Under Culture Podcast #6: I Would Cross a Clown
By brian longtin • Sep 18th, 2009 • Category: podcasts • Popularity: 25%
Brian and Spencer discuss Batman: Arkham Asylum; Beatlemania, as well as albums by Sunset Rubdown, Pissed Jeans, and Neko Case; a book on Columbine by Dave Cullen; and briefly touch on Inglorious Bastards and Jay Leno. Oh, and gypsies.
Here we are, back on a fairly regular schedule. I knew we could do it. A few quick things before the show notes though.
First, we’re still not rated in iTunes. That means not enough listeners have gone to the enormous trouble of clicking on the appropriate number of stars. So please, if you have a split second, give us a grade on how you think we’re doing. If you have more than a split second, maybe even write a review?
We also came up with a great idea on the fly while recording this episode. Instead of us being the only ones talking, if we let you know some of the things we might discuss on the next episode, people would have a chance to check out them out ahead of time and write in thoughts or questions for us to discuss. So if you want to play along for episode 7, potential topics include :
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
If you’d like to join the conversation, you can always leave comments here, or email brian@under-culture.com with questions, opinions, etc. This week was our first listener email and it made for some fun conversation, so we’d love to have a few more.
We hope you enjoy this week’s episode…
Download The Under Culture Podcast: #6 - I Would Cross a Clown
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(Show notes below…)
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I did at least give Leno a try, but there’s not much else to say, not my bag.
Our observation about Kevin Eubanks is totally true though, take a look if you’ve never noticed before.
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If you hadn’t heard, there’s this band The Beatles that just reissued all their albums. (My favorite review has to be Klosterman’s for The Onion A.V. Club).
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Batman: Arkham Asylum is out now for PS3, Xbox 360, or PC. If you listen to the show, you may be able to tell that we’d recommend it.
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Pissed Jeans‘ latest album, The King of Jeans, is out now on Sub Pop Records. I never get tired of saying, “The King of Jeans!” Also, they’re playing a few shows in Philly and New York this month if you want to get rowdy. One can only assume the dress code.
Sunset Rubdown’s latest album, Dragonslayer, is available on Jagjaguwar. And hey look, the lyrics to their album are posted on their web site. How helpful. They’re now touring Europe before swinging back stateside in October.
Neko Case’s wonderful album Middle Cyclone has been out for months on Anti-, but it’s never to late to pick it up. She’s also abroad but back soon for more live dates.
Music Breaks:
1. Pissed Jeans - Dream Smotherer
2. Sunset Rubdown - Silver Moons
3. Neko Case - The Pharoahs
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Dave Cullen’s book, Columbine, has been out since April from Twelve Publishers. As fascinating as it is, it may not be the best thing to bring on the subway.
In public, it may be smarter to read some of his great articles for Slate on the topic instead.
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We really like Inglourious Basterds. We may discuss it more on another episode.
Gypsies, however, we’d better stop talking about, just in case.
brian longtin is torn between playing Batman again and picking up The Beatles: Rock Band over the weekend, and happy these are the kind of tough choices he faces.
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On Nov. 21, 2008, the Harris and Klebold parents were sent the same letter requesting cooperation. “Your stories have yet to be fully told, and I view your help as an issue of historical significance,” it said. “In 10 years, there have been no major, mainstream books on Columbine. This will be the first, and it may be the only one.” The letter came not from Mr. Cullen but from Jeff Kass, whose Columbine: A True Crime Story, published by the small Ghost Road Press, preceded Columbine by a couple of weeks.
“Mr. Kass, whose tough account is made even sadder by the demise of The Rocky Mountain News in which his Columbine coverage appeared, has also delivered an intensive Columbine overview. Some of the issues he raises and information he digs up go unnoticed by Mr. Cullen.” –Janet Maslin, New York Times
“A decade after the most dramatic school massacre in American history, Jeff Kass applies his considerable reporting talents to exploring the mystery of how two teens could have planned and carried out such gruesome acts without their own family and best friends knowing about it. Actually, there were important clues, but they were missed or downgraded both by those who knew the boys best and by public officials who came in contact with them. An engrossing and cautionary tale for everyone who cares about how to prevent kids from going bad.” —–Ted Gest, President, Criminal Justice Journalists
” [Tana French] aces her second novel. The Likeness [is a] nearly pitch- perfect follow-up to her 2007 debut thriller, In the Woods.”
-Entertainment Weekly
” The Likeness [is] a book even better than the first, which was very good indeed. . . . The suspense is gut-grinding . . . A wonderful book.”
-New York Daily News
” For The Likeness, [French] has brought back detective Cassie Maddox and fashioned a plot that harks back to both Donna Tartt and Wilkie Collins.”
-The Washington Post
” [French's] already signature blend of psychological insight, beautiful writing and wry humor is on display once more in The Likeness.”
-The Baltimore Sun