web02.fireside.fm Sun, 03 May 2026 09:24:14 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Weird Studies - Episodes Tagged with “Memory” https://www.weirdstudies.com/tags/memory Wed, 10 Jul 2024 10:30:00 -0400 Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." en-us episodic Art and philosophy at the limits of the thinkable Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." yes weird, art, philosophy Phil Ford and J. F. Martel admin@weirdstudies.com Episode 173: By Heart: On Memory, Poetry, and Form https://www.weirdstudies.com/173 6482a9a9-67df-4da7-8e4b-17d818736c68 Wed, 10 Jul 2024 10:30:00 -0400 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 173 By Heart: On Memory, Poetry, and Form full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel JF and Phil try to recite classic poems by heart in this discussion on the magic of memory. 1:18:20 yes In this computerized age, we tend to see memory as a purely cerebral faculty. To memorize is to store information away in the brain in such a way as to make it retrievable at a later time. But the old expression "knowing by heart" calls us to a stranger, more embodied and mysterious take on memory. In this episode, Phil and JF endeavour to recite two poems they've learned by heart, as a preamble to a discussion on poetry, form, and the magic of memory. Details on Shannon Taggart's Symposium @ Lily Dale (https://www.shannontaggart.com/events/2024) (July 25-28). Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kubla Khan” (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43991/kubla-khan) Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “A Musical Instrument” (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43729/a-musical-instrument) Dave Hickey, “Formalism” (https://approachestopainting.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/19135319-hickey-7-formalism-036.pdf) from Pirates and Farmers Weird Studies, Episode 109-110 on “The Glass Bead Game” (https://www.weirdstudies.com/109) Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Biographia Literaria (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6081/6081-h/6081-h.htm) Weird Studies, Episode 42 with Kerry O Brien (https://www.weirdstudies.com/42) Francis Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780226950075) poetry, memory, memorization, Coleridge, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, formalism In this computerized age, we tend to see memory as a purely cerebral faculty. To memorize is to store information away in the brain in such a way as to make it retrievable at a later time. But the old expression "knowing by heart" calls us to a stranger, more embodied and mysterious take on memory. In this episode, Phil and JF endeavour to recite two poems they've learned by heart, as a preamble to a discussion on poetry, form, and the magic of memory.

Details on Shannon Taggart's Symposium @ Lily Dale (July 25-28).

Support us on Patreon.
Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 and 2, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page.
Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia.
Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop
Find us on Discord
Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau!

REFERENCES

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kubla Khan”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “A Musical Instrument”
Dave Hickey, “Formalism” from Pirates and Farmers
Weird Studies, Episode 109-110 on “The Glass Bead Game”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Biographia Literaria
Weird Studies, Episode 42 with Kerry O Brien
Francis Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition

]]> In this computerized age, we tend to see memory as a purely cerebral faculty. To memorize is to store information away in the brain in such a way as to make it retrievable at a later time. But the old expression "knowing by heart" calls us to a stranger, more embodied and mysterious take on memory. In this episode, Phil and JF endeavour to recite two poems they've learned by heart, as a preamble to a discussion on poetry, form, and the magic of memory.

Details on Shannon Taggart's Symposium @ Lily Dale (July 25-28).

Support us on Patreon.
Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 and 2, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page.
Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia.
Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop
Find us on Discord
Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau!

REFERENCES

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kubla Khan”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “A Musical Instrument”
Dave Hickey, “Formalism” from Pirates and Farmers
Weird Studies, Episode 109-110 on “The Glass Bead Game”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Biographia Literaria
Weird Studies, Episode 42 with Kerry O Brien
Francis Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition

]]> Episode 159: Three Songs, with Meredith Michael https://www.weirdstudies.com/159 1a326131-a99d-42fe-96d4-df6673bfea65 Wed, 06 Dec 2023 11:15:00 -0500 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 159 Three Songs, with Meredith Michael full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Music scholar Meredith Michael joins Phil and JF to discuss songs by Vienna Teng, Lili Boulanger, and Iron & Wine. 1:30:34 yes Every once in a while, JF and Phil like to do a “song swap.” Each picks a song, and the ensuing conversation locates linkages and correspondences where none was previously thought to exist. In this episode, they are joined by the music scholar Meredith Michael – Weird Studies assistant, and co-host of Cosmophonia, a podcast about music and outer space – to discuss songs by Lili Boulanger, Vienna Teng, and Iron & Wine. Before long, this disparate assortment personal favourites occasions a weirdly focused dialogue on time, impermanence, control, (mis)recognition, and the affinity of art and synchronicity. Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies sountrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES Iron and Wine, “Passing Afternoon” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0dP7iZv9K0&ab_channel=PsyPars) Vienna Teng, “The Hymn of Acxiom” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF-7WiLykGM&ab_channel=ViennaTeng-Topic), (and here is the live version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJyheSPtjoU&ab_channel=ViennaTeng)) Lili Boulanger, [Vieille Priére Bouddhique](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evn3bkK2W3o&abchannel=CHORWERKRUHR)_ Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106145/) Karol Berger, Bach’s Cycle Mozart’s Arrow (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780520257979) William Shakespeare, Hamlet (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780743477123) Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780451529060) Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780140447477) Vladimir Jankelevitch, Music and the Ineffable (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780691090474) Hector Berlioz, Fugue on “amen” from La Damnation du Faust (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChgJsOdNYSo&ab_channel=JulesBastin-Topic) Slavoj Zizek, A Pervert’s Guide to Idiology (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2152198/) Federico Campagna, Technic and Magic (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781350044029) Shepard Tone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzNzgsAE4F0&ab_channel=J_II) Rudolf Steiner, The Influces of Lucifer and Ahriman (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780880103756) Special Guest: Meredith Michael. Vienna teng, hymn of axciom, iron and wine, passing afternoon, lili boulanger, vieille priere bouddhique, music, analysis, meaning, weird studies, Meredith Michael Every once in a while, JF and Phil like to do a “song swap.” Each picks a song, and the ensuing conversation locates linkages and correspondences where none was previously thought to exist. In this episode, they are joined by the music scholar Meredith Michael – Weird Studies assistant, and co-host of Cosmophonia, a podcast about music and outer space – to discuss songs by Lili Boulanger, Vienna Teng, and Iron & Wine. Before long, this disparate assortment personal favourites occasions a weirdly focused dialogue on time, impermanence, control, (mis)recognition, and the affinity of art and synchronicity.

Support us on Patreon.
Buy the Weird Studies sountrack, volumes 1 and 2, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page.
Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia.
Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop
Find us on Discord
Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau!

REFERENCES
Iron and Wine, “Passing Afternoon”
Vienna Teng, “The Hymn of Acxiom”, (and here is the live version)
Lili Boulanger, Vieille Priére Bouddhique
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Karol Berger, Bach’s Cycle Mozart’s Arrow
William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
Vladimir Jankelevitch, Music and the Ineffable
Hector Berlioz, Fugue on “amen” from La Damnation du Faust
Slavoj Zizek, A Pervert’s Guide to Idiology
Federico Campagna, Technic and Magic
Shepard Tone
Rudolf Steiner, The Influces of Lucifer and Ahriman

Special Guest: Meredith Michael.

]]> Every once in a while, JF and Phil like to do a “song swap.” Each picks a song, and the ensuing conversation locates linkages and correspondences where none was previously thought to exist. In this episode, they are joined by the music scholar Meredith Michael – Weird Studies assistant, and co-host of Cosmophonia, a podcast about music and outer space – to discuss songs by Lili Boulanger, Vienna Teng, and Iron & Wine. Before long, this disparate assortment personal favourites occasions a weirdly focused dialogue on time, impermanence, control, (mis)recognition, and the affinity of art and synchronicity.

Support us on Patreon.
Buy the Weird Studies sountrack, volumes 1 and 2, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page.
Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia.
Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop
Find us on Discord
Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau!

REFERENCES
Iron and Wine, “Passing Afternoon”
Vienna Teng, “The Hymn of Acxiom”, (and here is the live version)
Lili Boulanger, Vieille Priére Bouddhique
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Karol Berger, Bach’s Cycle Mozart’s Arrow
William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
Vladimir Jankelevitch, Music and the Ineffable
Hector Berlioz, Fugue on “amen” from La Damnation du Faust
Slavoj Zizek, A Pervert’s Guide to Idiology
Federico Campagna, Technic and Magic
Shepard Tone
Rudolf Steiner, The Influces of Lucifer and Ahriman

Special Guest: Meredith Michael.

]]> Episode 88: On Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean's 'Mr Punch' https://www.weirdstudies.com/88 96514f40-461e-4363-8ebd-2e408b192e1d Wed, 09 Dec 2020 09:45:00 -0500 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 88 On Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean's 'Mr Punch' full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel A discussion of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's 1994 graphic novel, "The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch" 1:19:49 yes Before Coraline, before American Gods, in the early days of the Sandman series, Neil Gaiman collaborated with Dave McKean on some truly groundbreaking graphic novels: Violent Cases (1987), Signal to Noise (1989), and the work discussed in this Weird Studies episode. The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr Punch (1994) is the story of a boy whose initiation into the dark realities of life, death, and family plays out in the shadow of the (in)famous Punch & Judy puppet show. Unlike some of Gaiman's more overtly marvellous offerings, Mr Punch is a subtle fantasy whose weirdness hides in the gaps and folds of lost time. It is in Dave McKean's brilliant art that the magic shines through, letting us know that the narrative is only part of a vaster, hidden thing. In this episode, Phil and JF discuss the themes, ideas, and mysteries of an unparalleled piece of comics art. REFERENCES Watch Aaron Poole's 9-minute short film "Oracle" (https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2020/12/08/oracle/) Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, [The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16792.TheTragicalComedyorComicalTragedyofMr_Punch) "That's the Way to Do It! A History of Punch and Judy" (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/thats-the-way-to-do-it%21-a-history-of-punch-and-judy/), Victoria Albert Museum _ Ronald Briggs, [Father Christmas](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/705257.FatherChristmas)_ Clement Greenberg, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_specificity) American art critic Marcel Proust, [In Search of Lost Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InSearchofLostTime) Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics (http://www.scottmccloud.com/2-print/1-uc/) J. F. Martel, Patreon Post on The Untimely (https://www.patreon.com/posts/untimely-42999059) Weird Studies, Episodes 20 (https://www.weirdstudies.com/20) and 21 (https://www.weirdstudies.com/2) on the Trash Stratum Weird Studies, Episode 72 (https://www.weirdstudies.com/72) on the Castrati Samuel Pepys, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys) English administrator and diarist Nick Lowe, The Beast in Me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j7WGxbe6zA) graphic novel, childhood, death, humor, visual art, memory, Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, weird Before Coraline, before American Gods, in the early days of the Sandman series, Neil Gaiman collaborated with Dave McKean on some truly groundbreaking graphic novels: Violent Cases (1987), Signal to Noise (1989), and the work discussed in this Weird Studies episode. The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr Punch (1994) is the story of a boy whose initiation into the dark realities of life, death, and family plays out in the shadow of the (in)famous Punch & Judy puppet show. Unlike some of Gaiman's more overtly marvellous offerings, Mr Punch is a subtle fantasy whose weirdness hides in the gaps and folds of lost time. It is in Dave McKean's brilliant art that the magic shines through, letting us know that the narrative is only part of a vaster, hidden thing. In this episode, Phil and JF discuss the themes, ideas, and mysteries of an unparalleled piece of comics art.

REFERENCES

Watch Aaron Poole's 9-minute short film "Oracle"

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, _The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch

"That's the Way to Do It! A History of Punch and Judy", Victoria Albert Museum
_

Ronald Briggs, Father Christmas
Clement Greenberg, American art critic
Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics
J. F. Martel, Patreon Post on The Untimely
Weird Studies, Episodes 20 and 21 on the Trash Stratum
Weird Studies, Episode 72 on the Castrati
Samuel Pepys, English administrator and diarist
Nick Lowe, The Beast in Me

]]> Before Coraline, before American Gods, in the early days of the Sandman series, Neil Gaiman collaborated with Dave McKean on some truly groundbreaking graphic novels: Violent Cases (1987), Signal to Noise (1989), and the work discussed in this Weird Studies episode. The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr Punch (1994) is the story of a boy whose initiation into the dark realities of life, death, and family plays out in the shadow of the (in)famous Punch & Judy puppet show. Unlike some of Gaiman's more overtly marvellous offerings, Mr Punch is a subtle fantasy whose weirdness hides in the gaps and folds of lost time. It is in Dave McKean's brilliant art that the magic shines through, letting us know that the narrative is only part of a vaster, hidden thing. In this episode, Phil and JF discuss the themes, ideas, and mysteries of an unparalleled piece of comics art.

REFERENCES

Watch Aaron Poole's 9-minute short film "Oracle"

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, _The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch

"That's the Way to Do It! A History of Punch and Judy", Victoria Albert Museum
_

Ronald Briggs, Father Christmas
Clement Greenberg, American art critic
Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics
J. F. Martel, Patreon Post on The Untimely
Weird Studies, Episodes 20 and 21 on the Trash Stratum
Weird Studies, Episode 72 on the Castrati
Samuel Pepys, English administrator and diarist
Nick Lowe, The Beast in Me

]]>