Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Count Isidor Fosco about the Film Blast From The Past(1999) starring Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone.
Topics:
The plot summery; Adam Webber(Brendan Fraser) comes out from a nuclear fallout shelter after 35 years
The culture shock when Adam emerges in the 90’s and thinks he is in a zombie overrun dystopia
Adam’s father scientist Dr. Calvin Webber(Christopher Walken) who builds the fallout shelter
The stereotype of a 1950’s father vs. Calvin as a Utopian and idealist
The beginning of the film during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War Theme, and the cultural “nuclear war”
The “education” of Adam; his homeschooling makes him appear “aristocratic” to women
The bunker as an analogy for isolating one self from society and the pros and cons of doing so
How Adam manages to win the Psychosocial narrative by playing by his own rules
The concept of “Eternal Return” as it is shown at the end of the film
The trend of having nostalgia for past eras and the mid century aesthetic
Political agendas in film and conservatives uncreative critiques of Hollywood
The formulaic narrative of romantic comedies and how it works for the film
The comic element in the miscommunications and what makes good comedy
Brendan Fraser as a 90’s icon, his comic style, and his other films
The allure of Alicia Silverstone and how her character compares to her roles in films such as The Crush, Clueless, and The Babysitter
The Transformation of Alicia Silverstone’s character Eve
LA depicted in the film, the San Fernando Valley, and Pasadena
Pilleater on Tess Haubrich as Rosenthal in the new film Alien Covenant
Intro: Compare and Contrast
How Brandon got into making music in the mid 90s (weird early releases like Birthday Boy)
The meaning of songs on the EP, “Compare and Contrast”
How some lyrics were taken from poems in Beatnik Fascism
The song For a Sunny Day inspired by The Sunrays – I Live For The Sun
90’s Indy music and how the artsy indie music scene seems dead
Influences of 60’s mod bands and 90’s mod revival bands like Majestic
How Brandon never liked or could relate to the Beatles or Rolling Stones but mostly only obscure and forgotten bands from the 60’s
Minimalism in music
Brandon’s interest in the 60’s mod style in music and design
Brandon’s album cover designs and inspiration from 70’s advertisements
Majestic’s Live It Up! album cover design
Songs inspired by 80’s cartoons and commercials
80’s Mall culture, DeadMalls, The demolition of the Metro Center Mall in Phoenix, and Brandon’s interest in the Logan’s Run aesthetic Beatnik Fascism by Brandon Adamson (review by Pilleater)
Outro: Something Fun a Trampoline
Intro Song: B Magic
The background story of The Partridge Family Temple
The Partridge Family Show and it’s inspiration for the Temple
Troll culture; Boyd Rice wearing a rape shirt in front of a giant troll poster for Answer Me! in the 90’s
Shaun’s article “Rape is Love” for Answer Me!’s “Rape Edition,” Boyd Rice’s piece “Revolt against Penis Envy,” and Peter Sotos’s article and books
Shaun’s music for BOYD RICE’S HATESVILLE
Adam Parfrey’s Apocalypse Culture and the Temple’s work for Adam’s art show “Occult Rapture” Vice’s review of Shaun’s work; The unpop sound
Monty Python’s The Rutles
The power of dreams and Carl Jung as an artist
Shaun’s comedic dreams, including a Seinfeld episode, and Pilleater’s dream sequence in his Novella “Trip” Surreal humour; Tim and Eric and Sam Hyde’s Million Dollar Extreme
Occult Mysticism in the Wizard of Oz, Alice and Wonderland, Better Call Saul, and Mad Men Josh Simmons introduces The White Rhinoceros
The power of Psychedelic drugs; out of body and other worldly experiences
Pop Art inspired by Corporate logos by Whale Song Partridge
The Temple Doctrine; “Fun is the Law”
David Cassidy’s reaction to the Partridge Family Temple
Intro Song: “Thanksgiving at McDonald’s in Times Square” by Josh Alan Friedman
Josh’s book Black Cracker about his experience going to the last segregated Black school in New York
Recovering lost memories from 1962 when Josh was in 1st Grade
The account of Josh being lynched in the book
The location of Glen Cove, Long Island, Black Shanty Towns, and the Gold Coast Era
Reactions to the book
Race relations in New York City in the 70’s, school busing, and the Bernie Goetz incident
Josh’s move to Dallas, Texas where his music career took off
Josh’s interest in Blues music, White adaptation of the Blues in the 60’s, the 80’s Blues Revival in Texas, and decline in interest among Blacks
Josh’s solo guitar act
Openings for bands including Huey Lewis and the News, War, Johnny Winter, and Bad Company
Josh’s book Tales of Times Square about Time Square in the 70’s; Robert Stark’s interview with Robert Brenner about his Gritty Old Time Square Tours
Josh’s observation that Broadway in Downtown LA reminds him of old Time Square Josh’s interview with Luke Ford
Josh’s experience working for Al Goldstein’s Screw Magazine
Josh’s book I, Goldstein, which is a co-written autobiography about Al Goldstein
Josh’s book When Sex Was Dirty
Rules for Journalist; “never pay for an interview”
Book Publishing; the era of “the gate keeper,” independent publishing houses such as Feral House, and self-publishing today
The effects of the internet on musicians
-Epiphoras art
-Video Synthesis. Teenage Engineering OP-Z, Lumen, TACHYONS+ video synths.
-Verso Books, Jacobin Magazine, Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities
-Epi’s Facebook account, his off-color jokes and troll personalities.
-Super Mario 64 Gameshark Glitch stuff.
-Italian Futurism, James Turrell
-Stereograms
-Glitch Art, Vaporwave, Gerhard Richter
-Architecture.
-60’s, 70’s and 80’s designs.
-Mainstream Left vs. Alt-Left, economic arguments, the basic income
-Art and the economy, manufacturing, job outsourcing, and automation
-Epiphora’s art, his colors, his pieces (name of the pieces)
-Global warming, climate change.
-Looking at things that are unattractive
-minimalism
-infleences in major philosophies, Hegel and Pascal.
-Science-Fiction, the series Black Mirror, future technologies
-Intenret culture
-Influences in art, Hieronymus Bosch
Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview Andy Looney. Looney is a game designer, computer programmer, and writer. He operates Looney Labs and has designed Fluxx The Card Game. His latest game is Pyramid Arcade.
Topics:
Looney’s interest in games, the card game Nuclear War
Looney’s games Fluxx The Card Game and Icehouse
Icebreaker for 3DO
Looney’s work for NASA
The origins behind Icehouse, Looney’s short story “Icehouse.”
The history behind Cosmic Wimpout, The Grateful Dead
Cosmic Encounter, Killer Bunnies and The Quest for The Magic Carrot
Looney’s advocation for marijuana legalization.
Pyramid Arcade: 22 games with pyramids! Homeworlds. Stonehenge
Looney’s novel, The Empty City
The art of Aquarius, Peter Max, Looney’s cartoons
The influence of drugs upon game design
Tabletop board game culture vs. Hippy culture
Looney’s card game Chrononauts, Back to the Future, The Butterfly Effect
Games designing as fine art. Players becoming apart of the art piece, Art games
Retro Futurism, Andy’s favorite genre which is the 1930’s Deco Machine Age, Metropolis, James Turrell
Meta-games, Virtual Reality, Conventions
The debut of LooneyCon
Richard Garfield’s Characteristics of Games
Named after the main character in a sleazy 1970’s romance novel, “(The Flame and the Flower,)” Brandon Adamson is a writer/poet/musician/artist, who currently resides in Phoenix Arizona. He has been writing since 1995, and his work has appeared in many magazines, blogs and literary journals over the years.
Brandon began recording experimental indie music in the mid 90’s. He has put out dozens of singles and a few limited release albums, and continues to write and release new songs. As a futurist who has always been fascinated with the mid century modern aesthetic, culture and associated philosophies, the space age influence is apparent in much of Brandon’s writing and art.
Topics include:
How the book’s title is a reference to a Twilight Zone Episode about Beatnik Fascist Aliens who land on earth
How Brandon relates to the non-conformity, curiosity, and the courage to do something different of the Beats
How the Beats were a much more authentic and culturally elitist group than the Hippies
How many of the Beats including Jack Kerouac expressed politically incorrect views
Beatnik Romantic racism and how it’s a precursor to Hipster racism
How dissidents such as nationalist and anti-consumerist are the non-conformists of today, and resist the pressure to fit in
How even within alternative political movements, people are still non conforming and alienated(ex. Futurist, and those with left and center views within the Alt-right)
How the message of the book is both ambitious about the future but also black pill in a realization that most of us are on our own.
The poem “Antiquated Formula”about visiting an antique store that explores Brandon’s interest in Greco-Roman Artifacts and Retro-Futurism
How Retrofuturism not only shows us what could of been but offers blueprint for the future
The poem “Barrelsville 2292” about Las Vegas, and how the city both symbolizes crass commercialism, and a retro-futurist fantasy world where anything is possible
The poem “The Distracted Actors,” about how what we are distracted by defines the future of civilization
Brandon’s point that real freedom is not being able to do what ever you want, but to live in the kind of society you want to live in
How Brandon envsions the United State’s carved up into small city states with their own unique cultural aesthetics Brandon’s article from 2011 advocating for Donald Trump as a dissident candidate for president which he never got credit for
Why Donald Trump is losing because he is pandering to conservatives, and how he can win by being himself