Category Archives: Mid-Century Modern

Robert Stark talks to Count Isidor Fosco about creating New Retro Futurist Sub Cultures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to returning guest Count Isidor Fosco.

Topics:

Retro-Futurism and it’s sub-genres
Whether Retro-Futurism and fusing past genres can evolve organically or end up being a “cut and paste”
Merging an Aristocratic or Traditional Genre into a Futuristic one
How fusing genres is most effective when there is a distance in eras(ex. Art Deco and Cyberpunk, Baroque and 80’s Retro-Futurism)
How futurism overlaps with the archaic in architecture(ex.Arcology)
Steampunk; Victorian era Train Stations in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, and shopping centers inspired by European shopping arcades
The Toronto Eaton Centre in contrast with the Underground City in Montreal, which is more Retro-Futuristic
Why “Decopunk” Deserves to Be Bigger than Steampunk
The Art Deco revival during the New Wave Age
Batman: The Animated SeriesBatman & Architecture, and Anton Furst’s visions for the Aesthetic Of Gotham City(1989)
Alicia Silverstone in Batman & Robin and playing piano in the film The Crush
The aesthetics of Mishima: a Life in Four Chapters and the manga Kaze to Ki no Uta
New Retro Wave, Italo Disco, Falco, and Alphaville’s Forever Young and Big In Japan
The “Vaporwave” Babylon Club from Scarface which was featured in Miami Nights 1984’s Early Summer
How we are in post-post modernism and must rebuild cultures from scratch
Subcultures based on ethnic and cultural identity; cultural and ethnic fusionism(ex.Asian Aryanism)
How the future will either be mass global homogenization or forming new cultures from scratch but there is no returning to the past
Asian and Israeli Aryanism as memes
Count Fosco’s hierarchy of fetishes

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Jack Ravenwood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Jack Ravenwood. He is the author of Paradise Theater, a collection of short stories centered around the theme of the post-industrial American small city. He is also the main writer at Mean Street Cinema, a website dedicated to films from New York City in the 70’s and 80’s, as well as the co-founder of little ape press. He blogs at Foreigner Thoughts

Topics:

The setting of the book Paradise Theater in Jack’s home town West Allis, Wisconsin in the 1980’s and early 90’s
The Paradise Theatre movie house which the book was named for and featured on the cover
The Fairview Motors Sign which is featured on the back of the book; Mid-Century Road Signage
The cultural, political, and economic themes in the book
Allis-Chalmers closing in West Allis and the de-industrialization of the Midwest
Ross Perot’s campaign in 1992 against NAFTA, and Trump campaigning on trade issues
Jack’s Unz Review article Trump, JFK, and the Deep State
National Review Writer: Working-Class Communities ‘Deserve To Die
How the best case scenario for the US would be to carve out a niche in high end manufacturing that caters to China’s growing middle class
Jack’s new home Shenzhen, China which is a manufacturing power house, and new mega city built from scratch
Jack’s Mean Street Cinema site, his interest in Vintage New York City, and Robert Stark’s interviews with Thomas Rinaldi about New York Neon and Robert Brenner about his Time Square Tours
Jack’s observations about Hong Kong Neon and how Hong Kong Is Slowly Dimming Its Neon Glow
Jack’s future plan to document Neon in Hong Kong in either a book or blog
The culture of Hong Kong as a bridge between the east and west and it’s “relative autonomy”
Vertical living and how it is the norm for urban China for all classes
High density living isn’t inherently bad but it is necessary to have a high quality of culture to sustain it
Jack Kerouac’s The Town and the City
Conformity in Asian culture; authentic Asian culture vs. SWPL larping
Chinese Philosophy; the Tao Te Ching
The evolution of Western Philosophy; Deconstruction and selective deconstruction
Jean Baudrillard and the simulation


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Leisure Suit Larry Creator Al Lowe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and Brandon Adamson talk to Leisure Suit Larry Creator Al Lowe

Topics:

The music from the game
1981’s Soft Porn Adventure
How Al wanted to make a comedy game
The main character Larry Laffer
Larry as a loser and sleazy, but guys can relate to him probably more than they would want to admit
How young people today are able to identify with the character of Larry through their online dating adventures
The fan song feel like leisure suit larry
Al’s point that the game is not about the “sleaze” but a satire
The portrayal of women in the game who get the upper hand on Larry
How the early games had only text and no voice for Larry
The Adult Video Game genre and nudity in the game
How the old Larry games were difficult, and you could actually get stuck if you forgot to do something or ran out of money, and there were totally unpredictable ways of dying. In some cases clues were very minimal
The groundbreaking software innovations of Sierra Entertainment in the 80’s
The aesthetics of the game, Vaporwave and 80’s nostalgia, and Al’s point that he was just going with the style and limited color pallet of the time
Video Games as Art
Brandon’s point that the essence of the game is exploration rather than winning
Nontoonyt Island, the tropical setting in Leisure Suite Larry 2 which has been transformed into a resort
The Casino Aesthetic, City of Lost Wages, and “Ceasars Phallis”
How in Leisure Suit Larry 5 (1991) there’s a “Tramp International Casino” which is clearly a reference to Trump and now Trump is president
The Alicia Silverstone look a like in Leisure Suite Larry 6
The process of creating a character
“Save Early, Save Often”
Rumors that Glen Quagmire from Family Guy was based on Larry Laffer
The Planned Leisure Suite Lary TV show in the 80’s with Sony
The Leisure Suite Larry Calendar
The Leisure Suite Larry look a like contest
The Reloaded Edition
Sierra’s Game “Kings’s Quest”
The Game “The Manhole”
Al’s game Torin’s Passage
The effects of political correctness on video games
Al’s free daily jokes at his Humor Site

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Thomas Rinaldi returns to talk about Neon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to returning guest Thomas Rinaldi. He is the author of New York Neon and blogs at nyneon.blogspot.com

Topics:

Thomas’s Tours of West Village’s Vintage Neon Signs, his Greenwich Village Neon Walking Tour, and how those areas have the highest concentration of surviving Neon in New York City
Thomas’s observation that Neon has declined in both corporate chain dominated, as well as lower income communities
How ironically in the 60’s Neon was synonymous with commercialization(ex. Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence)
The association of Neon with 80’s Retro-Futurism(ex. RetrowaveClub NEON) and the irony that Neon hit rock bottom in the 80’s
The decline of Neon in Time Square, Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Time Square Tours, and the few remnents including the West 43rd Garage and the McDonalds from the 80’s
Lights Out 2016: Signs We Lost That Year
The Colgate Clock in Jersey City, which has been LED’ed
Clock Towers Signs in New York including the Paramount Theatre, the Consolidated Edison Building, the Met Life Tower, and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower
Soviet Neon Stars at the Kremlin and Neon in Communist Cuba
Williamsburg’s Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment; the outlawing of waterfront signs in New York City
The C & H factory Sign in Crockett, California
Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco as one of the best examples of a renovated former industrial site
Georges Claude, the father of the commercialization of Neon
The popularity of Signs Inside
Fake Neon
Animated Neon Signs, the peak in the 50’s, and San Francisco’s “Coca~Cola” Sign
Bulb Signs which were proliferate in the 1920’s, and Robert’s observation that they were also popular with 90’s era Las Vegas Casinos
Wildwood, New Jersey Neon
Mid Century Road Signage; Route 66
Downtown LA; The LA Museum Of Neon Art
Neon in Buenos Aires, Argentina; The Art Deco Kavanagh building and Estadio Luna Park
Thomas’s observations from Stockholm and Amsterdam
How Neon is declining in both Mega Cities such as New York and London as well as the poorest cities in the developing world
Hong Kong Is Slowly Dimming Its Neon Glow


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Adam Parfrey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and J.G. Michael talks to Adam Parfrey. He is the publisher of Feral House books.

Topics

Opening Song: Adam Parfrey – Rubber Room (Porter Wagoner Cover)
The history behind Feral House books.
Apocalypse Culture
Taboo ideas, shock value, avant-garde art
Jim Goad’s Answer Me!
Joseph P Farrell
Anton LaVey and The Church of Satan
You Will Die and You Can’t Win
American Hardcore
Hipster Hitler
It’s A Man’s World
Killer Fiction, The Gates of Janus, Charles Manson
Ed Wood: Nightmare of Ecstasy
David Cole’s Republican Party Animal
Sin-A-Rama,
Technological Slavery
The Weird World of Eerie Publications
Pacific Ocean Park, Mid-Century Googie architecture
Ye-Ye Girls
Peter Sotos’ Pure Filth Pure Filth about pornographer Jamie Gillis
Experiences with Censorship
Occultism; The book Secret Agent 666 about Aleister Crowley
Adam Parfrey’s play “The Wickedest Man in the World” about Gilles de Rais
Tales of Times Square by Josh Alan Friedman
Citizen Keane by Adam Parfrey
Adam Parfrey’s father actor Woodrow Parfrey; Dirty Harry
Art, and the aesthetics of Feral House’s books
Why Feral House publishes exclusively Non-Fiction


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Check out Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark talks to Greg Johnson about the Alt Left Dilemma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and AltLeft blogger Rabbit talk to Counter-Currents editor Greg Johnson.

Topics:

The Concept of the Left Wing of the Alt Right; The Alt Left
Greg Johnson’s essay on SWPL Identity and Rabbit’s Alt Left Manifesto
Millennial Woes’ talk with Rabbit and Greg Johnson about the Alt Left
The 60’s Left Counter-Culture as a fusion of Tolkien and Marcuse, and the need to reclaim the positive attributes of the left, such as ecology, historic preservation, and anti-consumerism
The Alt Left dilemma identifying with SWPL Culture, and urban aesthetics, while supporting forms of identitarianism that often lack strong aesthetic visions
The lack of cultural sophistication among conservatives, and the left’s monopoly on cultural institutions
Suburbia as a by product of the middle class being cleansed out of cities, and the need to sustain a strong urban middle class
Affordable family formation
The Basic income, how it should be implemented, and who it should favor
Putting caps on high incomes with the exception of artist and inventors
The Nietzschean concept of the artist as the ruler
The conservative outlook that judges people on their material wealth over their aesthetic taste, and creative potential
Overpopulation, and how the ideal is to have immigration reduction with a stable or slowly rising birthrate
Greg’s experience living in San Francisco and Berkeley, San Francisco as a SWPL Utopia, and the aesthetic and ecological attributes of the region
The Transamerica Pyramid and Embarcadero Center in San Francisco
Rabbit’s interest in Mid-Century Space Age aesthetics, and his observations going to Mid-Century Modern home tours
Frank Lloyd Wright
Art Deco, which was a heroic vision of the future with respect for tradition; Art Deco in New York and San Francisco
Film noir, and the Blade Runner
David Lynch’s Archeo-Futurist aesthetic in Dune, and ruin porn
The tradition of right wing modernism; Italian Futurism which captured the vitality, optimism, and new possibilities created by technology
The concept of degenerate art, distinguishing between modernism and postmodernism
Defining what is degenerate; Robert and Pilleater’s show on Avant Garde Film

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Check out Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Constantin von Hoffmeister

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and Rabbit talk to Constantin von Hoffmeister. He is an advocate of National Futurism and blogs at Oge Noct

Topics:

Constantin’s National Futurist Manifesto
How Futusim captures the Faustian Promethean nature of Western Man
Taking a materialistic over spiritual outlook toward identity
The Italian Futurist who wanted to re-create the glory of Rome in a futurist setting
The Dada movement, and Constantin’s flirtation with the concept of National Dadaism
The concept of Eurosiberia and Imperium Europa
National Bolshevism, Eurasianism, and Aleksandr Dugin
The European Migrant Crisis, and why Constantin is pessimistic about his home country Germany’s future
Why Constantin views Islamization as Europe’s primary threat, but America as a rival
How the election of Trump has improved Constantin’s view toward America
Constantin’s support for Israel and Secular Arab Nationalism as a bulwark against Radical Islam
The Cultural effects of Communism on East Germany and Eastern Europe
The Faustian Imperial Nature of Brutalist Architecture
Le Corbusier’s Plan To Overhaul Paris
Using Le Corbusier’s ideas to redevelop decaying suburbs into garden cities
The glitzy Neo-Brutalist Architecture of John C. Portman Jr, and his inspiration from the Champs-Élysées
London’s Architecture, Ernő Goldfinger’s Brutalist towers, Centre Point, and the BT Tower
The Bauhaus White City in Tel Aviv, Israel
Art NouveauArt Deco, and Mid-century modern
The Palace of the Soviets proposal in Moscow
The Russian Futurist movement
1970s Soviet futurism
New Arbat and Cyberpunk in Moscow
Constantin’s experience in India, and Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh, India
Constantin’s Poetry

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Check out Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark talks to Rabbit about the Milo Controversy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and Youtuber Left of Arbanon, talk to Rabbit about the Milo Controversy. Rabbit blogs at AltLeft.com

Topics:

Milo’s Controversial comments
The media’s reaction, Milo’s resignation from Breitbart, and cancellation of his book deal
The key points are that Milo never advocated anything illegal, and was talking about himself as a teenager
Milo as a Free Speech advocate, and why no subject should be taboo to discuss
How Rabbit has written articles critical of Milo in the past, but this incident makes him more sympathetic to him
The importance of distinguishing between teenagers and real pedophilia
Age of Consent Laws, and societies double standards regarding teen sexuality
Parallels between pedophilia and racism accusation to demonize political adversaries
Salon Removes its articles by Todd Nickerson
Greg Johnson’s article The Coming Pedophile Rape Epidemic in response to Salon
National Review blames Milo’s comments on the Alt-Right
Milo’s mistake in apologizing, and how not apologizing is what made Milo successful in the first place
Pizzagate and the “Pedophile Elite”
Gore Vidal’s defense of Roman Polanski
Beatniks Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs‘s novel Naked Lunch
Japanese Mangas Kaze to Ki no Uta, and Patalliro!, filmmaker Lasse Nielsen, and writer Peter Sotos
How Homosexual Culture was Avant Garde when it was suppressed
Homosexuality in Ancient Greece
Rabbit’s article The Other Mayans about 70’s Mayan Revival Architecture
Retro Ocean City in Wildwood, New Jersey

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Check out Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

Robert Stark interviews Thom Young

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview writer Thom Young. He is from Texas and sees outlaw country as an influence. You can buy his books at Amazon.

Topics:
-Young’s background in Texas, the culture, and the environment.
-Young’s books: Westworld, Noir, Patsy, GrindhouseDead Flowers, Champ
-Outlaw Country, Jim Goad, Louis L’amour, Feral House, Nine Banded-Books
-The influence of Texas within Young’s writing
-Dark themes in Young’s work, alienation
-Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, Hubert Selby Jr.
-Young’s work in Poetry Quarterly and other magazines
-Purple Onion
-The cover art on Young’s books
-Thom’s brother Jeb, who designs many of his covers and runs Tumbleweed TexStyles
-The Brutalist Marina City Towers on the cover of Dead Flower,  Film Noire, and Mid Century Road Signage
-Young’s Instagram and his she poems
-Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot compared to Dead Flowers
-Grindhouse films
-David Lynch Films
-Typewriters, The Astrohaus Freewrite
-Jonathan Bowden, KMFDM, Wyndham Lewis, …single word titles.
-Anthony Burgess, Conspiracy Theorist Jim Marrs
-Traveling, Road Trips, San Juan Mountains, Colorado
-Interest in History,  the Old West, Civil War, WWII novel Voices of the Pacific
-How Young had a new sense of creativity after his Stroke when he was 13
-Young’s upcoming project Instapoet


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Check out Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

The Return of Rabbit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Co-host Pilleater talk to Rabbit. Rabbit blogs at AltLeft.com

Topics:

Robert and Pilleater’s upcoming show on the film The Crush
Rabbit’s article Porky’s Pathological Altruism, the death of Porky’s Director by an Illegal Immigrant drunk driver, and the cultural themes in the film
The portrayal of sex in the film, Kim Cattrall, the mysticism of girls locker room, and the demise of showering in High School
The 1950’s nostalgia in the 80’s, the recent film The Founder, and the animated neon sign in Porky’s
Rabbit’s experience growing up in the 80’s, 80’s fantasy films The Dark Crystal, and The Secret of NIMH
Rabbit’s interest in 60’s Mod culture
Robert Stark and Rabbit trip to Las Vegas, and Robert’s show on Vintage Vegas with Lynn Zook
Las Vegas as a Retro Futurist fantasy world, how a place can have different meanings to different people, Evel Knievel at Caesar’s Palace, the Frog Slot Macine, and the Asian Aryan aesthetic to the Wynn
Rabbit’s article BackPage’s Greatest Hits about the shutdown of BackPage, and the sites’s comic relief
Peter Sotos’ book Index about adult reviews
Rabbit’s point that society pushes deviate sex acts but than criminalizes people for acting out on them
Rabbit’s article The AltLeft “Tea Party” about the the Alt-Left drama and eccentric characters, what originally attracted him to it, and his critique of the Right
The 1972 film Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which inspired Rabbit’s moniker


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Check out Robert Stark’s Paintings!