Although mostly known for his TV and movie cars, George Barris was one of the principle architects of hot rod culture. Kind of like a Star Trek actor condemned to be forever identified with pointy ears, Barris will...
Latest articles
Coury Turczyn
New adventures in hi-fi: the old-fashioned stereo makes a comeback
I’ve discovered the future of home entertainment: hi-fi stereo. It’s a system that involves playing pre-recorded music via gigantic metal boxes that send audio signals through cables (actual copper wire!) to two...
The race to preserve the earliest recordings of Robert Moog and his revolutionary “synthesizer”
Originally published May 2010 Tucked back from a sunny, blossom-draped lane in South Knoxville, Tenn. sits the ultimate garage-turned-mancave: Soundcurrent Mastering. The garage door has been replaced with a filled...
Reassessing: ‘Pineapple Express’ (2008) and the rise of the Apatowian comedy
In the golden age of R-rated comedies—roughly, roughly 1975 through 1984—there was much to gladden the hearts of 14-year-old boys: National Lampoon’s Animal House, Caddyshack, Used Cars, Stripes. Now considered classics...
Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain’s mastery of Indian drumming resonates in American culture
As a child of seven years, Ustad Zakir Hussain would begin his days at 2 o’clock in the morning when his father would wake him for drumming lessons while everyone else in their home slept. They would talk about drums...
Q&A: Lo-fi animator Joel Trussell on breaking the weirdness barrier at Disney XD
Love it or hate it, the animated series Pickle and Peanut accomplished something no one in the industry thought possible: bringing the bizarre to Disney XD. The cable channel’s programming is mostly aimed at young...
Q&A: Ray Harryhausen’s earliest stop-motion creations reveal the monstrous genius to come
When it comes to giant creatures wreaking havoc across the Earth, one name stands apart: Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013). The special effects pioneer picked up where Willis O’Brien left off with King Kong, taking stop...
Reassessing: ‘Speed Racer’ (2008) by the Wachowskis
We don’t really ask much from our summer movies—just distract us long enough to get through half the mini-keg of diet cola and our vat of popcorn. Some chase scenes, a few fights, and a proper explosion to end...
Q&A: Michael Schlesinger, writer/director of the 1930s retro comedy ‘The Misadventures of Biffle and Shooster’
In an era when streaming media has made every piece of old celluloid new again, it may finally be time for the art of slapstick to make a comeback. For anyone who grew up watching TV on UHF channels, physical comedy...
Q&A: Lloyd Kaufman, creator of the Troma cinematic universe
Lloyd Kaufman doesn’t just make movies—he makes Troma movies. That’s an important distinction, since no other writer/director/producer has created a body of work quite like Kaufman’s since he started Troma Entertainment...