This week your humble blogger is still coping with The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide, which winds up this week, and I didn’t have any time to whip up a new piece of art, but I do have a failed curiosity from over the summer to share.

What you see above is a Chicago scene, inspired by a photo I took at The Quincy Station on The L in the Loop. I had the idea of eventually painting this scene, but this is a bit of an experiment.

Whilst rooting around in my archives, I found one unused piece of Craftint DuoTone paper that I bought back in 1988. I also found two bottles with the “developing” solution. Amazingly enough, they were not totally dried out. I have no idea how that didn’t happen. I hadn’t taken any extraordinary measures to store them safely. But there was a little bit left in each bottle.

Craftint DuoTone was paper with a pre-printed cross-hatching pattern which you made visible by painting the shadows with the solution. This turned the faint blue lines black so that they could be reproduced.

The piece of paper I found had faded to the point where the blue shading lines were barely visible. I decided to try and use it anyway. I drew out the scene with my Blackwing Palamino pencil, tightened it up with a charcoal pencil and wax pencil, and then applied the developer solution (which, by the way is highly toxic, which is why they don’t make this stuff anymore). It worked, in spots. There was a bit of an iffy section near the middle where it didn’t work at all, and other areas where it was spotty. The trash receptacle looked so bad that I went back over it with a heavy charcoal pencil.

And it stank. Seriously, I tossed out the bottles after a couple of hours because it smelled so bad. The art was put into an old magazine-sized comic book bag with a dryer sheet, where it sat for months.

It was, in the grand scheme of things, a pretty huge waste of time. If I want that type of shading I can do it in the computer with hardly any effort at all. This was just me trying to do some real-world art while my fingers were working. I may revisit this scene in paint in the future, but since this piece was sort of done and had finally quit stinking and I didn’t have anything else ready, I figured I’d share my failed experiment with you.

To see it bigger try clicking HERE.

Over in radioland, Monday at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a brand-new episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM a brand-new 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.

Happily, I have playlists for these shows.  At 2 PM Nigel Pye brings you an hour of Psychedelic Shack, and this week he has some more contemporary mind-expanding aura chex mix for you, along with some vintage goodies. Check out the playlist…

Psychedelic Shack 083

The Kinks “Animal Farm”
Polyphonic Spree “Shadows On The Hillside”
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets “Pillhouse”
The Beatles “If I Needed Someone”
Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze”
Madness “Round We Go”
Tina Turner “Under My Thumb”
Nazareth “Morning Dew”
Rupert Hine “Kerosene”
Jerry Harrison “Fast Karma-No Questions”
Lucid Sins “Catch The Wild”
The Searchers “Popcorn Double Feature”
The Settlers “Major To Minor”
The Flying Machine “Strawberry Fool”

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 takes over with a two-hour mixtape edition of Prognosis.  This episode brings you two hours of Peter Gabriel, recorded live in concert in 1983, when his band included Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta and Larry Fast.  Check out the playlist…

Prognosis 110

Peter Gabriel Live

“Across the River”
“I Have The Touch”
“Not One Of Us”
“The Family And The Fishing Net”
“Shock The Monkey”
“Family Snapshot”
“Intruder”
“Humdrum”
“Games Without Frontiers”
“Lay Your Hands On Me”
“Solsbury Hill”
“I Don’t Remember”
“The Rhythm Of The Heat”
“D.I.Y.”
“I Go Swimming”
“San Jancinto”
“No Self Control”
“On The Air”
“On Presuming To Be Modern”

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 you can hear an encore of The RFC Black Friday Christmas Special.

Monday at 9 PM the Monday Marathon presents ten hours of a selection of our afternoon music specialty shows.

Today it’s our last full batch of retailer suggestions for The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide.

We have two great online stores, and two Downtown Charleston institutions (who happen to be neighbors) where you can find all sorts of cool gift ideas for the folks on your shopping list this year.

We are in the home stretch, and as such will be cramming more than three entries into each day of our Gift Guide. In our remaining four days we’ll probably abandon themes and suggest up to five things per day.

And then Friday we’ll post The Master List and then settle in for what comes close to passing for normal here in PopCult.

But for now, check out these cool retailers…

Rockin’ Pins

Rockin’ Pins started out as a jewelry company, making enamel pins of cool rock stars. They have expanded their range quite a bit lately, and in addition to pins they now make apparel, mugs, books, figures, pateches and tons of other cool things, and they don’t just feature rock bands or musicians anymore. I’m partial to their button-up shirts, myself.

Rockin’ Pins has been leading the way in helping to restore classic Max Fleischer and Gumby cartoons. You can even find DVD and Blu Ray releases of some of their Fleischer restorations at their website.

Plus they have a full range of merch based on Gumby and Fleischer’s KoKo The Clown, in addition to ultra-cool musicians like Bauhaus, The B-52s, Cab Calloway, Frank Zappa and others. They even have cool stuff with Groucho Marx available.

They straddle the multiverse of pop culture, bringing together The Little Rascals, Megadeth, Jac Mac and Rad Boy Go, Betty Boop and Pink Floyd, all under the same roof. You can find everything from Beavis and Butthead to Cheech and Chong, as well as Laurel & Hardy and The Three Stooges.

For a top-notch, brilliantly-curated selection of the cream-of-the-crop of nostalgic pop culture that blends classic animation, progressive rock, classic comedy, rock music and more, visit their website and look for the perfect gift for the folks on your list.

Retro-A-Go-Go

Retro A Go Go just makes cool stuff. Whether it’s jewelry, T shirts, parasols, tin signs, wallets, posters or giant Ben Cooper Halloween masks that you can hang on your wall, this is THE place that just epitomizes coolness. You can find designs by Doug P’Gosh, licensed Ford and Chevy stuff, Monster stuff, Betty Page clothing and decor and all sorts of the coolest things on their planet.

Lately they’ve created some really cool Tiny Terrors figures, plus ornaments based on Betty Page, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and EC Comics’s three horror hosts.

These are the folks who began the craze of making cool, oversized Halloween masks. They have the wildest selection of those, and they also have cool plus throws now.

Not only do they cover the monster stuff with their Ghoulsville line, they also have the dangerously cute retro-sweet market cornered with their Sugarland lines.

Visit their website for the perfect gift for the coolest person on your holiday shopping list.

The Purple Moon

One of the pillars of the “Downtown Cool” places to shop in Charleston is The Purple Moon. Chuck and Connie Hamsher’s store is filled with Mid-century art, furniture, decor and design delights.

West Virginia’s only shop dedicated to vintage mid-century modern and contemporary design, furnishings, accessories, and art. Their store, tucked away at 817 Quarrier Street, right in the heart of downtown Charleston is a treasure trove of atomic age delights. Chuck and Connie Hamsher have created a terrific space where Charlestonians can finally find all that cool retro stuff that we see on the Home & Garden channel when they do a post-modern weekend.

The Purple Moon has been featured in PopCult since our first year blogging, and in that time we’ve seen them move to new locations twice as they expand and improve their mission to preserve the coolest stuff of the past seventy years for our enjoyment and enlightenment.

Or course, we’re mentioning The Purple Moon here because you ought to be able to find great gifts for anyone on your list among their offerings. Whether you’re looking for Blenko glassware, small or large pieces of art, furniture or any sort of cool knick-knackery, chances are you’ll find it here.  Check their Facebook page for hours and more info.

Art Emporium

A Downtown Charleston fixture, nestled on the corner of Quarrier and Hale Streets, Art Emporium is a go-to location for art, art supplies, small and cool physical objects and all your framing needs.

In addition to notepads, calendars gift cards, paperweights and other cool gift ideas, Art Emporium always has incredible art on display in their gallery.

Several area artists sell their work through Art Emporium, and if you can’t figure out what gift to give, you can purchase a gift certificate and shift the burden onto the artistic-minded person on your holiday shopping list.

Art Emporium is located at 823 Quarrier Street in Charleston, and they’re open Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM to 6 PM and Saturday from 10 AM until 4 PM. I would expect them to have some extended hours through the holidays. Check their website and Facebook page for more details.

Our video this week is a restored Fleischer animation classic that longtime fans of Radio Free Charleston might recognize as one of the cartoons we used clips from during the Clownhole song in our first video Christmas special back in 2006 (RFC Episode Eleven). Since we brought you a new recording of that song last week, I thought it might also be cool to share this newly-restored version of the original cartoon, even though we didn’t use the cartoon in the new video.

‘Christmas Comes But Once a Year’ is a 1936 animated short produced by Fleischer Studios and released on December 4, 1936 by Paramount Pictures. It is the 15th cartoon of the Color Classics series. The cartoon features Professor Grampy, a character from the Betty Boop series; this is the character’s only appearance without Betty.

This restoration is the work of Thad Komorowski & Jack Theakston. You can support their work via Patreon.  These are the folks who restored the cartoons that were shown at The Alban Arts Center last year, and I’ve been following their work since.  You can keep up with them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (I ain’t calling it “X”).

You can find more restored animation classics at their YouTube Page, and later today in The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide I’ll tell you where you can find some cool merch that supports their restoration efforts.

We are in the last week of The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide, and now we’re mixing things all up.

We shared our final batch of Flashback picks yesterday. Today and tomorrow we’ll be spotlighting more retailers, online and brick-and-mortar, and then for our final four days next week, I might just ramp up things a bit and have five suggestions each day.

And then next Friday I’ll post The Master List and get ready for you folks to enjoy some surprises in the first full week of December.

But today, we have two online merch stores, and one great and diverse place in Dunbar, where you can find all sorts of wonderful gift ideas.

The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe
Merch store can be found HERE

This is where you can find T-shirts, hoodies, Beanies, ballcaps, stickers and more, all bearing the logo of The Empty Glass.

The Glass, as you may know if you’ve been reading PopCult for any length of time, is one of Charleston’s most venerated dive bar/performance venues.

The history of The Empty Glass is deep and impressive. World class musicians have graced its humble stage–Chuck Berry, Mojo Nixon, Bob Geldof, Tyler Childers, Ann Magnuson, NRBQ, and hundreds of other amazing performers.  Following Mountain Stage, West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s internationally-broadcast live music show that happens about a block away, there is a jam session at the Glass, and a significant number of guests on Mountain Stage has showed up to keep the music going at the little holy temple on Elizabeth Street.

Many people have incredible memories of The Empty Glass (Heck, your humble blogger and his wife shared our first kiss there), and if you know somebody who’s had some of those memories, you can find a nice gift for them at their merch store.

Sierra Ferrell’s Store
Merch Store can be found HERE

One of the performers who has graced the stage at The Empty Glass is Sierra Ferrell.  A Charleston native who has signed to Rounder Records and is a rising Country/Americana star who has performed all over the world.

I met Sierra over fifteen years ago when she was an impossibly young and gifted singer in town, and we featured her on the Radio Free Charleston video show a few times.

Since then she has gone on an incredible personal and musical journey, and has collaborated with some of the most respected musical artists in the world.  She’s just announced next year’s Shoot For The Moon tour, and has released a new song, “Fox Hunt,” the cool animated video for which you can see here…

You can find Sierra’s merch, including shirts, mugs, posters and more HERE.  Her latest album can be ordered HERE.

Eclectic Goods Market
1401 Charles Ave.Dunbar, WV
Open Wednesday-Sunday, 11 AM to 6 PM

Eclectic Goods Market is a unique vintage and artisan mall located in Dunbar, WV. Their many vendors display a large selection of vintage finds, antiques, home decor, jewelry, artwork, clothing, and more. You can shop their curation of small West Virginia and Appalachia owned brands 5 days a week.

This is a great place to find everything from FiestaWare to comic books to vintage clothing, fair-trade goods, home-made soaps, vintage toys and more.

At this time of year they also have a terrific assortment of vintage and artisan Christmas ornaments and decorations.

If you want to be a vendor, you can find details at their website, but for our purposes, I’m suggesting that you go there in person and shop.

There are some great shops filled with great gift items, like Magpies’ Treasures, Gypsy Grace Boutique and other cool, funky shops, filled to the brim with great gift ideas.

Now combined into one show, this is the 2008 Radio Free Charleston Horror Theater Halloween Specials! Episodes 54 and 55 of Radio Free Charleston were an ambitious attempt at recreating the cheesy horror movie-host vibe, only with short films and music videos instead of actual movies. Host segments were shot at the late, lamented LiveMix Studio.

This remastered version combines them both into one 37-minute show. The sequel episode from the following April Fool’s Day will be posted in the order it was first released in a few weeks.

Part one of RADIO FREE CHARLESTON HORROR THEATER features music from Doctor Senator and The Hellblinki Sextet, plus a short film about Jack The Ripper, vintage animation from Wladislaw Starewicz, excerpts from a film by Spike Nesmith, and loads and loads of extra-creepy-coolness.

Part Two of RADIO FREE CHARLESTON HORROR THEATER continues our tribute to old-time-TV horror movie hosts. We’ve got music videos from Under The Radar and Go Van Gogh, a short ghost film by Rich Allen, scary-freaky animation from Wladislaw Starewicz, plus a studio full of Zombies.

What you see below is an exercise in guerrilla film-making.  This mini-episode of Radio Free Charleston (number 55.5, for those of you scoring at home) was assembled in less than four hours.  We’re dropping it here to keep these clips coming in order. This quickie show was put together using footage shot October 25 at the RFC Halloween Party at the La Belle Theater. A few years later I would adopt this format for the RFC MINI SHOW.

Today in The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide we are going to switch things up a bit. Instead of waiting until Saturday to do our Flashback Picks, we’re doing them Friday.

Saturday we’ll have more Merchants of Cool.  Today being Black Friday, means our readership is going to be down anyway, and your PopCulteer got out for a bit today to enjoy some Record Store Day and Holiday Season festivities, and it just seems easier to run the Flashback picks a day early.

So here are some book recommendations that you may remember from previous years.

It’s okay, they’re still good books, and you might find them even cheaper now.

Garth Marenghi’s TerrorTome
by Garth Marenghi
Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 9781529399400
$21.58

If you know of Garth Marenghi, then you’re excited that this book is out. Allegedly the alter-ego of Matthew Holness, Marenghi has unleashed his dark imagination onto the printed page. Let’s look at the publisher’s synopsis…

Dare you crack open the TerrorTome? (Mind the spine)

When horror writer Nick Steen gets sucked into a cursed typewriter by the terrifying Type-Face, Dark Lord of the Prolix, the hellish visions inside his head are unleashed for real. Forced to fight his escaping imagination – now leaking out of his own brain – Nick must defend the town of Stalkford from his own fictional horrors, including avascular-necrosis-obsessed serial killer Nelson Strain and Nick’s dreaded throppleganger, the Dark Third.

Can he and Roz, his frequently incorrect female editor, hunt down these incarnate denizens of Nick’s rampaging imaginata before they destroy Stalkford, outer Stalkford and possibly slightly further?

From the twisted genius of horror master Garth Marenghi – Frighternerman, Darkscribe, Doomsage (plus Man-Shee) – come three dark tales from his long-lost multi-volume epic: TerrorTome.

Can a brain leak?
(Yes, it can)

Recommended for fans of horror infused with a healthy dose of absurd humor, and also for fans of Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place. Garth Marenghi’s TerrorTome can most easily be ordered in the United States from Amazon.

Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created “Sunday in the Park with George”
by James Lapine
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374200091
$40 (heavily discounted at many online retailers, including Amazon)

Stephen Sondheim fans will want a gift like this to remember the legendary Broadway composer that we lost two years ago. With his final musical now running in New York City, it’s cool to go back and revisit one of his most beloved works.

By all accounts this is a spectacular book, a fascinating insight into the creation of one of the most memorable musicals of the 1980s.  There were some issues with early printings, but reportedly those have been resolved.

This is an important book about an important work of theatre, written by Sondheim’s collaborator, James Lapine. Let’s go to the publisher’s blurb…

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the iconic musical Sunday in the Park with George

Putting It Together chronicles the two-year odyssey of creating the iconic Broadway musical Sunday in the Park with George. In 1982, James Lapine, at the beginning of his career as a playwright and director, met Stephen Sondheim, nineteen years his senior and already a legendary Broadway composer and lyricist. Shortly thereafter, the two decided to write a musical inspired by Georges Seurat’s nineteenth-century painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

Through conversations between Lapine and Sondheim, as well as most of the production team, and with a treasure trove of personal photographs, sketches, script notes, and sheet music, the two Broadway icons lift the curtain on their beloved musical. Putting It Together is a deeply personal remembrance of their collaboration and friend – ship and the highs and lows of that journey, one that resulted in the beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning classic.

This book is a no-brainer gift idea for any fan of Sondheim or musical theatre.

All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business
by Mel Brooks
Ballantine Books
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593159118
$29.99 (heavily discounted at Amazon, and available in Paperback and Audio versions)

Despite the comedic debacle that was “History of the World Part Two,” this is still a great book and a worthwhile read for any student of comedy.

It’s Mel Brook’s autobiography, telling his entire life story including his amazing career writing for Sid Ceasar, co-creating the TV show Get Smart, and his incredible run as a movie director of comedy classics like The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and so many more. We also get details on his side gig producing serious movies like David Lynch’s The Elephant Man, The Fly and Frances, and then find out about his Broadway Musicals that adapted his hit movies.

Let’s check out the publisher’s blurb…

For anyone who loves American comedy, the long wait is over. Here are the never-before-told, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and remembrances from a master storyteller, filmmaker, and creator of all things funny.

All About Me! charts Mel Brooks’s meteoric rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Whether serving in the United States Army in World War II, or during his burgeoning career as a teenage comedian in the Catskills, Mel was always mining his experiences for material, always looking for the perfect joke. His iconic career began with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, where he was part of the greatest writers’ room in history, which included Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and Larry Gelbart. After co-creating both the mega-hit 2000 Year Old Man comedy albums and the classic television series Get Smart, Brooks’s stellar film career took off. He would go on to write, direct, and star in The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs, as well as produce groundbreaking and eclectic films, including The Elephant Man, The Fly, and My Favorite Year. Brooks then went on to conquer Broadway with his record-breaking, Tony-winning musical, The Producers.

All About Me! offers fans insight into the inspiration behind the ideas for his outstanding collection of boundary-breaking work, and offers details about the many close friendships and collaborations Brooks had, including those with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn, Alfred Hitchcock, and the great love of his life, Anne Bancroft.

Filled with tales of struggle, achievement, and camaraderie (and dozens of photographs), readers will gain a more personal and deeper understanding of the incredible body of work behind one of the most accomplished and beloved entertainers in history.

This book is obviously recommended for any fan of Brooks’ work, and should be required reading for anyone with an interest in comedy. Available from any bookseller, but discounted at Amazon.

The PopCulteer
November 24, 2023

We have four hours of new radio premiering on Black Friday, as we bring you a new Christmas Special version of Radio Free Charleston, along with new episodes of MIRRORBALL and Sydney’s Big Electric Cat.

The AIR is in early Holiday Mode today and it’s all thanks to a special treat that we gave you a gander at Wednesday night.   CLOWNHOLE has reunited and they have recorded a studio version of their take of the holiday classic, “Deck The Halls.”  You can hear it open our Christmas Special at 10 AM, 1 PM and 8 PM on Friday, with replays all weekend and the rest of the holiday season. This one-hour special will also be incorporated into next Tuesday’s regular episode of Radio Free Charleston Volume Five.

Last year we opened our Christmas Special with a bootleg-quality live version of CLOWNHOLE performing this track from 1989. It was an absolute honor to be allowed to debut the studio recording here in PopCult and on this special.

The show debuting Friday is an all-new one-hour show where, like in previous years, your host, Rudy Panucci, and his wife, Mel Larch, banter and play holiday music from lots of cool artists. We even stick in a nod or two to other shows we host on The AIR.

I suppose you want to see a playlist, right?

RFC 2023 Black Friday Christmas Special

Clownhole “Fa La La La La, Deck The Halls”
Mediogres “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
Brian Diller “Christmas Time of Year”
Audrey Smiley “Peppermint and Innocence”
Speedsuit “Winter”
The Dollyrots “Christmas Time With You”
Jay Parade “Wonderful Christmastime”
Earth Wind and Fire “Everyday Is Christmas Day”
Sierra Ferrell “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree/Jingle Bell Rock”
Captain Catfeesh “Chistmas In Prison”
Nixon Black “Winter In Kashmir”
The Aquabats “Santa Claus’ Party”
The Cast of Something Rotten “12 Days of a Something Rotten Christmas”
The Beatles “1968 Christmas Greeting”
IDKHOW “Christmas Drag”
Kate Fagan “Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney”

This special will run as both a stand-alone show, and also as part of next week’s RFC, which will include two additional hours of cool local, independent and nifty music.

Or if you want,  you can listen to it right here…

That’s not all the new programming that you’re going to get on The AIR today.

At 2 PM, Mel Larch uncorks a new MIRRORBALL! The AIR’s showcase of classic Disco music presents a delightfully random selection of dancefloor classics from the golden era of Disco Music.

With tracks that were hits in Europe, dance club classics from the US and even a Disco foray from Elton John, Mel continues to dazzle listeners with a diverse and exhaustive playlist of primo Disco Music from the 1970s and early 80s.

Check out the playlist…

MIRRORBALL 086

Space “Magic Fly”
Voyage “Souvenirs”
The Real Thing “Can You Feel The Force”
Sheila B & Devotion “Singin’ In The Rain”
Boney M “Ma Baker”
Viola Willis “Gonna Get Along Without You”
The Dooleys “Wanted”
The Three Degrees “The Runner”
Marshall Hain “Dancing In The City”
Tina Charles “Dance Little Lady, Dance”
Odyssey “Going Back To My Roots”
The Trammps “Save A Place”
Van McCoy & The Soul City Orchestra “Do The Hustle”
Elton John “Are You Ready For Love”

You can hear MIRRORBALL every Friday at 2 PM, with replays throughout the following week Monday at 9 AM and Tuesday at 1 PM and a mini-marathon Saturday nights at 9 PM

At 3 PM, on Sydney’s Big Electric Cat, Sydney Fileen graces us with a mixape of live recordings of The Cure, with the bulk of them coming from the soundtrack to their 1987 concert film, The Cure in Orange. Since the film runs a little less than two hours, Sydney added a couple of tracks from later shows to fill up the full two hours.

Here’s the full playlist for what you’ll hear on this week’s show…

BEC 110

The Cure: Live In Concert

“Shake Dog Shake”
“Piggy in the Mirror”
“Play for Today”
“A Strange Day”
“Primary”
“Kyoto Song”
“Charlotte Sometimes”
“In Between Days”
“The Walk”
“A Night Like This”
“Push”
“One Hundred Years”
“A Forest”
“Sinking”
“Close to Me”
“Let’s Go to Bed”
“Six Different Ways”
“Three Imaginary Boys”
“Boys Don’t Cry”
“Faith”
“Give Me It”
“10:15 Saturday Night”
“Killing an Arab”
“Just Like Heaven”
“Pictures Of You”

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.

That’s what’s new on The AIR Friday, and that is this week’s PopCulteer, but not our final post today. Because I decided to extend The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide, you can expect new entries every day until next Thursday, and then next Friday we’ll post The Master List in this space. Friday’s post may not hit until late in the afternoon, but it’ll show up.

Today is Turkey Day, and that means…well…hardly anybody is reading this blog or The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide right now.

So to honor the holiday and also so we don’t squander any good gift suggestions, today we’re going to offer up our own style of Turkey–god-awful gifts that could be gag gifts, or white elephant gifts, or even gifts that might gag a white elephant.

These gifts are either amusing or disturbing, and you might want to think long and hard before actually wrapping any of these and putting them under the tree. Either make sure that the recipient has a great sense of humor, or is at least somebody you won’t mind antagonizing. Some are annoying. Some are disgusting. Some are edible but still gross.

My descriptions will be short and brutally honest. Also, there are five picks today. I didn’t want to put enough time into this to whittle it down to three.

All of our awful gifts can be found at Amazon, who has no standards for taste, so under each headline there will also be a link to the land of monopolistic evil billionaires who want to conquor the universe.

Happy Turkey Day, everybody. Maybe be thankful that you don’t get any gifts like this.

Bofa Deez Nutz-Candle
6-oz. candle $15.99
Make sure you really want to order this from Amazon.

This is a scented candle that will burn up to 40 hours.

The scent is a combination of Banana Nut Bread and Hazelnut Vanilla, which is a relief because they could’ve made it smell like male crotch stank.

Here’s what they say about it:

COME FOR THE LAUGHS BUT STAY FOR THE SCENTS – Give a great gift sure to get a laugh… and then constant use! Our small batch candles are both hysterical and practical!
40 HOUR BURN TIME – Give a gift that will last longer than a day! Our domestically made candles are more than a funny gesture – they’re a gift that they’ll love everyday!
2 GREAT SCENTS – A perfect mix of Banana Nut Bread and Hazelnut for a great nutty aroma.
A GREAT GIFT FOR ANY OCCASION – Birthdays, Graduations, Anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day all make great occassions to gift a great candle!

I will offer up a warning: DO NOT GIVE THIS AS A VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT.

No loving partner will find it romantic if she asks what you got her for Valentine’s Day, and you answer “Bofa Deez Nuts!”

CHOCOLATE STORYBOOK Pickle Gourmet Flavored Cotton Candy
1.2 oz tub $8.36
Order this abomination before the Lord at Amazon

Even if you like pickles, this is just wrong.

This company makes dozens of flavors of cotton candy. Apparently they decided on a number they wanted to hit, and ran out of good ideas, so somebody said, “Let’s make cotton candy in pickle flavor!”

In addition to being a flavor that many people despise, this is also not really good for you.  One serving has 60% of your daily recommended amount of sugar, and 34 grams of carbohydrate…and no other nutritional value. There’s no fiber, protein, fat or vitamins. On the plus side, there’s no salt, either.

This is the perfect gift to give if you want somebody to throat-punch you until your eyes bleed.

Fake Poop Soap-Turd-Bar
by Nope It’s Soap – Handcrafted Artisanal Soap for Men
4.16 oz. bar $18.99
If you really want to give somebody this crap, hit up Amazon.

I…don’t quite know where to start with this one.

First of all, why do they specify that this soap is “for Men?”  And if it is, why do the photos show women rubbing it all over their face?

Second, what the hell?

Third, if you’re going to pay nineteen bucks for a bar of soap, do you really want it to look like a turd?

According to the description, this is a “Funny Realistic Poop Gag Gift, Harmless Prank for Kids and Adults, Vanilla Scent.”

Is it funny? Well, butts are funny, and poop comes out of your butt, so yes.  Is it harmless for kids and adults?  That’s debateable. Thank God for small favors that it’s not poop-scented, at least.

I think the real prank is charging nineteen dollars for a bar of soap, but then I don’t even use bar soap. If it can’t be dispensed out of a bottle, it’s not for me.

Still, it might be a good gift for the aficianado of Gonzo German Scat Porn on your shopping list. Chances are you can figure out which eccentric, single uncle that is.

Screaming Goat Button
$17,99 (batteries included)
If you really think your life needs more shrieking, get this at Amazon.

This is a large button, that when pushed, emits the sound of a screaming goat.

If you’re wondering what that sounds like, click on this…

…so, if you want to hear that a lot, or think the person you’ll be giving it to will enjoy it, then knock yourself out.

It’s a great gift for someone who likes to punctuate the relaxing quiet with hideous and shrill screams.

12-Pack Flying Rubber Poo Sling Shot Toys
by Jishi Toy Company
12 feces pieces $9.99
This probably sticks to the wall at Amazon.

What parent doesn’t want to teach their kids to play with poop?

Let me make clear that no actual poop was harmed in the production of this toy.

These are gooey, slimy rubber slingshot toys. They actually have a photo to show the proper form for launching them.

They look like turds with faces, which may remind people of the former president’s legal team.

It’s basically fake poop that you can throw at each other.

So, you could invite a dozen friends over and reinact the Republican Presidential Debates with them.  Or you can invent games or smuggle them into high-society dinners so that hi-jinks may ensue.

Or…you can wrap them, hand them to someboy and say, “Hey, I got you some crap for Christmas.”

There are four styles of faces on the turds, if you’re into fecal tribalism or anything like that.

At least it’s cheaper than soap.  Might be a cruel gift for somebody who’s constipated, so please take that into consideration.

Today in The 2023 PopCult Gift Guide we are going to recommend three collections (one of them a series) of excellent basic Superhero comics.

You’ll get one from DC, one from Marvel and one that predates both of those companies.

These are good gift ideas for the younger reader who maybe doesn’t have nearly sixty years of reading comic books in his or her past, so these will be new and exciting for them.

Older fans will also get a kick out of these classics.

These are pure comic book superheroics, in their original form, without all the bells and whistles of giant budgets, state-of-the-art special effects or big name actors.

This is the primordial soup from which Superheroes sprang. These books can be found in, or ordered from comic book shops and booksellers. For one of them, I’ll point you to the publisher’s website.

Superman For All Seasons
words by Jeff Loeb, Art by Tim Sale
DC Comics
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1779523877
$19.99

This is a new edition of a modern-day classic. Superman For All Seasons is recognized as one of the great Superman tales ever told.

One of the many high-quality collaborations between writer, Jeff Loeb, and the late artist, Tim Sale, this story was originally serialized over four issues of a mini-series twenty-five years ago. It brought a fresh take of the all-American origins of Clark Kent and Superman and was overdue for a new collected edition.

The blurb….

What turns a country boy into the world’s greatest hero?

Told through the course of four seasons in the Man of Steel’s adolescent life, this collection illustrates that it is the person, not the powers, that makes Superman a hero.

The catalyst for the “Smallville” television program, SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS is emotional and insightful, humanizing the alien from another planet so that he is not only realistic but also relatable. It also features in-depth characterizations of Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane and the Kents.

Superman For All Seasons collects the entirety of Superman for All Seasons #1-4.

Jeph Loeb is the author of Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, Catwoman: When in Rome, Challengers of the Unknown Must Die!, Spider-Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow and Hulk: Gray–all of which were collaborations with artist Tim Sale. He has also written Superman/Batman, Supergirl, The Witching Hour, Cable, X-Man, X-Force, The Ultimates 3 and various other books. His TV and movie credits include Teen Wolf, Heroes, Commando, Buffy: The Animated Series and Smallville.

Tim Sale, who passed away last year, was an American comics artist best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Batman and Superman and for influencing depictions of the Caped Crusader in numerous films.  He is primarily known for his collaborations with  Loeb, which included both comics work and artwork for the TV series Heroes.

Superman For All Seasons is the kind of super hero book you want to cozy up to on an overcast day when you want superhero action, but also want to feel warm and fuzzy inside.

MIGHTY MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 1 – THE WORLD’S GREATEST HEROES
by Jack Kirby with Stan Lee
Outreach/New Reader
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1302929794
$15.99

This collection is part of a series of books that collects the origins of the Marvel Universe in inexpensive and attractive volumes that will let you catch up to sixty years’ worth of convuluted continuity from the beginning, by assembling the classic original tales. This volume begins their collection of The Fantastic Four, Marvel’s flagship title in the 1960s, and the one comic of theirs that has never successfully be translated into a major motion picture.

Created and drawn by Jack Kirby, with input from his editor, Stan Lee, The Fantastic Four set the tone for the Marvel Universe, introducing concepts and characters which are still being adapted for the big screen today.

This handy book lets readers get in on the ground floor with the first ten issues of the series, dating back to 1961.

If you’re not familiar with the story, while testing an experimental spacecraft, scientist Reed Richards, pilot Ben Grimm and siblings Sue and Johnny Storm were bombarded by mysterious cosmic rays. Upon their return to Earth, they found that they’d gained fantastic new abilities.

From the boundless imagination of Jack Kirby, witness Mister Fantastic, the Thing, the Invisible Girl and the Human Torch overcome their differences and band together as the Fantastic Four – and thrill to their first battles with the Mole Man, the Skrulls, the Puppet Master, the Sub-Mariner and Doctor Doom.

Discover why they call it “the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!”

The cool thing about this is that the series has contined. The books are slightly smaller than a modern comic book, perfect bound, and very nicely colored on bright white paper. The third volme has just been published and a fourth is planned for next year. Other Marvel books in this series include Steve Ditko’s Spider-man and Doctor Strange; Kirby’s Hulk, The Mighty Thor, Captain America and Black Panther and other Marvel titles like Daredevil, The Avengers, The X Men, Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer and others.

This is a great way to witness the stories that made Marvel what it is today.

THE COMPLETE DON NEWTON CHARLTON PHANTOM
written by Joe Gill, drawn by Don Newton
Hermes Press
Available directly from the publisher
$50.00

This lovely hardback collects the stories of The Phantom drawn by legendary artist, Don Newton for Charlton Comics back in the 1970s.

After toiling as a fan artist for years, Newton broke through drawing The Phantom before making the leap to DC Comics where he became a star artist with his work on Batman, Aquaman, Detective Comics, Shazam and other titles before he passed away at the age of 49 in 1984.

The Phantom is a prototypical superheor, first published in his own comic strip by King Features Syndicate in 1936, two years before Superman exploded on the scene in Action Comics #1. King Features licensed several different publishers to produce comic books featuring “The Ghost Who Walks” over the decades, and in the 1960s and 1970s it was Charlton’s turn. After losing Jim Aparo to DC Comics, Charlton tried several other artists on the book before settling on Newton.

Newton’s artwork is exquisite, combining the realism of Neal Adams with the smooth inking of Bernie Wrightson and his own artistic sensibility, honed by years of doing fan art. Muc of his work at DC Comics is still in print.

This tribute to artist Don Newton collects his complete output of Phantom comic book stories created for Charlton Comics between 1975 -1977.  This volume features the Charlton Phantom stories from issues #67, 68, 70, 71, and 74.  Also presented is an exhaustive biographical essay on the artist’s career with representative examples of his art for fanzines, comics, and illustration as well as numerous examples of his original art spanning his entire career.

This book also includes a never-before-seen interview with Newton’s son, Tony, about his experiences with his father.

Additionally on display in a special section of the book are over fifty examples of original artwork from these Phantom stories.

This book would be a great gift for any fan of The Phantom or any fan of Don Newton’s work.

Above you have something to indeed be thankful for this holiday season. It’s an early gift for you.  After more than 30 years of dormancy, the band, Clownhole, have emerged from their…well, clown hole…to once again grace us with some of the heavenly and divine manic punk music. As a teaser for a new EP coming in a few weeks, they have released a studio recording of their live holiday classic, “Fa-La-La-La…Deck The Halls.”

Some of you may remember a bootleg-quality video of a 1989 performance of this song from the very first RFC Christmas Video episode back in 2006.  It’s an honor to premiere this new recording here, and to feature it as the first song on Friday’s RFC Black Friday Christmas Special on The AIR.  I’m going to turn it over to Clownhole’s official press release for the rest of this post…

From a small town in the heart of Appalachia, the band Clownhole rocked West Virginia’s coalfields throughout the late ‘80’s.

Was it grunge before grunge hit Seattle? Is it punk-rock-meets-performance-art? Perhaps it was all a big, musical joke on the audience – what other band would start a show with a fog machine erupting from a giant clown’s ass?

Either way, their unorthodox but upbeat jams had fans throughout Appalachia jumping on stage (and diving off, naturally). An eclectic mix of power-driven tunes with original lyrics, combined with theme-songs from vintage TV – this was Clownhole in 1988 Charleston.

When a lost videotape of a live performance recently resurfaced, all original band members (each having moved across the U.S. following the band’s separation in the ‘90’s) reunited to bring you the ultimate jest – a Christmas album just in time for the holidays.

Santa’s come early this year – Clownhole’s “Fa-La-La-La…Deck The Halls” begins streaming Wednesday, November 22nd on Spotify, iTunes, BandCamp, and other platforms. Your parents might not have approved, but their kids will love it – don’t forget your ear-plugs.”