Weird Studies

In this episode, the hosts explore the impact of artificial intelligence on the arts, discussing topics such as early science fiction, the potential impact on artistic imagination, the existential threat to classical music posed by AI-generated music, the value of amateurism in art, and the importance of art and music in society.

The podcast explores the impact of large language models and artificial intelligence on art and society. It delves into the backrooms meme and corporate horror. The concept of affectations as a way to express personal identity is discussed, along with the value of sitting in Zen meditation. The chapter also delves into authenticity in spiritual practice and writing.

On the last week of July, 2023, Phil and JF were delighted to speak at Shannon Taggart's Science of Things Spiritual Symposium in Lily Dale, the nerve centre of the Spiritualist movement. As speakers, your hosts were part of an inspiring lineup of scholars, artists, and researchers committed to exploring the borderlands of art, science, religion, and the paranormal. They also had the honour of launching the symposium with a live recording held on the evening of the July 27th. The topic was Frederic W. H. Myers' autobiographical essay, "Fragments of Inner Life," first published in full in 1961, some sixty years after the author's death. Myers was one of the original members of the Society for Psychical Research in England. A poet and classicist, he remained committed to the scientific promise of paranormal investigation until the end of his life. His book Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death, also published posthumously, argues that psychical studies have confirmed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that death is just the beginning. In this talk, JF and Phil discuss Myers' relevance to 21st-century thinking on the Weird. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES The Science of Things Spiritual Symposium: July 27-29, 2023 Frederic Myers, Fragments of Inner Life Alan Bennett, History Boys Arthur Machen, A Fragment of Life Alan Gauld, The Founders of Psychical Research Donna Tartt, The Secret History Arthur Machen, The Great God Pan Frans de Waal, Mama’s Last Hug Daniel Dennett, American cognitive scientist Frederic Myers, Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death Gabriel Marcel, The Mystery of Being Phil Ford, Dig William James, Principles of Psychology Akashic Record, Theosophical idea Jeff Kripal, Authors of the Impossible Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light, the cultural historian William Irwin Thompson predicted the rise of a new form of knowledge building, a direly needed alternative to the Wissenshaft of standard science and scholarship. He called it Wissenskunst, "the play of knowledge in a world of serious data processors." Wissenskunst is pretty much what JF and Phil have been aspiring to do on Weird Studies since 2018, but in this episode they are joined by a master of the craft, the computational sociologist and physicist Jacob G. Foster of UCLA. Jacob is the co-founder of the Diverse Intelligence Summer Institute (DISI), a gathering of scholars, scientists, and students that takes place each year at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. It was there that this conversation was recorded. The topic was the Possible, that dream-blurred vanishing point where art, philosophy, and science converge as imaginative and creative practices. Click here or here for more information on Shannon Taggart's Science of Things Spiritual Symposium at Lily Dale NY, July 27-29 2023. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute "Deconstructing the Barrier of Meaning," a talk by Jacob G. Foster at the Santa Fe Institute William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture Frederic Rzewski, “Little Bangs: A Nihilist Theory of Improvisation” Brian Eno, Oblique Strategies The accident of Bob in Twin Peaks Carl Jung, “On the Relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry August Kekule,, German chemist Robert Dijkgraaf, “Contemplating the End of Physics” Richard Baker, American zen teacher Gian-Carlo Rota, Indiscrete Thoughts William Shakespeare, Macbeth Shoggoth, Lovecraftian entity Special Guest: Jacob G. Foster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"A Fragement of Life" opens with Mr. Darnell waking up from a dream and going down to breakfast, where it is described that "before he sat down to his fried bacon he kissed his wife seriously and dutifully." He then proceeds to take the tram to visit a friend, with whom he has a long and tedious conversation about plants, clothes, kids, and how best to spend ten pounds. The story continues on in this mundane manner for quite some time, which is probably not what we would expect from Arthur Machen, virtuoso of the weird. But, as Phil and JF discuss, this writing style intentionally draws attention to the absurdity of modern, materialist life, creating a striking contrast with the mysterious other world that Mr. and Mrs. Darnell eventually begin to pursue. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Arthur Machen, A Fragment of Life Weird Studies, Episode 3 on “The White People and Episode 87 on “Heiroglyphics” Karl Marx, Capital James Machin, Weird Fiction in Britain Thomas Ligotti, “The Order of Illusion” in Noctuary Weird Studies, Episode 20 on the Trash Stratum Artur Schnitzler, Traumnovelle Weird Studies, Episode 59 on Walking Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Occasionally, JF and Phil do a song swap. Each host chooses a song he loves and shares it with the other, and then they record an episode on it. This time, JF chose to discuss "Jesus, Etc." from Wilco's 2001 album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and Phil picked Judee Sill's ethereal "The Kiss," from Heart Food (1973). It was in the zone of Time, in all its strangeness, that the two songs began to resonate with one another. Sill's song is a fated grasping at the eternal that is present even when it eludes us, and "Jesus, Etc." is a leap across time that captures, in jagged shards and signal bursts, the events of the day on which Wilco's album was scheduled to drop: September 11, 2001. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Judee Sill, “The Kiss” James Elkins, Pictures and Tears Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, “Surf’s Up” Weird Studies, Episode 148 on “Twin Peaks” Wilco, “Jesus Etc.” Jeff Buckley, singer-songwriter William Gibson, Forward to Dhalgren L. E. J. Brouwer, Concept of “two-ity” Dogen, Genjokoan David Bowie, “Heroes” Philip K. Dick, Valis Weird Studies, Episode 147 “You Must Change Your Life” Theodore Adorno, Aesthetic Theory James Longley, Iraq in Fragments Sam Jones, I am Trying to Break your Heart Number Stations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks has been a touchstone of Weird Studies since the podcast's inception. Back in 2018, Phil and JF recorded Episode 1: Garmonbozia while still reeling from the series' third season, which aired on Showtime the year before. Now, in preparation for their upcoming course on Twin Peaks, they watched the third season again and recorded this episode. Their conversation touched on the virtues of late style in the arts, the divergence of knowing and understanding, the fate of Agent Dale Cooper, and the dream logic of the _Twin Peaks _universe. Last change to sign up for The Twin Peaks Mythos, a 4-week Weird Studies view-along starting June 8th, 2023. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Symposium at Lily Dale, July 27-29, 2023 David Lynch and Mark Frost (creators), Twin Peaks David Lynch (dir.), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, What is Philosophy? Chris Carter (creator), The X-Files Erik Davis, American scholar, lecturer, and journalist Thomas Ligotti, American writer Stephen King, American writer Joshua Brand and John Falsey (creators), Northern Exposure James Elkins, Pictures and Tears: A History of People Who Have Cried in Front of Paintings David Lynch (dir.), Mulholland Drive Robert Aickman, English writer of "strange stories" Manuel DeLanda on signification vs significance Weird Studies, episode 105: Fire Walk With Tamler Sommers Kyle McLachlan interview in Vanity Fair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rainer Maria Rilke's poem "Archaic Torso of Apollo" ends on a note that has puzzled and inspired readers for more than a century: "For there is no place that does not see you. You must change your life." In this episode, JF and Phil search for the meaning of this ethico-aesthetic imperative that Rilke heard resounding from a fragment of Greek statuary. This episode is special because the hosts were able to record it in person while on a writing retreat in Western Quebec. Enroll in THE TWIN PEAKS MYTHOS, a 4-week Weird Studies view-along starting June 8th. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Rainer Maria Rilke, “Archaic Torso of Apollo” Peter Sloterdijk, You Must Change Your Life Michel Foucault, The Order of Things He Man, superhero Munich Terrorist Photo Albert Camus, The Rebel Franz Kafka, "The Trial" and “In the Penal Colony" Auguste Rodin, French sculptor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Of the twenty-two figures that make up the major arcana of the tarot, the Chariot is probably the most commonplace. While the tenth arcanum is a wheel, it's The Wheel of Fortune, not just any old wagon wheel. But arcanum VII is neither the Chariot of Fire or the Chariot of the Gods – just the plain old chariot. Usually, it is interpreted as a symbol of the will in its lower and higher aspects. In this episode, Phil notes that the Chariot can also symbolize something as ordinary as new car. Of course, here on Weird Studies, no car is just a car, and we like to think that Youngblood Priest, the protagonist of the 1972 film Super Fly, would agree. A car also a tool, a medium, a token of mastery, an atmospheric disturbance, a means of manifestation, a spaceship... Enroll in THE TWIN PEAKS MYTHOS, a 4-week Weird Studies view-along starting June 8th. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Rachel Pollack, Tarot Wisdom Jordan Parks Jr., Super Fly Our Known Friend, Meditations on the Tarot Weird Studies, Episode 144 on “Hellraiser” Plato, Phaedrus Vanessa Onwuemezi, Dark Neighborhood J. G. Ballard, Crash Paul Virilio, War and Cinema Karl Marx, Grundrisse Weird Studies, Episode 26 with Michael Garfield Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Phil and JF discuss Vanessa Onwuemezi's, "Dark Neighbourhood," a tale of scintillant darkness from her debut collection of the same name. This strangest of strange stories is set in a vast encampment of destitute yet hopeful people whose lives consist entirely of waiting for their turn to step through the iron gates of the Beyond. Living off the dregs of civilization, they seem the last of our kind. They are the ones who, having made it to the front of the line, have the dubious honour of contemplating directly the mystery that awaits us all. Unlike anything we've covered on the show, "Dark Neighbourhood" is a chilling and moving story that elicits interpretation as elegantly as it resists it. Pierre-Yves Martel's album Mer bleue drops on May 1st, 2023! Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's ongoing podcast on Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to volume 1 and volume 2 of the Weird Studies soundtrack by Pierre-Yves Martel Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! Get your Weird Studies merchandise (t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.) Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop REFERENCES Show Notes.docx Vanessa Omwuemezi, Dark Neighbourhood Peter Breugel, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus Weird Studies, Episode 140 on “Spirited Away” Karl Marx, Capital Phil Ford, Dig Murray Bookchin, Post-Scarcity Anarchism Weird Studies, Episode 98 on “Taboo” Michael Wadleigh (dir.), Woodstock Samuel R. Delaney, Dahlgren Leonard Cohen, “Waiting for the Miracle Martin Esslin, The Theatre of the Absurd One red paperclip, story of guy who traded a paper clip for a house Weird Studies, Episode 101 on Tanizaki James Hillman, The Dream and the Underworld George Steiner, Real Presences H. P. Lovecraft, “Nyarlothotep” Alexander Wendt and Raymond Duvall, “Sovereignty and the UFO” Weird Studies, Episode 144 on Hellraiser Weird Studies, Episode 29 on Lovecraft Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices