Supercontext: an autopsy of media

Hellbender's 1997 album was the final and little-known release by a group of young men who would go on to do plenty more than punk rock. So why did it get a remastered re-release 25 years later, and why is it still Chris's favorite record? We talk about the band, the recording, and what emo themes live in the literary, haunted lyrics.

Sources

• https://deadbrokerekerds.bandcamp.com/album/con-lim-n

• https://www.tinymixtapes.com/delorean/hellbender-con-lim%C3%B3n

• https://razorcake.org/hellbender-con-limon-lp/

• https://www.maximumrocknroll.com/band/hellbender/

• https://twisted-tracks.blogspot.com/2015/09/hellbender.html

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Tower

• https://www.opb.org/news/article/tin-house-wells-tower-still-processing-jenna-wortham-wesley-morris/?outputType=amp

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burn_Collector

• https://www.harrisonhaynes.com/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alap_Momin

• https://www.discogs.com/label/40091-Reservoir

• https://www.noecho.net/features/reservoir-records-andrew-orlando

• https://saffmastering.com/

• https://therumpus.net/2010/02/17/punk-rock-literati-wells-tower-and-hellbender/

• https://ink19.com/1998/04/magazine/music-reviews/v3w6br-hellbender

• https://cvltnation.com/journey-to-the-new-heavy-cvlt-nation-interviews-dj-oktopus/#google_vignette

This 2023 Netflix movie directed by David Fincher was either a stunning technical tour-de-force or a slick bit of over-processed product. (Maybe it was both.) We talk about how the filmmakers paid attention to every detail of this visceral revenge thriller, and why that didn't connect with as big an audience as you might think.

Sources:

• https://www.screendaily.com/features/david-fincher-and-andrew-kevin-walker-on-creating-hitman-thriller-the-killer/5188929.article
• https://filmmakermagazine.com/124199-interview-cinematographer-erik-messerschmidt-david-fincher-the-killer-handheld/
• 'The Killer' Q&A Fincher & Fassbender & Rian Johnson 15th Nov 2023
• https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/hardly-working-david-fincher-s-the-killer
• https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/david-fincher/the-killer-review
• https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/the-killer-editing-michael-fassbender-david-fincher-netflix-1234922058/
• https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/61273/1/david-fincher-on-filmmaking-fassbender-the-smiths-twisted-comedy-the-killer
• https://variety.com/2026/film/news/netflix-dan-lin-wont-work-with-directors-who-want-theatrical-1236768048/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/01/movies/david-fincher.html?eafs_enabled=false
• https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/03/the-killer-review-terrific-david-fincher-thriller-about-a-philosophising-hitman
• https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/netflix-top-10-ratings-12-1235806179/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/movies/the-killer-review-fincher.html?eafs_enabled=false

This horror anthology launched in 2018 and has been lauded for its storytelling, genre experimentation, and charming nostalgia, while dealing with violence, sadness, and the constant human struggle between good and evil. We talk about the creative team's intentional and personal process, and why we get a good vibe from those fellas.

Sources:

• https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-w-maxwell-prince-ice-cream-man/
• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ice-cream-man-movie-wednesday-1235992798/
• https://comicsxf.com/2020/07/02/writer-w-maxwell-prince-on-dropping-cameron-stewart-his-ice-cream-man-plans-and-remaking-the-world/
• https://chachor1.medium.com/an-interview-with-w-maxwell-prince-8dde9486df27
• https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/ice-cream-man-by-w-maxwell-prince-martin-morazzo-and-chris-ohalloran/
• https://imagecomics.com/features/ice-cream-man-you-scream-monsters-feature
• https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/arts/halloween-comics.html
• Staff. (2018, April 30). Comics Reviews. Publisher's Weekly Review.
• Seamas O'Reilly. (2019, September 14). The best graphic novels so far of 2019; Ice cream horror, hardboiled crime, LA dreams and the best film never made. The Irish Times.
• https://slowburnhorror.com/2022/12/15/what-is-anthology-horror-and-why-i-love-it/
• https://www.thepopverse.com/the-massice-ice-cream-man-interview-with-w-maxwell-prince-and-martin-morazzo-youve-always-wanted

This revisionist Western is a mix of fictional and historical narratives about how law, society, and America came to South Dakota in the late 1800s. We talk about how the show's creator, David Milch, got from Ancient Rome to the Dakota gold rush, and all the lines he crossed to get there.

Sources

• Deadwood, Generic Transformation, and Televisual History by Allison Perlman

• THE WAY OUT WEST: DAVID MILCH & IAN MCSHANE ON DEADWOOD by Damien Love

• Singer, Mark (February 14, 2005). "The Misfit". The New Yorker.

• Andreeva, N. (2003, January 7). HBO, Milch mine "Deadwood" for Western series. (News). The Hollywood Reporter, 376(39), 5.

• https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/Entertainment-115937&page=1

• Brian McCuskey. (2013). Last Words in Deadwood. In N. S. Witschi & M. Graulich (Eds.), Dirty Words in Deadwood (p. 18). UNP - Nebraska Paperback. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1ddr701.9

• Witschi, N. S., & Graulich, M. (2013). Who Put the Gun into the Whore's Hand? In Dirty Words in Deadwood. University of Nebraska Press.

• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/deadwood-review-season-one-hbo-2004-1235857267/

• https://variety.com/2004/tv/reviews/deadwood-4-1200534541/

• https://www.looper.com/153803/we-finally-understand-why-deadwood-was-canceled/

• https://www.cinemantics.org/p/the-meaning-behind-deadwoods-opening

• http://www.hpten.com/all-content/2021/9/30/theme-character-and-language-in-deadwood

• Peacock, S. (2010). Borders and boundaries in Deadwood. In C. CORNEA (Ed.), Genre and performance: film and television (pp. 96–112). Manchester University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1vwmg3w.11

• Johnson, M. K. (2013). Queer Spaces and Emotional Couplings in Deadwood. In M. GRAULICH & N. S. WITSCHI (Eds.), Dirty Words in Deadwood: Literature and the Postwestern (pp. 208–235). University of Nebraska Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1ddr701.17

• https://www.avclub.com/keith-carradine-on-deadwood-fargo-and-madonna-1798250077

• https://collider.com/walter-hill-interview-reassignment-deadwood/

• David Milch at Yale: An Interview by Nathaniel Lewis

In 1993, our late, lamented hero Steve Albini wrote this gross and profane takedown of the music industry, and we've been thinking about it ever since. We try to follow the evolution of Albini's attitude about how music is distributed while also checking in on David Byrne, Marxist theory, and Tik Tok.

Sources

• https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-problem-with-music

• https://qz.com/202194/steve-albini-the-problem-with-music-has-been-solved-by-the-internet

• https://boingboing.net/2024/05/10/read-steve-albinis-famous-essay-on-the-music-industrys-problems.html

• https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/the-new-problem-with-music-steve-albini-revisits-one-of-his-favourite-themes-1.2013006

• https://stereogum.com/1678835/steve-albini-thinks-the-internet-solved-the-problem-with-music/news

• https://reason.com/2014/04/30/legendary-punk-producer-steve-albini-say/

• https://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/revisiting-steve-albinis-problem-music-essay-problem-solved-internet/

• https://rocknerd.co.uk/2015/01/11/steve-albini-how-the-internet-solved-the-problem-with-music/

• https://www.spinmagazine.com/2014/04/steve-albini-internet-problem-with-music-streaming-debate/

• https://www.simplemusiccontracts.com/the-problem-with-music

• https://louderthanwar.com/steve-albini-streaming/

• 2014 Face the Music Video: https://youtu.be/Lz_CPzuwSk4?si=PDHcZV4kKZErnI7R

• 2014 Face the Music transcript: https://genius.com/Steve-albini-keynote-address-at-melbourne-australias-face-the-music-conference-2014-annotated

• https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/11/david-byrne-internet-content-world

• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/16/why-david-byrne-wrong-spotify-thom-yorke

• https://freepresshouston.com/the-steve-albini-interview/

This 2007 concept album by The World/Inferno Friendship Society, inspired by screen actor Peter Lorre, is just one piece of the larger performative project that was the life of Jack Terricloth. We talk about the band, the album, the lifestyle, and the limits of the World/Inferno Friendship Society's punk cabaret spectacle.

Sources

• https://coilhouse.net/2009/12/jack-terricloth-is-alive-and-at-large-in-gotham/

• https://www.theaquarian.com/2012/12/03/the-worldinferno-friendship-societys-hallowmas-warsaw/

• https://www.punknews.org/article/38826/interviews-jack-terricloth-world-inferno-friendship-society

• https://www.treblezine.com/worldinferno-friendship-society-addicted-to-bad-ideas/

• Jordan, Chris. "Jack Terricloth, from Jersey Suburbs to World/Inferno Friendship Society, has Died." TCA Regional News, 14 May 2021, ProQuest. Web. 26 Mar. 2026 .

• https://www.popmatters.com/the-world-inferno-friendship-society-addicted-to-bad-ideaspeter-lorres-20th-2496212229.html

• https://imposemagazine.com/reviews/addicted-to-bad-ideas-world-in

• Sisario, Ben. "Jack Terricloth, 50, Smarmy Vocalist And Key to Punk Cabaret Movement." New York Times, 18 May 2021, p. A21(L). Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A662078840/AONE?u=mlin_b_umass&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=7aa0e86b. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.

• Sisario, Ben. "Addicted to Peter Lorre (that voice, those eyes)." New York Times, 8 Jan. 2009, p. C1(L). Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A191744194/AONE?u=mlin_b_umass&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=8ae3a733. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.

• https://www.punknews.org/review/6660/world-inferno-friendship-society-addicted-to-bad-ideas

• https://thephoenix.com/boston/music/120801-world-inferno-friendship-society-lead-a-punk-c/

• https://www.threepennyreview.com/burning-up/

• https://www.vice.com/en/article/rank-your-records-the-world-inferno-friendship-society-jack-terricloth/

• https://youtu.be/iADNLE7H5qE?si=JiGng9YlENpMFX-d

This 1969 anarchic film comedy was based on a Terry Southern novel and championed by Peter Sellers, but it seemed to mark the start of a decline for both their fortunes. We take on Chris's favorite movie, and try to get to the bottom of why he likes it, Charlie doesn't, and everybody agrees with both of us.

Sources:

• https://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=145

• https://web.archive.org/web/20080115004058/http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/0c63a2560495532008256cbb00826ca3?OpenDocument

• http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0081.html

• https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/01/06/17/specials/southern-magicfilm.html

• https://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-magic-christian-1969.html

• https://www.genxculture.com/the-magic-christian-the-most-60s-film-ever-made/20/04/2020/

• Flanagan, K. The Road to Excess Leads to THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN: Comedy, Excess, and the Limits of the Body.

• Dassanowsky-Harris, R. (1992). The Southern Journey: "Candy" and "The Magic" Christian as Cinematic Picaresques. Studies in Popular Culture, 15(1), 95–111.

This horror comic has achieved surprising success despite its gore and all the dead kids. We talk about the comic's creation and promotion, and we ask "Is this all about trauma? Why aren't people talking about that?"

Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store:

Something is Killing the Children

Sources

• https://youtu.be/-CpVx-BDBK0?si=by5gNx6RpKVKB4cF

• https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/comic-book-artist-james-tynion-iv-on-leaning-into-inspiration/

• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/something-is-killing-the-children-movie-blumhouse-1236409897/

• https://www.horrordna.com/features/james-tynion-iv-talks-something-is-killing-the-children-2

• https://aiptcomics.com/2019/10/10/nycc-james-tynion-iv-boom-studios-something-is-killing-the-children-interview/

• http://www.multiversitycomics.com/interviews/tynion-iv-harburn-something-is-killing-the-children/#google_vignette

• https://www.cbr.com/james-tynion-iv-on-the-horrors-of-something-is-killing-the-children/

• https://www.cbr.com/something-is-killing-the-children-horror-halloween-reading/

• https://sktchd.com/interview/sktchdxtinyonion-part-two-how-to-build-a-comic/

• https://bleedingcool.com/comics/james-tynion-iv-teases-a-something-is-killing-the-children-spin-off/

• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/boom-studios-penguin-random-house-1235945405/

• https://waywordsstudio.com/general/reviews/something-is-killing-the-children-v-1-3-by-james-tynion-iv/

• https://www.pages-and-panels.com/articles-and-interviews/werther-dell-edera

• https://www.businessinsider.com/comic-artist-drawing-process-something-is-killing-the-children-creator-2022-11?op=1

• https://www.howtolovecomics.com/2023/07/05/something-is-killing-the-children/

• Panel X Panel #32

This sketch show mixes surreal humor, cringe comedy, and an everyman lead performer to craft an exploration of anxiety, status, and societal fear that still manages to make its audience laugh with joy. We talk about how and why the show was created, and whether it quiets or riles up our own anxieties.

Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Find it here on Netflix:

I Think You Should Leave

Sources:

• https://www.cracked.com/article_40892_is-i-think-you-should-leave-the-best-representation-of-anxiety-on-tv.html

• "Is Tim Robinson the funniest man alive?" Independent [Online], 21 Oct. 2025.

• "'I try to be repulsive': comedian Patti Harrison on why she likes to bait liberal audiences; The Ohio-raised star of movies and TV shows such as Shrill and I Think You Should Leave says comedy is a refuge from the impacts of being trans and that, right now, she's happy to be in the UK." Guardian [London, England], 16 Sept. 2022.

• Anderson, Sam. "The Virtuoso of Cringe." The New York Times Magazine, 11 June 2023, p. 20(L). Gale General OneFile,

• https://www.wired.com/story/i-think-you-should-leave-was-right/

• https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/i-think-you-should-leave-focus-group-oral-history.html

• https://collider.com/i-think-you-should-leave-tim-robinson-netflix-reddit-obsession/

The novels VALIS, The Divine Invasion, and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer by legendary science-fiction author Philip K. Dick comprise the unofficial VALIS trilogy. Published between 1978 and 1982, these books use psychedelic imagery, religious history, and psychological inquiry to create a portrait of American culture in the late 70s and early 80s. We try to unpack them against the backdrop of our contemporary situation to gain a little clarity on our middle age and growing paranoia.

Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store:

The VALIS Trilogy

Sources:

• https://philipdick.com/literary-criticism/interviews/horselover-fat-and-the-new-messiah/

• https://muse.jhu.edu/article/237538

• https://web.archive.org/web/20130528112644/http://www.philipkdick.com/media_twilightzone.html

• https://www.salon.com/2022/07/23/8-facts-about-philip-k-dick_partner/

• https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/just-because-you-re-paranoid-philip-k-dick-s-troubled-life-1.3243976

• Masculinity in the Novels of Philip K. Dick.

• Endopsychic Allegories

• John Boonstra: "Horselover Fat and The New Messiah" (Hartford Advocate April 22, 1981, p. 24

• THE PSYCHEDELIC REINTERPRETATION OF CORPUS CHRISTI BY PHILIP K. DICK, Bogdan Trocha Dr. hab., Professor, University of Zielona Góra, Poland, Zielona Góra