Hello everyone, I've been gone for a long, long time, but I'm gearing up for a big comeback. Over the next several weeks I will be running a series of articles on the strange history of the Faction Paradox audio dramas, featuring a critical overview of the series, transcribed interviews with directors, and audio excerpts. Faction Paradox isn't a typical sci-fi audio serial. While it isn't flawless or easy, however, it is as beguiling as it is bewildering. If working your way through a … [Read more...] about Malleus primer: Faction Paradox coverage, Doctor Who spin-off audio drama companies
Malleus Review: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, read by Stephen Lang (English Audiobook)
8 out of 10 A literate literary patricide. … [Read more...] about Malleus Review: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, read by Stephen Lang (English Audiobook)
What was Hörspiel USA? Erik Bauersfeld’s 1984 KPFA Folio essay on “The Project”
Greetings all, My wife recently had surgery for appendicitis, and between doing my work, taking care of her, and looking after my 4 year old son, I'm just too beat to write from scratch this week. My essay on Gordon Bok's "Peter Kagan and the Wind" will therefore be postponed to next week. However, I'm not too tired to type up someone else's words, so today I'm proud to present a lost piece of radio drama history. After my review of his dramatic adaptation of Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis" … [Read more...] about What was Hörspiel USA? Erik Bauersfeld’s 1984 KPFA Folio essay on “The Project”
Malleus Bonus: “Space Oddity / Major Tom (Coming Home)” by the 1989-90 Tufts Beelzebubs – the Classic Winter Invitational recording
Sometime in 1990, I was a pathetic high school student getting my heart slowly and painfully broken during an ill-advised Smith College visit to my first girlfriend. The relationship was clearly dying on the vine, and I was wretched. Things went from bad to worse, and then we went to see a visiting a cappella group, the Tufts Beelzebubs, perform in a campus lounge. A dapper bunch of fellows took the stage and proceeded to rock the house with a polished, harmonious set including Peter Gabriel's … [Read more...] about Malleus Bonus: “Space Oddity / Major Tom (Coming Home)” by the 1989-90 Tufts Beelzebubs – the Classic Winter Invitational recording
Ballads part 1: Julius Lester’s “Stagolee” (English)
10 out of 10 This week Malleus kicks off a 3-part look at ballads that blur the boundaries between song, storytelling, and the spoken word. First up is the bad man, Black folk anti-hero Stagolee, in what I guarantee is the best and most wildly imaginative retelling of his legend that you are ever going to hear. Julius Lester's "Stagolee" is lightning in a bottle: drink deep, and be electrified. … [Read more...] about Ballads part 1: Julius Lester’s “Stagolee” (English)