Overture! Curtain! Lights! In this episode of The Best Stuff in the World we’re taking a look back at the classic Looney Tunes shorts. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were the umbrella titles for the short cartoons produced by the Warner Brothers studio from the early 1930s through the 1960s, although we’re mostly discussing the shorts released during what I think of as "the golden era" from the 1940s and 1950s, particularly the shorts starring the iconic characters from the studio - Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Road Runner, etc. The best of these shorts are among the greatest art America produced in the 20th century and I’m delighted to be joined by Joe Crowe, the co-director of Dragon Con’s American Sci-Fi Classics Track and by Dave West from the Needless Things YouTube channel and a bunch of other cool stuff (including the documentary Troublemaker about his adventures that he’s currently screening at different conventions) to discuss these masterpieces of American animation. On with the show, this is it!

You can find Dragon Con's American Sci-Fi Classics Track at their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/americanscificlassics/

Check out what Dave West is up to at The Needless Things YouTube Channel and via his Linktree!

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We're diving into the career of the great Charles Entertaiment Chaplin on THE BEST STUFF IN THE WORLD!

Chaplin is one of the masters of silent film comedy, blending humor, sentimentality and social commentary - usually channeled through his iconic Little Tramp character. I’m joined this time by writer and podcaster Mike Gordon and artist Denise Lhamon to talk all things Chaplin - the short films, the silent features, and his rocky transition into talkies. A podcast episode with a smile—and perhaps a tear.

You can find all of Mike Gordon's various endeavors (Tiki Zombie comic, Dragon Tales book, and his podcasts) at his linktree: https://linktr.ee/newlegendmike or at New Legend Productions.

Denise Lhamon's art and historical writings and art about history can be found at https://www.instagram.com/laymonsterms/

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We are discussing THE SIMPSONS, the long-running animated sitcom on the FOX network. I’m joined for the episode by my friend Frank Burnham and by Derek B Gayle of the Glitterjaw Podcast Collective.

The cover version of our theme song that starts the show this week is by Iron Reverb, the music project from my friend Luke MacPherson.

If you ever want to email this podcast you can contact me at gleamingpod@gmail.com.

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We're diving deep into the eccentric and pioneering world of Kool Keith, one of the most influential and enigmatic figures in hip-hop. Keith has been around since his time in the 80s with the group ULTRAMAGNETIC MC’s and he first came to my attention for the album he released under the Doctor Octogon name in 1996, which was unlike anything I’d ever heard before. We get heavily into what’s so great about that record during the show, along with Keith’s various releases, his use of personas, and why we find him so fascinating.

I’m joined by Michael Brousseau, who some of you may know as the cohost of my other podcast GLEAMING THE TUBE, and by rapper and recording artist Sage Francis who runs the Strange Famous record label and who has released a ton of great hip-hop albums of his own. Sage, Mike and I were all doing shows at the same college radio station around the time the Doctor Octagon album came out and it was awesome getting to chat with them about our shared appreciation for Kool Keith. I hope you enjoy listening!

You can find out what Sage Francis is up to at Strange Famous Records website!

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For this episode we’re exploring one of the most iconic and enduring games of all time: Dungeons & Dragons!

For 50 years, D&D has captivated players with its mix of imagination, strategy, and storytelling. When the game’s at its best it can function as this really fun way to do collaborative storytelling - it can seem life and death while also providing a lot of fodder for dumb jokes with your friends. It’s honestly the best game of all the games - I’d been hoping to do an episode about it since this podcast launched (hence it being referenced in the theme song my friend Mike Brousseau put together) and I was excited to be joined by my pal Gary Mitchel, who co-directs the American Sci-Fi Classics Track at Dragon Con and co-hosts the great horror podcast A PODCASK OF AMONTILLADO and writer James Palmer to talk all things D&D. Let’s roll for initiative and get into it!

Gary is the co-host of the horror podcast A PODCASK OF AMONTILLADO!

You can find James Palmer's books at https://www.jamespalmerbooks.net/

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We're discussing one of the most influential films ever made—the 1920 silent horror film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, Caligari is a film that not only redefined the horror genre but also helped lay the groundwork for German Expressionism in cinema. It’s got twisted abstract sets, eerie visuals, and one of the first horrifying twist endings in cinema. It’s a deeply unsettling film, especially when you factor in that it was made over 100 years ago.

The plot of Caligari is that the sinister Dr. Caligari sets up a carnival sideshow attraction with a deadly secret - his sleepwalking accomplice Cesare, who carries out his murderous bidding. The film is widely considered to be the first full-length horror movie ever made and I was delighted to unpack it with two of the smartest people I know - artist Emma McDonnell and filmmaker and writer Guy Benoit. We discuss the film, the career of Conrad Veidt, German Expressionism, transformation scenes, and so much more. It's a wide-ranging discussion and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much I enjoyed engaging in it.

Emma McDonnell's artwork can be found at https://ekmcdonnell.com/

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I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey. We are talking THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with special guest Greg Bell! Rocky Horror was originally a U.K. stage show that fused what was going on in the glam rock scene with old science fiction b-movies. The show was written by Richard O’Brien and was enough of a stage success that it was then adapted into what’s probably the most successful cult movie of all time - midnight showings have been running somewhere every weekend since the late 70s and there’s a robust fan culture around the whole thing. "Shadowcasts" dress up like the characters and act out the movie in front of the screen while the audience shouts out what’s become an evolving dialogue with the film in the form of callbacks. There are props and dancing and and people running around in their underwear and dirty jokes and it's a whole lot of fun.

Greg discusses his long tenure in the fan culture, what has changed about the experience over the years, and where he sees things going as Rocky prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a film. Naturally, it wouldn't be an episode about Rocky Horror without several shout-outs to our mutual friend Arthur Levesque,too. So get your squirt guns and your toast and your cell phone flashlights (lighters aren't allowed anymore) as we head over to the Frankenstein place. It's just a jump to the left.

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