IMAGINATIONLAND: Recent Episodes
Bad Idea Machine Productions
Caitlin and James combat the crushing ennui of everyday life by taking it in turns to introduce each other to the weird, whacky, often under-appreciated media (books / games / television etc) that keep them sane. Nothing all that serious - neither of us are professional audio engineers (or particularly funny) - so treat this as little more than an excuse for us to discover new stuff as we hang out and talk friend-to-friend in the Endtime.
I'm back from the dead! I'm podcasting in person for the first time! I'm using new software to edit the show!
Here's my discussion with the one and only Frog Person Plus. We talked about visual art and getting started in tattooing. We talked about making weird folk music. We talked about all kinds of good stuff. You'll have to listen to find out more.
You can find Charlie on Instagram here: @frogpersonplus
You can listen to Frances Pylons here: http://francespylons.bandcamp.com
You can listen to Cherry Chain here: http://cherrychain22.bandcamp.com
Two new episodes in the space of a week??? Don’t get used to it! Here’s my discussion with Abi about Underdark and YURI. We talked about the process of joining a very good black metal band at age 29, co-writing a cyberpunk novel remotely with a friend, and feeling vaguely hopeful about the future. Enjoy.
Surprise, new episode! Here’s my discussion with Kai about Rope, Hunger Artist, and Goodtime Boys. We talked about touring the US, the merits of live recording, European Arts Council funding, and playing riffs in your garage that piss of the neighbours. Enjoy.
FRIEND TO FRIEND IN THE END TIME #8: This episode was recorded in June. We had a load of technical difficulties at the time so I avoided editing it for over 3 months. It’s done now - I’ll rewrite the description later. Anyway, here’s my discussion with Chris about all things Self Defense Family, Twin Cisterns, Thee Visitors, composing for television, and the Great Outdoors.
FRIEND TO FRIEND IN THE END TIME #7: James spoke with Charlene Elsby, the hyper-productive Canadian author who only writes books with one word titles (thus destroying this show’s episode-naming convention. They talked about making the most of being forced to change academic disciplines, writing about murder realistically, pumping out books left, right and centre, the difference between Clash Books and Porcupine’s Quill, mutual friends and reference points, and genuinely enjoying television designed to kill as many brain cells as possible.
FRIEND TO FRIEND IN THE END TIME #6: James spoke to two dudes named Tyler about the JRPG they made together called Shadows of Adam. They talked about life-changing coincidences, game-breaking bugs, surviving Kickstarter, Switch ports & DLC, and playing jazz music for the Navy or some shit. Welcome to GameBoy Summer.
FRIEND TO FRIEND IN THE END TIME #5: James had a really enjoyable chat with Daniel Eastman about his first poetry book ‘Watertown’ (to be released in May 2021 through Back Patio Press). James and Dan talked about the happy accidents that saw this book come to life, working with Back Patio Press (as editors, publishers and friends), Raymond Carver, and Trailer Park Boys. Dan also read a couple of pieces from Watertown at the end of the episode so stick around for that. Nice.
FRIEND TO FRIEND IN THE END TIME #4: James had the pleasure of chatting with Christopher Barling about the decade plus Chris has invested into making heavy music, his (positive and negative) experiences touring Europe with Hang the Bastard, MINE, Group of Man, and Inhuman Nature, his debut photo-book ‘Stray Dogs’ published through Strange City Press, and a load of other weird and whacky stuff. Join us.
FRIEND TO FRIEND IN THE END TIME #3: James had a really insightful chat with Lindsay Lerman about both of her books published by CLASH, her PHD in Philosophy and how that relates to her work as a translator, her role as an editor at Black Telephone Magazine. (This episode comes with a content warning for a mention of rape between 1:10:00 - 1:14:00)
FRIEND TO FRIEND IN THE END TIME #2: James has decided to steal Lungfish’s IP for the title of this series (because he already stole it for the intro music). For this episode James talked with Shwin Bhandari about playing to your strengths, learning new things, their music (Night Swimming / Give Up/ Red Terror) and all kinds of other great stuff!
FRIEND TO FRIEND IN END TIME #1: James has never read Moby Dick before and it shows. Go follow Tex on Twitter over at @thatsqueakypig, read his book HECK, TEXAS published by Atlatl Press, and check out his podcast Mumbo Jumbo (A Movie Podcast) on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Separated from Caitlin by the force of a never-ending lockdown, James lost his mind and began writing on the walls with his own shit. Not really. Instead he got bored and decided to practice recording by chatting to himself about some of the cool games and books he’s been enjoying recently, including but not limited to Serial Cleaner / Hotline Miami Collection / Abzu / Immortal Planet / Thumper / Chainsaw Poems & Other Poems / Watertown / The Bell Jar / HECK, TEXAS / Fucked Up / Ruthless Little Things / Mike Andrelczyk’s Apartment Paintings / Sad Drawings By Jace / Sam Pink’s Instagram / Progress Update for Bad Idea Machine / Call for Dead Dogs
Caitlin and James take their first small steps out into the Brave New World that is amateur podcasting, armed with just one PGA58, an iPad, and a single-track interface. Early on, our intrepid new podcast hosts face gruelling tests to both their skills and equipment, as his over-reliance on a convoluted script causes James to temporarily lose himself inside the Cave of Echoey Vocals & its’ Tunnels of Performance Anxiety - leaving Caitlin with no choice but to face the void alone as they grapple with the question that defined the Winter of 1992: Should fish be sexy?