Image from Disco Demolition Night in Chicago; July 12, 1979
Today is an important, nay, pivotal day in pop culture history because of two shocking and relevant events.
In this episode, Paul and X give their predictions for TLC 2015 and discuss the shining glory that is Jesse Ventura.
Dusty: “What does that mean? Infamous?”
Ned: “Ah, Dusty! Infamous is when you’re more than famous! This guy El Guapo is not just famous, he’s IN-famous!”
—Three Amigos!
I’m not sure if The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is famous or infamous, so maybe it’s both. We do know that on December 11, 1968, some of the biggest rock acts in the world got together to film a concert special. The Stones were the headliners, with Mick Jagger resplendent in a ringmaster’s outfit, the master of ceremonies for a carnival-like concert film that ended up being lost for decades.
There was a time when radio was king. That was your nightly entertainment. No cable, no Internet, no television, nothing but tinny voices coming out of a vacuum-tube powered box. Weird, huh? We’re so spoiled.
Less Lee Moore and Jeffery X Martin examine the wide variety of cover versions of the songs of David Bowie, focusing on Cleopatra Records’ release A Salute to the Thin White Duke, the female-fronted Spiders from Venus album, and others. The show concludes with a discussion of Bowie’s single/video release, “Blackstar.”
Links:
A Salute to the Thin White Duke
Welcome to Episode #05 of The Official Popshifter Podcast.
X interviews horror writer Thomas S. Flowers III on the date of the release of his second novel, Dwelling. They discuss the nature of evil, the curious decisions of book marketing and why no one needs sweaters in Houston, Texas.
Find out more about Thomas S. Flowers III on his website. You can also purchase a copy of Dwelling on Amazon.com.
Not only does it have the greatest dance scene ever committed to celluloid (you know it’s true), but A Charlie Brown Christmas is also one of the most well-loved television specials of all time. It works on many different levels and, even though it has definite Christian leanings, the cartoon crosses those potentially limiting boundaries with a sophistication that bursts through the lines of what was expected of a child’s entertainment.
By Jeffery X Martin\
Today is the day that John Lennon was shot to death outside the Chelsea by some asshole who seriously misinterpreted The Catcher in the Rye. I’ve read that book. I missed the part about killing rock stars.
Destroyer USS Shaw exploding after her forward magazine was detonated. Image from Wikipedia.
If you’re old enough, you’ll remember that right after the Towers fell on 9/11, the American airwaves were filled with something akin to patriotic music, vowing revenge against the attackers. Toby Keith famously sang about the USA putting “a boot up their ass / It’s the American way.” Alan Jackson urged us never to forget by asking us where we were “when the world stopped turning.”
Frank Zappa died today in 1993.
Calling Frank Zappa “influential” is like saying ghost peppers will leave a mild burning sensation in your mouth after you eat them. It’s like saying water is wet. The sky is blue. The legend and legacy of Frank Zappa are elemental. He took music and made it his bitch.
His beautiful, happy, gleaming and weeping submissive bitch.