Broadcast live from the Blakean City of Golgonooza, Bistro Californium is a discussion podcast focused on the hodological pathways connecting art, music, film and literature.
Art by @_Will_Samson_
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Broadcast live from the Blakean City of Golgonooza, Bistro Californium is a discussion podcast focused on the hodological pathways connecting art, music, film and literature.
Art by @_Will_Samson_
Copyright: © 2023
Topic: Robert Pattinson in Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight (2008) + David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis (2012) + Josh and Benny Safdie's Good Time (2017) + Christopher Nolan's Tenet (2020) Guest: Scott Litts (@cafeviolenza) An episode conceived in the notorious Dimes Square bar Clandestino, Scott Litts joins the show for a comprehensive study of subtly unusual actor and part-time vampire, Robert Pattinson FOR FULL EPISODE, SUBSCRIBE TO https://www.patreon.com/BistroCalifornium "Then ask me the most basic question: What do we eat?" "This is a protest against the future. They wanna hold off the future. They want to normalize it. Keep it from overwhelming the present. The future is always a wholeness. A sameness." "Y-y-you're an ignorant fuck, bro! No one's better than any next man. You don't know me from Adam!"
Topic: Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vols. I and II Guest: Brad Kelly (@bradkelly) FEAT. Logo Daedalus reading WALL OF TEXT 6/6/23 yeerk is joined by author and podcaster Brad Kelly of the Art of Darkness Podcast to discuss Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's astonishing metafictional crossover epic, the LEAUGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN VOLS. I and II Listen to Art of Darkness here Check out Brad Kelly's website Buy HOUSE OF SLEEP "The British Empire has always encountered difficulty in distinguishing between its heroes and its monsters."
This episode is dedicated to Kevin O'Neill
Topic: Ari Aster's Beau Is Afraid (2023) Guest: abcdent (@abcdentminded) yeerk is joined by the charming and gregarious abcdent to discuss Ari Aster's 'Jewish Lord of the Rings', the tragi-comic comi-tragic surrealist horror masterpiece BEAU IS AFRAID Dismissing the temptation of reading the movie as 'seen through the eyes of Beau's anxiety', they explore a darker vein, in which the danger is real, and a new catastrophe lies around every corner Follow abcdent on twitter
Topics: Rock in Opposition: Henry Cow + Slapp Happy + Art Bears + John Greaves & Peter Blegvad's Kew. Rhone. (1977) + Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition (2012) Guest: Kerwin Fjøl (@zermatist) Media ecologist Kerwin joins yeerk for a discussion of ROCK IN OPPOSITION, and the principle RIO canon of HENRY COW, SLAPP HAPPY, ART BEARS, and HENRY COW & SLAPP HAPPY + John Greaves & Peter Blegvad's entirely fun KEW. RHONE. album, and the ROMANTIC WARRIORS II documentary They also discuss the American RIO wave (THINKING PLAGUE, 5uus, SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM) and where they're situated on the RIO SPECTRUM (Austere to Zany), and what exactly the Opposition in ROCK IN OPPOSITION is... 'at' Check out Kerwin's Medium page "They gut huts with gusto Pillage villages with verve War does what she has to People get what they deserve" "Holding forth on a topic of no worth A pissy myth about birth of WarAnd as for those "Hats" they're a bore Not amusing anymore Dare I ask myself what It's for?"
"Peel's foe, not a set animal, laminates a tone of sleep"
Topics: Æon Flux (1991 - 1995) + Reign: The Conqueror (1996 - 1997) Guest: Reagan Lodge (@ReaganLodge) Dieselpunk visionary Reagan Lodge joins yeerk to discuss two astonishing works of sf surrealist fantasy by Peter Chung, ÆON FLUX and Yoshinori Kanemori's REIGN: THE CONQUEROR (to which Chung contributed his unmistakeable visual aesthetic) Subscribe to Reagan's patreon and contribute to the ongoing progress of his graphic novel WYIT, 'a full-coloured epic-length graphic novel about a young fugitive and a rogue soldier on a journey for survival in a dark world.' And be sure to visit his personal website for more information here "My name's Æon Flux. I'm here on a mission to assassinate Trevor Goodchild. Is everybody listening? Do you believe me? Everybody happy now?" "Recklessness is speed beyond one's capacity to control. But might increased speed lead to increased capacity?"
Topics: The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) + White Light/White Heat (1968) + The Velvet Underground (1969) + Loaded (1970) Guest: Joel (@indrid_grigori) Joel comes on Bistro to talk about THE VELVET UNDERGROUND- what is there more to say? Apparently, a lot- this conversation ranges across everything from the nature of distortion, lonely noise gigs, the grain of Lou Reed's voice, to the unexpected revelation that the Velvet Underground were... a jam band?? "Watch out! The world's behind you! There's always Someone around you who will call..." "Shiny shiny, shiny boots of leather..."
Topics: Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland (1905-1926) + Vittorio Giardino's Little Ego (1984) Guest: Tepelathy Darty (@tepelathydarty) PART ONE of a mammoth TWO PART EPISODE- for PART TWO, subscribe to BISTRO CALIFORNIUM on PATREON at https://www.patreon.com/BistroCalifornium yeerk is joined by John aka Tepelathy Darty for a guided tour through one of the great achievements of American fantasia, Winsor McCay's extraordinary LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND, in this unusually dreamy episode of Bistro Californium "Little Nemo had just fallen asleep when an Oomp appeared who said 'You are requested to appear before His Majesty, Morpheus of Slumberland'" "I knew it! You should not have eaten that huckleberry pie at bed time."
Topics: Sin City (2005) + Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) by Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller Guest: Owen Briggs Our first ever return guest, renowned Austrologist, Owen Briggs joins yeerk to discuss the duel themes of monstrosity and chivalry in Robert Rodriguez's highly underrated cult noir action movie SIN CITY "The night's hot as hell. It's a lousy room in a lousy part of a lousy town." "An old man dies. A young woman lives. Fair trade."
Follow Owen on twitter: https://twitter.com/BullOfHeaven_
Topics: Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (1962) + John Kent Harrison's A Wrinkle in Time (2003) + Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time (2018) Guest: Jack (@lotus_point), host of The Perfume Nationalist *PREVIEW* FOR FULL EPISODE, SUBSCRIBE TO BISTRO CALIFORNIUM ON PATREON https://www.patreon.com/BistroCalifornium
Jack joins us for the for a very special YA episode of Bistro Californium to discuss the very first young adult fiction novel, Madeleine L'Engle's extraordinary A WRINKLE IN TIME- an acid-soaked Christian allegory in the tradition of C. S. Lewis and David Lindsay, dramatising a spiritual battle between the forces of light (creativity, individualism, love) and darkness (the dreadful conformity of IT, the Ava DuVernay film adaptation) Along the way they discuss early encounters with art in childhood and discover a mutual fantasy of leaving it all behind to enter the placid & relaxing world of marine biology "It was a dark and stormy night" "There is such a thing as a tesseract" Listen to THE PERFUME NATIONALIST https://www.patreon.com/perfumenationalist/
This is an hour long preview of BISTRO CALIFORNIUM Ep. 20 JOHN WICK'S INFERNO w/ Mage (@mahou_mage) & HOLE (@flowerfathering) For the full episode, subscribe to BISTRO CALIFORNIUM on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/BistroCalifornium
Topics: Justin Kerrigan's Human Traffic (1999) + Spaced (1999 + 2001) Guest: Laz Harding (@TheUpestFukist) yeerk is joined by official best m8 IRL, Laz Harding (of BISTRO CALIFORNIUM intro music fame) to explore "the last gasp of the UK Gen X thing" via two quintessential cultural documents of 90s Britain https://twitter.com/TheUpestFukist Check out Laz's music project, Active Sun Particles https://www.youtube.com/@Active_Sun_Particles
Topics: Chad Stahelski's John Wick (2014) + John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) + John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) Guest: Jacob Everett (@blauer_geist) Jacob Everett, editor-in-chief of APOCALYPSE CONFIDENTIAL and RESIDENT LIFE ENJOYERS alumnus, joins yeerk for a comprehensive anatomy of the John Wick cinematic universe up until now, from comparisons to Jacque Tati's Playtime (1967) to a reading of the film as a drama of smooth vs. striated surfaces + the action movie as psychogeography, and finally, a meditation on the occult nature of debt "I've got these arms and legs that flip-flop" "I saw secret scenes in the cracks of the cities secret scenes in the seams of the world" https://twitter.com/blauer_geist https://apocalypse-confidential.com/
Topics: Greil Marcus' Mystery Train (1975) + Harmonica Frank, Robert Johnson, The Band, Sly & the Family Stone, Randy Newman, and Elvis Guest: Alec Mouhibian (@FilthyArmenian) On this very special episode, yeerk is joined by charismatic Armenian & raconteur, Alec Mouhibian, of Filthy Armenian Adventures and The Back Wall, to discuss the greatest and most essential book of rock criticism ever written, Greil Marcus' MYSTERY TRAIN. Together they meditate on the death of rock n roll and what it means to live in a world without mystery Alec has a forthcoming interview with Greil Marcus on his own Filthy Armenian Adventures podcast, so make sure you look out for that! And be sure to check out the documentary INVISIBLE REPUBLIC, which Alec co-produced, on the diary of Lika Zakaryan recounting her experiences during the 2020 invasion of Artsakh "It takes a worried man To sing a worried song It takes a worried man But I won't be worried long" "I want to be like you are I want to rewrite your name I want to live in the heart of someone Ride that mystery train." https://twitter.com/FilthyArmenian https://www.patreon.com/filthyarmenian https://www.patreon.com/thebackwall https://www.invisiblerepublicfilm.com/
Topics: Tommy Wiseau's The Room (2003) + Tuxedomoon Guest: Gwen Gwen joins us to aid a comprehensive rehabilitation of Tommy Wiseau's cult masterpiece THE ROOM as a series of surrealist landscapes, and how it all relates the mysterious De Chirico ambience of a weird little city called San Francisco + we begin a deep dive into the mysterious San Fran post-punk scene and the tropical Hitchcockian noir of TUXEDOMOON "Women change their minds all the time." "Sometimes, in the finest of moments You find the furniture just doesn't fit"
Topics: Xavier: Renegade Angel (2007 - 2009) + Steve Aylett's Lint (2005) Guest: Jo (@junker_jo) *PREVIEW* FOR FULL EPISODE, SUBSCRIBE TO BISTRO CALIFORNIUM ON PATREON https://www.patreon.com/BistroCalifornium This episode asks many important questions... and questions many important answers: Answers like 'rectangular' and 'no, thank you'... and questions like: 'Is Lint a famous and very real SF writer from Chicago- or is he sticky grit of a cocky pocket's wilted figment? Is he just the dusty residue of a dirty muddy dustbunny in a denim-dark enclosure? Or a bubbling bauble paddled up by a monstrous poet's pocketed paw from an ocean of... LIFE??' Or in other words... 'WHAT... DOTH... LINT??' The only way to find out is listen this brand new cast-off pod "Are we just flesh blips in some meaningless stew of cosmic oblivion? Or is it vice reversa...." "This isn't prose! It's gnats in formation!" "Snail, sarge?" Subscribe to Jo's substack (https://thejozone.substack.com/) Intro theme by Active Sun Particles (@TheUpestFukist)
Topics: Better Call Saul (2015 - 2022) + a bit of Breaking Bad (2008 - 2013) Guest: Adam Lehrer (@SafetyPropagan1) Adam Lehrer, the man behind Safety Propaganda (but whose name, importantly, is Adam, not 'Safety') joins yeerk to discuss the Vince Gilligan show Better Call Saul- and a little bit about Breaking Bad also Buy Adam's books: Safety Propaganda: Conceptual Manifesto for Psychological Warfare Communions Safety Popaganda on Substack (https://safetypropaganda.substack.com/) Subscribe to System of Systems on patreon (https://www.patreon.com/systemofsystems) Hear Adam discuss Breaking Bad + Better Call Saul on The Perfume Nationalist Intro theme by Laz Harding aka Active Sun Particles (@TheUpestFukist)
Topics: Irwin Chusid's Songs in the Key of Z (2000) + Daniel Johnston, The Shaggs, Tiny Tim, Joe Meek, Captain Beefheart, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, R. Stevie Moore, 1/2 Japanese, Jack Mudurian, B. J. Snowden, Lucia Pamela, Luie Luie, Wesley Willis Guest: D. E. (aka lifeinratutopia) Old skool posting legend D. E. joins yeerk for a journey into the 'incredibly strange' world of OUTSIDER MUSIC via the carnival barker showmanship of 'ideologue with a hustle' Irwin Chusid and his landmark book SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z They ponder the ethics of outsider art, the paradoxical connections between conservatism and conservationism, the perverse freedom of obscurity- and finally ask the question: just how weird are these people anyway? "Oh, the boys with cars want motorcycles And the boys with motorcycles want cars You can never please anybody in this world" "If I could only stay sixteen forever Then I'd know that I'd be satisfied with life" Check out John Jay Stancliff's Fedbook (on which D. E. worked as an editor) Intro theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist) (https://www.youtube.com/@theupestfukist3064)
Topic: West Side Story (1957) by Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, & Stephen Sondheim + Robert Wise's West Side Story (1961) Guest: Salomé (@DollPariah) yeerk is joined by the infamous glittering personality and musician known as Salomé aka Pariah the Doll to discuss the Jerome Robbins musical WEST SIDE STORY- along the way they discuss their respective experiences with Christianity, her forthcoming novel, the dietary philosophy of Ray Peat (and a certain well-known Bulgarian populariser), and the decline of the West Salomé contributes a very beautiful song "I feel charming Oh so charming It's alarming how charming I feel And so pretty That I hardly can believe I'm real" Support Salomé's Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/pariahthedoll) Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/dollpariah) Substack (https://thedollhouse.substack.com/) Intro theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist) (https://www.youtube.com/@theupestfukist3064)
Topic: Jackie Leven + Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber (1979) Guest: Zach Langley Chi Chi (@asukahomo) On this very special episode of Bistro Californium, yeerk is joined by dear guest Zach Langley Chi Chi of the wonderful I'M SO POPULAR podcast to pursue a witch's cackle through the music of Jackie Leven and Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber Covering everything from the decline of the drum circle, the deep gravity of the cosmic masculine soul, and the loneliness of the phallus, and brining attention to one of the most talented and neglected musical artists ever to have lived, this extremely special episode of Bistro Californium is not to be missed "When we were children in the woods Wearing dresses made of what we find We were damsels in distress..." "How my circumstances had changed since I first heard those voluptuous chords..." Follow Zach on twitter (@asukahomo) Listen to I'M SO POPULAR (https://www.patreon.com/imsopopular) Theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist) NOTE: Zach's contribution to the interlude here is particularly powerful and moving- be sure to listen
Topic: Roald Dahl James and the Giant Peach (1961) The Twits (1980) The BFG (1982) The Witches (1983) Guest: Glen Rockney FEATURING yeerk's mum in the role of ** SPECIAL GUEST READER **
yeerk is joined by Glen Rockney of Rare Candy and The Back Wall to discuss the recent scandal involving Roald Dahl's legacy of children's literature, its wholesale butchery by a shadowy and unaccountable 'sensitivity reading' consultancy firm, and the value of Dahl's writing today Along the way they compare childhood bee encounters, ponder the significance of the sphere, and medidate on the moments of genuine Otherness that mark Dahl's writing "One thousand long slimy crocodile tongues boiled up in the skull of a dead witch for twenty days and nights with the eyeballs of a lizard!" "He seemed almost to be transfigured by the excitement of his thoughts. His face was beautiful in its blaze of emotions." Check out Rare Candy & The Back Wall Follow Glen Intro theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist)
Topic: John Fahey Guest: Lisa (@lisatomic) Long-term friend Lisa joins yeerk to discuss American primitivist and volk guitar virtuoso John Fahey in this most hodological episode of BISTRO CALIFORNIUM, in which the combined Fahey discography + liner notes is revealed as a John Crowleyian narrative achievment of American surrealist mythmaking. N.B. This episode introduces the term 'hodology', taken from Fahey's para-academic liner notes. It refers to 'the study of pathways', whether they be two roads diverged in a yellow wood, or the many thousands of roads one may find along the fretted neck of the guitar. "All I have ever done with music has been to depict various emotions in an organised and coherent musical language. Sometimes very dark emotions, but also happiness, health, certain types of ecstasy." "[Fahey's music] seems to speak of real reserves of self-control inside the American psyche" Intro theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist)
Topics: Peep Show (2003 - 2015) + Keeping Up Appearances (1990 - 1995) Guest: Anna Khachiyan yeerk is joined by one of his all-time culture heroes, Anna Khachiyan of Red Scare podcast infamy, for a discussion of one of the great English comic novels that happens to be a tv sitcom + Anna introduces yeerk to the eternal Firbankian heroine/ social striver Hyacinth Bucket. "So what if I don't really love her. Charles didn't really love Diana and they were alright. Sort of." "This is a private, slimline white telephone with no connection to any business or trade." Listen to Red Scare Follow Anna on twitter Intro music by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist)
Topics: The Spyro the Dragon trilogy + John Keats' 1819 Odes Guests: Matt (@afieldoflight) & Will (@_Will_Samson_) BISTRO CALIFORNIUM episode 7 takes us on a Pspyrogeographical Odyssey through the Romantic geometric landscapes of Keats' 1819 Odes in the imaginative vehicle of a "purple dragon lost in time". The classic early Spyro games are reimagined as a 4D Grecian Urn, a cold pastoral taking us from the Young Marble Giants Country of the Artisans homeworld, through countless portals, and onwards to the very top of Midnight Mountain. Our most ambitious (and possibly indulgent episode) yet. 'Ode to a Grecian Urn' read by yeerk 'To Autumn' read by Laz Harding 'Ode to Psyche' read by Matt 'Ode to a Nightingale' read by Will "When holy were the haunted forest boughs, Holy the air, the water, and the fire" "Watch the dragonfly, Spyro. His colour indicates his power. When he eats butterflies, he stays strong." Intro theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist)
Topics: Max Fleischer + Raymond Scott Guest: Faustina yeerk is joined by dear friend Faustina to discuss two titans of American technological vision, Max Fleischer and Raymond Scott. The conversation ranges from the origins of Betty Boop, the hidden links between ANimation and ANimism, Fleischer's Superman as the spirit of American invention, jazz as a form of industrial music, and Raymond Scott's status as the prophet of MIDI. A bustling Art Deco Metropolis of the Imagination arises around them, while in the infernal subterranean caverns beneath, demons of dice and liquor prowl on ribbon-like legs and grin. "It was, and still is, my opinion that a cartoon should represent, in simple form, the cartoonist's mental expression" "Perhaps within the next hundred years, science will perfect a process of thought transference from composer to listener. The composer will sit alone on the concert stage and merely 'think' his idealized conception of his music" Faustina's substack Intro theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist)
Topics: Thee Oh Sees + Ralph Bakshi's Wizards (1977) + Gerald Potterton's Heavy Metal (1981) Guest: petty bourgeois protestant yeerk is joined by one of the most pleasant posters in the world, the ever-affable petty bourgeois protestant, to discuss the dungeons and dragons of John Dwyer's musical slimefactory Thee Oh Sees/Oh Sees/Osees. yeerk advances his theory that the project exists at least partially as a means of viral tinnitus transmission. Subsequently, they discuss two classics of ANIMATED VIOLENCE, Ralph Bakshi's WIZARDS and Gerald Potterton's HEAVY METAL, two of the scuzziest, nastiest, most psychedelically brain damaged toons ever put on screen. Along the way, they meditate on Power Fantasy, nerd body-horror, muscle men, and the archetypal B.T.W.w.B. (Big Titted Woman with Bush). "I'm a little bit concerned with that compost on your breath" "Those lousy, stinking yellow fairies! Those horrible, atrocity-filled vermin!" "From one war to another, my influence is always present. The paltry armies of the universe are but play-things to me" Intro theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist)
Topic: Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre (1981) Guest: Owen Briggs yeerk is joined by infamous austrological Astralian (and old friend) Owen Briggs (of Apis Astrology), who puts his extraordinary powers of planetary perception to the task of interpreting Louis Malle's 1981 cult movie MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn. Two friends discuss a movie about a discussion between two friends, covering everything from the Andre/ Wally dialectic to the limitations of free-form magickal theater, and why exactly Andre asks the waiter to get rid of that little flower when they first sit down. "Thirsting for a way to name the unnameable, to express the inexpressible...."
Apis Astrology Follow Owen on twitter
Topic: The Roches + Eminem Guest: Grace yeerk is joined by fellow Haribo Enthusiast and Roches Fan, Grace, to explore one of his great musical loves, followed by a meditation on Eminem as the forgotten demon-child of the American Carnival. Along the way they touch on the nature of sisterhood, emotional distances, politics in music, LiMiNaL SpAcEs and Standrogyny "We are are Maggie and Terre and Suzzie" "Hi kids! Do you like violence?" Grace's Substack Intro theme by Laz Harding (The Upest Fukist)
Topics: Sleep's Dopesmoker + Om + William Blake's Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion Guest: Logo Daedalus In part two of BISTRO CALIFORNIUM's inaugural episode, William Blake's prophetic denunciation of the antihuman Cult of Deism explodes out of a volcano of molten riffage, engulfing everybody in a veritable Pompeii of visionary fire that does not burn but only ENLIVENS. Subsequently, yeerk & @Logo_Daedalus manage to ward off the demons of electricity attempting to sabotage the progress of their conversation, dust themselves off, and turn their hodological gaze to the dense myth-cycle of William Blake's JERUSALEM. "Cam is a little stream" "Far within the oaken tower Exists the one with evil power Magic channeler of Earth's frustration The Druid sleeps in meditation" Follow Logo on twitter ReadBooksVlt. Patreon Selfie Suicide ampersand Reading of Jerusalem by Tim Bruce Intro theme by Laz Harding
Topics: Sleep's Dopesmoker + Om + William Blake's Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion Guest: Logo Daedalus Part one of the inaugural episode of BISTRO CALIFORNIUM sees yeerk joined by poet and 25th century Rosicrucian @Logo_Daedalus to discuss 'two Jerusalems that might be one', Sleep's stoner opus DOPESMOKER and William Blake's JERUSALEM: THE EMANATION OF THE GIANT ALBION Towards the end they are interrupted by electrical gremlins, and the weedian riff-caravan of Dopesmoker takes the resulting astral portal as an opportunity to gatecrash, crushing everything in its wake beneath a dense sediment of hashishan sludge "The Primeval State of Man, was Wisdom, Art, and Science." "Drop out of life with a bong in hand Follow the smoke..." For more Logo: Follow Logo on twitter ReadBooksVlt Patreon
Selfie Suicide ampersand Reading of Jerusalem by Tim Bruce Intro theme by Laz Harding