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This week we continue our Hallo-peen celebration with guest Josh Davis (Red Letter Media) talking to us about the 1984 cult classic Children of the Corn, starring Linda Hamilton.Listen to Josh's band here IFIHADAHIFI.Also, watch Josh and friends do livestream on Twitch November 1st here twitch.tv/fuzzboxchicagoJordan Morris will be at Revenge of Comics and Pinball on November 2nd for the Creators Block Party featuring such luminaries as Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Josh Gad, Jesse Thorn, Elliot Kalan, and so much more! Find out more here!Get your tickets to watch Good Mythical Evening on Oct 25th!
Questions Kyle and Jennie join me for a close look at three of the wildest weeks in recent American political history - we talk the Trump assassination attempt, Biden's brain, JD Vance, and (checks notes) former Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood. You are currently listening to the first half (free!) of a two-part episode; Part II is available to Patreon subscribers here, so go ahead and sign up for as little as 1 American Dollar. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social. Thanks: QK, QJ, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Kassia St. Clair, author of the 2017 best-seller The Secret Lives of Color and the Sunday Times Book of the Year follow-up The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History (2019) joins me to talk about her new book, Race to the Future: The Adventure that Accelerated the 20th Century. It's the story of the utterly bonkers 1907 auto race from Peking to Paris, which didn't let things like the fact that roads and gas stations didn't exist stop some adventurous competitors from trying it. All 8000 miles of it. The widescreen artwork accompanying this episode is Kassia's map of Russia, laden with thread and post-it notes, which she references during our chat. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social. Thanks: Kassia St. Clair, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Dr. Laine Nooney (NYU) joins me to discuss the early days of personal computing - particularly how people figured out what to do with home computers after they became convinced that they needed one - in their 2023 book The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal. If you were alive in the pre-internet era, this book is both a great trip down memory lane and a new way to think about the usual hagiographic "Great Man" retellings of the early years of the industry. If you're a bit younger, you'll get great insight into just how not obvious it was what in the hell we would do with computers at home, even though it seemed like everyone wanted one. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila), at least for now. I am on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social as well. Thanks: Dr. Laine Nooney, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Professor and author Nicholas Dagen Bloom joins me to discuss his new book The Great American Transit Disaster: Austerity, Autocentric Planning, and White Flight (University of Chicago Press). You know transit is a mess in the United States but take my word for it: after reading this book you will understand how and why in a brand new way. If you think you already know the story, you don't! Question Cathy is traveling the world, so Question Kyle and Question Jennie pinch-hit for her in a truly stellar Mailbag. Half of the Mailbag is included in this episode, and then the rest is available as bonus content on patreon, because capitalism. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila), at least for now. I am on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social as well. Thanks: Nicholas Dagen Bloom, QK & QJ, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Continuing a topic we broached on a recent bonus episode on Patreon, Questions Kyle and Jennie join me as we sort through the wonderful if baffling world of school assemblies submitted by listeners and readers. You have to hear some of this stuff to believe it, but suffice it to say America's educational system is very concerned about abstinence and marijuana. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila), at least for now. I am on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social as well. Thanks: the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Question Cathy returns for a long overdue dip into the mailbag. We hit a range of topics including: how the recent Supreme Court ruling will affect college admissions, 90s cultural fads, the mind-bending heat affecting much of the planet this summer, what the DeSantis campaign's flop tells us about the war on "wokeness," and how some state-level Democratic parties have gotten so much done with razor-thin majorities. Plus I drop the least obscure hints yet about my forthcoming book and we reveal the most appealing presidential candidate for a post-Biden Democratic Party. Cathy mispronounces "Patreon" creatively and I recognize mid-recording that Bath & Body Works and Bed, Bath, and Beyond are two different things. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila), at least for now. I am on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social as well. Thanks: the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Artist and author Brian Brown joins me to discuss his new book The He-Man Effect: How American Toy Makers Sold You Your Childhood. We talk about our memories of toy advertising and cartoons from the Eighties and the political and regulatory changes that opened the floodgates to marketing at children. Inhumanoids, M.A.S.K., SilverHawks, and Sectaurs are just a few of the D-list intellectual properties of the era that we recall with accuracy I can only describe as alarming. Brian's earlier books on Andre the Giant, Vladimir Putin, and the criminalization of marijuana are all worth your time too. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila), at least for now. I am on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social as well. Thanks: Brian Brown, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Question Kyle and Question Jennie join me to discuss one of the most poorly thought-out, pretentious stunts in the history of pop culture, wherein an early UK techno-electronica duo churn out a novelty song, one hit single, and a book about how to write a novelty song before topping it all off by burning one million pounds, one £50 bill at a time. It's the kind of anti-capitalist, Art School edginess that blew your mind at 20 and I sincerely hope does not blow your mind as a functional adult. After scoring a gimmick hit about Dr. Who called "Doctorin' the Tardis" in 1988 as The Timelords, the duo rebranded themselves as KLF to release the minor Nineties hit single "3am Eternal." Somehow that was enough for them to amass £1,000,000, which in 1994 they fed into a roaring fire in a video called "The K Foundation Burn a Million Quid." If you ever wondered what kind of face a person makes as they are actively ruining their own lives on camera, check it out. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila). Thanks: Kyle and Jennie, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
David Roth (@david_j_roth) of Defector (@DefectorMedia) joins me to talk about one of the most memorable ad campaigns in the history of sports and pop culture, Reebok's $30,000,000 1992 "Dan vs. Dave" commercials that briefly turned two decathletes into household names and was supposed to culminate with one of them being crowned the world's greatest athlete at the Barcelona Olympics. Along the way we remember plenty of guys and dig deeper into the way pop culture references from early adolescence tend to have great staying power and an inflated sense of importance. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila). Thanks: David Roth, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Motivated by the Chinese balloon story that recently if briefly dominated the news, Kelsey Atherton (@AthertonKD) joins me to talk about PROJECT GENETRIX (1956), a Pentagon scheme to float almost 600 balloons over remote parts of the USSR and China. Turns out balloons are not well-suited to espionage duty for reasons that should be obvious to anyone over the age of ten. We also talk plenty about the recent balloon incident, the link between GENETRIX and the phenomenon of UFO sightings, and about how a crashed GENETRIX balloon is indirectly responsible for mankind's first photos of the dark side of the moon. Check out Kelsey's substack, Wars of Future Past, and his recent contribution to Slate on the China incident. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila). Thanks: Kelsey, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Labor journalist and author Max Alvarez (@maximillian_alv) takes a break from hosting the essential podcast Working People (@WorkingPod) and reporting for Real News Network to talk about the recent labor issues on America's freight railroads. Also joining us is Matt Weaver, a maintenance of way crew member based in Toledo working for freight giant CSX. He's active with BMWED-IBT 2624, a Teamsters-affiliated union for whom he has recently been chosen to serve as legislative director for his state. He has worked on the railroad since 1994. If you're interested in learning more or finding out what you can do to help, Matt asks that you visit the Railroad Workers United online or locally. Max's recent book The Work of Living: Working People Talk about Their Lives and the Year the World Broke is also highly recommended. Be sure to check it out. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila). Thanks: Matt and Maximillian, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Dr. Erin Thompson (@ArtCrimeProf), the Art Crime Professor, joins me to talk about her book Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments. We cover the illusory permanence of monuments, the politics of taking them up (and down), and the fate of removed monuments sitting in storage right now, waiting for a more reactionary political climate to re-erect them. Question Cathy joins me for the mailbag, where we discuss the Denver Broncos, Starbucks workers' organizing efforts, the scourge of paywalled scholarly research, and the ultimate fate of Twitter. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via twitter (@edburmila). Thanks: Dr. Thompson, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
Forrest, J. Andrew World, and Conan Neutron talk about Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949) with Josh Davis of Red Letter Media's Best of the Worst & the band IfIHadAHiFi.
Season 4 kicks off with an interview with Zelia Edgar, author of the new book Just Another Tin Foil Hat Presents. We talked about the lore of Platteville, Loveland Frogmen, and... spaaaace pancakes! Then Tea and Heidi discussed their January travels, and weird news about a man in a clown mask with a fake bomb who wanted to get in to Area 51, lab monkeys on the loose, and a "Trump prophetess" who saw John Wayne filming a western in heaven. Plus new trivia from Miss Information and we close out with a banger-- "Bigfoot, Take the Wheel" by IfIHadAHiFi (ifihadahifi.bandcamp.com). Show notes -Check out Zelia Edgar's site here: justanothertinfoilhat.com -Zelia and Tea are both speaking at the Beast of Bray Road Conference, April 28-30: https://www.facebook.com/groups/612309933204984 -Tea's column on the clown masked would-be Area 51 crasher: https://teakrulos.com/2022/01/28/teas-weird-week-chosen-one-to-cops-take-me-to-your-leader/ -Heidi examines dem Mothman YAMS:
Guest: Jen Howard (@JenHoward) author of Clutter: an Untidy History on Belt Publishing. Her book looks at the social, economic, and political causes of our addiction to Stuff, and our talk ranges from Marie Kondo to the Container Store to the Montgomery Ward Outlet. Why do we have all this crap and what is the right thing to do about it? It's not as simple as "throw everything out." The cocktail of the month isn't a cocktail, it's a short dive into Triple Sec (not literally). A truncated mailbag without Question Cathy will be followed shortly on Patreon (because capitalism) with a full mailbag. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via Facebook, Twitter (@edburmila), or the venerable website Gin and Tacos. Thanks: Jen Howard, the bands that contribute music (Waxeater, IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
If you people seriously haven't gotten hip to it by now, the early 90s was a golden age for music. Hip hop was exploding on both coasts, with gangsta and conscious rap jousting for supremacy. In the rock world, a weird underground that had been percolating for a decade finally came to the surface when the Seattle scene blew the doors wide open for bands who refused to be defined and had to be labeled "alternative" because there hadn't been anything like it to that point. Yep, we grew up in the thick of it, and have fond memories of 1992 in particular as a year where just about any band that had a shred of coolness and weirdness could emerge into the mainstream, using the doors opened by Nirvana at the end of 1991. Our friends from Wisconsin DJ, Chris and DIxie know a thing or two about 1992, and we can't help but get a bit nostalgic for a time when creativity seemed to be everywhere, especially coming from our stereos. There will never be another time like it. Stream this mighty playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6OZi2DDlmx2FeZOdqKbRE0?si=a430b63765c046ae DJ and Chris' band IfIHadAHiFi has been going strong for years in the Milwaukee noise rock scene. Check out their extensive discography: https://ifihadahifi.bandcamp.com Dixie and DJ's band Body Futures have cool shit you should check out too: https://bodyfutures.bandcamp.com There's also something Chris is involved in called Mister Dude: https://misterdude.bandcamp.com
There must be something in the air, but it seems like the entire country of America is itching to speak its mind these days. 2 things that make the good ol U.S. Of A good, and sometimes great are our free & fair elections, and our freedom of speech. We have every right to say George Floyd's murder was an unconscionable tragedy. We have every right to say the president is a dipshit. It's all engrained in our Constitution, and it's up to the people themselves to use our right to speak our mind, and if we don't use it, we may lose it. Milwaukee punk and noise aficionado Chris Van Gompel joins the pod for a batch of songs that distill our philosophy to a tee. WE HATE CENSORSHIP. Chris' band IfIHadAHiFi has been drowning Milwaukee and surrounding areas in noise for over 20 years. Check out their extensive catalog here: https://ifihadahifi.bandcamp.com Stream this playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/42AU1MctDw0IkLXMN1XJsx?si=eUMoqG8ZQhq7MpV836YIUA Join the Patreon Club to hear TOP TEN TASTY BASS LINES Volume 2, and other exclusive episodes every month. Listen and subscribe to ATTT on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3KQ6kPbUXrpQj1CEwcaPzC?si=UlNxgLhNTLGXUIcMfHRtfg
ATTT is continuing its visit to the great state of Wisconsin for a chat with drummist and all-around swell fella DJ Hostettler to break down a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. We have to come clean and tell the world that some of our favorite bands did a terrible job coming up with a name. The bands featured in Top Ten Great Bands With Bad Names are a unique bunch. They thrive in spite of names that are sometimes so bad, they keep people from listening to them. Let's face it, if someone told you that you have to listen to Garbage, does it really sound like a fun time? Anyway, we had a blast reminiscing about the terribly-named bands we've been in over the years and call out some of our favorite bands for dropping the ball in the name department. Stream this playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7HSvdBG0YlplYzLvZ6c7jA?si=BDHWVRpvRcuuvqeMowqmRA DJ's band IfIHadAHiFi has new music out, and current proceeds from their Bandcamp page are going to a good cause. Find out more here: https://ifihadahifi.bandcamp.com Listen to ATTT on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3KQ6kPbUXrpQj1CEwcaPzC?si=kv6YgJBZRg6-Zmr3cobsKw Get bonus episodes and more fun stuff by joining the Patreon Club: https://www.patreon.com/alltimetopten?alert=2
FORMED WAY BACK DURING THE TAIL-END OF THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION, IFIHADAHIFI ARE A CYCLONIC MORASS OF FEEDBACK, EFFECTS, DANCE BEATS, SQUALL, AND SHOUT-ALONG HOOKS. DRAWKWARD HOLDS DOWN THE DRUMS AND VOCALS, MRALARM PUNISHES ON BASS, SYNTH AND VOCALS, YALEDELAY SQUALLS ON GUITAR AND VOCALS AND REVEVER WREAKS HAVOC ON GUITAR AND SYNTH. THE BAND HAS THEIR NEWEST RELEASE SINCE 2012 – WE’RE NEVER GOING HOME – READY TO MEET THE WORLD. THE ALBUM CONTINUES IN THE HIFI TRADITION OF BURYING POP SONGS UNDERNEATH LAYERS OF DISSONANCE AND VOLUME. TOUCHING ON TOPICS LIKE SPACE EXPLORATION, CRYPTOZOOLOGY-AS-RELIGION, SCIENCE DENIAL, AND YOUR MORE, IFIHADAHIFI HAVE TAKEN A LOOK AT 2019 AND ARE FAIRLY SURE WE’VE GONE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, AND NOT A SINGLE ONE OF US ARE EVER GOING HOME. TUNE INTO WMSE’S LOCAL/LIVE ON TUESDAY, JULY 16TH FOR A LIVE SET FROM IFIHADAHIFI BEFORE THEY NEVER GO HOME. WMSE.ORG TO STREAM LIVE OR IN THE ARCHIVES OR SIMPLY TUNE YOUR RADIO TO 91.7 FM AT THE 6 O’CLOCK HOUR. LOCAL/LIVE ON WMSE IS SPONSORED BY CLUB GARIBALDI’S.
Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal
Guest: 12-time Jeopardy! Champion Seth Wilson Topic: How you, yes YOU, can boost voter turnout Story: How to have a picnic in the Korean DMZ (and why it's at the 38th Parallel) Cocktail of the Month: 24th Street Spritz Support Mass for Shut-ins via Patreon. Thanks: Seth Wilson, the bands that contribute music (Waxeater, IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, #PostcardsToVoters, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.
“Formed in 2000 with no sense of when to call it a day, Milwaukee’s pop-noise chaos theorists have recently reconvened after some time on the shelf. “IfIHadAHiFi are a whirlwind of feedback, samples, clanking guitars and de-tuned synths hiding some deceptively catchy pop songs. “Their most recent release was an online-only EP about particle physics written for an art/science installation show, if that gives you any indication of the subject matter you’ll normally find in the cyclone that is a typical HiFi set. “IfIHadAHiFi is currently writing songs for yet another record and are happy to share them with the dynamic and intelligent hosts of WMSE’s Local Live.” Join WMSE and IFIHadAHiFi for a farewell to the Milwaukee record label that they called home for years, Latest Flame Records. Latest Flame Records will be winding down with a pair of shows at Club Garibaldi on Friday, October 23rd and Saturday, October 24th.
Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal
The Tank Team finally tackle Doctor Who. We look at our favorite and least favorite doctors from William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant to Matt Smith, travelling through time from 1963 to 2011. Also, thoughts on Libya airstrikes, Wisconsin union busting, music by IfIHadAHifi and so much more!