So here's the deal, fambly (Q&A HERE)
I'm back from the bizarre hotel and in a house with functional 20th-century amenities, and I'd planned to record and release an episode with a very good guest. That guest has just had to reschedule because he broke a big story today and has to deal with all the bullshit attendant upon that process.
I still have material for a number of other shows, one of which I hope to do instead as quickly as possible. In the interim, however, if you guys want to do another Q&A show before my guest reschedules (hopefully next week, but nothing's certain), please leave yr questions below.
It was the worst of times, it was still the worst of times,
M
Comments (19)
Thoughts on Christopher Lasch? Could you expound upon why Deleuze is a grifter?
I don't know shit about Lasch, but I think you must have me confused with somebody else on Deleuze – I think he was a genius, and he was a major influence on my thought
I think I saw you post about Thom Yorke on Twitter once or twice mentioning something about his politics. What are your thoughts on Radiohead and his work?
How do you feel about Ishmael Reed?
A second vote for Finnegans Wake!
Not sure you want to answer Qs on your own work, but in your books I always pick up on your fascination with abandoned / lifeless cities being taken over by vegetation. Where does that fascination come from? And I know you have briefly touched on Ballard before but I sometimes pick up some vibes (not contrived, just an overlapping interest between you two), has he influenced you in any way or just a lucky coincidence we have two authors who try to make location a principle character?
Best way to get good at guitar
(Whoops!)...saw that you said that you had been told the last ep was based on faulty info. Any details/updates about that would be much appreciated.
Would love to know your thoughts (if any) on James Ellroy. His version of the JFK stuff in American Tabloid is pretty close to your epic JFK series. And while we’re on that subject, I was relistening to the aforementioned shows recently and saw that you hade
Also have you read anything by Michael Cisco?
What are your thoughts regarding the rise and proliferation of machine learning based algorithms as major forces shaping how/what information is spread online?
SPEAK ON PKD &/OR L. RON HUBBARD
Seconded
Thoughts on Vineland?
What's your take on 'magical realism'? I haven't read any Gabriel Garcia Marquez personally but have heard (for example) the fantastical elements sit alongside real state crimes etc, so I've wondered whether the fantastical might have a similar relationship to dangerous truth-telling as the 'wacky' in some of Pynchon's work
In Chapter 1 of Lot 49, Oedipa remembers crying at Remedios Varo's 'Bordando el Manto Terrestre' when she was in CDMX with Pierce. Do you have any thoughts about this painting and how it connects to the book? More generally, wtf is surrealism and how does it fit into your cosmology?
Do you think there's any modern political/cultural/something movement that's reminiscent of Pirate Prentice's "We system" from GR? A similar question would be "Does the left have any hope at all?"
In the unlikely event that Sanders were to win the Democratic primary, do you think that they’d do him like they did Bobby/Hampton/JFK?
Would you still consider doing the Finnegans Wake episode you talked about a while ago? Also what is your opinion on Samuel Beckett?