Podcasts about A Clockwork Orange

One Rick went to see “The Bone Temple,” the other cosplayed as part of an F1 pit crew. Both bring you their unique brand of news and views from the intersection of marketing, media, tech & pop culture. This time out: The unusual collab from Liquid Death and Spotify, BK's new burger bot, Kraft Mac & Cheese's real-time marketing stunt, and more.

This week's French Connection podcast episode covers one of the most thrilling and morally complicated films of 1971. Ryan, Mike, and Greg revisit The French Connection on Movie of the Year. William Friedkin's Best Picture winner changed what American cinema thought a hero could look like. In addition, this episode features a special Gene Hackman career retrospective.Released in 1971, the film follows New York City detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle — based on real NYPD detective Eddie Egan, with partner Sonny Grosso inspiring the character of Russo. Doyle pursues a massive heroin operation with little regard for the law or the people around him. As a result, the film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. It remains one of the defining films of the New Hollywood era.This Movie of the Year podcast episode is one of the most anticipated of the 1971 season. Before diving in, check out our recent episodes on The Last Picture Show and A Clockwork Orange.Joining the Taste Buds for this episode is special guest C. Craig Patterson A screenwriter, director, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. An alum of Columbia University, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and USC's School of Cinematic Arts, Patterson brings serious cinematic credentials to the table. His short film Fathead won the Cannes Film Festival Best Student Short Award and earned an NAACP Image Award nomination. His scripts have been recognized by the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, The Black List, and the Academy's Nicholl Fellowship. Patterson also directed the critically acclaimed Roy Wood Jr. comedy special Imperfect Messenger for Paramount+. With projects currently in development at Paramount and Epic Games, he is one of the most exciting emerging filmmakers working today — and exactly the kind of guest who makes a film like The French Connection worth revisiting.The French Connection 1971 Podcast: Popeye Doyle — Hero, Antihero, or Something Worse?The central tension of this French Connection 1971 podcast discussion is what to make of Popeye Doyle. Gene Hackman plays him as a force of nature — relentless, racist, reckless, and completely compelling. He is not a good man, and he is barely a good cop. Nevertheless, the film frames his obsession as heroic, his instincts as genius, and his victory as worth celebrating.Ryan, Mike, and Greg dig into what Friedkin and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman were doing with Doyle. Is the film a critique of the kind of law enforcement he represents? Or is it simply in love with him? The answer is probably both. Ultimately, that ambiguity is what makes the character so difficult and so fascinating fifty years later.The Real Detectives Behind the StoryThe real detectives, Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, consulted on the film and even appear in small roles. Consequently, knowing the story is grounded in a real investigation makes Doyle's behavior harder to dismiss. These were not fictional excesses invented for dramatic effect, and the panel takes that seriously.Gene Hackman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for this role, beating out Peter Finch, Walter Matthau, George C. Scott, and Topol. Furthermore, it remains one of the most celebrated performances of the 1970s. The panel uses this episode to look back at Hackman's broader career and make the case for where he stands in the pantheon.For more on Gene Hackman's career, visit the Internet Movie Database.William Friedkin and the New Hollywood Crime FilmDirector William Friedkin approached The French Connection as a documentary-style thriller. He shot on location in New York City with handheld cameras and natural light, refusing to glamorize either the city or its characters. As a result, the film feels unlike almost anything else from 1971 — raw, kinetic, and deeply uncomfortable.The Taste Buds explore how Friedkin's direction shaped the film's identity. Most notably, the legendary car chase under the elevated train tracks in Brooklyn is widely considered one of the greatest action sequences ever filmed. Friedkin shot it on live New York City streets without fully stopping traffic, with a camera mounted to the front of the car. For critical analysis of the chase, the Criterion Collection offers essential reading.Friedkin After The French ConnectionJust two years later, Friedkin directed The Exorcist, cementing his place as one of the defining filmmakers of the decade. The panel discusses what the two films share and what The French Connection reveals about Friedkin's sensibility. In both cases, his camera feels like it is barely keeping up with reality — and that is entirely by design.For more on Friedkin's influence on American cinema, visit the American Film Institute.The French Connection Podcast Discussion: Justice and Its LimitsAt its core, The French Connection is about the gap between justice and the law. Popeye Doyle operates outside the rules, endangers civilians, shoots an unarmed man in the back, and ultimately fails to bring the main target to justice. Despite all of this, the film presents his pursuit not as tragedy but as the cost of doing business.Ryan, Mike, and Greg examine what the film says about the American justice system in 1971 — a moment of profound national disillusionment. Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and the early signs of Watergate were all in the air. Meanwhile, the "good guys" in this film are not good, the "bad guys" are not caught, and the audience is asked to root for the pursuit anyway.Race and Policing in The French ConnectionMoreover, the film's racial politics are impossible to ignore. Doyle's racism is presented as character texture rather than moral failing, and the film never fully grapples with the implications of the policing it depicts. That discomfort is an important part of the conversation this week.For historical context on the real case, visit the DEA's history of the French Connection.Gene Hackman Best Performances: A Career RetrospectiveThis episode includes a special segment on Gene Hackman's best performances. The Taste Buds make their case for the defining Hackman roles and debate his greatest work. In particular, they discuss what made him such an unusual screen presence: his everyman quality, his capacity for rage, and his refusal to tell the audience how to feel about his characters.His breakthrough came in Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, and his Oscar followed here in The French Connection. Subsequently, classics like The Conversation, Mississippi Burning, Unforgiven, and The Royal Tenenbaums cemented one of the most extraordinary bodies of work in American cinema. This segment celebrates an actor who never got quite enough credit for how good he really was.Why The French Connection 1971 Still MattersMore than fifty years later, The French Connection remains essential viewing. Beyond its technical achievements, it functions as a moral document — capturing a specific American mood: exhausted, suspicious, and uncertain about its own institutions.Ultimately, this French Connection podcast episode revisits the film as a living argument about power, obsession, and the stories we tell about law enforcement. It asks hard questions, and this episode doesn't let them off the hook.Related Episodes from Movie of the Year: 1971If you enjoyed this episode, check out the rest of the Movie of the Year 1971 series:The Last Picture Show — Bogdanovich, nostalgia, and a dying Texas townA Clockwork Orange — Kubrick, free will, and the limits of the stateBrowse all Movie of the Year episodesFAQ: The French Connection Podcast and FilmWhat is The French Connection podcast episode about?Ryan, Mike, and Greg discuss William Friedkin's 1971 Best Picture winner. Topics include Popeye Doyle, Friedkin's direction, justice, and a Gene Hackman career retrospective.What is The French Connection about?It follows NYPD detective Popeye Doyle, based on real detective Eddie Egan, as he pursues a massive heroin smuggling operation using methods that are often illegal and always reckless.Who directed The French Connection?William Friedkin directed the 1971...

Aston Villa's Europa League last sixteen first leg against Lille on Thursday arrives at a critical moment in the season. With Villa sitting seventeenth in the Premier League form table over the last six games, the show discusses whether the Europa League now represents the most realistic route back to the Champions League, and whether the Lille tie can do for this season what the Bologna win did back in October.The show discusses the injury latest, with McGinn edging closer to a return, the squad selection dilemma for Thursday given the trip to Old Trafford follows days later, and whether Emery should rotate or go strong in France.Also discussed: Opta's supercomputer gives Villa an 80% chance of finishing top four, while the Bud 3000 is considerably less optimistic. The Tammy Abraham situation and Emery's Clockwork Orange-style process. Filipe Luís's remarkable and abruptly ended reign at Flamengo, and what it has in common with Ron Saunders. KSI's stake in Dagenham and Redbridge. The FIFA registration block on Brian Maggio. And lessons from Lincoln City in League One that Villa's current squad would do well to absorb.UTVCheck out the best current deals on Aston Villa MerchandiseGET AD-FREE SHOWS and JOIN MATCH CLUBGet ad-free shows and extra shows, and join My Old Man Said's 24/7 Villa community, Match Club.For more details and to become a member, click here: Become a MOMS MemberJoin the show's listener facebook group The Mad Few.Credits:David Michael - @myoldmansaid Chris Budd - @BUDD_musicPhillip Shaw - @prsgameMy Old Man Said - https://www.myoldmansaid.comThis Podcast has been created and uploaded by My Old Man Said. The views in this Podcast are not necessarily the views of talkSPORTBecome a MOMS Member for ad-free & extra shows - MOMS MembershipJoin the show's listener Facebook group The Mad Few.Credits:David Michael - @myoldmansaid | Chris Budd - @BUDD_music / Phillip Shaw - @prsgameThis Podcast has been created and uploaded by My Old Man Said. The views in this Podcast are not necessarily the views of talkSPORT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt is back and we're joined by a longtime friend of the show, Carmelita Valdez McKoy to discuss Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971).CMP on Instagram and BlueskyCarmelita on Bluesky, and LetterboxdMatt on Instagram, Bluesky, and LetterboxdAnthony on Instagram, Bluesky, and Letterboxd

Few films in the history of cinema have provoked as much discomfort — and as much genuine philosophical debate — as A Clockwork Orange. Stanley Kubrick's 1971 adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel arrives like a punch to the temple: stylized, brazen, and engineered to make you complicit in its protagonist's point of view before you've had a chance to object.Alex DeLarge, played by Malcolm McDowell with an almost seductive ferocity, is not an antihero in the conventional sense. He's a rapist and murderer who narrates his own crimes with lyrical delight. And yet Kubrick frames him with such wit, such visual command, that discomfort becomes almost pleasurable — which is, of course, entirely the point.On this episode of Movie of the Year, we engage with the three central tensions that make the film impossible to dismiss: the philosophical minefield of morality and free will, the sheer sensory experience of watching it, and the film's deeply troubled relationship with women and sexuality.

Look, we've all been there. You go to a gig at a university campus that looks like a concrete fever dream from A Clockwork Orange, you feel ancient because the students are all drinking a gallon of water from Stanley cups instead of proper ale, and then you have to question your own bowel integrity because someone in the crowd is weaponising their flatulence. This week, Andrew and Dr. Sam dive into the "Normal Lineup, Weird Noises" theme—basically, what happens when a standard rock band decides to make sounds that shouldn't exist. We've got Jerskin Fendrix (aka Jocelyn Dent Pooley, the man with a name like a removal firm heir), the sonic separation of Big Business, and the avant-garde chaos of Deerhoof. Also: Why do people heckle sensitive jazz drummers? Is every Ukrainian black metal band actually staffed by archaeologists? And why does Paul Westerberg spend the start of a Replacements track sounding like he's hoovering up a pharmacy floor? It's music, it's chaos, and it's probably the only podcast that mentions both Agathee Christie and the "Pissed Resistance" in the same breath.   Riffs of the Week Dr. Sam's Riff Jerskin Fendrix – Jerskin Fendrix Freestyle Andrew's Riff The Callous Daoboys – Distracted by The Mona Lisa Dr. Sam's Track Choices Big Business – Cats, Mice Deerhoof – The Perfect Me Victims Family – The Germ Adam and the Ants – The Day I Met God Andrew's Track Choices Caroline Polachek – Dang Everything Everything – Cough Cough The Charlatans – I Can't Even Be Bothered 1914 – 1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl) Email us: beatmotel@lawsie.com

On the 505th episode of Piecing It Together, Nick Roth joins me to talk about 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. The shockingly good sequel to last year's legacy sequel to the classic zombie film absolutely bombed in theaters, leaving the future of the franchise in doubt... But it is fantastic. Watch it. Puzzle pieces include Alien: Covenant, A Clockwork Orange, Rosemary's Baby and Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny.As always, SPOILER ALERT for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and the movies we discuss!Written by Alex GarlandDirected by Nia DeCostaStarring Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi Lewis-ParryColumbia PictureNick Roth is a filmmaker and writer.Follow him on Instagram and TikTok @theonetruenickrothAnd check him out on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-rothMy latest David Rosen album MISSING PIECES: 2018-2024 is a compilation album that fills in the gaps in unreleased music made during the sessions for 2018's A Different Kind Of Dream, 2020's David Rosen, 2022's MORE CONTENT and 2025's upcoming And Other Unexplained Phenomena. Find it on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify and everywhere else you can find music.You can also find more about all of my music on my website https://www.bydavidrosen.comMy latest music video is “Shaking" which you can watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzm8s4nuqlAMake sure to “Like” Piecing It Together on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PiecingPodAnd “Follow” us on Twitter @PiecingPodAnd Join the Conversation in our Facebook Group, Piecing It Together – A Movie Discussion Group.And check out https://www.piecingpod.com for more about our show!And if you want to SUPPORT THE SHOW, you can now sign up for our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosenYou can also support the show by checking out our Dashery store to buy shirts and more featuring Piecing It Together logos, movie designs, and artwork for my various music projects at https://bydavidrosen.dashery.com/Share the episode, comment and give us feedback! And of course, SUBSCRIBE!And of course, don't forget to leave us a 5 star review on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podchaser!And most important of all… Keep going to the theater to see new movies!

MARTY SUPREME writer/director Josh Safdie unpacks his favorite movies with podcast hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante. Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode Abigail's Party (1977) Marty Supreme (2025) Burying the Ex (2015) Uncut Gems (2019) Dazed and Confused (1993) King of New York (1990) Bad Lieutenant (1992) The Funerals (1996) The Addiction (1995) 4:44 Last Day On Earth (2011) Tomasso (2019) The Driller Killer (1979) Ms .45 (1981) Go Go Tales (2007) The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) A Woman Under the Influence *Kramer vs Kramer (1979) Hero (1992) Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979) The Brood (1979) *Fire in the Sky (1993) *Matinee (1993) *A Clockwork Orange (1971) The Lost Boys (1987) *Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) *E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982) *The Shining (1980) *Misery (1990) Popeye (1980) The Leprechaun (1992) Mandy (2018) The Princess Bride (1987) This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Barry Lyndon (1975) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Full Metal Jacket (1987) *The 400 Blows (1959) *Pulp Fiction (1994) The Breakfast Club (1985) *The Red Balloon (1956) White Mane (1953) Gremlins (1984) *The Running Man (1987) The Terminator (1984) The King of Comedy (1983) Total Recall (1990) Robocop (1987) *Above The Rim (1994) Rocky (1976) Rocky II (1979) *Rocky III (1982) Rocky IV (1985) Rocky V (1990) Masters of the Universe (1987) Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) *Saturday Night Fever (1977) Stayin' Alive (1983) Carrie (1976) Other Notable Items Our Patreon!  The Hollywood Food Coalition The battle of Jericho Josh Mostel G.I. Joe Anton Yelchin Anagrams  Mike Leigh Abel Ferrera Willem Dafoe Odessa A'zion Clint Eastwood James Cagney The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Kevin Garnett Ronald Bronstein Timothee Chalamet Tyler, the Creator Gwyneth Paltrow IFC Films Zohran Mamdani Mira Nair Dustin Hoffman Meryl Streep Eric Clapton Stephen Frears Geena Davis Andy Garcia Chevy Chase David Cronenberg Robert Benton A Nightmare on Elm Street series Wendy Carlos John Candy John Goodman The Cuban Missile Crisis 4DX William Castle Smell-O-Vision Shelley Duvall The Shining novel by Stephen King (1977) Stanley Kubrick TFH Guru Mick Garris The Shining miniseries (1997) Jack Nicholson The Beatles Our Panos Cosmatos podcast episode Johan Johansson Gramaphone Records Kathy Bates James Caan Rob Reiner Alfred Hitchcock Scatman Crothers Vivian Kubrick Jean-Pierre Léaud Benny Safdie John Lennon John Hughes Chris Columbus Chicago The Ramones Richard Edson Jim Jarmusch The History of Bones: A Memoir book by John Lurie (2021) Bob Hope Bing Crosby Mel Brooks Matthew Broderick Albert Lamorisse  The Fleischer Brothers Tex Avery Harold Faltermeyer Arnold Schwarzenegger Oneohtrix Point Never  Richard Dawson Jerry Lewis Paul Verhoeven The New York Knicks Queen Onyx Bernie Mac 2Pac Dolph Lundgren Sylvester Stallone John Travolta Welcome Back, Kotter TV series (1975-78) The Bee Gees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Janet shares her journey from photographer to bookstore owner, highlighting the shop's 32,000-title collection, unique programs like "Blind Date with a Book," and her support for local authors. The conversation captures the warmth and character of Grayslake, celebrating community connections, the joy of reading, and the importance of supporting local businesses. Listeners are invited to stop by, explore the store's treasures, and experience firsthand the hometown charm that makes Grayslake special. Unexpected Beginnings: Janet's journey from a 20-year career in commercial photography to owning a bookstore is nothing short of inspiring. She took over "This Old Book" 13 years ago to keep its doors open, and she hasn't looked back since. A Treasure Trove of Books: With around 32,000 titles, "This Old Book" is a haven for book lovers. From books dating back to the 1600s to the latest releases, there's something for everyone. Most books come from local patrons who trade their collections for store credit, keeping the inventory fresh and diverse. Supporting Local Authors: Jeanette proudly supports local writers by selling their books on commission. This dedicated section features a variety of genres, from mystery to politics, and she's excited about reviving book signings to celebrate local talent. Blind Date with a Book: One of the store's most creative offerings is the "Blind Date with a Book" program. Books are wrapped in paper with intriguing clues about their genre or theme, making for a delightful surprise. These are especially popular around holidays and come with themed gifts like bookmarks and stickers. Hidden Gems: Janet's loves the treasure hunt aspect of her business. She's discovered fascinating items like a 19th-century math book with a heartfelt note and a rare set of Oscar Wilde's works with a personal letter from Wilde himself. Community Connection: Janet's emphasizes the nostalgic and sensory experience of visiting a physical bookstore. The smell of aging paper, the joy of browsing shelves, and the personal connections formed with customers make "This Old Book" a cherished part of Grayslake's cultural fabric. Puzzle Swap: A unique monthly event where people bring in old puzzles and take new ones. It's a fun and free way to engage the community and attract visitors from near and far. Book Recommendations: Janet's go-to recommendations vary based on the reader's interests. From graphic novels for reluctant young readers to classics like Frankenstein and A Clockwork Orange for teens, she has a knack for finding the perfect book for everyone. Fun Facts and Curiosities: Weirdest Donation: A book entirely about bile from the 1940s. Surprisingly, it sold quickly! Favorite Authors: Jeanette enjoys a wide range, from the classics like Homer and Jane Austen to modern horror. Hidden Talents: Jeanette's superpower? Sarcasm! And if she could have any superpower, it'd be invisibility. Community Announcements: Bachelorette Auction: Join us on the 27th for our Bachelorette Auction, with all proceeds going to a wonderful family in need. Whether you buy a ticket, donate, or just spread the word, your support makes a difference. Random Acts of Kindness: Let's spread kindness like wildfire. Hold the door, smile, and be a good human. It's the little things that make our community stronger. Thank you for being a part of our Grayslake family. Tune in to the "Discovering Grayslake" podcast every Tuesday to meet more amazing people from our community. And don't forget to stop by "This Old Book" and say hi to Jeanette—let her know you heard about the store on the podcast! Stay curious and kind, David Wool P.S. Subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. Let's keep discovering Grayslake together! Are you happy with the results?          

Bill Maher sits down with actor Cary Elwes for a freewheeling conversation that starts with hair jokes and quickly becomes a masterclass in craft, including the moment Al Pacino changed Cary's life with a simple “work the muscle” speech. They take on Hollywood's gun obsession, Olivier vs. Brando, Kubrick's genius (and excess), whether 2001 is transcendent or a sedative, and why A Clockwork Orange still ignites debate decades later. Along the way: Braveheart, Scarface tattoos, and Catholic guilt. They cancel hell, roast John Wick, and somehow land on the idea of Pacino as God in Purgatory. Support our Advertisers: -Try ZipRecruiter for free at https://www.ziprecruiter.com/random  -Get 15% off OneSkin with the code RANDOM at https://www.oneskin.co/RANDOM #oneskinpod #ad -Head to https://www.superpower.com and use code RANDOM at checkout for $20 off your membership. Live up to your 100-Year potential. #superpowerpod #ad Subscribe to the Club Random YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/clubrandompodcast?sub_confirmation=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Watch episodes ad-free – subscribe to Bill Maher's Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://billmaher.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you listen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/ClubRandom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Club Random Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://clubrandom.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices ABOUT CLUB RANDOM Bill Maher rewrites the rules of podcasting the way he did in television in this series of one on one, hour long conversations with a wide variety of unexpected guests in the undisclosed location called Club Random. There's a whole big world out there that isn't about politics and Bill and his guests—from Bill Burr and Jerry Seinfeld to Jordan Peterson, Quentin Tarantino and Neil DeGrasse Tyson—talk about all of it.  For advertising opportunities please email: PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com ABOUT BILL MAHER Bill Maher was the host of “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC) from 1993-2002, and for the last fourteen years on HBO's “Real Time,” Maher's combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him 40 Emmy nominations. Maher won his first Emmy in 2014 as executive producer for the HBO series, “VICE.” In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher's uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous.” Maher has written five bestsellers: “True Story,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits,” “When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden,” “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer,” and most recently, “The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass.” FOLLOW CLUB RANDOM https://www.clubrandom.com https://www.facebook.com/Club-Random-101776489118185 https://twitter.com/clubrandom_ https://www.instagram.com/clubrandompodcast https://www.tiktok.com/@clubrandompodcast FOLLOW BILL MAHER https://www.billmaher.com https://twitter.com/billmaher https://www.instagram.com/billmaher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

En amerikansk præsident der lægger sig ud med den halve verden. Politisoldater der sættes ind mod befolkningen. En skurk det hænger sig selv i cellen. Lyder det bekendt? Det handler dog ikke om Trump, ICE-agenter eller Jeffrey Epstein men om Frank Miller og Dave Gibbons serie ‘Give Me Liberty', en noget overset satire over USA fra 1990. Det er historien om individet, den fattige sorte Martha Washington, der sætter sig op mod den korrumperede overmagt og udsættes for overgreb, ydmygelser og hjernevask og må finde indre moralsk styrke for at overvinde uretfærdigheden. Miller og Gibbons tilbage til flere gange til karakteren med vekslende udbytte, et højdepunkt er Kirby-hyldesten er ‘Happy Birthday, Martha Washington' som også diskuteres i episoden. Radio Rackham kigger i dette afsnit nærmere på dette umage kærlighedsbarn lavet af to af skaberne bag ‘The Dark Knight Returns' og ‘Watchmen', er den værd at læse mere end 35 år siden den udkom? Lyt med når vi dissekerer værket, analyserer temaer, identificerer det særligt Frank Millerske, studerer Dave Gibbons' fortælleteknik, finder referencerer til alt fra Julius Cæsar til Clockwork Orange og vurderer, om det har noget at sige i den tid vi lever i i dag.

We're back! And we're talking about the value of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) with Tom Robins and Leigh Fairbrother of Switchee.Their business is POE for landlords that's intended to improve the quality of life for the residents that they rely on. Capturing sensor data, analysing it, and synthesising that into something their clients can use.Essentially, this means validating the quality of fabric, the impact of retrofit works, and anticipating car crashes—metaphorical ones.We get a really helpful explanation of Awaab's Law around 25–30 minutes in, too. (Thank you Leigh.)Notes from the showTom Robins on LinkedInLeigh Fairbrother on LinkedIn The Switchee website (sign up in the footer)Switchee on LinkedInPH+ coverage of that early work in Thamesmead (the Clockwork Orange estate) **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this podcast, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a proper website)Jeff and Dan about Zero Ambitions Partners (the consultancy) for help with positioning and communications strategy, customer/user research and engagement strategy, carbon calculations and EPDs – we're up to all sortsSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd Alter's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Retrofit Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Have you seen Class of 1984? No? Well, it doesn't matter in the science fiction sequel to an 80's cult classic drama... I'm not saying this follow-up is better... but boy oh boy is it fun!DISCLAIMER: Language and Spoilers!CLASS OF 1999dir. Mark L. Lesterstarring: Bradley Gregg; Malcolm McDowell; Patrick Kilpatrick

The Rebel News podcasts features free audio-only versions of select RebelNews+ content and other Rebel News long-form videos, livestreams, and interviews. Monday to Friday enjoy the audio version of Ezra Levant's daily TV-style show, The Ezra Levant Show, where Ezra gives you his contrarian and conservative take on free speech, politics, and foreign policy through in-depth commentary and interviews. Wednesday evenings you can listen to the audio version of The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid the Chief Reporter of Rebel News. Sheila brings a western sensibility to Canadian news. With one foot in the oil patch and one foot in agriculture, Sheila challenges mainstream media narratives and stands up for Albertans. If you want to watch the video versions of these podcasts, make sure to begin your free RebelNewsPlus trial by subscribing at http://www.RebelNewsPlus.com

Listing Joe Boyd’s most significant accomplishments as a producer, label owner, and music historian is a tall order. A short list of artists he’s worked with includes Nick Drake (heard here), Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, The Incredible String Band, R.E.M., Vashti Bunyan, Billy Bragg, and 10,000 Maniacs. Additionally, he was the founder of Hannibal Records, the label responsible for bringing the term “world music” into the lexicon, as well as serving as a music producer for Warner Bros., where he collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on the soundtrack of A Clockwork Orange and 1972’s Deliverance. His most recent work is as the author of White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s, as well as And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music, which came out in 2024. On this episode, hear how songs by Fats Domino, Fairport Convention, and Carlos Gardel shaped his sensibilities. Boyd will be a part of this year’s Big Ears Festival taking place in Knoxville, TN in March of 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The definitive biography of the creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and A Clockwork Orange, presenting the most in-depth portrait yet of the groundbreaking filmmaker. The enigmatic and elusive filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has not been treated to a full-length biography in over twenty years. Kubrick: An Odyssey (Pegasus Books, 2024) fills that gap. This definitive book is based on access to the latest research, especially Kubrick's archive at the University of the Arts, London, as well as other private papers plus new interviews with family members and those who worked with him. It offers comprehensive and in-depth coverage of Kubrick's personal, private, public, and working life. Stanley Kubrick: An Odyssey investigates not only the making of Kubrick's films, but also about those he wanted (but failed) to make like Burning Secret, Napoleon, Aryan Papers, and A.I. This immersive biography will puncture the controversial myths about the reclusive filmmaker who created some of the most important works of art of the twentieth century. Robert P. Kolker, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, taught cinema studies for almost fifty years. He is the author of A Cinema of Loneliness and The Extraordinary Image: Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and the Reimagining of Cinema; editor of 2001: A Space Odyssey: New Essays and The Oxford Handbook of Film and Media Studies; and co-author of Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of his Final Film. Nathan Abrams is a professor in film at Bangor University in Wales. He is a founding co-editor of Jewish Film and New Media: An International Journal, as well as the author of The New Jew in Film: Exploring Jewishness and Judaism in Contemporary Cinema, and Stanley Kubrick: New York Jewish Intellectual, and co-author of Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of his Final Film. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

The definitive biography of the creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and A Clockwork Orange, presenting the most in-depth portrait yet of the groundbreaking filmmaker. The enigmatic and elusive filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has not been treated to a full-length biography in over twenty years. Kubrick: An Odyssey (Pegasus Books, 2024) fills that gap. This definitive book is based on access to the latest research, especially Kubrick's archive at the University of the Arts, London, as well as other private papers plus new interviews with family members and those who worked with him. It offers comprehensive and in-depth coverage of Kubrick's personal, private, public, and working life. Stanley Kubrick: An Odyssey investigates not only the making of Kubrick's films, but also about those he wanted (but failed) to make like Burning Secret, Napoleon, Aryan Papers, and A.I. This immersive biography will puncture the controversial myths about the reclusive filmmaker who created some of the most important works of art of the twentieth century. Robert P. Kolker, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, taught cinema studies for almost fifty years. He is the author of A Cinema of Loneliness and The Extraordinary Image: Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and the Reimagining of Cinema; editor of 2001: A Space Odyssey: New Essays and The Oxford Handbook of Film and Media Studies; and co-author of Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of his Final Film. Nathan Abrams is a professor in film at Bangor University in Wales. He is a founding co-editor of Jewish Film and New Media: An International Journal, as well as the author of The New Jew in Film: Exploring Jewishness and Judaism in Contemporary Cinema, and Stanley Kubrick: New York Jewish Intellectual, and co-author of Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of his Final Film. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Join screenwriter Stuart Wright as he dives into movies that changed your life with UK director and producer Neil Thompson, in this engaging episode of 3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life. Explore Imitation Of Life's impact, Clockwork Orange analysis, and Gone Girl' influence on his personal growth and cinema's transformative power. Neil Thompson also discusses next steps in the development of IDEALISTS, a film projects on his Fat Pictures slate. Movies That Changed Your Life   Find out about Neil Thompson's film project IDEALISTS  and the lasting impact of cinema with Stuart Wright on his movie podcast.   [1:40] Neil Thompson talks about next steps in the development of IDEALISTS. 3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life Imitation Of Life impact  [11:45] Neil Thompson says Imitation Of Life was a monster hit at the time. He got into it when he was a teenager and has loved it ever since. He watches it regularly, and introduced his daughter to it too. He guarantees you will be in floods of tears. It makes everyone cry.   Clockwork Orange analysis [18:30] Neil Thompson says that he saw Clockwork Orange when it first came out in a west London cinema. During the movie there were fights. Outside there was massive fight at the bus stop that spread on to the bus. This movie exploded on to the streets and, ignoring the second half of movie, made everyone want to fight.   Gone Girl Influence   [24:15] Neil Thompson talks about his constant love of really good, psychological thrillers, and Gone Girl is a really good example of a modern one. It's prime neo-noir featuring a femme fatale. Instead of being punished for their lawbreaking like they would be in the past, they now get away with it. Neil also enthuses about his love of David Fincher: “Never put a foot wrong.” Key Take Aways:   Discover how movies that changed your life shape personal and professional growth. Learn about Neil Thompson's approach to developing films for the Fat Pictures slate. Understand cinema's transformative power through Imitation Of Life (1959), Clockwork Orange (1971), Gone Girl (2014) About the Guest:   Neil Thompson is a director, producer and owner of Fat Pictures. He is an experienced owner with a demonstrated history of working in the entertainment industry. Strong business development professional, skilled in Finance, Production and Post. Specialised script development experience and known for championing new talent. In addition, consults on Company Structure and Finance/Investment for a range of companies and clients. Find out more Neil's company and slate at https://fatpictures.co.uk/  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts for more movies that impacted your life!  Share your favourite movies that impacted your life on X (@leytonrocks) and leave a 5-star review and tell us which 3 films impacted your adult life. Best ones get read out on the podcast. Credits:   Intro/Outro music: *Rocking The Stew* by Tokyo Dragons (https://www.instagram.com/slomaxster/)  Written, produced, and hosted by Stuart Wright for [Britflicks.com](https://www.britflicks.com/britflicks-podcast/)   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a treat for the start of the year! We held Carl Tart's eyes open Clockwork Orange style and forced him to watch Clipped! The dramatized retelling of the Donald and Shelly Sterling scandal that resulted in him being forced to sell the LA Clippers. Is Carl arguably the most notable Clippers fan in the world? Yes. Did we make him watch potentially the worst thing to happen in his entire fandom of the franchise… welp now that I'm writing it… also yes. But was he a good sport about it? Absolutely!We chat Clippers history, his Carl's personal fandom story, sports scandals and how they are depicted in general, if V. Stiviano is a sports folk hero, the performances, Lavar Burton and of course… the casting of the Clippers players.Catch Carl as a writer on Saturday Night Live (am I spelling that right? We haven't heard of it) and also as a cohost of Hollywood Handbook, XoXo Bada Bings Sopranos Podcast and of course on stage at UCB in NYC and LA!Hosts Carl TartGeoff Kerbis Max SingerRich Inman

Kimball Farley is the future. His breakthrough role in "Hippo," the critically acclaimed dark comedy that RogerEbert.com called "an unholy fusion of A Clockwork Orange and Napoleon Dynamite" established him as a talented, chameleon-like actor to watch, then his performance in "The Righteous Gemstones," opposite Bradley Cooper, displayed his range. And now 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for him, with upcoming releases from filmmakers like Tim Sutton, Mark H. Rapaport, and Henry Chaisson showcasing more of what he can do. On this episode, he details his "outside-in" approach to character work, and why changing his appearance is of prime importance with each role. He talks about how writing contributes to his preparation process in beneficial ways, why he believes in the law of attraction, what makes Al Warren and Bradley Cooper great scene partners, why following in the footsteps of his heroes is so important to him, and much more. Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from  Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.  Follow Back To One on Instagram

So sorry for the delay! Holidays are crazy! But oh-my-my, she's worth the wait! We're here now: Will is just waking up, Nelson is stoned, we're ready to celebrate the holidays with you, and maybe most importantly give you something to listen to while heading to your festive family destinations! The Notes: Astrophysics! Will is concerned by the Anti-Bang! Mornings are not for science! We need a speed-dial scientist! Are you a scientist and do you want to be OUR scientist!? Will's the bad cop this episode! Dot-matrix printers are the platonic ideal of Geordi no to the utility vs Geordi yes to the aesthetics! Printers 2: Judgement Day! Nelson knows when an old gray mare ain't what she used to be! It's a metaphor for everything, but in a printing way! Nelson is canonically pro-robot, but these killer printers have him buggin'! Ghost guns and wobble legs are a deadly combo! That's how they Clockwork Orange these printers into Terminators! How to embarrass a printer! Shaq's gonna get those nuclear codes! Taekwondo and Red Lobster with Shaq! Nelson finally reveals his long history with Shaq! I was like what Harry Potter does for his sport, but with basketball, and with a knife! The Big Continuous! Horse and Wine! A lot of people confuse Shaq and Ed Parker, aka White Shaq! Ding ding ding, bonus points! Christmas Lightning Round! Chimney magic is just chimney science we don't understand yet! Have you ever heard of sharks, bro!? #SantaScience! Contact Us! Follow Us! Love Us! Email: doubledeucepod@gmail.com Twitter & Instagram: @doubledeucepod Bluesky: @doubledeucepod.bsky.social Facebook: www.facebook.com/DoubleDeucePod/ Patreon: patreon.com/DoubleDeucePod Also, please subscribe/rate/review/share us! We're on Apple, Android, Libsyn, Stitcher, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Radio.com, RadioPublic, pretty much anywhere they got podcasts, you can find the Deuce! Podcast logo art by Jason Keezer! Find his art online at Keezograms! Intro & Outro featuring Rob Schulte! Check out his many podcasts! Brought to you in part by sponsorship from Courtney Shipley, Official Superfans Stefan Rider, Amber Fraley, Nate Copt, and listeners like you! Join a tier on our Patreon! Advertise with us! If you want that good, all-natural focus and energy, our DOUBLEDEUCE20 code still works at www.magicmind.com/doubledeuce for 20% off all purchases and subscriptions. Check out the Lawrence Times's 785 Collective at https://lawrencekstimes.com/785collective/ for a list of local LFK podcasts including this one!  

Episode 73: Extreme Horror Iceberg Volume Six This episode was recorded on October 10, 2025 and posted on December 13, 2025.  Content Warning: Light vulgarity and discussions of extreme horror content.  Introduction Welcome to No Bodies Episode 73 Introductions to your Ghost Hosts with the Most - Lonely of Lonely Horror Club and Suzie aka Projectile Varmint Introductions to our guest - longtime listener and real life doctor, Kenan Alibegovic, D.O. Today's Topic: Extreme Horror Iceberg Volume Six Revisiting Extreme Horror Our guest's experiences with extreme horror The Iceberg Tier 1 examples include Psycho and The Exorcist Tier 2 examples include Hereditary and Hostel Tier 3 examples include Last House on the Left and The House that Jack Built Tier 4 examples include Antichrist and Mai-Chan's Daily Life Tier 5 examples include Salo and Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood Tier 6 examples include Black Metal Veins and Tumbling Doll of Flesh Media Discussion Wrong Turn (2003) - Tier 1 A Clockwork Orange (1971) - Tier 2 Eraserhead (1977) - Tier 3 Life & Death of a Porno Gang (Zivot I Smrt Porno Bande) (2009) - Tier 4 In a Glass Cage (1986) - Tier 5 Black Metal Veins (2012) - Tier 6 Closing Thoughts Would you move any of these films to another tier? Is there a film you would add to the list? Thank you to our guest! Check out Kenan's Healthline discussions on YouTube here and here.  Keep Up with Your Hosts Check out our instagram antics and drop a follow @nobodieshorrorpodcast.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive video episodes coming soon! Take part in our audience engagement challenge - The Coroner's Report! Comment, share, or interact with any Coroner's Report post on our socials to be featured in an upcoming episode.  Projectile Varmint - keep up with Suzie's film musings on Instagram @projectile__varmint Lonely - read more from Lonely and keep up with her filmstagram chaos @lonelyhorrorclub on Instagram and www.lonelyhorrorclub.com. Original No Bodies Theme music by Jacob Pini. Need music? Find Jacob on Instagram at @jacob.pini for rates and tell him No Bodies sent you!  Leave us a message at (617) 431-4322‬ and we just might answer you on the show! Sources An actual watchable disturbing movie Iceberg (no mixtapes, no porn, no snuff). (2021). Reddit. Retrieved April 30, 2025, from https://www.reddit.com/r/IcebergCharts/comments/o88280/an_actual_watchable_disturbing_movie_iceberg_no/  PSPA Editorial Staff. (n.d.). The Iceberg Theory. Private Security Professionals of America. Retrieved April 30, 2025, from https://www.mypspa.org/article/more/the-iceberg-theory  Spool, A. (2025, April 29). Iceberg Charts. Know Your Meme. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/iceberg-charts

Movie of the Year: 1971Action Figure Draft, Part 2The Chaos Continues in the Action Figure Draft 1971In this week's Movie of the Year, Ryan, Greg, Mike, and Taylor conclude the most brutal, strategic, and downright unhinged draft of the season: the Action Figure Draft 1971.Every Taste Bud continues to choose characters from 1971 movies (or TV productions), imagining them as highly posable, battle-ready action figures. These figures must then be assigned to six RPG-inspired roles: bard, cleric, druid, fighter, wizard, and wild card.The goal?Build a team capable of winning an all-out fight against the other rosters.And the twist that changes everything:Once a character is drafted from a movie, no one else can draft anyone else from that same movie.No backups. No consolation picks. Once it's gone, it's GONE.If you thought last season's drafts were chaotic…you ain't heard 1971.The Draft Rules: One Year, One Movie Per Pick, Zero MercyTo keep this battle as ruthless as possible, the Taste Buds lock in the following rules:Snake Draft FormatThe order reverses each round, forcing careful planning and last-second gambits.Draft RolesEach team must fill:Bard – charm, chaos, charismaCleric – healer, protector, mystical weirdoDruid – nature, magic, unpredictable energyFighter – the bruiser, tank, or martial artistWizard – supernatural, cerebral, or ranged powerhouseWild Card – whatever you dare unleashEligibility: 1971 Movies (and TV Productions) [and Musicians probably] OnlyIf it hit screens in 1971 (big screen, small screen, arthouse, grindhouse), it's fair game.The Killer Rule: One Character Per MovieAs soon as a player drafts any character from a movie or TV title, that entire production is locked out forever.Pick a character from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? The rest of Wonka's weirdos vanish.Choose someone from A Clockwork Orange? Say goodbye to Alex's droogs.Reach into The French Connection? No detective backup for anyone.This rule transforms the draft into a battlefield where stealing a movie is every bit as important as drafting the right character.The ObjectiveCreate a team of 1971 action figures capable of absolutely wrecking the others in a hypothetical battle royale.Selecting the Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Wizard, and Wild CardThe Taste Buds dive deep into the weird, violent, soulful, experimental year that is 1971 cinema. With each category requiring a different kind of fighter, strategy becomes key:A bard might be a charming con artist, a manipulative cult leader, or someone who just screams enough to cause psychic damage.A cleric might heal, preach, or haunt.A druid might commune with nature or be a chaos gremlin.A fighter is your tank — your blunt instrument of violence.A wizard could be supernatural…or simply smarter and more dangerous than anyone else.And...

It's exactly half a century since Stanley Kubrick followed A Clockwork Orange with his stately, painterly picture Barry Lyndon. But will we be impressed by its languid pace and artistic aspirations? Presented by J.R. Southall, with Jon Arnold, Matt Barber, Steve Hatcher and Luke Molloy

Movie of the Year: 1971Action Figure Draft, Part 1The Chaos Begins in the Action Figure Draft 1971In this week's Movie of the Year, Ryan, Greg, Mike, and Taylor enter the arena for the most brutal, strategic, and downright unhinged draft of the season: the Action Figure Draft 1971.Every Taste Bud must choose characters from 1971 movies (or TV productions), imagining them as highly posable, battle-ready action figures. These figures must then be assigned to six RPG-inspired roles: bard, cleric, druid, fighter, wizard, and wild card.The goal?Build a team capable of winning an all-out fight against the other rosters.And the twist that changes everything:Once a character is drafted from a movie, no one else can draft anyone else from that same movie.No backups. No consolation picks. Once it's gone, it's GONE.If you thought last season's drafts were chaotic…welcome to 1971.The Draft Rules: One Year, One Movie Per Pick, Zero MercyTo keep this battle as ruthless as possible, the Taste Buds lock in the following rules:Snake Draft FormatThe order reverses each round, forcing careful planning and last-second gambits.Draft RolesEach team must fill:Bard – charm, chaos, charismaCleric – healer, protector, mystical weirdoDruid – nature, magic, unpredictable energyFighter – the bruiser, tank, or martial artistWizard – supernatural, cerebral, or ranged powerhouseWild Card – whatever you dare unleashEligibility: 1971 Movies (and TV Productions) OnlyIf it hit screens in 1971 (big screen, small screen, arthouse, grindhouse), it's fair game.The Killer Rule: One Character Per MovieAs soon as a player drafts any character from a movie or TV title, that entire production is locked out forever.Pick a character from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? The rest of Wonka's weirdos vanish.Choose someone from A Clockwork Orange? Say goodbye to Alex's droogs.Reach into The French Connection? No detective backup for anyone.This rule transforms the draft into a battlefield where stealing a movie is every bit as important as drafting the right character.The ObjectiveCreate a team of 1971 action figures capable of absolutely wrecking the others in a hypothetical battle royale.Selecting the Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Wizard, and Wild CardThe Taste Buds dive deep into the weird, violent, soulful, experimental year that is 1971 cinema. With each category requiring a different kind of fighter, strategy becomes key:A bard might be a charming con artist, a manipulative cult leader, or someone who just screams enough to cause psychic damage.A cleric might heal, preach, or haunt.A druid might commune with nature or be a chaos gremlin.A fighter is your tank — your blunt instrument of violence.A wizard could be supernatural…or simply smarter and more dangerous than anyone else.And the wild card?Well, 1971 produced some bizarre characters. Anything can happen here.And because each movie gets only one character drafted, every pick is a race to snatch a film before someone else steals it out from under...

Join this channel to get access to perks: EARLY Access, EXCLUSIVE Episodes & Much More! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpeD7roEp99UANH0HVZ3dOA/joinWhat's Your Story - Malcolm McDowell & James Marquand? #122Today we have two guests -The first has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame best know for Iconic performance in ‘Clockwork Orange' Actor Malcolm McDowell The second is a Writer / Director on the rise & James Marquand son of Director Richard Marquand (Star Wars - Return of the Jed)Malcolm's Credits Include - A Clockwork Orange / If / Caligula / Halloween / Star Trek Generations / O Lucky Man / Gangster No.1 / Thelma / Book of Eli / Bombshell etc.... James's Credits Include - Beautiful Devils / Dead man's Cards / The Partisan / I Against I / Dog & Bull etc...-----------------------------Host - Actor/Writer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Elliot James Langridge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Please contact (Scott Marshall Partners) -----------------------------Our SponsorsMoviePosters.com is the #1 place for movie posters old and new! use our affiliate link https://www.movieposters.com/?sca_ref=8773240.c977RvLKKpL& Get 10% off with code LIFEINFILM10⁠⁠⁠⁠BetterHelp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ provides you with access to the largest online therapy service in the world. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 10% off⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ your first month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠betterhelp.com/lifeinfilm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠-----------------------------'The Partisan' is out now on digital and DVD from the 15th December-----------------------------Thank you to Our guest's Malcolm & James & Thank you Debbie and the team at Aim PublicityAs always thank you to our sponsors movieposters.com and betterhelp-----------------------------If you enjoyed this episode, please review and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You Tube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠etc and please share. It makes a huge difference. -----------------------------Join us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tik Tok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, @LIFEINFILMpod. Check out the ⁠Patreon⁠ at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Lifeinfilmpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & Join this channel to get access to perks: EARLY Access, EXCLUSIVE Episodes & Much More! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpeD7roEp99UANH0HVZ3dOA/join-----------------------------Please don't forget to⁠ LIKE & SUBSCRIBE⁠! ╔═╦╗╔╦╗╔═╦═╦╦╦╦╗╔═╗ ║╚╣║║║╚╣╚╣╔╣╔╣║╚╣═╣ ╠╗║╚╝║║╠╗║╚╣║║║║║═╣ ╚═╩══╩═╩═╩═╩╝╚╩═╩═╝Thanks for watching this episode ... Like, Subscribe & Join our YouTube Channel!

Ho Ho Ho! We're digging back into the controversy with the 1971 classic A Clockwork Orange. This episode mixes nostalgia, outrage, and obsession as the hosts debate Kubrick's shocks, Malcolm McDowell's wild turn, the film's notorious bans, and why the movie still makes people squirm today. Expect candid opinions (some love it, some loathe it), behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and a few laughs — as a special bonus, we have a cameo from Malcolm McDowell himself! 

This week! We entered the mind of a young, disturbed man who is not "very cool with society" and watched "A Clockwork Orange" (1971). Listen in as Kayleigh finds the Shakespearean connections and Ryan explains how the themes of this film are "why people have zoos." Interruption: "A Pillar of Salt" by The Thermals Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about assault and sexual violence *Please enjoy this explicit content responsibly* 

Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi dystopian noir Blade Runner where a disillusionedd private eye/cop/robot hunter Harrison Ford tracks down and falls in love with "Replicants" or robot cyborgs made to look like humans is a pinnacle of the sci-fi dystopian genre. Blade Runner presents a disturbing, overpopulated, megalopolis Los Angeles and explores sci-fi questions of what it means to be human, to exist, to live.  Dystopia movies like Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men, Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Mike Judge's Idiocracy, show humanity and society hanging on but everything falling apart. These are movies just before the apocalypse. Secret Movie Club founder.programmer Craig Hammill takes a look at many of these movies and how years like 1971 and 2006 when the US was at war both internally and internationally produced dystopia sci-fi classics that mirrored our own anxiety and worry. 

This week on Movie Mistrial, we dive into the dystopian delirium of Stanley Kubrick's most controversial film: A Clockwork Orange.A Clockwork Orange is a fearless, visually striking exploration of free will, violence, and state control. With its unsettling mix of classical music, surreal production design, and Malcolm McDowell's chilling yet magnetic performance as Alex, the film continues to provoke debate and challenge moral comfort zones decades after its release.Though hailed as a masterpiece by some, others view A Clockwork Orange as a film that relishes its disturbing imagery too much. Its graphic violence and stylized approach can be deeply unsettling—raising questions about whether its critique of brutality crosses the line into indulgence.Join us as we unpack the legacy, the controversy, and the ethics of A Clockwork Orange. Is it a visionary warning—or a cinematic provocation without restraint?Connect with us and share your thoughts:Twitter: http://tiny.cc/MistrialTwitterFacebook: http://tiny.cc/MistrialFBInstagram: http://tiny.cc/MistrialInstaVisit our website, www.moviemistrial.com, for more captivating episodes and to stay up-to-date with all things movies.

To kick off our next series (24th!) -- we are looking into an overlooked sci-fi action film from one of the 90's genre favorites, Roland Emmerich. Set upon a 44th Moon Mining Colony and starring that guy from Fright Night, this film has so many prop helicopters and packs of cigarettes it would make your father proud. DISCLAIMER: LANGUAGE AND SPOILERS!CW/TW: MOVIE CONTAINS SAMOON 44dir. Roland Emmerichstarring: Michael Pare; Dean Devlin, Malcolm McDowell

We're celebrating someone's birthday with something they never asked for, so happy birthday to Alan Jordan, we guess? Host segments: Devori is the cheese, and the cheese stands alone; Hawk is not committed to the bit; Palance-ing all over the place; if not uncle, why uncle-shaped?; the illustrious role of "woman,"; Jeff needs to write down what he watches; Clockwork Orange-ed by the Swamp of Sadness; #AshIsABetterHawk; winsome nums.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/damagereport and get on your way to being your best self. Trump rambles about magnets. Trump plans to send more than the National Guard to cities. Pete Hegseth only wants to meet with clean-shaven troops. Trump brags about his brain and a “perfect” MRI. Republicans want to deport Mamdani. Anti-trans culture wars have failed in one state. ICE officials are being replaced as they become more aggressive. Host: John Iadarola (@johniadarola) ***** SUBSCRIBE on YOUTUBE TIKTOK  ☞        https://www.tiktok.com/@thedamagereport INSTAGRAM  ☞   https://www.instagram.com/thedamagereport TWITTER  ☞         https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport FACEBOOK  ☞     https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT

In this episode of the Book Faire Podcast, Anthony discusses the alarming rise of book bans in the United States, highlighting a recent report by PEN America that reveals thousands of instances of censorship in schools. The conversation delves into the implications of banning books, particularly focusing on the controversial novel 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess, exploring its themes of violence, morality, and the importance of freedom to read. Anthony argues against censorship, emphasizing the need for equal access to literature and the dangers of government overreach in determining what can be read in schools.

Disney Discussions is back with a comparison between 1959's Sleeping Beauty & 2014's Maleficent! Sleeping Beauty may be a classic but it's a movie Mike had never seen; tune in to hear his thoughts as well as the other's on this 65 year old movie and the 11 year old prequel/retelling from the villain's perspective. Dan, Megan, Mike & Ria also talk about the transition from animation to live-action, Angelina Jolie's performance, the changed aspects between movies, Sharlto Copley's bizarre rendition of Stefan, the fairies, legacy and of course; Mr Chanterelle! The previous episode of Disney Discussions where our gang spoke about Lilo & Stitch 1 & 2 with special guest Natalie! https://tinyurl.com/2bs7kker For the other Disney Discussions, check GCC episodes; 155, 163, 176, 180, 192, 198, 207, 218, 223, 239 & 247 while their 3rd, 8th, 12th & 15th discussions are on Spider-Dan & The Secret Bores' podcast in late Sept 2022, August 2023, May 2024 & April 2025, or you find every DD episode on this YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcO1Ib_BGD8ajqsEDJPAYC0DSuIUqa26e  Ria's Instagram: @RiaCarrogan, @TheRomantasyCoven & @FemmeOnCollective – The Femme On Collective is found on any podcast feed and here: https://femmeon.show and Romantasy Coven is found here: https://podfollow.com/1799664171   You can find Spider-Dan's show, Patreon & further information on his website https://spiderdanandthesecretbores.com or follow him on Instagram: @Spiderdansecretbores Find Megan on Instagram: @GrittsGetsFit or at https://Patreon.com/GenuineChitChat Find all of Mike's social media & other links at https://linktr.ee/GenuineChitChat All supporters of Mike on Patreon have been receiving bonus episodes, including reviews on A Clockwork Orange, Thunderbolts, Venom 3 and more, as well as early access! Support at www.patreon.com/GenuineChitChat or https://ko-fi.com/GenuineChitChat If you're a Star Wars fan, check out Star Wars Chit-Chat for Mike's in-depth reviews, breakdowns & things you missed episodes for Andor, The Clone Wars and more, on any podcast app or on YouTube: https://podfollow.com/starwarschitchat & https://youtube.com/@starwarschitchat Guest Spots: Mike went on the 20th Century Geek podcast to talk about Child's Play, here: https://pod.fo/e/32462c Spider-Dan was on 20th Century Geek to talk about Child's Play 2: https://pod.fo/e/32c749 Megan & Ria were on Back To The Filmography, talking How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3k9F02YfZnZQgeJ2g3QM1E?si=jlZVQXpfSH-d1MJ0LeHiGw Please review/rate, subscribe and share – it helps the show out an incredible amount!

Join screenwriter Stuart Wright as he dives into movies that changed your life with filmmaker Matt Harvey, in this engaging episode of 3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life. Explore Mad Max: Fury Road impact, A Clockwork Orange analysis, and The Memento influence on her personal growth and cinema's transformative power. Matt Harvey also discusses the creation of the powerful artwork and making of the album A SINGLE FLOWER Movies That Changed Your Life   Find out about how and why screenwriter Matt Harvey turns her screenplays into novels and the lasting impact of cinema with Stuart Wright's movie podcast.   [1:45] Why should you be thinking about turning your screenplays into novels. [6:50] The music is abstract and cinematic [8:30] How do you know a song is done? [14:30] The artwork joins the narrative of music together. [16:00] Contribution of Godspeed You Black Emperor!'s Sophie Trudeau [18:00] Pulling the artwork together – influences and inspirations [16:30] 3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life Mad Max: Fury Road impact  [17:15] Matt Harvey says Mad Max: Fury Road is the film he judges all other films against. How it encapsulates everything about why you want go to movies. A Clockwork Orange analysis [35:30] Matt Harvey shares how A Clockwork Orange was an important film for him as a young film lover in high school, university era, pretending to be a film buff but still has at least 1000 other films before he could claim to be that. Parasite Influence   [27:43] Matt Harvey talks about how Parasite is a film that stayed in his mind for a long, long time after he left the theatre. Everything is so well crafted. The storytelling is amazing. It gets under your skin. An instant masterpiece. Key Takeaways:   - Discover how movies that changed your life shape personal and professional growth. - Learn about how WE LOST THE SEA create their instrumental post-rock music - Learn about Matt Harvey's influences and inspirations, and the process for coming up with the artwork for the album. - Understand cinema's transformative power through Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Parasite (2019)  - Full show notes and transcript:  About the Guest:   Matt Harvey is a graphic designer and guitarist in the instrumental post-rock band WE LOST THE SEA. We Lost The Sea's website https://www.welostthesea.com Matt Harvey's website http://www.graphicatharsis.com/about-me Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts for more movies that impacted your life!  Share your favourite movies that impacted your life on X (@leytonrocks) and leave a 5-star review and tell us which 3 films impacted your adult life. Best ones get read out on the podcast. Credits:   Intro/Outro music: *Rocking The Stew* by Tokyo Dragons (⁠https://www.instagram.com/slomaxster/⁠)  Written, produced, and hosted by Stuart Wright for [Britflicks.com](⁠https://www.britflicks.com/britflicks-podcast/⁠)   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Celestial Insights Podcast, the show that brings the stars down to Earth! Each week, astrologer, coach, and intuitive Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste will be your guide. Her website is astrologybyceleste.com.  

Gaming & fatherhood are the main topics this week with the amazing Dan Belgrave! Dan & Mike have collaborated in the past on GCC, the podcast Superheroes For Dummies and more, but this week they're honing-in on two incredibly important aspects of Dan's life; being a dad and video games! In their discussion, they talk about the challenges of fatherhood and the balancing of time one must adhere to, while also talking about the many incredible things that come along with it. After talking about Dan's son, the duo move into video-game-territory in more detail, including early memories of gaming, why they love it, Ghosts of Tsushima, and so much more – this is one for the gamers and the dads! Find Dan on IG @dark_ronin84 and @black_blur84 or on TikTok @manlikedan84. Dan is involved in a new collaborative podcast project, which will be launching very soon, so keep your eyes & ears peeled! Dan was last on GCC all the way back on episode 115, so dive into the back catalogue to listen! Previous episodes of GCC have included Tony (A.R.) Farina talking about his Sense & Sensibility adaptation, Seth Singleton talking about Comics Lit, celebrating Where I'm From 200 with Alyson Shelton, interviews & reviews from the Forbidden Worlds Film Festival and discussing The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda novel with its author, Suyi Davies Okungbowa! All Patreon supporters have been receiving bonus episodes, including reviews on A Clockwork Orange, Thunderbolts, Venom 3 and more, as well as early access! Support at www.patreon.com/GenuineChitChat or https://ko-fi.com/GenuineChitChat If you're a Star Wars fan, check out Star Wars Chit-Chat for Mike's in-depth reviews, breakdowns & things you missed episodes for Andor, The Clone Wars and more, on any podcast app or on YouTube: https://podfollow.com/starwarschitchat & https://youtube.com/@starwarschitchat Guest Spots: Talking Child's Play, after watching it for the first time, on the 20th Century Geek: https://pod.fo/e/32462c Another episode of Disney Discussions is out where Mike & Dan spoke about Lilo & Stitch 1 & 2 with Megan, Ria & guest Natalie! https://tinyurl.com/2bs7kker Mike has been on the 20th Century Geek podcast, reviewing Superman '78, Superman II, the Super/Man documentary and Superman 2025! https://pod.fo/e/2bea07 Find all of Mike's social media & other links at https://linktr.ee/GenuineChitChat Please review/rate, subscribe and share – it helps the show out an incredible amount!

First Aired June, 4, 2023Stanley Kubrick creates some of his finest work. No, not Clockwork Orange. No, not The Shinning *gasp.* What does any great director aspire to achieve? The moon baby, the moon! Don't worry Flat Earthers we'll keep it all under the dome....or not...at the very least we'll keep it vague and unfounded. What we once thought to be a 50/50 scenario between fact or faked moon landing footage, finally has us choosing sides. Let's all listen together and determine if this is one small step for mankind or one giant cannonball into lunar lunacy.Support the showStay curious!

Andrew Heaton is a comedian, political commentator, author, and political orphan best known for his skits on ReasonTV. I've had the pleasure of knowing Andrew for many years and traveling in similar media circles. We both love to chat and interview people, and so when I saw he'd joined Substack, I knew we'd have to do something together. Both Heaton and I love to talk about fantasy and sci-fi, so we cover great fiction that has inspired Andrew's worldview, and we get into the weeds of Andrew's atheism and roots in Eastern Orthodoxy. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.What to expect (Pretty decent AI summary)* Good, evil, and C.S. Lewis. Kent and Heaton, with Lewis's idea that evil is merely “a corruption of good,” and use A Clockwork Orange to probe whether pure malice can really exist.* Demonic dread in a secular mind. Despite skepticism, Kent and Heaton admit demonic possession (and even Ouija boards) still terrifies them—evidence that ancient spiritual anxieties survive modern disbelief.* Wealth and the eye of the needle. Heaton asks whether our unprecedented creature comforts, more than raw income, blunt any sense that we need transcendence, and discusses Jesus' warning about riches.* Eco-Calvinism. Heaton argues parts of today's environmentalism act like a new religion—humanity as fallen, Earth as sacred, redemption through self-denial—echoing Joseph Campbell's predicted “eco-myth”.* Stories that shape a worldview. Heaton shares how Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide taught him the power of shifting perspective; Star Trek and Madeline Miller's Circe reveal why being mortal trumps immortality * Love beyond belief. Leaving the church didn't sever bonds for Andrew Heaton—his old church still checks on him and offers help, showing religion's unmatched knack for forging lasting “kinship networks”.If you want to join up with the Political Orphanage and Andrew Heaton…. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

K-Pop Demon Hunters K-Pop Demon Hunters sounds like a joke title, but this action packed adventure/romance/musical/ martial arts action film… is really something different! The surprise animated hit of the year which has been not only smashing streaming video records (thats Netflix for ya), but also demolishing the music charts (Golden hitting no. 1 on Spotify!) is something nobody saw coming, but now that it’s here we may never be the same! Its a heady mix of Korean mythology, flying swords-person action, heartbreaking romance, radical self acceptance and all with a K-Pop soundtrack that lets be clear… absolutely slaps. We have a special guest for this show, with our beloved Ardella (Bec) chiming in to profess her undying love of this unexpected gem! Dion may have his demonic grump on, but Jill and Quinny both are singing from the hymn-book of hon-moon creation. Synopsis K-Pop Demon Hunters” tells the story of a K-pop girl group, Huntrix, who are also demon hunters, tasked with protecting the world from demons and their king, Gwi-Ma. They use their music to maintain a magical barrier called the Honmoon and work towards strengthening it into the Golden Honmoon, which would permanently banish demons. Their mission is complicated when a rival demon boy band, the Saja Boys, emerges, stealing their fans and weakening the Honmoon. https://youtu.be/gsMp_Oq-_mY As always, a musical magical thank-you to the K-popping demon hunting divas who join in with the conversation on the Twitch stream, live each Tuesday night at 7:30pm AEDT. And an especially huge thanks to any of the glow stick waving uber fans who are kind enough to support us by programming a tip in our jar via Ko-Fi, or subscribing on twitch… every bit helps us to keep the honmoon strong and if not golden, a bit bronzed… If you feel so inclined drop us a sub we really love them, The more subby mc-sub-faces we get, the more Emotes You get! https://youtu.be/3JTVQTk36R8?si=CPEwLl_mx84YG1Iw https://youtu.be/yebNIHKAC4A?si=ImoyGFkIO-pC3a99 https://youtu.be/983bBbJx0Mk?si=_B-EAl_rChUeZ8c0 WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK! Send in voicemails or emails with your opinions on this show (or any others) to info@theperiodictableofawesome.com Please make sure to join our social networks too!  We're on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TPToA/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/TPToA Facebook: www.facebook.com/PeriodicTableOfAwesome Instagram: www.instagram.com/theperiodictableofawesome/ Full text transcript Dion  Ohh hello and welcome to the periodic Table of awesome. Well, we’re getting on to this Tuesday night, going down the good old road of something Netflix. Are you related? Hello. Yes.  Quinny  Hello, we’re going down. And we’re going down, down, down.  Speaker 3  I know.  Quinny  What, John, why aren’t?  Dion  You singing. I don’t understand the concept. What the **** is happening? This is not a regular. Hi. My name is Dion. I’m joined tonight by Queenie and I’m joined by Jill. And I’m joined by Beck. Pop. Hello, pop. It’s been a while. Thanks for joining us. This one.  Quinny  Hey, welcome back.  Dion  Because yeah, for your viewing pleasure, you’re helping us talk about K pop.  Ardella  I am. I am this cultural phenomenon has been on repeat in my household for the last month, so I’m thrilled to talk about it.  Speaker  Hi.  Jill  Oh.  Dion  Oh.  Ardella  On the Internet.  Dion  A month.  Quinny  Yeah, yeah.  Ardella  OK, we are late to this party.  Dion  I am but I I’m 100% late to this party only because. Yeah, sorry.  Quinny  All right.  Dion  Good to you.  Quinny  No, no, no. I like I said, I actually talked about it. I don’t know the weekend it came out or the like. I watched it because I had nothing else on. I was sitting on the couch and I was like, that looks entertaining. I’ll just put that on in the background. And was then kind of like this is ******* cool. And then when in the next episode, I’m like Jill, Jill, Jill, you gotta you gotta check it out. You gotta check it. And she’s like.  Jill  Like, leave me alone. Otherwise I won’t watch.  Speaker 4  Yeah, yeah. And then the.  Quinny  It was like Jill, Jill, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, and she’s like, leave me alone.  Jill  Next, let’s do yeah. Sorry, it’s it’s the Aries. You can’t tell me what to do.  Quinny  Yeah, the license.  Ardella  Can I just say though, despite being one of the longest bloody trailers in the world, I. I’m so impressed by how little it manages to give away, and I wonder if we can manage to give away a similar level of not spoilers.  Jill  Yeah.  Quinny  Yeah, we can. We can. I mean we can. We also do a. Spoilery bit after we’ve done the thing, but.  Ardella  I remember how this works.  Quinny  OK, OK.  Ardella  I also remember that we often suck it, not giving too many spoilers in the free spoiler bit.  Quinny  This is a good point. Well made.  Jill  OK, we’re going to be as vague as.  Quinny  Possible. Yeah. So how did your come to it? Did you just find it on Netflix? Did did somebody recommend?  Jill  It to you. I know. Yeah. Somebody annoyed. Me to watch it, yeah.  Dion  No, Quinn. He made me watch it.  Ardella  Yes. Yeah. Did he tape your eyelids open and struck you to the chair? Yeah.  Dion  Yeah, it’s 100% Clockwork Orange, me. For this but but I’ve got this.  Speaker 1  Yep.  Quinny  And I’m not sad. I’m not. I’m not. Embarrassed about that?  Dion  I’ve got this weird. Sort of tick now that I have to keep kind of doing this and I feel like I need to do choreographed dances every now and again. So I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t know anything about.  Jill  Can teach you.  Quinny  See, I don’t think we were fully aware that Beck was as into this as not as until like you you posted a video to us. You’re like look at.  Dion  Excellent.  Speaker 4  This did you dance?  Dion  Like ohh OK, you know, we’re gonna talk about stuff that, like quite blatantly. I have absolutely no ******* idea what’s going on.  Jill  I mean.  Dion  We might as well open the floor up to people who do know what the **** is.  Ardella  Going on, but have you watched it dear?  Dion  Yes, I watched it from the start to the last song.  Ardella  Great. How? How the **** do you still? Have no idea what is going on then.  Dion  Have you seen the film?  Ardella  It’s a very cromulent storyline.  Speaker 2  No wonder.  Dion  Here’s what’s going on. They’re just doing things on screen and singing songs and going. This is good. Yeah. And you’re watching it.  Jill  Yeah, pop music is a part of Concepto dialog. OK, yeah.  Dion  Sure.  Ardella  Dion should never go and see a.  Jill  Thank you.  Speaker 13  Musical is what?  Ardella  We’re hearing this is an even musical.  Quinny  No, no.  Speaker 13  Devil story.  Dion  No, this isn’t far off though.  Speaker 13  Season.  Dion  This is it. Musical level storytelling and I watched it. And I’m not saying like things are bad or weird or out of my comfort zone. It’s just it’s not really for me.  Speaker 3  Dion  And that’s OK, you know.  Ardella  You’re allowed to be wrong.  Jill  He often is.  Quinny  Also I I will point out that that Dean had had a very, very long bad day by the time that this came onto his screen and I kind of get the feeling that it was like.  Speaker 4  Oh.  Quinny  Is that a reasonably accurate description deal?  Dion  Look, you know I’m not. I’m able to separate church and state here. I can understand the value of something even though my personal opinions may have coloured it slightly. That being said, I still don’t really know what’s going on in Capot demon.  Jill  Would you? Would you like this is not.  Speaker 4  Let’s let’s have us.  Dion  I mean, sure, if you think I’ve got it, I wonder if I’ve got any music somewhere. Hang on a second.  Quinny  Yeah. Yeah. OK. K pop. Hang on. What voice am I doing?  Speaker 13  Nothing, right?  Quinny  Well, that’s it. Somebody else better do.  Dion  Ohh no.  Quinny  OK, K pop demon hunters tells the story of A K pop girl group called Hunt Tricks, who are also demon hunters tasked with protecting the world from demons from for their king Guimar. They use their music to maintain a magical barrier called the honeymoon, and work towards strengthening. Hit into the golden Hon moon. Which would permanently vanish.  Ardella  Day and age of Tik toking. And if you’re my age, Instagram, reeling a week after it’s appeared on TikTok. We’ve basically have a a huge collection of people who’ve basically seen half the movie through real. Or tick tocks and then go. OK, I may as well go and watch this movie now. So I think that a lot of people have had that experience when Quinny mentioned it. I then was like, let’s watch the trailer for this and was on board after watching the trailer and.  Speaker 1  Mm-hmm.  Ardella  My partner and I sat down and. Watched it over Friday night. We were amazed by the number of layers that this movie has that you do not get from the trailer, and I was on board just with what that surface level stuff was already.  Quinny  Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that was the thing that surprised me. It was just the the like from a trailer, like or because I didn’t even see a trailer. I just saw it pop up on Netflix, as you know, the the, The little preview that starts playing. And I was like.  Ardella  Yeah, that’s the trailer.  Quinny  Well, but it I didn’t even watch the whole thing like it was just sort of there in the background and I was. I don’t know what that is. But **** it looks cool.  Dion  Did you just hit it like a fricking pokie machine button? As soon as it popped up, you were like chin, let’s do this.  Quinny  My good addition. Yeah, sorry, Jill. You’re gonna.  Jill  Say something. Yeah, I think at the time, quinny, when you said. Hey, Jill, have you watched K pop demon hunters yet? I think my best friend had also watched it and had, like. Posted a story about it and all I heard all over Instagram was the the main song from it Golden. It was on everything and not just like animated clips of the movie, but like just people’s reels. They’re using that song. And so I was like, oh, no.  Speaker 4  Hmm.  Jill  This is the hype zone. Jill doesn’t like being.  Speaker 4  5th.  Jill  In the hype zone. Jill wants to avoid ever watching stuff that gets into the hype zone. I still have not watched Everything Everywhere, all at once because it got too hyped, so this was heading in that direction and went. Queenie, when you said to me, have you watched it yet? I was like, I’ll get to it.  Ardella  Was interesting that you mentioned that Jill, because there are theme crossovers.  Jill  Yeah. So I don’t push me. But then I. Kept hearing the bloody music. I’m like ****, this is a catchy song and then I think it got to like the following weekend and I’m like, I’m not gonna talk to anybody about this, but I’m gonna watch.  Speaker  It.  Jill  And I was like, oh, that’s great.  Quinny  Because I’ve seen so many people who, like, have watched it, and then it’s just become their whole personality.  Jill  Ohh yeah, I mean that was on heavy rotation like the album it was. It became a hyper fixation for a.  Quinny  Yes.  Jill  Week.  Dion  Wait, so can I just get this one like coming into this just a little bit blind, you know, from this whole stuff. So you’re telling me that there are real people in the real world that saw the small part of this and it’s become a hyper fixed?  Speaker 4  Yeah.  Dion  Which is mirroring the fact that the fans of this band in the fake world have a hyper fixation problem.  Ardella  So interestingly, interestingly, the soda pop song by the Demon Boy Band for a very long time there took over the charts from the actual you know, K pop boy band of the moment BTS.  Quinny  You say?  Speaker 4  Oh yes.  Dion  The soju boys. I love the soju boys, they’re great.  Speaker 4  Ohh I love some soju.  Quinny  Beck, how do you feel about this? Pineapple surgery.  Speaker 1  What?  Dion  Soulja boys.  Jill  I like the lemon one, it’s.  Dion  Delicious.  Jill  Kind of funky, but it’s good.  Dion  Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like the one with the six pack.  Ardella  But what’s what’s really interesting about the soundtrack to this as compared to a traditional musical, is in a traditional musical, you’ve always got that one song that everyone skips or tunes out goes to the bathroom during it’s usually the one that the token old man sings.  Jill  Ohh OK.  Speaker 13  But.  Ardella  If you think about it, is.  Quinny  It’s the talk singing 1. You give it to the guy who can barely sing.  Jill  Ohh yeah yeah. Jeff Goldblum. Number in wicked. Yeah, exactly.  Ardella  There are no low points in this soundtrack and.  Quinny  In new tiles.  Ardella  I think even. The one song that when I was watching the movie for the first time I was like, this is kind of my bathroom breaks on. When I went back and listened to the soundtrack.  Speaker 13  Through by.  Ardella  Wolf it was still a banger. I was still singing along. I was still fully on board. I was finding all the hidden messages in the lyrics. I don’t think there is a a dud on this soundtrack.  Quinny  Nope. And as of 2 days ago, Golden went to literal #1 on the Billboard chart like it’s ******* stupid.  Ardella  Something that’s really cool about the creatives behind this entire movie is that the movie has so many authentic South Korean cultural elements to it that it has become huge in South Korea as well. And many, many people there.  Speaker 3  Hmm.  Ardella  Absolutely love it, which is so wonderful because there have has been a lot of outcry in the past about South Korean culture being misrepresented. And this is a wonderful example of cultural appreciation rather than appropriation, and one of the reasons behind that is that they have actually included many South Korean genuine K pop stars and producers, writers, and the singing voice of. The main main individual from home tricks. She was a K pop star in training who went away to go to school and stopped Kpop training. And when she came back to try and be a K pop star they told her she was too old and couldn’t do it. Anymore. And so she became a writer and a producer. Of K pop music instead, and now is singing on this and has gone to the top of the charts so incredibly hard. And I think that that lends this incredible authenticity to it, but also is kind of like a stuff you to the industry at the same time, which is amazing.  Dion  Because it’s look, it’s a curious thing about the the making of it, because actually, yes, I did. I watched the whole thing and then I even watched the credits where they showed all the behind the scenes bits of the people in there. And I thought that was really interesting. And then reading more about it and trying to find out more about it. I was like, oh, that’s interesting that they have. A bunch of Korean American. Others. Doing the voice work, but then a bunch of South Korean singers doing the song work and I was just a little bit like oh, oh, OK like why, why the need for the split like?  Ardella  They’re two different skill sets. Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Quinny  You you don’t find that many actors who can sing that ******* well. Like who can sing to the level that is required of.  Ardella  Yeah. The vocal range in golden is outstanding. That is like 3 octaves of belting. That’s insanity.  Dion  I’m asking the question to not because I’m attacking the I’m not asking the question because I might. Why? They have to get more. You know, why is it a whole bunch of different sort of people in there?  Jill  Deon, Every Disney musical movie had a talking voice actress and a singing voice actress as well. It was.  Dion  I’m pretty sure John Oliver did all the singing for his parts as Zazu, right?  Ardella  Not all. Yeah, not all of them. I think the more recent ones like Moana, the.  Dion  Of course I know.  Jill  Yeah. The more, yeah, I mean, the classic ones, I mean the ones from the.  Ardella  Voice actor sings as well.  Jill  90s when we were kids.  Ardella  Yeah. Speaking of which.  Dion  Sure.  Jill  Yes, the travesty of casting Leah Salonga in this movie.  Ardella  Yeah. And then giving her 30 seconds of background vocals to do. Leah Salonga was the singing voice of Jasmine and Mulan, and is an incredible musical theatre.  Jill  Yeah, crazy.  Ardella  Actress and amazing singer and is in there as like the the main mentor character for the Huntress Girls. And has no real singing. It’s so background that I didn’t even notice when it happened.  Jill  It’s devastating, but.  Quinny  Yeah. Yeah. Like, like putting, I don’t know. One of the. Yeah. Mariah Carey is a background character.  Speaker 3  Yeah, yeah. Like what?  Ardella  Mariah would never let that happen.  Quinny  No, no, absolutely not. So what was it about it that that sort of caught your eye? Immediately because I know what put me on the back foot straight away and made me go. That’s different. But I’d love to. Know what you guys thought?  Dion  What? What? Yeah. So there’s two. There’s two parts in that which which caught your eye. And there was a bit that caught you on the back foot which.  Quinny  Was your question what? What caught your what? One you were talking about excited you, really. Grabbed you. What?  Dion  Was that what put you? What put you on the front foot? Linked you into this show?  Quinny  The. What? Yeah, yeah.  Jill  The music I think, like I I enjoy the odd K pop. I’m. I’m not a die hard. I’m not a I don’t have a bias. I’m not like fully into the K pop culture. But I do enjoy the music peripherally, and so I thought like the songs were so catchy. And then when I saw, like, some of the animated stuff, I’m like, ohh, that’s very reminiscent of the spider verse animation. And then I realized it was a Sony thing. And then I’m like, OK. Well, this is probably going to be good.  Ardella  Yeah. I think the thing that put me off was the time.  Speaker 4  Well.  Ardella  What the hell is that? Title K pop Demon Hunters makes me think that this is trash and it is trash, but the best kind of crack trash. It’s amazing.  Jill  Quinny  MHM.  Jill  OK, you know what? It’s 100% tapped into for me was the female power story, but based in music like. I was one of those kids that was like ohh yeah, I wanna be in a girl band like that was like one of my fantasy things when I was. A child, but. Also, like yeah, being a superhero too. And like Sailor Moon. Is so intrinsic for me. It really had those kind of vibes of like, you know, magical girls that can save the planet.  Quinny  Yeah. Yeah, that’s one of the first things I why I was like, ohh you would love it. Just for the magical girl factor. Like the the costume changes the.  Speaker 4  What’s this?  Quinny  The that that very Sailor Moon kind of vibe.  Ardella  What’s so interesting for me about? The introduction, just the opening sequence was that.  Speaker 2  Hmm.  Speaker  That.  Ardella  Funky kind of intro music. The the K pop music that it starts with reminds me a lot of earlier K pop when I was into it and some of my South Korean friends just roll their eyes at me because I think that my idea of K pop is like someone. These days, being like my favorite band is the Backstreet Boys. You know, it’s like ohh sweetie.  Jill  OK. Ardella  There we go. Yeah, you’re you’re the the shush now, grandma. Everything’s fine. Because my my favourites were like the Wonder Girls. And you know quite quite early K pop. I think, you know, compared to what’s in today, but.  Dion  You can.  Ardella  It’s just so funky and fun, and the fact that. It immediately started with the classic K pop mixing of Korean lyrics in with English lyrics, and then the flip to rap in there as well, and the rap being in both Korean and English, it really grabbed me in that I was like, OK, this is. Actually K pop it, it’s not just in the name, they are actually going with it and I found it really interesting learning afterwards that the K pop element was the last thing to be added into this storyline.  Dion  Yeah.  Ardella  Interesting. Yeah, that that was the last kind of piece of the puzzle when they were developing this movie was creating it as a K pop story.  Dion  Which is very strange because I think the thing that made me. Sort of get on board a bit with it. Like a bit more was the fact that it was self aware enough to understand some of? The. Insanity behind massive mass market fandom? Not that anyone is immune to it, like it’s all around when you go looking hard and you know the West. The West has borrowed from the that that world very heavily in the past. Our last Spice Girls etcetera, etcetera.  Quinny  Not that hard.  Dion  Was the ability for it to just to be self aware take a bit of fun, have a bit of fun with it, and then continue on go like, yeah, we acknowledge that there’s this there is there is some weird **** that happens in that world and we’re just going to lean into it and understand that it’s part of it. And then move. For with the rest of it, you know, apart from the animation is great and the characters were somewhat likeable.  Quinny  There, there, there are two things that got me straight up. So initially looking at it, I thought oh, wow, this reminds me of what, KD A yeah, which, you know, is the the League of Legends K Pop group. And I was like, OK, we’re obviously kind of gonna. Yes. That’s the thing there.  Dion  Thank you. You’re not like you’re saying things like Katie and I’m like, wait, is it three letter acronym? Should I know? What the **** is going on here? Kill. Kill, death, aggression.  Quinny  K/BA.  Dion  Right, OK. So just just help me with. This it’s a foreign territory.  Quinny  They they are a a AK pop group that was done by the animation company that did League of Legends. So they’ve they’ve got a couple of songs that I actually have no idea how many songs they have about that. And I looked at that and I thought, OK, there’s a touch point. But the thing that and I have the same thing. Hip hop demon hunters. What a stupid ******* name. But watching it, I got to about 5 minutes in and the moment that they’re on the plane and. And they allowed their characters to be ugly and to do stupid faces. And they’re beautiful characters who are fully, you know, gorgeous and made-up, and everything are burping and, like, eating ramen and fighting like ******* demons. But at the same time, they are. Very, very comedic and and I was like oh. ****, this is really kind of like as as soon as I watch it. I was like, this is gonna play to a a female crowd so. Well because it’s not saying look at these perfect, you know, pristine things. These are people who just want to have snacks and lie on the couch and you know relax and be ******* normal. Humans, but at the same time, they want to be super powerful. You know, warlocks that are protecting the world from demons and **** like that. Like this is every little girl’s ******* dream combined and. I was like, holy ****.  Jill  Yeah, like women can be multifaceted. They’re not just put into one box.  Quinny  The power of that.  Jill  As one thing.  Ardella  They can, but there’s absolutely no way an actual K pop band would be allowed to pig out on.  Speaker 4  Junk. Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s.  Ardella  That’s not happening in the real life world, I’m sorry to say. That is. I mean, when we think about.  Dion  But but but. The dropping in out of a plane? Sure.  Speaker 4  Just.  Ardella  Kind of disbelief there. Day on. Yeah, carries through. It carries through. But I do think that it’s interesting having that acknowledgement of. I mean it, it’s it’s an an issue, an underlying issue. I think the treatment of pop stars and this isn’t just a problem in South Korea with K pop or in Japan with J Pop, although it’s a very similar kind of culture from my understanding, yeah, in the their K pop J pop. Machines that churn out these bands that are designed and kind of almost bread to create hype and money and. All of this, we see it in like Dan was saying in. The Spice Girls.  Quinny  Yep.  Ardella  As well, we see it in these manufactured bands that have been created to take our love and to take our money, OK.  Quinny  The eagles.  Jill  There’s literally another program on Netflix right now called building the band.  Ardella  Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I think it’s really interesting then to look at our K pop demon band. And see that they are. They’re they’re saying the quiet part out loud with with the demon boy band here. But the reality is that that is what all K pop bands are. They are there to take the love to take the energy and to take the money of their fans. And they’ve been created. Expressly to do that. And so I I just find that really interesting to have. That kind of duality on display where we’re saying no hunt tricks are the the good guys when the reality is that. All K pop bands are there to do exactly what the Demon Boy band are doing.  Dion  Yes.  Quinny  And that duality is also encompassed in the lead character as well that, yeah, there are so many elements of things that she is not comfortable with. There’s elements of her public perception that she’s not comfortable with and. You kind of like the stories of the three characters. You know that that one of them is the bad girl who doesn’t get on with her family. The other ones come from, you know, America and is is a a rapper, but she’s also really sweet. All of these things are. Prepackaged they’re made to make them assailable, you know, definable feature.  Ardella  A personality.  Quinny  Yeah, yeah, that people can latch on to, but then you’re also watching and going. Yeah, they’re really funny. And they’re really cool. And I like them. And, you know, they’re they’re little horn dogs. And they, they, they just turn into popcorn and.  Dion  Thank, thankfully. Yeah, I mean, thankfully, you know, they they expressed all those lessons and of course that was the end of it. And this is all we have when. There’s one. Oh, no. That’s why there’s going to be sequels and a TV show and a live stage show. And it’s like, oh, oh, no, the demons won. Ohh no.  Jill  That’s one thing that I I would like to talk about a bit more is like the actual structure of the story. I know we’re not gonna give anything away, but I was interested that it was a movie. TV and not a TV series because I felt like there could have been a lot more character development actually happened throughout a TV series. I wanted more about the back story of the girl’s mentor. I wanted a little bit more time with the Saga boys in the demon. From in general, yeah, just a little bit more fleshing out of story I thought would be great.  Ardella  Apparently it was originally 3 hours long and I. Saw. Someone, I think it might have been tally in the in the chat mentioned that earlier.  Jill  I’d watch 3 hours of this.  Quinny  Yeah, I’m there for, I mean.  Speaker 3  Actually really.  Ardella  Joined a 90 minute movie though.  Speaker 4  We have so many long.  Speaker 3  Yeah, yeah.  Ardella  *** films coming out these days and the pacing in this felt great. I would much rather be left wanting more than be left sitting on my couch, scrolling Instagram halfway through because I’m like, this is a this is a.  Speaker  I wanted.  Jill  Sure.  Ardella  Dull bed.  Quinny  Yeah, yeah, this is the song that I’m not into. And that’s the reprise of the song. I’m not. Into.  Speaker 13  It’s the old man song again.  Speaker  Ohh.  Quinny  It’s something I did like though is is while I was watching it. I you know the first number I was like ohh yeah, this is pretty cool. And then within the 1st 13 minutes, there were three, you know, musical numbers, completely different songs. Like I was watching, and I was like, oh ****, this is a secret musical. It’s not that secret, but it’s a proper musical and that, I mean, for me, for my, my taste, that was ******* great sick. Amazing and like to your point, Dion, I immediately then go totally see. This is a stage. And to your point, Beck. Ohh one of you. I’m not sure who was. Yes, I could see it working as a series because there’s a lot more to explore, and while Dion, I know that you’re like the capitalist pigs, they’re just trying to make money out of the kids sometimes. That’s OK. Because this is a ******* cool story.  Speaker 4  Yeah, I I mean.  Ardella  If you do like everyone wants our money, it is a we live in a society.  Speaker  Oh.  Jill  Here at the in the high points of the capitalism, my friend.  Ardella  Yeah, but I think that there is a a way that feel feels friendly and genuine to do that and this is hitting that nail for me. And there’s a way that feels inauthentic and.  Speaker  Hmm.  Ardella  Cash grabby and that’s not this at the moment. We’ll see how many spin offs they try and squeeze out of this and when it tips that line.  Speaker  Sure.  Ardella  But I think at the moment it still feels.  Dion  And in 15 years, when Netflix rolls back around and makes a live action version of the K pop Demon Hunters franchise, we will know hey. Yeah, now.  Ardella  Warm and flat.  Quinny  Ohh, so he said. They’re not doing it.  Dion  If you’re talking about.  Quinny  They they they got, they got absolutely ******* pilloried on the Internet when the initial run of things that they announced was live action. Make stage show and ongoing series. Everyone said do not ******* do this live action they.  Dion  Quinny. Went OK. Producers don’t care. It’s just that now there’s a lot of complaints. They’ll wait till they’re less complaints and then they’ll do it anyway for a tax break. That’s how the system works, quinny.  Speaker 4  That.  Quinny  So you’ve got another K pop.  Dion  People.  Speaker 6  Exactly.  Speaker 3  For me.  Speaker  You know like.  Dion  Stuff will happen that way, unfortunately and sometimes, fortunately, anyway, philosophically.  Ardella  Well, the sequel has already been greenlit by Netflix, which is unsurprising given that this is apparently in the couple of months that it’s been out a month and 1/2 that it’s been out. It has already topped all other animated movies on Netflix for the most watched.  Dion  Yeah. And we’re a good time behind as we have already. Explain like in in terms of the pickup of this is that came out in June, you know and it’s now **** me, August.  Quinny  Yes.  Speaker  Yeah.  Quinny  That’s the official date.  Dion  Yeah, yeah. Every time I look at the calendar these days.  Ardella  It is now **** me.  Dion  I’m like ****. Anyway.  Quinny  I’m Jill. I want to know on your your new rating system, how many? How many tips have you got less after this?  Speaker 4  ****. No. I think that’s a good.  Jill  2 tips off.  Dion  Ohh no **** left.  Speaker 4  Yeah, yeah, I it it. Yeah, it. Put my ****.  Jill  Off I enjoyed it a lot more than I.  Dion  Jill is Jill is untited.  Jill  Was expecting to because like. I know Queenie loves animation and so his glowing review was like Oh well, it’s gotta be good. And then also my friend who loves K pop and and animation as well and even her husband who enjoys animation like both raved about it. So I’m like, OK well. This has got to be good. That kind of got me in to watch it, but it’s so strange that like. I then convinced my other friend group to watch it and they were all like, oh, this is very kiddy and every everybody else thought it was. It was quite junior, but I didn’t really. Get that read.  Quinny  No.  Jill  They were like ohh it seems like a bit of a teen bop kind of thing and I’m like, well, I am 15 years old. Guys like, that’s why I like it.  Speaker 4  I think this.  Ardella  Is very Shrek adjacent in the figure. Pitch the kid. TV like category if you want to put.  Jill  Yeah, but there’s.  Ardella  It there, but it’s so grown up.  Jill  This was the stuff for the horn bag older women like.  Speaker 4  Is that what you say, Shrek? Yes.  Quinny  She’s not.  Dion  Shrek can get it.  Speaker  I mean.  Dion  Shrek can’t get. I mean, sorry. Before we go into the ratings, which we should do soon to try.  Speaker 4  Yeah.  Quinny  No, no. We need to talk about so.  Dion  And keep in time.  Quinny  Many more things.  Dion  Yeah, there are many things to talk about. The the Quinny, you did raise a point to me the other day talking about K pop demon hunters, which is going. Yes, it’s an interesting comparison, like an interesting comparison film to perfect blue, which we talked about recently too and.  Speaker 2  Yeah.  Dion  I was like. You may have a point.  Jill  Maybe not a companion piece.  Dion  There.  Quinny  I don’t know. I think I think they’re a fantastic companion faced 11 after the other and just.  Dion  Thematically. Thematically, it’s it’s somewhat similar in in in certain ways, not not the same way, like let’s they’re too.  Jill  Ones are very dark and twisted version.  Dion  Exactly, but they both.  Quinny  Yeah, what’s when’s the demons we met. Along the way.  Dion  But they both talk about fandoms. They both talk about the some of the crushing nature of conformity and having to represent yourself as something you may not be, and the damage that that could do. And. And let’s be honest, yeah, it diverges. Very, very different. But there are interesting themes and it’s really interesting to me to think about that. That film made back in the 90s was like working out these problems then and how far we’ve come and how we relate to it. Now, how creatives are relating to that now in this space with, you know, capable demon hunters is like, yeah, look at all these. Things that are still pretty much a problem, but we’re going to acknowledge that they have been a problem and that, you know, these are the things and but we still keep going because we have good messages that we want to try to put out. And if we could all make some money, that’s. Great. But if we have competition, we will crush. It that’s one take away I got from from like K Pop bands is they crush each other.  Speaker 1  Also.  Dion  As they can.  Jill  In the charts in the.  Dion  Yeah, it’s in the chat, but literally.  Quinny  Charts that I think you know differentiate some really very differently is that in perfect blue fandom is seen as being toxic and dangerous and bad. In this one fandom is is the beautiful glowing. Power of house that will save the world and die on your face. Is telling me that you ain’t buying any of this.  Dion  I think that’s a stretch.  Ardella  Ship, haven’t we all been in a a stadium watching a band that you love and just all singing along at once and just felt that that vibe? I mean, it’s what gets people into cult. So you know that it can be used for good or for ill.  Quinny  I was we we we both watched 11,000 with 11,000 other people. People rolled dice.  Speaker 14  Yeah.  Speaker 1  Yeah.  Dion  I mean I.  Speaker 3  Yeah, it’s.  Dion  Went I went to the Jared Leto 1 and that was fine. I’m normal.  Ardella  It’s a powerful thing, is what I’m getting at, yeah.  Quinny  Yeah.  Dion  I get.  Speaker  Quinny  You and in the chat a couple of people mentioned that there’s a comparison with the Puss in Boots, the last Wish, same automotive.  Ardella  I thought his favorite movie of all time.  Dion  I still haven’t. I still haven’t watched it. Even though you keep telling me I. I know. I know get that ***** kids. You know, like there’s only so many.  Quinny  Fine.  Ardella  Come here. We will. Clockwork Orange you again.  Dion  Alright, time to go to my friend’s house and be forced. Watched it or something.  Quinny  Yeah.  Ardella  That’s how I feel about the drunk DC. Watches that we’ve.  Dion  Oh yeah, we still gonna. Do that one.  Quinny  Hmm.  Dion  I still haven’t seen Aquaman 2. Can we bookend it? Which? One should go first, is it?  Speaker 2  Oh.  Speaker 13  I didn’t even know.  Ardella  There was an Aquaman. Ohh yeah.  Speaker 4  Yes, ******* all.  Dion  Yeah. Anyway, OK, think of your think of your ratings. Yes, rate, rate and rate and spoil.  Speaker 4  Should we right and then spoil? Yeah, yes, yes, yes.  Quinny  And if you have seen it in the chat, drop me some numbers so that I can put them into the thing I love. I love keeping an eye out for them.  Dion  Look, OK, I’ll look. I’ll start. Cause Get Me Out of the way. Why? Not. RIP the Band-Aid. Off, yeah, I look, I had a fun time because it was quite poppy and exciting and the animation is actually quite flawless. I like the characters all had a bit of humanity in them. They weren’t that way. U. Kind of. Everyone kind of worked. There’s definitely a saleable marketable thing going because that blue cat is why is that not a plushy already?  Speaker 4  Oh yes.  Quinny  Going to tell you about the blue cat.  Ardella  Derpy is his name.  Dion  Derpy is great. Yeah. OK, all the like. It’s good. I can see the the bit of the franchise there. And I can also see.  Speaker  He loves derpy.  Dion  Me having to scream when I hear the song again after the yeah, yeah. Yeah. 100% not for me, but I will give it 75. Because yeah, like, I think it’s good. Like if someone said, hey, you know, should I watch K pop diamonds? I’m like, yeah, like, you know, I recommend it to people with small kids. I don’t recommend all the way up to people who are 75. Yeah. I was the whole gamut. You can get something out of it. There is a good message in there.  Ardella  75 yeah.  Dion  And I think it’s quite a little hidden gem or. Unreleased jam, even if you don’t particularly like K Pop.  Quinny  Fair, Jill. Sorry.  Jill  Yeah. Look, I’m so excited to say that I have no tips after this film. It’s been a while. It’s been a while, but I am going to give it a 90.  Speaker  Off.  Quinny  We yellow.  Jill  Been a while since we’ve hit the nines for me, but I love that animation. There were just some moments where I was like. What am I watching like? This is just like the textures and everything were so ******* beautiful. There were moments where I’m like Christ, that looks almost realistic.  Speaker 1  Mm-hmm.  Jill  Loved how everybody had a personality. Everyone was like, different. Had their clerks had their faults, like had their beautiful moments. The only reason why it’s not getting more is because there were just some like small unresolved story things that I wish had been explored a little bit more, but. Other than that. We loved it.  Quinny  Heck, do you want to drop a number?  Ardella  Quinny  Nice.  Ardella  I’m a harsh marker, but what can I say? It’s interesting that you mentioned the animation, Jill, because one of the beautiful things that I’ve learned is that the hunt tricks characters our protagonists are animated in a very traditional way, which means that every second frame they move. Whereas our demon Boy band animated differently where they move every single frame and there are certain times at where it’s poignant in the movie where they swim.  Speaker  Which?  Ardella  Ohh and so there’s there’s lots of super cool things that happen behind the scenes that we don’t consciously recognise, but it’s doing stuff to our brains and I think it’s really, really cool. So yeah, I think the more that I learn about this movie and the work that’s gone in behind the scenes, the more I love it. And that’s why it’s really reaching those top numbers.  Quinny  Oh.  Dion  You gotta respect a bit of filmmaking.  Quinny  Yeah.  Dion  Bit of craft work in there.  Ardella  Exactly.  Quinny  And and that’s very much like the first spider verse. Yes, where like they were animating different characters on different frame rates and you know the the attention to detail. And one of the things that gets me about this is the. The absolute love for Korean culture, but also Korean mythology, and it’s also going to be very, very interesting down the track. Seeing people cosplay from it because already there have been people who have gone to do cosplays of the Soulja Boys and so forth and have had to. That that question of appropriation or appreciation. Is very difficult around certain parts of costumes because the hats are an actual part of a very specific part of Korean culture that you really can’t **** with. Yeah. So like the fact.  Ardella  Historical Korean culture, not even current really Korean culture as far as I’m aware as well.  Quinny  Yeah. Hmm. So yeah, whipping one up out of warbler is is kind of not. Not cool, not kosher. And that kind of.  Ardella  Derpy is my next cosplay. Yeah.  Quinny  Thing. And when we come back from the the and everything, I will talk about Derpy because that’s another piece of amazing Korean history and culture right there. My rating is 95. I ******* watched the **** out of it and love the **** out of it. The like the music aspect of it, I I’m not a big K pop fan or anything like that. I I don’t listen to a lot of that music, but I didn’t care because it was super catchy. The vocals were insane. I love that mix of of like the three different voices and the three different styles. Of the girls like that, you know, one will drop into really American style rap, but they’re all capable of rapping. They’ll all take, you know, high parts, low parts. But at the same time, then mix it with a bunch of really cool choreography and and martial arts. Mix in some extra mythology, add some cute characters. I love the fact that you know secondary characters are given a bit of love to like. The band’s manager is. Not a ********. You know how ******* lovely is it that that you know, you’re not just going? Yeah. The traditional ******** band manager? No, he ******* loves.  Dion  Them. Did you not learn anything from Jersey and the Pussycats? What the? ****.  Speaker  Yeah.  Quinny  Yeah, I I just, I mean, as I was watching, I just kept thinking, Oh my God, this is this is a thing for a generation of of girls to watch and. And relate to and want to be and emulate and I suddenly understood that whole thing that all the girls in primary school would go off and learn dances. And then to tie that whole thing that that you know, people want to do of of singing and dancing with, like, spiritual power and empowerment and protectiveness. I was just like, **** me. So yeah, I got a little love for it. I really don’t have much bad to say about it, which is, I mean, I don’t want to give it 100 because that would be ridiculous, but ****** really enjoyed.  Dion  It you can give it a.  Speaker 13  100 and that’s just the surface story.  Quinny  I know we haven’t even talked about what it all means.  Dion  Can’t wait for you to review the stage musical 350,000 out of.  Quinny  Review it, I’m going. To direct the. *******.  Dion  Which would you like to go? Would you like to meet the? Boys or yeah. With that one, we see who, who we. Talking about here, who are the Sargent boys? Sounds weird?  Speaker  Yeah.  Speaker 3  Look normal.  Speaker 5  Ohh yeah.  Speaker 6  Come on. Take your time. Yeah.  Speaker 14  Just like.  Speaker  Yeah.  Speaker 2  Ohh hot.  Speaker 3  You guys are so gross.  Speaker 6  No, yet you go hot. Then we’ll go. He.  Dion  Ohh that is just harsh. No helping hand there whatsoever. So the Sarja boys are a bit of * ****, really, aren’t they? They’re just *****. Hot *****.  Speaker  Yes.  Jill  Yeah, but they’re hot. They’re hot.  Speaker 4  Hot *****.  Dion  Yeah. Yeah, Jesus.  Jill  I’m going to tell you like we went to smash. What was it like 3 weeks ago? The artist Alley was chocolate block of K pop demon hunters. Art anything? Right with that tiger on, it was sold.  Quinny  Oh.  Dion  Right.  Jill  Out. Yeah, right. Good. There were. There’s a scene in the film where the both of the bands are Hunter Eggs and the Sergeant Boys are doing a meet and greet with fans.  Quinny  Oh my God. So.  Jill  And Abby, the gentleman with the. Tabs instead of signing a piece of paper with his name, he runs like pencil against a piece of paper on his ABS, and that’s his signature. There were drawings of that in the artist Alley for sale. The insanity.  Dion  I love Jesus. Yeah. I mean, OK question here. I don’t understand why I have questions now and spoil the logo is up and we’ll talk about spoil everythings if you like. Yeah, it’s been a month. It’s been out for quite a long time. I get derpy the thing.  Jill  Of this movie.  Speaker 14  Yes.  Dion  But what was with the strange Game of Thrones crossover with the Three Eyed Raven?  Speaker  Quinny  Do you want the?  Speaker 4  It’s not a Game of Thrones crossover deal on.  Dion  Everything’s a Game of Thrones crossover.  Ardella  It’s.  Quinny  Heck, do you wanna take it?  Ardella  Quinty no quinny you take this, you are so keen.  Quinny  No, I was so keen. But I I mean, I’m guessing we’ve probably watched the same explainer videos and stuff.  Speaker 13  No, I I read I don’t. Watch.  Quinny  Ohh God, within you actually.  Jill  Jesus, she’s an intellectual.  Speaker 13  Exactly. Where’s my glasses?  Quinny  Just need to take these things off and becomes derpy. The ******* yeah, well.  Dion  You’re on. You’re on.  Jill  Stick your tongue out.  Dion  New media now not only this traditional lofi media that you may try.  Speaker 2  Oh.  Quinny  Yeah. So OK, it’s not a Raven, it’s a magpie. And in Korean culture, the A, this is a it’s a historical joke. So the, the, the, the tiger and the magpie is the punchline of a historical joke. That tigers were traditionally shown as being the representative of the upper class and of rich culture, and specifically the governing class, and the magpie was the symbol of the lower class, the worker. Pass whatever and the hat which I’ve got to remember the name of. Thank you. If somebody wants to look it up for me, that’d be great. The hat is essentially a symbol of power. And so there’s a joke, or there’s a moment in there where the sorry.  Dion  It’s called a gap. It’s called a get, yeah.  Speaker 4  Yeah.  Jill  Yeah, ginu ginu.  Quinny  So.  Jill  Said he made it for the tiger.  Quinny  So yeah, that’s the joke is that it’s a symbol of power that was meant for the tiger, but the magpie keeps stealing it.  Speaker  Ah.  Quinny  And so it’s the it’s a symbol that the lower class will always get one up on the upper class because the upper class is ******* stupid and that’s why he’s derpy. And you’ll see in a lot of Korean art, tigers are always drawn slightly cross eyed or just a little bit dumb looking.  Jill  Quinny  And it’s because essentially, they’re just going upper class. The stupid look at the smart magpie with three eyes, you can see everything.  Dion  So this is exactly like parasite.  Ardella  Yeah, that’s what we’re saying.  Speaker 4  Yeah.  Dion  No, just that that character representation of the blue cat and the magpie is just parasite as a metaphor.  Quinny  Yeah.  Jill  Yeah. Yep, yeah.  Quinny  And and it makes that sequence where where Derpy comes out and knocks over the plant and then just can’t get it to stand up way too long. Like ohh you stupid.  Speaker  Yes. Thank you.  Dion  But it’s good to know, you know, like, I like those little trivia bits. It’s fun. It’s fun to.  Ardella  Learn. Feel like I I was so. Impressed that for the first time I think ever.  Speaker  Hmm.  Ardella  A Netflix trailer. Managed to intrigue and make me want to watch more and actually get me invested in the story without giving away the actual plot. Yeah, there is. There is a very surface level plot being shown out there and I think now that people are, you know, watching more of the clips on TikTok and Instagram and that sort of thing and watching even the golden video clip, they’ll, you might get spoiled.  Quinny  Hmm.  Ardella  Before watching the movie, if you’ve seen all of that, but for me my first tip popped off in the opening in.  Quinny  In the you’re missing how many sticks are you missing?  Ardella  Well, I have lost the second hit for me when the pattern reveal.  Speaker 7  Hmm.  Ardella  Happened in the.  Speaker  Ah.  Ardella  There was. It is very rare that any movie, a movie directed for adults with high levels of intelligence, they rarely get me with the whoa. What happened there was seeing that coming. This movie did that, I gasped. At that reveal, there were. There was nothing in me that thought that that was coming and that is so rare these days. I am so impressed that this movie called K Pop Demon. And so kind of surface level, you know, just fun on top, managed to have this flip. It had this beautiful level of depth to it. I just really loved that so much. I would have enjoyed, I think, a movie where it was just a, you know, magical girl. Banned fighting demons. I would have enjoyed that anyway, but this went a step further.  Speaker  Hmm.  Quinny  So in when we’re talking about the patterns and we’re talking about that, that reveal and that question about Rumi. What are the? Different like so I think that there are so many different layers of what it could mean. And I think one of the things that’s really smart about the film is that. It. Doesn’t specifically say it means any one thing. But what? What did you guys?  Ardella  Because they’re they’re waiting for the sequel or the spin offs or.  Jill  Yeah. So we’re gonna get the story that gives you the back story about, like who roomie’s father was and what happened to her mother and the the what were they called the Sunshine Sisters or whatever.  Quinny  Yeah.  Speaker  Yeah.  Jill  The.  Quinny  Yeah.  Jill  Band. Was and then we also need to have Gino come back because that was unfair how he went. Out. I know it was a beautiful sacrifice, but no, I want Ginyu back.  Ardella  He’s now in the blade, though. If you if you watch the sequence, you can see his spirit get pulled into the blade, which is an actual thing in Korean.  Quinny  Oh no.  Ardella  Mythology. Spirit blades. I believe. I believe I’m not Korean. Please correct me if I’m wrong.  Jill  OK, well I love. I love me as sexy anthropomorphize spirit coming out. Of the sword. So I’ll take. Yeah.  Speaker 3  And then the grade.  Ardella  Changes once his spirit is absorbed into it, so you can see the two different forms of the the blades are.  Jill  I need to ******* watch this movie again. Don’t.  Ardella  Very, very cool.  Speaker 13  I let’s go right now.  Quinny  Yeah, yeah.  Dion  Let’s see. We’re doing a watch along right now.  Speaker 4  It’s.  Jill  Now become a live stream.  Quinny  So damn, what was your you? You had some different takes on on what, some of that meaning may have? Been.  Dion  Which what do you mean the the meaning of which the whole?  Quinny  Thing of the past.  Dion  There’s a lot going on me was there? Did I say something that I’ve I’ve undoubtedly forgotten since yesterday?  Quinny  On. Yeah, well, quite possibly. So, I mean there there’s, there’s that whole thing of like being, you know, intergenerational trauma, like of this is the Korean trauma. Of what? Their history is the split of the country, North and South Korea, which you can read into that. You could also read into it an LGBT thing of this thing that you have to keep hidden about. Yourself. And whether or not she’s allowed to be, especially in K pop, the idea that is she allowed to be who she actually is. Because that is not appropriate like that whole thing of you wearing marks on your. That. You have to keep hidden. I think it has a lot of meaning for a lot of different people for probably a lot of different reasons.  Speaker 1  MHM.  Ardella  Yes, I would agree. I would hesitate to say that this is implying that Ruby is LGBTQIA plus at all, but I have 100% think that people who are LGBTQ a.  Quinny  No, not necessarily.  Ardella  Us could find a lot of parallels there.  Quinny  Yeah, I think that that’s sort of like that X-Men kind of thing. It’s like, yeah, no, we’re not saying that these characters are gay or whatever, but they are a fantastic.  Ardella  Except the ones that.  Quinny  Are. Yeah. So my my best X-Men guy.  Ardella  I think it’s really interesting. We’re seeing a lot of this storyline coming out in a lot of Asian and Asian American stories over the last decade especially, I’ve noticed a a real through line in a lot of the media that I’ve seen, at least. Where these cultures seem to be very much from an outsider perspective. Very much about conforming and not rocking the boat and being being part of a whole community that works well together because everyone kind of assimilates and and doesn’t step outside of the mold or make anyone uncomfortable. And I think yeah, exactly. I think that there is a lot of media coming out these days.  Jill  Yeah, homogeneous.  Ardella  And it’s interesting, Jill, that you mentioned Everything Everywhere all at once earlier, because that’s definitely part of the story behind that movie and and a real message in that movie is. Is that we need to allow the newer generations to be a little bit more unique and individual and celebrate that as something that is wonderful and and adds colour to our cultures and our societies, rather than being something that we should squash. Or avoid and to me, that’s what the patterns were and that’s what you know, was a a real underlying message behind this story is it’s not about conforming, it’s about celebrating what’s unique and individual about each of us.  Jill  Yeah.  Quinny  Yeah, I I did just check and and the reason I brought it up is because of the writer did say that the the intent was that it was a. Bit like coming. Out to your parents? Ohh, so she was. She was. It was a very deliberate piece to say hey, it’s like that. She’s not saying that Remy is, you know.  Dion  So coming out.  Ardella  I mean, could be you go off in your head cannons out there.  Dion  To your friends. Also coming coming out to your friends who have literally been trained to murder. You.  Speaker 13  Your your partner.  Quinny  Yeah.  Dion  For the whole thing.  Speaker 4  Yes.  Dion  Look, I like the little bit of the sort of Buffy the Vampire Slayer chosen. Ones. You know, how do we do this? We just kind of go and kill these faithless demons which there are thousands and thousands and thousands of them, apart from the very special one.  Quinny  Yeah, very.  Dion  That ohh wait. Yes. Yes. So you know I got that sort of storyline.  Ardella  Although I do think that there is a pot, I mean obviously we see Janus. Progression where he was genuinely villainous. He was * ****. Wow, what * **** we learned.  Dion  Sure. What is it again with? Absolutely ancient men and young women.  Jill  That’s like type.  Speaker 4  Being like can.  Ardella  You I I just want to be rich and wealthy at the expense of my family. What a ******* nightmare, human. But then.  Speaker  And.  Ardella  Obviously evolves and become someone who we can genuinely sympathise with, I think, but I feel like we also, especially in that scene, I think Jill, you mentioned the the signing scene, we see a lot of the other members of the Demon Boy Band of the Sargent Boys.  Speaker 4  Yeah, yeah.  Ardella  Have a little bit more personality and a little bit more empathy, I think, than I was expecting and I I would be interested to see that explored a bit more. As well, yeah.  Speaker 1  Hmm.  Quinny  One thing I do love is also the the historical mythological context of it too, that the the idea of the the Singing priestess is is quite a a long history in Korean culture. So the moon or mudang not mudang. Are a an offshoot of of Korean shamanism who their their whole thing was, you know, singing to keep their people safe and, you know, reach out and and bridge the world between gods and humans and so forth. And you see that at the at the very start, like there’s the flashback to the original ones. They’re they’re all traditional like priestess outfits. But then the fact that they’re, you know, really latching into the the Korean singing group thing. You know that there was another group in the 50s and the 60s called the the Kim Sisters. Who group of three well known all around the world, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Did like 22 shows over the years on Ed Sullivan. Like that kind of thing. We’re going. Yes, we’re gonna do it. I love the idea that we could have, you know, stories told in different time frames.  Ardella  Yeah. And before the Kim’s sisters, there was the Jair Gory sisters. I think it’s pronounced and they were also a three piece girl band who we assume is kind of being referenced in that introduction as well.  Dion  Can can we just make sure that we even if we go across different time periods they still kill demo? That’s right. Yes, as long as there’s still some demon hunting and killing going on in there. I’m fine. I’m on board with it.  Ardella  Like.  Quinny  100%.  Speaker 4  Absolutely.  Ardella  100 percent, 100% yeah. I also need to mention I’m sure many of us already know this, but Saja as the name of the Saja boys also has multiple meanings. It means lion.  Dion  Yeah, yeah.  Ardella  But it is also a kind of slang term for the grim Reaper. So there’s that duality there. So that’s that’s why they have the lion like logo. That’s what they’re saying. That’s the that’s the loud part. They’re like, we’re the Lion Boys essentially, but.  Speaker 2  Oh.  Quinny  I didn’t know.  Dion  That, and also dark and mysterious.  Quinny  And.  Ardella  It’s also. Through. Yeah, slang for the grim Reaper in South Korea.  Quinny  And I don’t think I would have understood or appreciated this film if I hadn’t for the past couple of years had an awful lot to do with idol culture like, yeah, but I I’ve learned a lot in the past few years of working for idol festivals and, you know. The whole idol scene and. And. Something that I find fascinating and is really like key to the film, but it’s sort of unless you’ve seen the crowds doing their thing in person. The relationship between crowd and band. Is incredibly intense. Like and the crowds at these events are not. Just, you know, observers, they’re part of the show and they see their role really importantly, you know, all of the glow glowing sticks that they’re holding up all of the colours that they choose to wear, the fact that they, you know, stand a particular singer or whatever and will then change the.  Ardella  They’re bias.  Quinny  Yeah, yeah. You know, they will do all these things and like, you’ll see them during songs. Like I watch them at smash people climbing up on each other’s shoulders just so that they can. Performatively go. You know, I’m not actually singing at you. I’m just showing you how much I appreciate what you’re doing. Is like if you don’t know about it, you’re gonna think it’s ******* weird as ****, which I did for a while, but then when you see it, you go ohh. OK, I get it. And now I watch this film and you realize why so much time is spent with the fandom as well, like. They they spend a lot of time, you know, looking at the the kinds of fans who have latched on to these people. Is it the the sex starved older ladies? Is it the preteen girls who are just utterly, you know, smitten? Is it the big boofy guys who will cry at the drop of a hat? You know, all of that is.  Ardella  I think it’s interesting, though, to suggest that it’s just a AK pop thing or a J pop thing or something like that where you have these biases when you think about, you know, kiss people would wear their specific band members makeup style to go to a kiss concert. It’s it’s a similar.  Quinny  Oh, not at all.  Speaker 4  Yeah, it’s just all.  Jill  About finding community and the things that. You love, yeah.  Quinny  Yeah. Really. And. And it’s also like I remember I wanted to write a ******* paper on this at one point. It’s the the concept of avatar rism that you wear the thing that you want to take on the, the, the, the feeling of you know, so.  Jill  Dude, I’ve done it for 20 years doing cosplay.  Speaker 13  Exactly. Hello cosplay? Yeah.  Quinny  And cosplay is cosplay is like the the the doing it out loud and doing it at the biggest possible way. But for other people it’s that whole thing of wearing your favorite band T-shirt or wearing a Superman T-shirt or wearing, you know something. It’s that thing of.  Jill  Yeah.  Quinny  This gives me all these feelings. And I want to then wear it so that I can try and, you know.  Jill  Yeah. Now, name five of their. Songs.  Ardella  Jesus.  Speaker 4  Yeah.  Ardella  And when you bring that all together, it really is. Powerful and I.  Quinny  Hmm.  Ardella  Think that that’s what they’re they’re tapping into on both sides here where you know that it can be used for good or for evil.  Quinny  Yeah. And. And the idea that a golden home moon only comes when, like, everybody’s actually being true about who they are, you know, that’s a it’s a pretty powerful ******* feeling. Yeah.  Speaker  Beautiful.  Dion  Yeah, beautiful. Speaking of powerful feelings. What are we doing for the rest of? The month, I don’t know. You don’t. You don’t know. Even though you you know exactly what it is. We’ve got a few things. There’s a lot going on in the month of the Merry, Merry month of August. We’ve got lots of movies that are out there. Things like nobody too.  Quinny  I do have a do in front of.  Dion  And one that we’re gonna see tomorrow night, which is. Weapons.  Quinny  Yeah.  Dion  You need the weapon. Give me the yeah. OK.  Ardella  I saw an ad for weapon the other night which just said 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and it was a print ad and I was like that. That’s a that’s a strong choice.  Dion  Yeah.  Speaker 1  Hmm.  Jill  From the team that brought us barbarian.  Dion  Yeah.  Jill  He ******* loves barbarian.  Dion  Yeah, that was. That was one that came out of left field w

This one starts with a dodgy lane choice, a Starbucks coffee, and a misjudged underpass. As always. I'm back in the Land Rover — which might be its final podcast outing before it finds a new home — and today's episode is a rambling, reflective road trip through customer service, creative resilience, and the rapidly growing presence of AI in our industry. The day started badly. Cold shower (thanks British Gas), broken editing software, and a head full of terabytes. But it ended with a reminder of why kindness, craftsmanship, and conversation still matter. A haircut from someone I've known for 18 years. A deep chat with the owner of Michel Engineering while he lovingly took apart my ancient-but-beautiful record deck — the very same design featured in A Clockwork Orange and owned by Steve Jobs, no less. And then... a disappointing interaction with a distracted barista and a headset-wearing drive-thru operator. Same building, worlds apart. Customer service, it turns out, is alive and well — just not always where you'd expect it. But the main theme of this episode is AI. Not the doom-and-gloom kind, but the real stuff: the tools I'm already using, how they're reshaping our workflows, and how they might be reshaping entire economies. It's not AI that's coming for your job — it's the photographer who learns to harness it. We talk about: AI tools I already use (like EVOTO, Imagine AI, ChatGPT, and XCi) Using AI as a teaching assistant, sub-editor, and productivity coach The real-world implications of AI-generated ads, coding layoffs, and what it means for creatives Plans for a new AI section on masteringportraitphotography.com And if you hang in there until the end, I'll tell you about a girl named Dory, a gutsy 12-year-old contortionist, and the new edition of Mastering Portrait Photography — complete with fresh images, a decade of stories, and a very special launch offer. So pop on your headphones, admire the wheat fields if you've got them, and come along for the ride. Spoiler: there's C3PO's eye in here too. Yes, really.  

The Drunk Guys‘ Beer is wanting this week when they read The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess. And beer is people, including: Mischief and Mayhem by Wild East and One by Sand City Brewing. Join the Drunk Guys next Tuesday when they punish themselves by reading The Camp of the

Author D. Harlan Wilson joins Mike to discuss his latest book, Strangelove Country, a collection of critical fictions examining four of Stanley Kubrick's most influential science fiction films: Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Blurring the lines between criticism, fiction, and satire, Wilson explores how Kubrick's work continues to shape cultural narratives about technology, violence, human identity, and control.The conversation covers Wilson's experimental approach to writing, the enduring legacy of Kubrick's cinema, and how speculative fiction and critical theory intersect. Together, they examine how Kubrick's visions of the future—and their contradictions—remain as unsettling and relevant as ever.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha

No guest this week, as we wanted to do an episode with just the two of us, here at the mid-point of our final season. For our reading, we dive into A Clockwork Orange, which Mike had somehow never read. Meanwhile, not only had Tom read it, he wrote a paper about its ending, back in his undergrad days, which by some miracle (or anal-retentiveness?) he still has a copy of.  Also this week: one final installment of Fan Fiction Corner. How has AI affected the fanfic community? Should politics be part of fanfiction? And can a time-traveling Toby Maguire prevent the Kennedy assassination? Thanks, as always, for listening. We've got a few more guest episodes this season, then a final episode that'll just be the two of us. We're also continuing to post bonus content on our Patreon, if you need more Book Fight in your life. Just $5 a month gets you access to loads of bonus content from the last several years: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight  

The Scariest Movie EVER Made? Well upon its initial release forty-five years ago, not many critics saw it that way INCLUDING the author of the original novel which this film was based on, Stephen King.  But over time, this psychological thriller directed by the late, great Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut) has garnerned not only a devoted following but a never-ending stream of speculation about what it meant.  Many love it for the memorable main lead performance by Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson (Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Batman)  as Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer whose family ends up situated at a VERY remote location known as the Overlook Hotel....he's an aspiring writer but as the winter progresses, he starts to lose his mind.  Also with him are his beleaguered wife Wendy played by the late, great Shelley Duvall (Popeye, 3 Women, Roxanne) and their young son Danny (Danny Lloyd) who has begun to experience a sort of psychic power known as.....THE SHINING. :o Also co-starring Scatman Crothers, Joe Turkel, and Barry Nelson, this horror classic has launched spin-off documentaries, weak imitations, and loads of memes - let's head to the Overlook Hotel! Host & Editor: Geoff GershonEditor: Ella GershonProducer: Marlene GershonSend us a texthttps://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/Letterboxd:https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/