Supercontext: an autopsy of media

All My Friends Are Funeral Singers is a film (and record) by Tim Rutili of the band Califone. We interview Tim about his experience creating a project like this in multiple media and how that changed his process going forward. Additional Resources: All My Friends Are Funeral Singers (Vimeo) All My Friends Are Funeral Singers -- Film Review IndiePix Films Launches Subscription-Streaming Service with 400-Plus International Movies Califone frontman Tim Rutili gets an on-set lesson in filmmaking Music Is Important in 'All My Friends are Funeral Singers' and One of Its Few Redeeming Qualities ‘All My Friends Are Funeral Singers’: Califone’s life beyond Sundance Team Spirits: 'All My Friends Are Funeral Singers'

By becoming a more vulnerable frontman, Nick Cave has transformed after a major tragedy. To understand this better, we cover his latest album Skeleton Tree, the companion film One More Time With Feeling and the Bad Seeds' latest North American tour. Additional Resources: The Love and Terror of Nick Cave Nick Cave Finally Tells His Most Painful Story Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds x Hingston Studio – Skeleton Tree All Songs +1: A Devastating New Film About Nick Cave Nick Cave Talks About Living and Writing Through Grief Nick Cave Will Never Be Forgotten THE IMMENSE GRIEF OF NICK CAVE’S ‘SKELETON TREE’ Nick Cave financed the documentary One More Time with Feeling so that he would not have to speak with journalists about the death of his son

As part of the big four bands breaking out of the Seattle "grunge" scene in the early 1990s, Soundgarden was a combination that was not quite metal or punk. We look at why their record Badmotorfinger acts like such a strong signifier of meaning in the wake of Chris Cornell's death.

With a comparison of their staff rosters, we try imagining a television show that idolizes the White House today, the way The West Wing did in 1999. Believe it or not, Aaron Sorkin's fantasy of public service let some people admire civics again.

Donald Glover once described his FX sitcom Atlanta as "Twin Peaks for rappers." As residents of the eponymous city, we were doubtful. But this show came through with a weird, wondrous take on our local African-American culture. Special guest Swain Hunt (Sidebar, The Metronome) joins us to discuss.

China Miéville's novel Kraken is a meandering fantasy comedy full of political themes and a love for weird monsters. How does this author manage to weave together so many themes and genres into one book? And why does he think J.R.R. Tolkien is a "wen on the arse of fantasy"? Additional Resources: Reveling in Genre: An Interview with China Miéville Kraken: China Miéville interview A Category Unto Himself: The Works of China Miéville China Miéville: My new book takes the idea of the squid cult very seriously CHINA MIÉVILLE [SCIENCE-FICTION AUTHOR] This Squidpocalypse Makes Its Own Fun: Kraken by China Miéville Tolkien - Middle Earth Meets Middle England Making Squid the Meat of a Story With "Kraken," China Miéville sinks tentacles into contemporary London

Fed up with humanity? Does it seem like everyone is an asshole lately? Macon Blair's I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore may be just the film you need to watch. But... does Netflix's distribution make it less likely that a movie like this will be seen? Additional Resources: I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore Is a Dark, Goofy Neo-Noir Murder, Nunchucks and the Trump Era: Inside 'I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore' The Portland-Shot I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore Won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 'I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore': Macon Blair on Trying Directing After Success in Screenwriting 'I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore' Is a Hilarious, Surreal Movie About Amateur Vigilantes Feeling At Home With I DON’T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE Targeting Netflix, Cannes Will Ban Streaming-Only Movies From Competition How Netflix's Content Distribution Has Changed Over The Years Netflix is playing down the significance of its first major distribution deal in China Netflix Targeting 50% of Content to Be Original Programming, CFO Says Netflix just took another step toward getting its films into theaters Netflix Keeps Buying Great Movies, So It’s a Shame They’re Getting Buried Netflix will start screening original films in movie theaters

David Lapham's crime comic Stray Bullets demonstrates the challenges of working independently on creative art. Why did it take almost 20 years for this book to get the attention it deserves? We look into the economics of the comics industry to find out. Additional Resources: Interview: David Lapham Talks About The Guts of STRAY BULLETS STRAY BULLETS by David Lapham ‘Stray Bullets': Number One With A Lead Projectile [Opinion] The return of David Lapham’s Stray Bullets gets the fanfare it deserves Hitting the target: David Lapham on ‘Stray Bullets,’ ‘Murder Me Dead’

Paste Magazine was a victim of its time, facing a bad economy and competing pressures between physical and digital media. But what changes were its founders willing to make to keep it alive as a website? And in the process, did they betray their loyal audience?   Additional Resources: Paste Magazine Is Dead Paste Magazine Freelancers Are Getting Screwed My (Re)generation: Paste's Nick Purdy on the Fall and Rise of a Music Magazine Paste Magazine Is Returning to Print Paste Magazine Returns To Print, Expands Online Coverage Dudeletter Interviews: Nick Purdy of Wild Heaven and Paste Magazine Paste Magazine Thrives Through Belt-Tightening Paste Magazine says goodbye to print More On Paste Magazine's Print-Side Demise: "We'd Been Running On Fumes For A Really Long Time, And We Ran Out Of Fumes." Paste Magazine President ‘Thinking Beyond Print’ With Site Relaunch Paste Succumbs to Debt, Suspends Print Magazine Paste music magazine to stop print publication New Paste TV Show Debuts Tonight! A conversation with Josh Jackson, on the eve of Paste’s return to print Rockers sue over sales of memorabilia: Led Zeppelin, the Doors and other musicians say Wolfgang's Vault has no right to profit from the vintage items. Company Overview of Wolfgang's Vault LLC Will Paste pay its writers?  

With the many changes to the music industry, it doesn't seem possible for a band to rise to success after their first studio album like R.E.M. did with Murmur. We look at what made this artsy, floppy, jangle rock band tick and how The Police and MTV supported their rise to popularity. Additional Resources: Bennett, L. (2013). Discourses of order and rationality: drooling R.E.M. fans as ‘matter out of place’. Continuum: Journal Of Media & Cultural Studies, 27(2), 214.  Parker, J. (2012). America's Rock Band. Atlantic, 309(1), 44-46. Roberts, J. (2004). Athens act on track for gold. (cover story). Music Week, (34), 9-10. Maus, F. (2006). Intimacy and Distance: On Stipe's Queerness. Journal Of Popular Music Studies, 18(2), 191.  R.E.M. Announce Murmur Deluxe Edition Murmur Trestle Information and Donations 100 Best Albums of the Eighties