the memory palace – Details, episodes & analysis

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show and independent media, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. 

Music

• Swiming by Explosions in the Sky
• Walking Song by Kevin Volans and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble
• I Walk on Guilded Splinters by Johnny Jenkins
• Seduction by the Balanescu Quartet
• Lunette by Les Baxter and Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman
• Running Around by Buddy Ross
• September by Giles Lamb

Notes

• This episode was pieced together from a ton of little fragments but I wanted to steer folks to a couple of resources in particular: this excellent article from a few years back in the Toronto Star by Katie Daubs, and this documentary from filmmaker, Amy Nicholson, that primarily uses the Zipper as a way to talk about changes at Coney Island but has some great details from Harold Chance and his sons. 

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show and independent media, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate.  I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. 

Notes

• Read about the change in policy here. And the article that helped prompt the policy change here. 

Music

• Pipeline by H.Takahashi
• Sad Seine by Lambert
• Dance PM by Hiroshi Yoshimura

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

Music

• Je ne pas si c’est tout le monde - Theme Comedie from Vincent Delerm’s score to the film of the same, long name.

• Forbin’s Hi Fi from Michel Colombier’s score to Colossus: The Forbin Project

• Boo’s Lullaby by Maria Chiara Agriro and Jamie Leeming

• Helle (Ballade) from the great Phillipe Sarde score to that picture.

• L’Espagne pour memoire from Michel Portal’s score to Un et a la garoupe

• The Rain Never Stops on Venus by Michael Wollney

• Je t’ai meme pas dit by Vincent Delerm.

• From a Dream by Oregon

• A version of Narcisus for Clarinet and Electronics as played by Thea Musgrave.

Notes

• Good sources if you want to know more are Peter Manseau’s book about spirit photography and the spiritualist age (Cutting intersects interestingly with that crea), The Apparitionists, as well as this article by Jerry Ryan about the history of aquariums in Boston.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

• Inside River, Pt. 1 by Akira Kosuemura. .

• Sonata for Solo Cello 1: Dialogo by Ligeti, performed by Miklos Perenyi.

• All the Land Ablaze by Laura Cannell

• Frost Trees from Lalo Schiffren's score to The Fox.

• And Finding the Flag from Georges Delarue's score to The Day of the Dolphin.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

• We start with 666 from the score to The Omen.

• Transition to Fremd by Lambert.

• Go to Monster Mash by Bobby "Boris" Pickett.

• Hear some of Leonard Berstein's score to Rebel Without a Cause.

• Hit Denmark by the Portland Cello Project

• And hear some of Musette's On the Green Tape.

Notes

• Bobby's story is covered in a lot of histories of one hit wonders and novelty tunes. But, if you want to really dig in, you should read, Monster Mash: Half Dead in Hollywood, his autobiography.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

• We start with The Dane by Nihls Frahm.

• Move in and out of Reading a Wave by Arp

• Which mixes briefly with Stephen Gosling and Blair Macmillan playing John Adams' Hallelujah Junction.

• We also here Umitaro Abe play Reperages Pour Piano.

• And Brambles play Such Owls as You.

Notes

• There's a pretty comprehensive book on Bayocean by Bert and Margie Webber called Bayocean: the Oregon Town That Fell Into the Sea

• There's also a terrific website that appears to be regularly updating that's filled with all sorts of stories and resources about Bayocean.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

• We start with the Opening of Craig Armstrong's score to Far From the Madding Crowd.

• Glass Houses no. 13 from Ann Southern.

• Earring from Julia Wolf.

• Occam II for Violin from Eliane Radigue.

• Rearranging Furniture from Gabriel Yared's score to By the Sea.

• A bit of Movement II from Martynov, "Come in!" by Vladimir Martynov.

Notes

• Plenty written about the Willie D.. I found Roger Branfill-Cook's Torpedo: the Most Revolutionary Weapon in Naval History to be particularly useful.

• I also enjoyed stumbling upon this day-by-day breakdown of F.D.R.'s Presidency.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

• We hear Vaggvisa by Henrik Lindstrand.

• Then Kestrel, off the album by the same name from Caoimhin O Raghallaigh.

• Ljuva mekaniska jag by 1900.

• A loop from When it's Time to Go, by Buddy Fo & his Group.

• A bit of Movement II from Martynov, "Come in!" by Vladimir Martynov.

• Making Love in the Apartment from Krysztof Komeda's score to Rosemary's Baby.

• And the Mistral Noir, from Daniel Herkedal.

Notes

• There's a lot written about Kelly and his times, none more enjoyable than Bill Bryson's in One Summer: America, 1927.

• The best academic book that touches on Kelly and his times is Dance Marathons: Performing American Culture in the 1920s and 30s, by Carol Martin.

Here in its tenth year in operation, the Memory Palace just got a star turn in the wonderful podcast and radios show, Radiolab. We couldn’t be more delighted.

So, a word of welcome to new listeners and a call to arms for regular listeners and a story perfect for the end of summer.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Music 

• Absence by Matti Bye.

Notes

• There are a number of excellent books about Viola Liuzzo. I found Selma and the Liuzzo Murder