KAOS Radio Austin

Notes and Food for the Mind's Eye

About the Show

The battle for the hearts and minds of the world will be fought in the video arena, movies, tv, video games, internet ... for the video screen has become the retina of the mind's eye. If you've heard the words of Professor Brian O'Blivion you will recognize these ideas. In fact, my dj name is Oblivion in honor of his astounding genius,and now I carry on his work, keeping people patched into the world's mixing board, splicing bits of history and modern culture with music.

I call this show "Retina of the Mind's Eye" to demonstrate the truth that lay behind his veneer of madness for as you listen to these clips and soundtracks you will find that you can easily visualize many of them. It's because you carry the video screen with you where ever you go. That is what Professor O'Blivion meant when he said that the "television has become the retina of the mind's eye." Of course, it doesn't matter that Brian O'Blivion never existed in our material world and was only a character in a movie called "Videodrome." He has emerged as raw experience for my brain; so his ideas have impacted me just as if he were real. And that's the whole point, isn't it?

This show combines audio clips and soundtrack music. All the songs are associated with film, tv or video games. The progression is more or less logical. For instance, the Videodrome clip, "he wasn't afraid to let his body die," is followed by the closing music from "300," a film about a group of people who were not afraid to die. This is followed by music from "The Alamo" (John Wayne version) for obvious reasons. The Alamo is a western so the next song is a cover of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," and so on.

Video Sources

MGM Lion - Since the founding of Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 1924 there have been 5 lions opening their films. Wikipedia has an article about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_the_Lion_(MGM)

Colossus of Rhodes - The theme song for this show is the opening of this old Sergio Leone film starring Rory Calhoun. Simpsons fans will remember Rory Calhoun as the "actor who was always standing and walking." I watched him very carefully throughout this film, but I didn't see what Mr. Burns was talking about. He seemed to walk like everyone else, although I was distracted by the white go-go boots they dressed him in. Rory was quite the ladies man. When his wife divorced him she named 79 women as his partners in adultery.

Rory Calhoun http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001983/bio

Colossus of Rhodes: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054756/
The real Colossus of Rhodes was a giant statue that guarded the harbor on the Island of Rhodes. In its time it was one of the seven wonders of the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_of_Rhodes

Videodrome - 1983 film starring James Woods and Deborah Harry. It is the inspiration for this show. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/
Reflections on Videodrome: http://anthrobody.blogspot.com/2007/05/reflections-on-videodrome.html
Interview with Deborah Harry about Videodrome: http://www.davidcronenberg.de/harryprevue.html

Futurama - Hypnotoad You just can't help loving the hypnotoad. All Gory to the Hypnotoad!
Info on the show: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0149460/

Fox Fanfare - Composed in 1933 by Alfred Neuman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Century_Fox#Logo_and_fanfare

The Saddest Music in the World - This 2003 Guy Maddin film stars Isabella Rossellini in one of the most cruel stories ever put on film. As is typical of Maddin it is filmed in a very grainy black and white.
The IMDB link is here:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0149460/
There is a Wikipedia article, as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saddest_Music_in_the_World

Death Becomes Her: Another Isabella Rossellini film, this one is a comedy with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn as women seeking eternal youth. Bruce Willis is in this one too. All four actors turn in excellent performances.
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104070/

Boys From Brazil - The oscar-nominated score to this 1978 film was written by Jerry Goldsmith, who wrote the music for "The Omen" as well as countless other movies. One reviewer described this music as sounding like "Johann Strauss on crack." The film starred Gregory Peck as Josef Mengele, the notorious Nazi doctor, and Laurence Olivier as a Nazi hunter modeled on Simon Wiesenthal. It was based on a novel by Ira Levin, who also wrote "Rosemary's Baby."
The Boys From Brazil: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_from_Brazil_(film)
Simon Wiesenthal, real-life Nazi hunter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Wiesenthal
Jerry Goldsmith: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000025/

Grisly article about Josef Mengele: http://www.auschwitz.dk/mengele.htm

300 - Recently released film adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel, 300 beautifully captures the artistic feel of Miller's work, but literally butchers history. This dramatic and atmospheric score is by Tyler Bates.
300 (film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416449/
300 (graphic novel): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_(comics)

300's portrayal of Xerxes infuriates Iranians: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1598886,00.html?cnn=yes
Ephors were not the disgusting, diseased old holy men depicted in the movie; they were regular elected officials: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephor
The Spartans did not fight for freedom because they were not free: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/behreandt1.html

The Alamo - "The Green Leaves of Summer" is the theme song for the John Wayne version of "The Alamo" made in 1960. It is performed by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053580/
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: http://www.tijuanabrass.com/

The Good The Bad and The Ugly - Los Plantronics plantronics cover the theme to Sergio Leone's "The Good The Bad and The Ugly."
Info on the film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good,_the_Bad_and_the_Ugly
Los Plantronics: http://www.myspace.com/losplantronics

Romancing the Stone - 1984 Robert Zemickis film starring Kathleen Turner as a romance novelist who experiences a real-life adventure with Michael Douglas. Danny DeVito is imminently loveable as Ralph, the outspoken rogue from Queens.

Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088011/

Death on the Nile - 1978 film based on an Agatha Christie novel, featuring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, backed by a star-studded cast.
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077413/

She-Devil - Roseanne Barr and Meryl Streep adorn this American version of the BBC mini-series about a terminally unattractive woman who punishes her husband for his affair with a romance novelist.
info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098309/
Life and Loves of a She-Devil: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/shedevil/

The Mirror Has Two Faces - Barbra Streisand and Jeff Bridges star as a couple who attempt to "remove sex from the equation." Lauren Bacall plays Streisand's mother.
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117057/

The Hitman - This 2007 action film based on the video game is heavy on the gunfire and weak on plot and character development.
info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465494/

The Wind and the Lion - 1975 film starring Sean Connery as a Berber who kidnaps Candice Bergen, creating an international incident during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt. Brian Keith's performance as Teddy Roosevelt is not to be missed.

The film is loosely based on the "Perdicaris Incident" of 1904, in which a man was kidnapped by Raisuli (Sean Connery's character).
Perdicaris Incident: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdicaris_incident
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073906/

Doctor Who - Doctor Who is the king of sci-fi series. The original "classic" series ran uninterrupted from 1963 to 1989. The clips in this show are from the new series revived by BBC in 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who
BBC official site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/
Classic Series: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/

In "Daleks in Manhattan" the Doctor and Martha travel to New York City, 1930: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daleks_in_Manhattan

Love Me or Leave Me - James Cagney was nominated for best actor for his role in this 1955 biography of torch singer Ruth Etting. Doris Day plays the steamy Etting who was catapulted to fame by a gangster (Cagney). Later, she discovers the dark side of his patronage. It's too bad that Doris Day has been pigeon-holed by the frustrated 30-something virgin she played in "That Touch of Mink," because her earlier roles were much more diverse and interesting.
Love Me or Leave Me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Me_or_Leave_Me_(film)
Ruth Etting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Etting
Moe "the Gimp" Snyder: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Snyder

Doctor Who - This Doctor Who clip relates the history of the "Great Depression" and the phenomenon of "Hooverville." There is a minor historical inaccuracy here. The show is set in 1930, but the Hooverville in NYC's Central Park was not there until 1931.
Hooverville: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooverville

Joyeux Noel - Beautiful dramatization of the Christmas Truce of 1914, when the German, French and British troops in the trenches put aside the war and celebrated Christmas together. Of course, the film is much glossier than reality, featuring an opera singer and his beautiful girlfriend right there on the front line leading the singing. It is in three languages, French, German and English with a heavy Scottish accent, so subtitles are necessary for all but tri-lingual people from Scotland.
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424205/
The real Christmas Truce: http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/christmastruce.htm

The WWI trenches on the Western Front are considered to be some of the worst wartime conditions ever: http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/trenchlife.htm

The Saddest Music in the World - "Two shots in Sarajevo and the whole world goes to war. Nine million dead, Narcissa" World War I, triggered by an assasination in Sarajevo, was perhaps the most tragic and unnecessary war ever. "To most non-historians, World War I is a vague and distant memory, faded photographs of guys in tin hats standing around in mud-filled trenches. In fact, it was one of two cataclysmic disasters of Western civilization in the modern period (the other was the French Revolution). In 1914, the West put a gun to its collective head and blew its brains out." William S. Lind
General article on the war: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
If you are ever in Kansas City there is a first-class World War I museum there: http://www.libertymemorialmuseum.org/

Michael Collins - 1996 film starring Liam Neeson as Irish rebel Michael Collins who helped organize the IRA. He was a participant in the famous "Easter Rising" of 1916 in which a small group of Irish dissidents took over several important locations in Dublin and declared an independent Irish Republic. The uprising was quashed after six days of fighting and the leaders were executed.
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117039/
Michael Collins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_(Irish_leader)
Easter Rising: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising

Torchwood - Spin off of Doctor Who. The name is an anagram of d-o-c-t-o-r-w-h-o. Torchwood is an ultra-secret organization founded by Queen Victoria to counter the threat of aliens. She came to this decision after meeting the Doctor and Rose in Scotland during their time travels. The organization is based in present-day Cardiff and is led by Captain Jack Harkness, a darkly handsome, frankly bi-sexual, immortal man from the future.
Torchwood website: http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/262/index.jsp

Queen Victoria would never have approved: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_of_the_United_Kingdom

Starship Troopers - Based on a novel by Robert A. Heinlein (writer of Stranger in a Strange Land), Starship Troopers featured award winning special effects. One of the more interesting aspects was the "newsreel" scenes reminiscent of the news reels shown to movie audiences during World War II. You have to love any movie with Michael Ironside
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120201/.
Robert A. Heinlein: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein
Stranger in a Strange Land: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land

Congo: A Curse of Riches - This thirty minute companion documentary comes as part of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, the most impressive DVD set I have ever seen. It tells the story of how the exploitation of the vast natural resources of the Congo have led to generations of misery. This clip is about the rubber plantations owned and operated by King Leopold of Belgium. I find it ironic that the Belgians would cut off the hands of unsatisfactory slaves. Later, during World War I, the Belgians would accuse the Germans chopping off the hands of children. After the war it was revealed as a lie. Was the origin of that lie within their own dark psyche? To this day amputation is frequently used by armies and rebel groups in Africa.
Info on the documentary: http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Congo_-_A_Curse_of_Riches
King Leopold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3516965.stm

The Believers - Martin Sheen plays a police psychiatrist terrorized by Santeria practioners bent on sacrficing his son in this 1987 John Schlesinger film. Malick Bowens, who also played the faithful servant Farah in "Out of Africa," gives a convincingly bizarre perfomance as the cult's high priest. The story was inspired by the case of Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo, the infamous drug dealer/human-sacrifice-cult leader. Okay, I admit that I enjoyed this one, despite its obvious tackiness.
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092632/
Santeria (Caribbean "voodoo"): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santeria
Macumba (Brazilian "voodoo"): http://www.stirlinglaw.com/ea/macumba.htm
Adolfo Constanzo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_Constanzo
Malick Bowens: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0100942/

Beerfest - Lighthearted comedy about two brothers and their friends traveling to Germany for a beer-drinking competition. Cloris Leachman (the grandmother from Malcolm in the Middle) as Great Gam Gam was a happy surprise for me.
Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486551/
Cloris Leachman: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001458/

Fight Club - This movie is, of course, essential viewing for anyone who likes film at all. It is so much more than just a bunch of men taking out their testosterone on each other; there is an urgent social message about the futility of our lives. Three sterling performances by Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter.

Info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/

Mad Men - AMC original series about Madison Avenue advertising executives in 1960. It is a flawless period piece, perfectly replicating the clothes, attitudes and behaviors of that time. Everyone smokes and drinks, they even have cigarettes in little dispensers in their offices and offer their friends "drinks for the road." It features brilliant writing, character development and use of music.
Mad Men website: http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/

Teaching Mrs Tingle - This film pits a very young Katie Holmes against Helen Mirren (Morgana in "Excalibur") in a battle of wits. Jeffrey Tambor (George/Oscar Bluth from "Arrested Development") plays Mrs Tingle's love interest, Coach "Spanky."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133046/

To Kill a Mockingbird - Gregory Peck's most famous role ever as Atticus Finch, a southern lawyer morally bound to provide a good defense for a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Robert Duval makes his big screen debut as Boo Radley, the sometimes violently insane neighbor.
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0056592/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird_(film)
The book is even better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird

The Grapes of Wrath - Tells the story of Oklahoma farmers who lose their land and become migrant farm workers in California during the depression. To the modern audience the film seems incredibly grim, especially with the black-and-white film, desolate landscapes, and raggedy, destitute looking people, but it is actually more upbeat than the John Steinbeck novel that inspired it. Jane Darwell (Dolly Merriweather in Gone With the Wind) won an Oscar for her performance as Ma Joad, while John Ford won for best director. Henry Fonda, equally memorable as Tom Joad, was nominated for best actor.
info on film (contains numerous spoilers): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grapes_of_Wrath_(film)
imdb site: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032551/
After you watch this incredibly moving and emotional film read this article about the "myth of the Okies:" http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/709593/posts
Then look at these photos:

The dust bowl was a product of poor farming practices as well as weather: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl

More photos: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm
Website about the Great Depression: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/depression/depression.htm
Wikipedia on the Great Depression in the US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression_in_the_United_States

House - What if Jack the Ripper was a drug-addicted, but dedicated diagnostician instead of a serial killer? He may not give a rat's ass about how you feel, but at least he has an intellectual drive to figure out what's wrong with you. http://www.fox.com/house/

Metalocalypse - Apparently these five guys
will be touring live in a city near you.
http://www.myspace.com/dethklok

South Park - A letter-perfect parody of the campground scene from "The Grapes of Wrath."

http://southpark.wikia.com/wiki/Over_Logging

Malcolm in the Middle - Award winning comedy about a dysfunctional boy-genius and his turbulent family. Reruns every day on Fx.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_in_the_Middle
The real milgram experiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

The Simpsons - Ralph Wiggum ran for president in a recent episode.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons

Clockwork Orange - 1971 film adaptaion of the Anthony Burgess novel about free will and the morality of brainwashing. Read the book. Anthony Burgess was a master craftsman of words.
film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_(film)
book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange

Monk - Infectious TV series about an obsessive-compulsive genius who solves difficult murders for the San Francisco PD. He describes his exceptional memory as "a blessing and a curse." Ted Levine ("Buffalo Bill" from "Silence of the Lambs") is Monk's friend and employer on the police force.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk_(TV_series)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312172/
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines - Directed by Johnathon Frakes of "Star Trek:TNG" fame, the two librarian films spoof the Indiana Jones series. The Librarian is an ultra-smart, ultra-educated man retained by the New York Public Library to protect secret treasures like the Ark of the Covenant, Excalibur, and Pandora's Box. Jane Curtain (from the original Saturday Night Live cast) and Bob Newhart are his superiors at the library, and Olympia Dukakis is his mother.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455596/

Goin' South - 1978 western featuring Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher LLoyd, Ed Begley Jr, Danny DeVito, and John Belushi. One of the best casts ever assembled in a movie you've never heard of.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455596/

Back to the Future - The Back to the Future series present another pairing of Mary Steenburgen and Christopher LLoyd. Yeah, I was stretching a bit for continuity here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future_trilogy

Soylent Green - In one of the most parodied and referenced films of all times, Charlton Heston stars as a man who discovers that the new miracle food of the global-warmed and over-crowded future, Soylent Green is what..say it with me: Soylent Green is people!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/

Cannibal Flesh Riot - Hola Ghost - DVD and CD package featuring new independent horror film about redneck flesh-eating ghouls and sondtrack music by Hola Ghost. I haven't seen this, but I like Hola Ghost. They play a sort of horror-surf.
http://www.myspace.com/cannibalflesh

Shaun of the Dead - Of course, the theme of flesh-eating ghouls led to Simon Pegg's elegant zombie spoof.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_of_the_Dead

Hot Fuzz - Another Simon Pegg film about a big-city cop solving a series of small-town murders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Fuzz
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425112/
Libertarian blog about Hot Fuzz: http://www.pheistyblog.com/archives/980

Stepford Wives - A conformist small-town horror featuring a masterful performance by Glenn Close (she's fabulous!). This 2004 version remakes the 1975 adaptation of Ira Levin's novel. Ira Levin also wrote "Rosemary's Baby" and the aforementioned "Boys From Brazil."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327162/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stepford_Wives_(2004_film)

Futurama Robot Hell Song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4O3jWpQ9Yk

Paint Your Wagon - 1969 film adaptation of Broadway musical starring Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin as gold miners who share gold profits and a wife in 1849 California.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064782/

Blood Diamond - Leonardo DiCaprio graces this engaging action film about the issue of "conflict diamonds" from Africa.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450259/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Diamond_(film)
article about conflict diamonds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond
The industry's take on the issue: http://www.diamondfacts.org/conflict/index.html
"Blood cellphones" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coltan
2001 BBC article about coltan's role in the recent Congolese civil war: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1468772.stm

Videodrome - You have become something quite different from what you were. You have become the video word made flesh. Long live the new flesh!