The history of pop is as much about subcultures as it is music, and this week Pop Screen is diving into one of the most enduring (at least round co-host Mick's gaff): mod. From its origins, which were so controversial the phrase "moral panic" was coined to describe the press reaction (fact!) to the late '70s revival that gave the world The Jam, there's always been some corner of Britain where Lambretta scooters are still the main mode of transport.


Chris Green's 2021 film The Pebble and the Boy is a coming-of-age road movie that asks what the legacy of Mod is today. Join Graham and Mick as they attempt to come up with their own answer to this question, one that takes in the pop career of co-star Patsy Kensit and a quiz we will never do again. We also give an appreciation of the late Stone Roses bassist Mani, who makes a cameo here, and the unexpected way in which his old band may have swung the Gorton and Denton by-election. Maybe.


You can hear our Second Coming every month on Patreon, where we release a bonus episode of this show - the next one, about the bizarre low-budget rock conspiracy film Down On Us, is coming in April - plus weekly articles about Doctor Who and The Twilight Zone, an end-of-month podcast pot-pourri we call Last Night, and much more. Follow us on Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook to find out more.

What is a Mod in the 2020s - The Pebble and the Boy - Pop Screen 162

SAMMEH! Yes, finally we're getting round to Ryan Coogler's box-office-busting, Oscars-history-making period vampire gangster epic. Joe from Dreaming Machine rejoins Graham to talk about how Coogler's hit film explores the history, tradition and continued relevance of the blues, all the time mindful of our... let's say shaky status as two white guys talking about this. We want your songs, we want your stories, etc. etc.


Join us and find out which literary masterpiece might have inspired Coogler's choice of music for Remmick and his crew, which legendary folk singer was a regular at one of the cast's childhood church, and which legends of Black culture are nodded to in the film's legendary one-take musical number. We also talk about IMAX aspect ratio changes, Coogler's time with Marvel and how it may have impacted this film, and - the hot topic of the moment! - Timothee Chalamet's opinions on ballet.


If you can just let us in your house, we'll give you all kinds of rewards from our Patreon. We've just released an exclusive episode of this very episode about Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound, and we're about to launch two new podcast series in tandem with our regular features Last Night... - a monthly round-up of everything our critics couldn't fit in anywhere else - articles about The Twilight Zone and Doctor Who, and much more.



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The Blues History Behind Sinners - Pop Screen Episode 161

Have you seen The Bride yet? No, not Maggie Gyllenhaal's new film - we mean the 1985 film by Frank Roddam, director of Quadrophenia. Like Gyllenhaal's film, it's an attempt at a female-centred sequel to Mary Shelley's novel. Unlike Gyllenhaal's film, it has an actively deranged cast list including Quentin Crisp, Alexei Sayle, Ken Campbell, David Rapaport... and, as Dr. Frankenstein, Sting.


Join Graham and Mark as they divide Roddam's film cleanly into the bits that work and the bits that don't, which is made surprisingly easy by its two-stranded plot. We also discuss how the film compares to Poor Things, talk about Rapaport's remarkable career, reflect on the end of Sting's movie-star dreams and play a challenging game of FMK. Plus, an appreciation of Roddam's TV work, including one of the most groundbreaking documentaries ever made and Masterchef.



If you don't want to see us reduced to joining a travelling circus, you can donate to our Patreon where we're about to follow up this episode with an exclusive bonus discussion of Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound - and we're also about to launch two new podcasts, including Rob's They'll Love Me When I'm Dead and Graham's The Arts Hole.



None of this is available anywhere else, and the same goes for our weekly written features on classic TV SF. Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram to find out more.

FRANKENSTING: The Bride with Sting (1985) - Episode 160

It's the documentary you never knew you needed, and you do need it. Marcie Hume's chronicle of life on the road with '80s child actor Corey Feldman and his backing band of skimpily-dressed 'Angels' tracks the fallout from his infamous 2016 Today Show performance, which went viral and had the world asking questions like "Is this a sex cult?" and "No, seriously, is this a s*x cult?"


Join Jeff and Graham as they answer all these posers and more, with detours to consider Feldman's episode of Wife Swap, the different eras of his music, and Jeff's experience watching Corey's infamous 2023 Riot Fest performance. We also talk about the 'Two Coreys' years and the strange economics of '80s nostalgia. What are you waiting for? Just Go 4 It!


As we discuss on the podcast, there's another episode where we talk Corey... but to hear that you'll have to donate to our Patreon, where you'll also get exclusive access to our end-of-month round-up podcast Last Night..., weekly written articles on Doctor Who and The Twilight Zone, plus more features that we're working up for 2026. Follow us on Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook for more info.

"Tapping the cringe motherlode", Corey Feldman Vs the World - Pop Screen Episode 159

This week, Pop Screen takes you to church. On its release, Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace became the biggest-selling gospel album of all time, but it was only supposed to be half the story. Originally, it was going to accompany a concert film with the Queen of Soul going back to her roots at an LA baptist church - but that fell through for the dumbest imaginable reason.


To find out what that was, join Aidan and Graham as they discuss Amazing Grace's long road to its 2018 release, the reasons why Franklin refused to see it finished during her lifetime, the cameos from two members of the Rolling Stones and a long digression about the show Cop Rock for some reason. We also discuss what makes '60s soul and '70s fashion so appealing, and discuss our favourite secular Aretha songs.


You can say a little prayer for us, or you can donate some actual money at our Patreon, where we're about to do a bonus episode about Jesus Lizard lead yelper David Yow. We're also planning two new podcasts about movie franchises and arts and books respectively, and you can still enjoy weekly articles about The Twilight Zone and Doctor Who.



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Aretha Franklin & Amazing Grace - Pop Screen 158

Can it really be ten years since David Bowie died? This week, Pop Screen dives back into the prolific screen career of the Thin White Duke with one of his sexiest, most stylish and silliest films - Tony Scott's 1983 debut The Hunger. A story of vampirism, lesbianism and extremely '80s stylistic mannerisms, it co-stars Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve.


Join Graham and Mick as they discuss the movie's place in Bowie's then-rapidly-mainstreaming career, his artiest music videos and tour promos, the film's position in the '80s neon-and-smoke-machines canon, and who - if anyone - could pull off a performance like this today. We also talk about Bowie's fabled gift for reinvention, the film's electrifying Bauhaus performance, and insult Morrissey.


If you want to hear more of this - the Bowie discussion, not the Morrissey-insulting, although... - we're prepping a bonus episode on his 1978 film Just a Gigolo. You can get that over on our Patreon, as well as weekly articles about The Twilight Zone and Doctor Who, plus our end-of-month round-up podcast Last Night... Follow us on Instagram, BlueSky and Facebook to find out more.

David Bowie in the Hunger - Pop Screen 157

Another year's over, so it's time to convene an Avengers movie's worth of Geek Show contributors to answer the only question that matters: what was good this year? Did Sinners live up to the hype? What was our pick of the Oscar race? Did 28 Years Later live up to Simon's extremely exacting standards of realism for Geordie accents?



In this packed show, Graham and Rob are joined by Kat, Mike, Robyn, Aidan, Andrew, Simon and Caitlyn to talk about the first half of 2025 - everything from Nosferatu to Novocaine, Flow to Final Destination: Bloodlines. And there's also room at the end for our worst of 2025. You know what Graham's inflicted on himself for this podcast, but what film made Aidan feel like he was trapped in a room full of CGI zombies for two hours? Find out now!



The second half of this year-end review is coming on the Uncut Network in a week's time, but there'll be more Pop Screen before the month's out, including our monthly bonus episode over on Patreon. Backers will also get weekly articles on Doctor Who and The Twilight Zone, our end-of-month round-up podcast Last Night..., plus several new written and audio features we're launching in 2026. To find out more, follow us on Bluesky, Facebook or Instagram.

2025 in Movies - Part One (Best and Worst)

Roll up, roll up, and let Mark and Graham take you back to 1967, a time when the Beatles had already conquered cinema with Richard Lester. As a result, they decided to make their own film, with no script and the entire band as co-directors, then broadcast it on BBC One on Boxing Day. What could possibly go wrong?


A lot, as it turned out, although Magical Mystery Tour still has a substantial cult following and a fair bit to recommend it beyond Beatles music - there's Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band music as well. Join us as we explore the origins of the film's strangest scenes, its influences on everything from Spice World to 2000s emo bands, the lives of the supporting cast and Paul McCartney's secret life of crime. Plus: Mark talks about his television big break!


If you want to hear more of us dancing to songs that were a hit before your mother was born, we release a bonus episode of Pop Screen every month on Patreon. We're currently in the middle of refurnishing our Patreon for 2026, with some new podcasts as well as regulars like Last Night..., Dimension of Imagination and Outside the Blue Box. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more.

The Beatles in the Magical Mystery Tour - Episode 155

It's the dead of winter, so what better time to watch the frostiest of music movies - in every sense? Set in a bitterly cold early '60s New York, the Coen brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis sees Oscar Isaac's titular folk singer getting the cold shoulder wherever he goes, whether it's from his volcanically angry ex, played by Carey Mulligan, or the strange hand of fate itself.


This week, Joe from Dreaming Machine rejoins the show to decide whether this is one of the Coens' sad funny movies or one of their funny sad movies, as well as dissecting the film's real-life inspirations, the response it got from veterans of the real-life 1960s NY folk scene, and its supporting turns from Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver. Plus, we get with the modern podcast market and come up with a conspiracy theory...


If you want to give us money that isn't contingent on us recording a space-race themed novelty song, you can donate to our Patreon, where we're about to launch a whole new series of podcasts and article series for 2026, as well as continuing our ongoing Doctor Who and Twilight Zone series. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to find out more.

The Coen Brothers and Inside Llewyn Davis - Pop Screen 154

Get yourself a couple of small beers, pop The Battle of Algiers on and enjoy a (French) 75 minutes with Graham and Simon talking about arguably THEE film of 2025 - Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. The story of a gone-to-seed revolutionary fighting to protect his daughter from a simultaneously ridiculous and plausible nemesis, it's a big-budget epic with the soul of a weird little cult political satire.


It also has tons of musicians in the cast, from an attention-grabbing role for Teyana Taylor to the drummer from Haim, and several others you might have missed. We'll guide you through all its cameos and real-life inspirations, as well as talking about what it takes - and what it cuts - from its source novel, Thomas Pynchon's Vineland. Plus, we pitch the Pop Screen New Testament...


If you want to be part of a club just as exclusive as - but substantially less right-wing than - the Christmas Adventurers, we've got a Patreon where we're about to drop an exclusive episode of this very show concerning the Kinks and the origins of a British TV classic... Plus, written articles on The Twilight Zone and Doctor Who, an end-of-month round-up podcast called Last Night... and some exciting new features coming for 2026. To find out more, follow us on Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook.

Haim, Teyana Taylor & More in One Battle After Another - Pop Screen 153

Pop Screen is The Geek Show's new podcast tackling movies starring, about or by pop stars - and that's all genres, from rock to hip-hop, jazz to disco. Each week Graham and one of his stable of trusty co-hosts picks a pop movie and examines its history, its film-making and its music in-depth. It's an irreverent ride through an oft-misunderstood strain of cinema, from era-defining masterpieces to kitsch atrocities.

Graham Williamson

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