “Only You (And You Alone),” and “Occapella.” Not to mention, Goodnight Vienna saw him return to the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, and it reached RIAA Gold status.

This was Ringo’s last studio album for Apple Records, and he went out with a bang. You can order it HERE.

And Goodnight Vienna has also gone goodnight. Looks like I should’ve recommended these last week. 

These re-releases help new fans see Ringo’s contributions in a new light. Sentimental Journey was the first time a major rock performer tackled the Great American Songbook, and it pre-dates Willie Nelson’s Stardust by five years. Beaucoups Of Blues is early Americana at its finest. RINGO is just a masterpiece with great songwriting and production and loads of guest stars. Goodnight Vienna repeats that formula with chart-topping success.

You can’t go wrong with any, or all, of these cool re-releases.

Act fast. There are only two of them left!

The White Stripes 2-Pack (Elephant)
by Super 7
$45 plus shipping from Super 7 or other retailers

Today’s first suggestion in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is a great gift for fans of the band, The White Stripes, collectors of offbeat action figures, or people who want a band to lead their GI Joe troops in a battle against a Seven Nation Army.

The White Stripes 2-Pack (Elephant) features the newly-minted members of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as 1/18 scale action figures, decked out in the gear they wore on their breakthrough album, Elephant.

This is one of the latest rock ReAction figure sets from Super 7. As they say in their PR…

The elephant in the room is ready to rock. White Stripes fans, prepare to mosh! Jack and Meg White are here as ReAction Figures, dressed in their iconic outfits from the critically acclaimed 2003 Elephant album, which featured instruments and recording equipment that pre-dated 1963.

These 3.75” figures, with five points of articulation, come with accessories as well. Meg’s drumsticks accessories are poised to drive a masterfully hypnotic beat in your collection, and Jack’s guitar accessory recalls an instantly recognizable sound. You can almost sense the energy, hitting hard, evoking an authentic garage-band feel on a world stage.

Set the stage on your shelf or display case for these memorable musicians, commemorated as ReAction Figures. This 2-pack comes in blister card-back packaging that features original Super7 art, inspired by the minimalist cover art for the album, in all its rich red and white tones. It’s the perfect gift for any hard-core Candy Cane Children/White Stripe fans.

What they said. If you know a White Stripes fan, then you know they want this. Plus other collectors could enjoy them too. Or you can give them to someone so they can have them on hand to do battle in the event that anyone ever does action figures based on The Black Keys.