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The Whole Shebang: The Minute-by-Minute Velvet Goldmine Podcast

Take a minute-by-minute journey into the glittery heart of the greatest (and only) glam rock movie of the 1990s, Velvet Goldmine. Who killed Brian Slade? What's with the Oscar Wilde obsession? Why did Bowie sue? Couldn't they afford sturdier trousers for Ewan McGregor? These, and many more questions will be answered by your hard-rocking hosts, Mike Grasso and Jenny Anckorn as we take on... THE WHOLE SHEBANG!
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The Whole Shebang: The Minute-by-Minute Velvet Goldmine Podcast
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Now displaying: October, 2016

Take a minute-by-minute journey into the glittery heart of the greatest (and only) glam rock movie of the 1990s, Velvet Goldmine.

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Oct 31, 2016

In Minute 81 of The Whole Shebang, Jenny and Mike talk about the aftermath of the recording studio blow-up, including Mandy’s gradual drift away from Brian (and her fashion choices and hair for hanging around the studio), Mandy’s bubble perm as a tribute to Angie Bowie, the changing hairstyles of the main characters and the famous hairstylists of Swinging London, Jenny and Mike’s visit to the V&A for their “You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970” exhibit, the Fall of the Fripperies and Brian’s cruelty to Curt in the face of Brian having been his caretaker, and the introduction of “Bitter-Sweet” by Roxy Music, the women on the cover of Roxy’s Country Life and their jobs as models/German translators, and two scenes from a balcony: the night of Brian and Curt’s fight and the morning after.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 28, 2016

Minute 76: Brief Holiday, Much Needed

Minute 77: Sweaty Greasy Goths Flirt

Minute 78: I Wanna Tear It Down

 

Minute 79: Capital-A Acting

Minute 80: You're Just A Big Nerd

Oct 28, 2016

In Minute 80 of The Whole Shebang, we continue the uncomfortable time looking at Curt, Brian, and Jerry’s conflict in the recording studio, the idea of studio polish vs. raw energy, where Brian’s energies are best directed and how Bowie used his time in inadvisable ways early in his career, Curt’s insults cutting to the core of Brian’s puffed-up space-age persona and coterie of yes-men, and then we look at this behavior through the lens of the fact that these rock stars (and actors) are really young when they’re behaving badly, Brian’s milquetoast suggestion of having a bit of a break, and the whys and wherefores of an artist’s vitality fading.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 27, 2016

In Minute 79 of The Whole Shebang, Mike and Jenny take a good long detailed look at the scene where Curt and Brian have their “creative differences,” take a detour into talking about how hard it is to be honestly critical of the person you love, siding with the suits rather than the dungarees, and then look at the fantastic acting on the part of Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Eddie Izzard in this scene. We then look at studio argument outtakes from commercials (Orson Welles), music history (Buddy Rich), and movies (Christian Bale), and then take some time with Brian’s bulge and how it echoes the cover of Sticky Fingers and David Bowie’s famed package in Labyrinth.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 26, 2016

In Minute 78 of The Whole Shebang, Mike and Jenny look at Mandy’s statement about Maxwell Demon and Curt Wild being fictions, then we enter the recording studio to recap David Bowie’s producing Lou and Iggy, and listen in to “My Unclean,” an original song made for the movie meant to unite the grunge and glam aesthetics into a proto-punk and how the folks in the studio just don’t get it, then cover the rock movie cliché of fights in the recording studio, look at Brian and Curt mentor-mentee relationship in terms of Oscar and Bosie, the reactions of the Venus in Furs, Mandy, and Jerry to Curt’s studio indulgence, and talk a little about Abbey Road studios… and the Abbey Road webcam.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 25, 2016

In Minute 77 of The Whole Shebang, we finish looking at Arthur and Mandy’s confrontation about Arthur hearing the rest of the story of the fall of Brian Slade, take a brief silly detour into talking about goths’ mycological method of reproduction, Arthur’s ambivalence about his glam fandom in the 1984 period and how the movie expertly uses the two time periods to reveal details of the characters, the power of nostalgia, its inherent melancholy, and how it is the engine at the center of Velvet Goldmine, how we can’t trust Arthur’s perceptions of 1984 and how Arthur’s grim view of the world could have to do with his finally growing up, how Arthur’s attitude about the Brian Slade story has taken a complete 180 from disdain to fascination, Mandy’s complex opinion of Curt as an empty symbol and Arthur’s reaction to this, and Mandy’s apparent mood ring!

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 24, 2016

In Minute 76 of The Whole Shebang, Mike and Jenny look at Mandy’s discovery of the empty bedroom and the very perfunctory and telegrammatic goodbye note that Brian leaves, other brief notes from pop culture (including Cabaret and a very interesting Twitter account featuring Postcards from the Past), Brian’s reference to Hammersmith, the real-life Hammersmith Odeon/Apollo, and some of the big artists who’ve performed there, including Bowie, Kate Bush, and Eddie Izzard (and the reference to it in the title of Motörhead’s classic live album No Sleep ‘Till Hammersmith), then we swing back to 1984 and judge Arthur’s skill as a journalist, how he’s changed from the vulnerable kid we’ve been seeing in the 1970s portions of the movie, the meaningful look that Mandy gives the barman, and his cornering Mandy to get the final bits of the breakup story from her.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 21, 2016

Minute 71: The Rock Equivalent of a Doily

Minute 72: Rubbing Our Shoulders In Unison

Minute 73: Walking Out The Door

Minute 74: Excessively, Guiltily Naked

Minute 75: It Could Be Shannon

Oct 21, 2016

In Minute 75 of The Whole Shebang, Jenny and Mike continue to look at Shannon and Mandy’s conversation post-orgy, Mandy’s condescending patronizing interpretation of Shannon’s feelings, the use of Jack Fairy’s music to denote Mandy’s coming loss of Brian, and Mandy discovering Brian and Curt gone after having spent the night together.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 20, 2016

In Minute 74 of The Whole Shebang, Jenny and Mike see Arthur leave home for London, and talk about the ‘60s and ‘70s phenomenon of teenagers striking out on their own as embodied by the Beatles’ “She’s Leaving Home” and the influx of young hippie (and gay) youth heading to San Francisco, and the difference between teenage rebellion in the US and UK. And then it’s back to “the morning after the night before,” as Shannon and Mandy have a morning-after heart-to-heart about Brian, and we speculate on whether really is emotionally invested in Brian, trying to intentionally sow discord between Brian and Mandy, or some combination of the two, and then we talk about the famous discovery of Angie Bowie, when she supposedly found David Bowie and Mick Jagger in bed together.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 19, 2016

In Minute 73 of The Whole Shebang, Jenny and Mike continue to look at Arthur’s falling out with his parents, his dad as a non-stereotypical homophobic father figure and Arthur’s mum’s conflicted emotions as she recedes into the background, the violation of Arthur’s former sanctuary in the form of his bedroom, and the unexpectedly anti-climactic ending to the confrontation with his parents. Then we return to the orgy to find Curt leading Brian off, Pied Piper-style, to a private assignation, and how Shannon and Mandy both notice Brian walking out the door.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 18, 2016

In Minute 72 of The Whole Shebang, Jenny and Mike continue to look at the orgy in great, voyeuristic detail, but also look at what the orgy says about various characters’ evolutions: Shannon’s turning point in becoming powerful and ruthless, Mandy’s hedonistic exhibitionism slowly turning to jaded cynicism, Curt’s intense, almost monogamous desire for Brian, and voyeurism as it relates to this scene, and to Warhol’s legendary voyeuristic near-asexuality. Then we go back up to Manchester to watch Arthur’s heartbreaking confrontation with his parents about his sexuality and examine the ongoing problem for gay youth of being disowned and finding themselves without a home and support.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 17, 2016

In Minute 71 of The Whole Shebang, Jenny and Mike look at Brian turning into a scuttling wounded lizard under the sonic assault of Curt's guitar solo, Arthur's inner conflict at his gay desire for Brian and Curt, the mechanics and acoustics of having a teenage wank, and the depiction of the ambivalent sexual experiences of both Arthur and Shannon.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

Oct 14, 2016

 

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Minute 66: Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young

Minute 67: Vain Sinners and Truth-Telling Masks

Minute 68: Rewriting History

Minute 69: Kurt With a K

Minute 70: An All-Caps Salon Orgy

Oct 14, 2016

In Minute 70 of The Whole Shebang, Mike and Jenny take the briefest of glimpses at the coming orgy, Shannon’s initiation into the decadence of the rock and roll world in that whirlwind New York City weekend, Jerry’s smug satisfaction at being the initiator, and more of Curt and Brian’s ever-circling stagecraft, the sexual poetics of the electric guitar as embodied by Jimi Hendrix’s playing the guitar with his teeth and Chuck Berry’s duck walk, and the inherent ouch factor involved in tonguing or teething electric guitar strings.

Find us on the web at thewholeshebangpodcast.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon at wholeshebangpod.

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