Skylight Books Podcast Series

SKYLIT: Matthew Blackwell, PLUNDERPHONICS (GENRE: A 33 1/3 SERIES)

As a music genre, plunderphonics is somewhat misunderstood. While the genre is based on samples, much like hip-hop, it isn't just music made from other music. It utilizes samples to push the boundaries of copyright -- what is fair use, what is public domain, who truly owns a piece of music?

Matthew Blackwell's new book for 33 1/3's GENRE series, Plunderphonics, traces the genre back to the quote-heavy compositions of early 20th Century composer Charles Ives and follows it up through the mash-up madness of Danger Mouse and Girl Talk. Along the way, Blackwell looks at the recordings and legal battles of diverse artists like Bay Area pranksters Negativland, comedy pioneers Buchanan and Goodman, hip-hop legends De La Soul, Biz Markie, and Beastie Boys, Aussie art-poppers The Avalanches, and avant-garde theorist (and coiner of the term Plunderphonics) John Oswald. Bookseller and writer Justin Remer talks with Blackwell about all these artists and more of the tidbits contained in his new book.

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Fan of audiobooks? Check out the "On the Skylight Pod" playlist on Libro.FM - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-podcast

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Better Than the Movie 28: THE RUNNING MAN

The BTTM guys are running their mouths about THE RUNNING MAN. Allan, Tyler, and Justin dig into the recent Edgar Wright-directed film and the same-named 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger star vehicle, which are both adapted -- to different degrees -- from the novel by Stephen King (under his Richard Bachman alias). It's a boisterous discussion among three guys whose reactions range from ambivalent to underwhelmed to disgusted. Maybe the trickiest adaptation to rate for the Better Than the Movie fellas since the HALLOWE'EN PARTY / A HAUNTING IN VENICE debacle of BTTM episode 7.  Enjoy!  

Hosted by Tyler Austin, Justin Remer, and Allan Traylor.
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.fm - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire  
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band  

SKYLIT: Dusty Henry, 20TH CENTURY AMBIENT (GENRE: A 33 1/3 SERIES)

Ambient Music, as a genre, is one that is meant to be experienced consciously or unconsciously. It can be focused upon or ignored. It can feed your soul, brighten your day, or just counterpoint the din of the everyday. Dusty Henry, in his new book for 33 1/3's GENRE series, focuses upon 20TH CENTURY AMBIENT. The book looks at early and unexpected influences like Erik Satie and Blind Willie Johnson. It highlights leading artists of the form like Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Laraaji, Suzanne Ciani, and Hiroshi Yoshimura. It also touches upon artists like Wendy Carlos and Aphex Twin whose relationship to the genre is only part of their identity. Bookseller and writer Justin Remer talks with Henry about the book, which is one of his Holiday Catalog staff picks!

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band 

Better Than the Movie 27: VINELAND / ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER w/ Rene Franco

Ocean waves, ocean waves. One of the best-loved movies of the fall has been Paul Thomas Anderson's ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. The Better Than the Movie crew is joined by Rene Franco, the head of Skylight's Rabbit Hole Reading Club, to discuss the flick and also the novel which provided some inspiration, Thomas Pynchon's kooky and kaleidoscopic Vineland. 

Hosted by Justin Remer, Allan Traylor, and Tyler Austin. 
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab, with remote recording via Zencastr. 

Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.FM - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Better Than the Movie Halloween Special 2: GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!

Mwahahaha! The Better Than the Movie crew have gathered again to celebrate R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS horror series for young readers. Rather than just talk ABOUT the books, as they did on the last Halloween special, they talk THROUGH a book. Justin reads a GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS title (a kind of CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE sub-series from the late 1990s) while everyone provides color commentary as the BTTM fellas navigate through various DEAD ENDS (mwahahaha) in search of a happy conclusion. 

Hosted by Allan Traylor, Justin Remer, and Tyler Austin.
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at Tyler's house. (Sorry for all the handheld mic rustling.)

"Johnny Graves" commercial taken from HALLOWEEN DREAMS by Creep Tape. Thanks to Matt Meindl for permission to use it.
Selected incidental music by Duck the Piano Wire.
Opening music: "Rumination: If I Should Die (Slowed / Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Marie Lu, RED CITY

In Angel City, alchemy is everything. Red City is the new fantasy novel from Marie Lu (Legend, Stars and Smoke). Bookseller Keila Cone-Uemura talks to Lu about the difference between writing for an adult audience and for a YA audience. During this wide-ranging talk, they discuss the inspiration that Lu pulled from her own life and from the city of Los Angeles. They also touch on the unexpected influence of The Hidden Life of Trees upon the new novel, as well as some favorite video games and video game soundtracks. 

Pick up a copy of Red City from Skylight books or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm. 

Hosted by Keila Cone-Uemura. 
Produced by Keila Cone-Uemura and Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Better Than the Movie - Friend of the Fest 2025 Special: JOHNNY MNEMONIC

In advance of the screening of Johnny Mnemonic in Black & White that the BTTM crew is hosting for the American Cinematheque's Friend of the Fest 2025, Allan and Justin get together to discuss the film and the William Gibson short story that inspired it.  

If you're going to be in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, why not come to our movie screening at the Los Feliz 3 theater?
Tickets available now on the American Cinematheque website!

Hosted by Allan Traylor and Justin Remer. (Hope that Japan is fun, Tyler!)
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Alisha Mughal, IT CAN'T RAIN ALL THE TIME: THE CROW

Abashed the devil stood, and felt how awful goodness is. The Crow (1994) is a one-of-a-kind film, borne out of tragedy and thought to be cursed. Critic and culture writer Alisha Mughal takes a look at the film, its graphic novel origins, its beautiful but doomed star Brandon Lee, and much more in her new book for the Pop Classics series, It Can't Rain All the Time: The Crow. Alisha joins Skylight's Justin Remer for a talk about her book, her hyperfixation on the movie, and the '90s grunge ethos.

For more of Alisha Mughal's recent writing, check out:
*"The Lonely Landscapes of Materialists and The Worst Person in the World" on RogerEbert.com 
*"Let's Rock: The Dialectic of the the Sublime in Twin Peaks" on FilmDaze.net 

For more information on the screening of Johnny Mnemonic hosted by the Skylight Books podcast crew on August 26, 2025, check out: 
*The American Cinematheque's website for Friend of the Fest 2025

For Pop Classics titles on audiobook, check out Libro.FM please! 

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Better Than the Movie 26: HOLES w/ Sophia Benoit

Author and comedian Sophia Benoit (Well, This Is Exhausting) joins the Better Than the Movie crew to discuss a modern children's book classic, HOLES by Louis Sachar, and its 2003 live-action Disney adaptation, which was scripted by Sachar himself, directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive), and starred an insanely talented ensemble cast headed by Megalopolis co-stars Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voigt. Both the book and movie have held up extremely well in the ensuing years... but which is better?

Check out Sophia Benoit discussing her book with Tyler Austin on this episode from the Skylight Books archive: https://youtu.be/MxvdzJVo51c?si=Cc2Mq7j_o5YNU21Y

Hosted by Tyler Austin, Allan Traylor, and Justin Remer. 
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.  

SKYLIT: Pete Crighton, THE VINYL DIARIES

Don't drink? Don't smoke? What do you do? THE VINYL DIARIES follows Pete Crighton's journey from a closeted goody two shoes to a blissfully self-possessed lover of queer community, queer joy, and queer sex, while keeping track of the key pop music that resonated along the way. For this episode, Pete Crighton (The B-52s' Cosmic Thing) discusses releasing a memoir as a first-time writer, processing a lifetime of trauma through art, and the role music has played in the whole process. Writer-bookseller Justin Remer asks about the bands and artists that meant a lot (Adam Ant, Fleetwood Mac, Yoko Ono) and those that... well... didn't (Madonna, HAIM). They also talk about how Pete wrote his forthcoming 33 1/3 book on The B-52s in 90 days. 

Pick up a copy of the book from Skylight Books or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm. 

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Veronica Litt, UGH! AS IF! CLUELESS

This is so unexpected, we didn't even have a speech prepared. Author Veronica Litt joins us to talk about her new book in ECW Press's Pop Classics series, Ugh! As If!, on Amy Heckerling's classic film comedy Clueless. This is the 30th Anniversary of Clueless's theatrical release, and the book is both a warm, conversational appreciation and clear-eyed dissection of what the movie gets wonderfully right and what is a bit cringe now.  

Litt talks with bookseller Justin Remer about Clueless and all sorts of tangential topics including Jane Austen, girly art, human potato Channing Tatum, footnotes, audiobooks, and the Fast and Furious franchise.  

Get the book from Skylight and order the audiobook from Libro.FM please!  

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr.  

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.  

Better Than the Movie 25: THE DEAD w/ Conor Holt

The Old Man WAS Still Alive! Film writer and physical media enthusiast Conor Holt returns to Better Than the Movie to discuss a pair of classics: John Huston's film The Dead (1987), adapted from the short story by James Joyce, which first appeared in Dubliners (1914).

Spoiler alert: Everyone loved them both. But between the film and the story, which did they think was better?

Hosted by Allan Traylor, Justin Remer, and Tyler Austin. 
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.FM - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Matthew Reed Baker, 1970s JAZZ FUSION (GENRE: A 33 1/3 SERIES)

From BITCHES BREW to "Feels So Good" and beyond, author Matthew Reed Baker delves into the funky, smooth, and transcendent records that resulted from the merging of jazz with R&B, pop, rock, and much much more in the 1970s. Miles Davis, Weather Report, Chuck Mangione, Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, and Steely Dan are just some of the acts that are discussed in 1970s Jazz Fusion, a welcome new installment from 33 1/3's spin-off series on musical genres. Bookseller and writer Justin Remer hosts this discussion of both the book and the music.  

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band

Better Than the Movie 24: WOMAN IN THE DUNES w/ Emily VanKoughnett

Abe is Bae? The wonderful Emily VanKoughnett (Los Angeles Review of Books; LIT ANGELES) returns to Better Than the Movie with a classy pick: Kobo Abe's existential psychological thriller The Woman in the Dunes. The novel, from 1962, was made a few years later into an Oscar-nominated film adapted by Abe and directed by the inimitable Hiroshi Teshigahara. Both are considered top-tier classics... but which is better? 

Hosted by Justin Remer, Allan Traylor, and Tyler Austin. 
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.

SKYLIT: Sina Grace, WEST HOLLYWOOD MONSTER SQUAD

Award-winning graphic novelist and illustrator Sina Grace (Superman: The Harvests of Youth) joins host Tyler Austin to discuss his new book, West Hollywood Monster Squad. A ragtag crew must make their way across West Hollywood after some unexpected pink snow begins creating giant monsters in their midst. It's a sweet, funny "turbo gay" story for our time. Sina and Tyler discuss themes of the story, as well as the intricacies of the Pokémon video games, what it's like working at Skylight, and whatever else crosses their minds during this delightful hour-long chat. 

Produced by Tyler Austin & Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 
Hosted by Tyler Austin. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
The "Justin's music is great" music: "Don't Depend on Me (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.