The PopCulteer
February 3, 2023

There’s lots of miscellaneous stuff to tell you about this week, so let’s dive in…

First up, I was out of town last weekend when several folks came together to hold benefit shows for the people displaced by the Regal Apartment fire. However, there is one benefit happening Friday at the Beni Kedem parking lot, and if, unlike me, you like BBQ, pork and cole slaw, you might want to swing by. Details are here…

If you want to make a non-monetary donation such as clothing, phone charges, toiletry items, or other supplies, drop them off at Mountain Mission located at 1620 Seventh Avenue in Charleston.

Monetary donations should be made to United Way of Central WV or by CLICKING HERE. Officials say when making the donation write Regal Apartment fire in the donor notes.

OSCAR Party

Another fun thing that your PopCulteer doesn’t really indulge in is OSCAR fever. My distaste for awards shows and bogus artistic competitions is well-known, but I don’t begrudge my fellow film buffs if they want to have some fun with it. So…you might just be interested as the West Virginia International Film Festival sponsors a live viewing of the 95th Academy Awards at their annual Oscar Party, You can enjoy food, live music and more.

This year they’ll host this night of Hollywood self-horn-tootery at Taylor Books, located above the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF.  At 7 PM they will open the doors and welcome you to walk the red carpet. You can view a stream the 2023 Oscars’ Red Carpet, followed by a large screen viewing of the 95th Academy Awards ceremony (presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) kicking off at 8 PM.

Party-goers can enjoy door prizes, a cash bar, popcorn, delicious food from Coco’s Kitchen & Cafe, and more. Live music will be provided by Jeremiah Hatfield + Eric Robbins of Parachute Brigade,

Tickets are on sale now. and can be purchased HERE. You can get the $35 Early-bird (until Feb. 28th), or for you laggards, get the $45 General (starting March 1st).

If you are a WVIFF Producer Level Member, you get FREE entry for two. WVIFF Director’s Circle & Double Members get FREE entry for one There will also be contests to predict the winners and all sorts of other OSCAR-related revelry.

Super Joe Unlimited At Winterfest

I’ve been telling you about Super Joe Unlimited for a couple of weeks now, but he had his big toy show coming out party last weekend at Winterfest in Louisville. Your truly picked up a few more of the first wave of figures, and I also got a few scoops.

First, Cotswold Collectibles, as I mentioned earlier, will have exclusive boxed figures. Their first two, the Super Joe Unlimited Commander with Black hair and their alien arch-enemy, Darkon, are available for pre-order now.

Second, later this year we can expect more figures, such as a slimmed-down Gor: King of the Terrons and maybe some new enemies or allies for the SJU Crew.

Lastly, the big news is that Power Comics, the folks who do The Masters comic book, which I’ve told you about here in PopCult, are going to publish a Super Joe Unlimited comic book. Steve Stovall was super-excited about all the developments with SJU and the tremendous response so far, but alas, he couldn’t let me see the preview cover or tell me who drew it. Knowing what I know about Austin Hough at Power Comics, I’d say we’re in for some nifty Bronze-Age style coolness.

Here’s a few more photos of Super Joe Unlimited at GI Joe Winterfest. We’ll have more photos from the rest of the show Saturday.

There’s something cool about seeing brand-new Super Joe Unlimted figures bagged up and ready to go in front of vintage Super Joe adventure sets and accessories.

You may notice a few new alien faces and cool new uniforms lined up there.

The box design for the Cotswold Collectibles exclusive Commander

GI Joe Day?

I have to admit to being a little puzzled this week. Several of my friends posted on social media that February 1 was “GI Joe Day,” meaning that the original action figure made his debut on February 1, 1964.

I may be mistaken, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t. I think GI Joe made his debut during The International Toy Fair in New York. In 1964 Toy Fair started on March 9. I double-checked that date with contemporaneous reports. If anybody can prove otherwise, please let me know in the comments.

I hope this doesn’t turn into another “May The Fourth” situation, where a bad joke making fun of a fan with a lisp has blossomed into “Star Wars Day” because too many people now think that Star Wars opened on May 4. Star Wars really opened on May 25, 1977. And it didn’t make it to Charleston until after mid-June.

I know. I was there.

The RFC Flashback

Tomorrow, PopCult’s RFC Flashback brings you our tenth episode, and it’s one of the few editions of Radio Free Charleston for which I made a trailer…

Come back Saturday to see the full episode.

And that is this week’s PopCulteer. Check back every day for fresh content, and more stuff from Winterfest over the weekend.

Oh and that drawing at the top of the post…”missile plus anus” it equals miscellaneous.

Har har.

The PopCult Toybox

Your PopCulteer and his lovely wife spent last weekend enjoying our first visit to The Kentuckiana GI Joe Winterfest, a toy show produced by the fine folks being The Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo (which happens at the end of July).  We had a blast, and I took tons of photos. Today we are bringing you the first big batch of them.

GI Joe Winterfest happened at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre, at 395 Paroquet Springs Drive, in Shepherdsville, KY.  It’s not far at all from the South Louisville Antique Toy Mall, so most toy collectors ought to have an easy time finding it. This will be the new location for The Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo in July and it’s a big upgrade. The previous location at the Hilton Garden Inn was great in the beginning, but the show outgrew the hotel’s exhibit space, and this conference center allows everyone to be in the same, huge room.

Today we’re going to bring you pictures from the show in general, and we’re going to focus on the offerings for the 12″ GI Joe, the original action figure. In the coming day or two we’ll look at the more modern GI Joes as well as the multitude of other cool toys at the show, including Marx figures, Batman, He Man, Barbie and more.

Tomorrow’s PopCulteer will have photos and news of the new Super Joe Unlimited figures.  There’s about a 50/50 chance that I’ll have some video to share on Sunday.

But now, let’s dive in to the first set of Winterfest photos…

The new space is amazing.

The wall and ceiling treatments made it seem like a toy prom.

This is the view right when you walk in the door. There are four or five rows of vendors behing all this.

Continue reading

It’s a new month and we have plenty of STUFF TO DO in Charleston and the surrounding area this weekend. This week I’m going to start off with stuff you can listen to on Wednesday, and also point you to another cool Kickstarter project.

STUFF TO HEAR ON THE AIR

Wednesday afternoon The AIR brings you a special new episodes of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast, both of which are the second halves of two-part specials!  You can tune in at the website, or if you’re on a laptop or desktop, you could just stay right here and  listen to the convenient embedded radio player lurking elsewhere on this page.

At 2 PM Beatles Blast presents the second part of a themed show that, when I first thought of it, I thought was a dumb idea and there wouldn’t be enough songs to fill out an hour. I had the silly idea of doing an hour of Beatles songs (group and solo) about animals, or at least that mention an animal in the title.  Check out the playlist here…

Beatles Blast 088

The Beatles “I Am The Walrus”
Paul McCartney & Wings “Morse Moose & The Grey Goose”
George Harrison “Pisces Fish”
Ringo Starr “Monkey See, Monkey Do”
The Beatles “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey”
John Lennon “The Wumberlog (or The Magic Dog)”
John Lennon “Free As A Bird”
The Beatles “Blue Jay Way”
The Beatles “Dig A Pony”
Paul McCartney “Ode To A Koala Bear”
Ringo Starr “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”
George Harrison “Dark Horse”
The Beatles “And Your Bird Can Sing”
John Lennon “Too Much Monkey Business”
The Beatles “Rocky Raccoon”
Ringo Starr “Scouse The Mouse”
The Beatles “Octopus’s Garden”
The Beatles “The Palace of the King of the Birds”

Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 11 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday afternoon.

At 3 PM on Curtain Call, Mel Larch brings you the second half of her salute to the 25th anniversary of the Broadway debut of the musical based on E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime. Mel also wanted to pay her respects to Frank Galati, who directed the show, and who passed away on January 2.

Ragtime featured music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Terrence McNally.

Set in the late-period gilded age of the early 20th century, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in the United States: African Americans, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; upper-class suburbanites, represented by Mother, the matriarch of a white upper-class family in New Rochelle, New York; and Eastern European immigrants, represented by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. The show also incorporates historical figures such as Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, Booker T. Washington, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Stanford White, Harry Kendall Thaw, and Admiral Peary, an weaves its narrative around some of the true-life scandals and events of the day.

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.

Also on The AIR, Wednesday at 11 PM,  The Comedy Vault fires up another new episode.  This time you get a sixty-minute sampling of The National Lampoon Comedy Hour.  The Comedy Vault can be heard every Wednesday at 11 PM, with the featured episodes replayed the following Monday at 8 PM.

STUFF TO FUND ON KICKSTARTER

Last year I told you about a new graphic novel campaign from local boy made good, Jason Pell.  I’ve been a fan of Jason’s for some time, and I’ve told you about his Pinpricks illustrated books and graphic novel, all of which easily met their goals and were funded and delivered promptly. Last year Jason gave us  Bear Skin, a graphic novel about a small West Virginia town that gets wiped out by a serial killer and the man in the bear suit who might be the killer…or the town’s defender.

Jason is back with a one-shot comic book sequel that also pays homage to Larry Hama’s famous “Silent Interlude” issue of the GI Joe comic book. Bear Skin- The Silent Issue: The Echoes Left by Chains picks up the story after the events in Granstville WV, where the man in the bear suit confronted a town full of blood-thirsty creatures, as his hunt for monsters continues!

With a local creator, localish setting, a murderous guy in a bear suit and a tribute to Larry Hama, how can you go wrong?

You can find out how to support Bear Skin- The Silent Issue: The Echoes Left by Chains and get this intriguing wordless comic book in your hands in July at this link. There you will also find info on how to get Jason’s earlier works as add-ons, so you can catch up with Bear Skin and check out Jason’s other works.

I also want to remind you about Intrusive Thoughts, the first chapter of a six-part comic book series written by Anthony D. Stokes.  Last year I told you about his mini-series, Decay (which is three parts into its five-part story), and I am enjoying Decay so much that I’ve already kicked in on this campaign and made the decision not to learn too much about it until I have it in my hands. I don’t want t ruin any elements of the story.  Here’s what Stokes says on the Kickstarter campaign page: “Intrusive Thoughts Issue 1 is the start of a six-issue horror mystery comic book series that’s a combination of The Sandman and Where The Wild Things Are. The first issue is 28 full color pages.” So if you want to get in early on the career of a storyteller who I predict will be a major talent in the next few years, visit the Kickstarter page for Intrusive Thoughts.

Just wanted to give you guys a reminder about that one. It looks to be a real gem.

And now on with STUFF TO DO…

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM. Friday it’s Aaron Fisher. Saturday Ken Kruger and Anne McConnell serenades the crowd at Charleston’s beloved Bookstore/Coffee Shop/Art Gallery.

The Empty Glass has some great stuff through the week to tell you about.   Thursday from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, Swingstein and Robin play fiddle and piano and sing swing and early jazz standards. Each week they donate their tips to a local nonprofit.   Friday from 5 PM to 8 PM Timmy “Courts and Friends hold down the fort at the Glass. Next week they’ll have an open mic Monday night, and Songwriter Showcase on Tuesday. Weekend shows that have graphics are listed among the images below.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. In fact, it’s surging again. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the rest of this week, roughly in order…

It’s Tuesday on The AIR  and that means it’s time for a new  Radio Free Charleston and a new The Swing Shift! 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.

We have another new/old hybrid show on Radio Free Charleston this week, with one all-new hour, followed by two all-local RFCs from July, 2019, at 10 AM and 10 PM Tuesday.   This week our latest Radio Free Charleston has killer new tunes from loads of artists,  but we open the show with a track from the influential post-punk guitarist, Tom Verlaine, who passed away over the weekend. We also close the first hour with a classic track from his band, Television.

We also debut new tracks by Cosmic Bull, in advance of their upcoming EP, Hangin’ In The I.P., due out February 17, and Joe Rian & the AM Drinkers, whose new single will be officially released February 10. Mix in new local tracks by The Switch, Buni Muni and Aristotle Jones, plus some classic local tracks and we get the show off to a strong start.

Our second and third hours resurrect two episode of Radio Free Charleston Volume Four from July 2019, and both hours are loaded with music from  Charlestonians, West Virginians, expatriots and a few folks who just passed through town. It all sounds great, though.

Check out the playlist below to see all the goodies we have in store. Live links will take you to the artist’s page…

RFC V5 117

Tom Verlaine “Words From The Front”
Cosmic Bull “Guest List In Heaven”
The Switch “Bad Girl”
Bobaflex “Say What You Will”
Crazy Jane “Amazing”
Joe Rian & the AM Drinkers “I’m Gonna Love You”
Aristotle Jones “Straight To You”
Buni Muni “Club Kid”
Ben Castle and the Blah Street Band with Matt Berry “A Lesson In Jazz”
Ann Magnuson “Just A Guy”
Bon Air “Bizarre Love Gun”
Television “Marquee Moon”

hour two
Mediogres “Zombie Activist”
The Jasons “Mommy Got Beheaded By A Bimbo”
Kevin Scarbrough “Unsatisfied Animal”
The Heavy Editors “Meltdown”
Time And Distance “Hell To Pay”
Frenchy And The Punk “She Was A Flapper”
Geronimo “Not Just Stand There”
Todd Burge “That Damned Disguise”
Speedsuit “Upside”
Karen Allen “On and Off”
Byzantine “Moving In Stereo”
David Synn “Anesthesia”
Science of the Mind “Rat”
Feast of Steven “Tired of Sinkin’”
The Amazing Delores “Rats In My Trailer”
Fabulous Head “Dopamine Phone”

hour three
Spencer Elliott “Viking Lullaby
Fletcher’s Grove “Masterbeast”
Kevin Scarbrough “White Paper, Black Pen”
Emmalea Deal “Just Take”
The Heavy Editors ““To The Phonomatic”
Mediogres “Frontwards”
The Big Bad “Nobody Makes It Out Of Here Alive”
John Lancaster “Forever The Alarmist”
Holden Caulfield “End of Wars”
The Jasons “We’re Gonna Kill That Girl”
Todd Burge “Your Punk Is Dead”
Dead For Decades “Lonely Spotlight”
No Rain “Soul For Sale”
The Defectors “Nightlife In Tokyo”

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 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 last week’s new episodes of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM we offer up another new episode of The Swing Shift. Every week yours truly strives to bring you the best of over 100 years of Swing Music on one of our most-listened-to programs.

This week it’s all upbeat, fast and loud Swing Music, to get you jumpin’ so high they’ll have to mop the ceiling. Just check out this playlist…

The Swing Shift 137

Stan Kenton “Artistry In Jump”
Brian Setzer Orchestra “The Dirty Boogie”
Harry James “Ciribiribin”
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy “Big Time Operator”
Glenn Miller Orchestra “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”
Ingrid Lucia & the Flying Neutrinos “Bei Mir Bist Du Schon”
Ruby Murray “Ain’t That A Grand and Glorious Feeling”
Royal Crown Revue “Hey Pachuco”
Eric Winstone & His Band “Choo Choo Special”
The New Morty Show “Take Me Tonight”
Anita O’Day “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine”
Louis Jordan “Saturday Night Fish Fry”
Devil Doll “Bourbon In Your Eyes”
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies “No Mercy For Swine”
The Atomic Fireballs “Flowers In The Sand”
Enoch Light & The Light Brigade “King Porter Stomp”
Stan Kenton “Lover”

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.

This week I did another city scene, loosely based on Chicago, but I was mainly trying to show off the faux Sepia tone I got by mixing brown, red and orange Winsor and Newton inks.

There was a lot of straight-edge help with this one. The cross-hatching was pretty hard on my hands, too, but it’s a small price to pay to make one’s “art.”

I may not be done with this technique.  There are a couple of colors I haven’t busted out yet. Watch this space to see.

To see it bigger try clicking HERE.

Meanwhile, Monday at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a recent episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM a 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.

On Psychedelic Shack, Nigel Pye offers up an hour-long mixtape of Psychedelic Music that, on this show,  kicks off with Todd Rundgren.

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.

On a classic Prognosis, Herman Linte presents his usual assortment of prog-rock classics mixed with new tracks, and this show brings you a live performance by Tangerine Dream, with special guest Brian May.

At 8 PM you can hear an hour of the twisted music of Barnes & Barnes on the latest Comedy Vault.

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.

Tonight at 9 PM we bring you an overnight marathon of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat.  Sydney marked her one-hundredth episode last Friday, so we’re running a selection of the best of her early shows this week as our marathon.

Sometimes you’re just in a Green Hornet mood. I’m talking about the 1960s TV version of The Lone Ranger’s great-nephew, not that awful movie from a few years ago. The TV show was a campy, fun romp…a companion show to the 1960’s Batman series (with the same producer, no less). This was the show with Bruce Lee as Kato and Van Williams as the Hornet-y guy himself.

Plus that car, I mean, geez!

It was a fun show, and it’s easy to drop in the blog when you’re on the road back home after a toy show. Above you see the first episode. Enjoy!

“Duh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh BATMAN Shirt,” henceforth known simply as “Batman Shirt,” was episode nine of Radio Free Charleston and originally appeared November 14, 2006, and was our first, and perhaps our only Thanksgiving show.

This is one of our most-watched and least-watched RFC video shows. Since being remastered and posted to YouTube about a decade ago, it has been viewed more than nine-thousand times. However, most viewers bail out after about ten seconds, probably disappointed that it isn’t the theme song sequence from the Batman TV show.

It is, however, a great local music showcase that features songs from Stephen Beckner and Mother Nang, a Pentagram Flowerbox cartoon, the short film, Hell for Turkeys and funny host segments from the pre-demolition food court at The Kanawha Mall. End credit music is by Greg Wegmann.

Still recovering from our first big Halloween shows, we took a low-key approach to this episode of RFC. Stephen Beckner returned with a second song recorded at the second-ever RFC recording session at LiveMix Studio, which also gave us his song for episode two. “Olive Or Twist” was on his “Apples” CD.

We also bring you archival footage of Mother Nang from 1992 performing “Knee Deep In Wine.” After this show was originally posted to The Charleston Gazette in 2006, Mother Nang reunited and appeared in more modern times on the show. Their frontman, Spencer Elliott, has gone on to become a big-shot amazing fingerstyle guitar recording artist for CandyRat Records.

There is an epic-length Pentagram Flowerbox Thanksgiving cartoon on hand, as Timmy and his grandma go hunting for a giant turkey and pay tribute to the late Iron Eyes Cody.

There’s much more in this edition of Radio Free Charleston: a glimpse of turkey hell, a brief visit by the Talking Adventure Team Commander, and end credit footage of The State Capitol Grounds, including the now-extinct fountain.

It’s hard to believe this was over sixteen years ago. Time flies when you’re having fun!

If you didn’t get enough RFC from the above show, here’s a “DVD extra,” the trailer I made to promote the show, back when we could only post trailers to YouTube because of their time constraints…

The PopCulteer
January 27, 2023

Just like last Monday with Prognosis, this afternoon on The AIR Sydney Fileen reaches her one-hundredth episode of our New Wave Music showcase, Sydney’s Big Electric Cat on The AIR. We also have a new episode of MIRRORBALL, for you Disco fanatics.   The AIR is PopCult‘s sister radio station. You can hear these shows on The AIR website, or just click on the embedded player found elsewhere on this page.

First, at 2 PM, Mel Larch uncorks a new MIRRORBALL! The AIR’s showcase of classic Disco music presents the first of two episodes devoted to the music of The Trammps.

Emerging from the ashes of the 1960’s R&B band, The Volcanos, vocalists Jimmy Ellis and Earl Young teamed up with the Wade brothers, from MFSB to form a Disco Music powerhouse. In this and the next episode of MIRRORBALL, Mel will bring you their hits along with important album tracks and a few oddities from their career. Disco wouldn’t have been the same without “Disco Inferno,” but there is so much more to The Trammps than that one iconic hit.

Check out the playlist…

MIRRORBALL 067

The Trammps

“Trammps Disco Theme”
“Penguin At The Big Apple/ Zing Went The Strings of My Heart”
“Sixty Minute Man”
“Rubber Band”
“Disco Party”
“Can We Come Together”
“Starvin “
“People of The World, Rise”
“Disco Inferno (long mix)”

You can hear MIRRORBALL every Friday at 2 PM, with replays throughout the following week.

At 3 PM, on Sydney’s Big Electric Cat, Sydney Fileen reaches her one-hundredth episode, keeping the New Wave Music flame burning brightly, and honoring a promise she’s made for years.

After opening show with her namesake song, Adrian Belew’s “Big Electric Cat,” Sydney assembles a playlist of “Quintessential New Wave Music” for her listeners.

As Sydney explains, “Some of these songs were major hits that defined the era, while others are deep album cuts by the artists who defined the genre. Either way, it’s going to be very New Wave-y here.”

Sydney don’t lie, as you can see from this playlist…

BEC 100

Adrian Belew “Big Electric Cat”
Toyah “Good Morning Universe”
XTC “Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)”
The Police “Spirits In The Material World”
Madness “Tomorrow’s (Just Another Day)”
Eurythmics “Right By Your Side”
Bronski Beat “Hit That Perfect Beat (12” Mix)”
Thompson Twins “Sister of Mercy”
Elvis Costello “Busy Bodies”
DEVO “Girl U Want”
Lene Lovich “Angels”
Klaus Nomi “Total Eclipse”
Mike Batt “Love Makes You Crazy”
Hazel O’Connor “Decadent Days”
The B-52s “Party Out Of Bounds”
Joe Jackson “Steppin’ Out”
Kate Bush “Army Dreamers”
ABC “Poison Arrow”
Ultravox “We Stand Alone”
Nina Hagen “Blood In The Streets”
Adam & The Ants “Killer In The House”
Pretenders “Birds of Paradise”
New Musik “Science”
Missing Persons “Tears”
Split Enz “I Got You”
Siouxsie and The Banshees “Take Me Back”
The Clash “Death Or Glory”
The Stranglers “Mean To Me”
Gary Numan “Music For Chameleons”
Blondie “Living In The Real World”
The Art of Noise “Close To The Edit”

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.

It’s been great to have such major deejays from the UK creating these labor-of-love programs for The AIR, and I want to thank Sydney, Herman, Nigel and all the crew at The Haversham Recording Institute for the hundreds of hours of quality radio programming they’ve given us over the past several years.

That’s what’s new on The AIR Friday, and that is this week’s PopCulteer. Check back all weekend for fresh posts even though yours truly will be at GI Joe Winterfest in Louisville. We have internets blogging magic that lets me do this stuff.

Your PopCulteer and his lovely wife will be heading West (it’s really a pleasant drive) to just South of Louisville, Kentucky for the GI Joe Winterfest, a toy show produced by the fine folks being The Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo (which happens at the end of July). Check out the Facebook Event Page for full details and preview photos.

This will be our first Winterfest, and it’s the first show at the new home of The Kentuckiana show.  GI Joe Winterfest happens at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre, at 395 Paroquet Springs Drive, in Shepherdsville, KY.  It’s not far at all from the South Louisville Antique Toy Mall, so most toy collectors ought to have an easy time finding it. Check out how cool it looks…

One of the main attractions for yours truly is the ample supply of new Super Joe Unlimited figures that will be for sale there from My Vintage Toys and Trains.  I recently told you about those HERE and posted another video about them HERE.  However there will be dozens of vendors  and the show promises lots of old and new 12 inch and 3 3/4 inch GI Joes, Star Wars toys, Super Hero figures, Marx Toys, Megos, Big Jim, Pop Culture items and much more.

I’m hoping we can find some SpongeBob stuff for Mel.

GI Joe Winterfest is Saturday, with a Friday preview. Here’s the hours and details:

Saturday 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Admission Just $8.00
Early Bird Admission at 9:00 AM for $15.00

Friday Night Preview 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM for $30.00

All admissions payable at the doors.

This is our first GI Joe Winterfest, and it is at a new location, but to give you a hint of what it might be like, check out this video I made for last year’s Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo…

We are smack dab in the middle of Winter but there’s plenty of STUFF TO DO in Charleston and the surrounding area this weekend. But first, I’m going to tell you about a very cool Kickstarter project about which I am very excited.

Intrusive Thoughts is a first chapter of a six-part comic book series written by Anthony D. Stokes.  Last year I told you about his mini-series, Decay (which is three parts into its five-part story), and I am enjoying Decay so much that I’ve already kicked in on this campaign and made the decision not to learn too much about it until I have it in my hands. I don’t want t ruin any elements of the story.

Here’s what Stokes says on the Kickstarter campaign page: “Intrusive Thoughts Issue 1 is the start of a six-issue horror mystery comic book series that’s a combination of The Sandman and Where The Wild Things Are. The first issue is 28 full color pages.”

That’s all it took to sell me on the book. In a short time I have become a big fan of Stokes’ writing, and I’m really eager to see how he wraps up Decay (a campaign for the fourth and fifth issues will launch in a few weeks).

So if you want to get in early on the career of a storyteller who I predict will be a major talent in the next few years, visit the Kickstarter page for Intrusive Thoughts, and while you’re there, add on the first three issues of Decay.  You can choose levels with print or digital rewards, plus a variety of art prints and variant covers. Check out the video here…

And now on with STUFF TO DO…

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM. Friday it’s Autumn Rae. Saturday That High Country Revival serenades the crowd at Charleston’s beloved Bookstore/Coffee Shop/Art Gallery.

The Empty Glass has some great stuff through the week to tell you about.   Thursday from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, Swingstein and Robin play fiddle and piano and sing swing and early jazz standards. Each week they donate their tips to a local nonprofit.  Later on Thursday, Three’s Company Blues will play for a mere three-dollar cover.  Friday from 5 PM to 8 PM Timmy “Courts and Friends hold down the fort at the Glass. Friday at 10 PM Ruby–Mountain Soul Music will bring her violin to the stage at The Glass.  Saturday Andrew Pauley will be back, along with Rona Myers Sullivan and Mike Stange starting at 10 PM.  Next week they’ll have an open mic Monday night, and Songwriter Showcase on Tuesday. Weekend shows that have graphics are listed among the images below.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. In fact, it’s surging again. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the rest of this week, roughly in order except for the first item you see, which happens Sunday, and is for a very good cause.

SUNDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY