Cultural Futures Exchange

Prepare for battle because this week CFX is waging another album war episode. And, this time, the stakes are high because we are covering one of the great geniuses of popular music, Joni Mitchell. Joni was already one of the most talented and innovative musicians ever, with her multilayered chords, unprecedented use of alternate tunings, her insane vocal range and brilliant lyricism when, in 1971, she cranked things up a notch and released Blue, which blew (get it!?) everyone away. This album was not only the most personal and raw confessional singer songwriter albums of the time, but it still holds that position today. And, she continued to innovate to the point where in 1974, she released another watershed album, Court and Spark. This album featured a full band, jazz virtuosos, the LA Express, and more elaborate orchestral accompaniment and even more sophisticated arrangements. Lyrically, it was still confessional but expanded on this and continued Joni’s story. Jeff thinks that Blue will never be surpassed and he argues that in this episode, starting with the tumultuous relationships and Joni’s many travels that led to its striking (and now legendary) songs. Slip prefers Court and Spark and he argues that it surpasses Blue in some ways and showcases more of Joni’s talents for composition and arrangement. Slip also tries to fit an extra tribute to The Hissing of Summer Lawns (his favorite Joni album). You can decide who wins after the smoke clears (and because it’s Joni Mitchell, a new inductee into the CFX Super Smoker Hall of Fame, there’s a LOT of smoke!) Of course, we also can’t help but get a bit gossipy since all of these songs are about the various famous relationships that inspired these songs. We go into the history and try to piece together the stories of the songs and, as usual, along the way, we learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

This week CFX takes on one of Jeff’s favorite movies, the 1985 comedy Real Genius. Featuring a very young Val Kilmer, Real Genius does some of the same classic tropes as other teen comedies of the day, and it may break the record for the “most montages in a single film”, but it really is a cut above other similar movies of its time. Not only does it stand out for the way it depicts college life at a very exclusive scientific institution, but also excels in its satirization of the 1980s military industrial complex and its exploitation of science for nefarious ends. The movie is also is full of quotable dialog and memorable scenes and has a twist ending that has to be seen to be believed. We both have a bit of history with the film, which we discuss, and we talk about the whole zeitgeist of 1980s films that deal with science and technology (such as War Games - which we discussed at length in episode 41 - check it out!). We also do a complete walk-through of the film and we might have even got a little too detailed since this is our longest episode ever! And, as usual, along the way we learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

To celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year CFX is rolling it all out: Songs! Elaborate Dance Routines! Corny Banter! Skits! Sketches! Disco! Ice Skating! Washed up old celebrities! Sid and Marty Kroft! Fred Silverman! Uncle Milty’s schlong! The 70s! That’s right, the CFX Holiday 2025 70s Variety Show Spectacular is here. In this episode, we wipe away the cobwebs on what essentially is an extinct TV show phenomenon, focusing on four shows in particular: two that were very successful and two that were generally recognized as fiascos. We find out why this type of show was at once so popular but then seemed to die at the end of the decade. Where other once popular phenomena such as the Western and the Musical, have come back over the years, the Variety Show, despite some valiant attempts, seems pretty much dead in the dirt. Why the fuck is that? Well, we’ll tell you and, along the way, we’ll learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Q: Are we not men? A: We are DEVO! With that simple question, the world was introduced to one of the strangest, most unique, innovative and irreverent music/art projects of all time.. DEVO! So, put on your hazmat suit, monkey mask and don that energy dome, because this week your resident CFX spud boys, Sloppy Slip Tomato and Booji Boy Jeff, immerse themselves into the world of DEVO, covering the band from their humble, suburban beginnings in Akron, Ohio to the shootings at Kent State that first inspired the concept of “De-evolution” and their early experimental electronic years terrifying audiences with sights and sounds no one had ever heard before. We cover the influence that punk had on the band on their first, high energy albums to the streamlining and mainstreaming of their sound that resulted in some commercial success and then their gradual fall from grace. We also cover, in a twist ending that would make M. Night Shyamalan jealous, a very peculiar deviation (DEVO-iation?) late in the band’s career that the recent authorized documentary completely skips (and we’ll tell you why we think that is). We evaluate and rank all the albums and some of our opinions may not be what you expect. In the end, we decide, if all of this evolution and de-evolution will stand the test of time, and, as usual, along the way, we learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

This week CFX goes on the lam riding shotgun with that ragtag squad of noble ex-Special Forces mercenaries, The A-Team. One of the most popular shows of the 1980s, The A-Team combined ridiculously over the top action,broad comedy and larger than life characters into a “must see” TV formula that couldn’t fail…until it did. We go into the backstory of each of the characters and the actors who played them. We talk about the phenomenon that was Mr. T aka B.A. Baracus-–the cartoons, the breakfast cereals, the rapping!  We go into what can only be described as the dark background and questionable character of George Peppard aka Hannibal (aka “Handibal”). We talk about Murdoch and actor Dwight Schultz’s many, often suspiciously mysterious, impersonations. We talk about Dirk Benedict aka Face and how many things the actor and character had in common.  We even take a massive detour down the rabbit hole of creator Steven J. Cannell’s oeuvre - the Cannellverse…B.A. Baracus would say we were really “on the jazz” with this episode. But most importantly, does the A-Team’s plan come together when it comes to standing the test of time or is it just a whole lot of “Jibba Jabba”. We find out and also learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

We know what you’re thinking… PLATE OF SHRIMP! Are we right? That’s crazy, but since the fabric of the universe is just a lattice of coincidences, it’s only right that just when you were thinking that, CFX decided to cover Alex Cox’s 1984 film Repo Man, a satirical, punk rock, sci fi cult classic that would influence a whole generation of independent film. We talk about how this all came to be, the real life repo story, the casting, the cars, the aliens, the punk rock criminals, and, lest we forget, the REPO CODE. In fact, we do a walkthrough of the entire film including everything from the toppling Ralph’s plain wrap peaches of the Pick ‘n’ Pack to televangelist worshipping hippie burnouts to deadly scooter riding ska gangs to that extraterrestrial Chevy Malibu. We finally decide if the whole thing holds up, and along the way, we learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

This week CFX switches gears to evaluate the pop culture impact of the world’s most innovative maker of toilets, the Japanese company, Toto LTD.  Just kidding! We are of course talking about the band Toto. Started in the late ‘70s by a bunch of San Fernando Valley high school friends who also happened to be some of the most accomplished studio musicians in the world, Toto would peak in 1982, creating one of the biggest selling albums of that year in Toto IV, and, arguably, one of the most popular songs of all time in “Africa”. They won every Grammy in sight and then played a huge part in the recording of THE biggest selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The members of Toto would split their time between the band and continued session work for just about every major artist in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and beyond. That said, we’re not going to focus on the session work other than in passing. No, this week CFX puts the entire discography of Toto under the Evaluato-scope and we decide whether it has and will continue to “rise like Olympus above the Serengeti” or “become frightened by this thing” they’ve become. We decide that, and along the way we also learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

This week CFX covers one of the most popular OLD movies ever, Grease. This classic 1970s/1950s musical about a bunch of high school SENIORS, with its mix of fun musical frivolity and MATURE subject matter, seems to have AGED well....or has it? We do the usual..going into the whole 1970s/1950s nostalgia that birthed the original stage show and eventually, thanks to the growing popularity of actor John Travolta, led to the blockbuster film and soundtrack, a worldwide phenomenon. We also do a walkthrough of the entire film, adding in bits of trivia along the way, and, as you might imagine a few jokes at the expense of the cast, who, let’s face it, are the OLDEST HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EVER. We also talk about the social issues that Grease so obviously does and does not address and whether any of that matters. And, as usual, along the way, we learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

This week CFX takes you back to a simpler time, a time when bionically enhanced astronauts and former tennis pros saved the world from Bigfoot, aliens, Russian death probes and evil "robuts"—all while wearing fashion tracksuits and the finest fashions that the Sears Roebuck catalog had to offer. And doing it all in beautiful slow motion! That’s right, this week we are covering the very popular and successful mid-1970s show The Six Million Dollar Man and also a bit of its just as successful spinoff, The Bionic Woman.  Not only were these shows at the top of the Nielsen charts, but they were also the first shows to really get merchandising right. Partnering with Kenner toys they released a series of action figures that were not only the best selling toys of their day but also influenced all of the merchandising that came after, most notably Star Wars (though whether that’s a good thing is debatable). But as popular and influential as the show was at the time, how does it hold up now? Will the show’s reputation continue to grow bigger, stronger, faster or is it just barely alive? We find out and, as usual, along the way, we learn:

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Well, we know where we’re going and we know where we have been. It may seem like we were on a road to nowhere with Talking Heads Part 1 since it’s been a while, but the future is certain because here we are with Part 2. We start things off with a bang, with 1980’s Remain in Light and then cover the Talking Heads’ most commercially successful years including their landmark concert film, Stop Making Sense. Then we cover their detour into commercial, American-influenced pop on albums such as LIttle Creatures and True Stories and end with their adventurous final album, Naked. We continue our evaluation from part 1 and things get a little contentious as we disagree (slightly) on what truly was the band’s artistic peak and, as usual, along the way, we learn…

Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected]

All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.