Lawrence Peryer
Lawrence Peryer
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R.U. Sirius: inside the mind of a cyberdelic shaman (Spotlight On : 200)
In our special 200th episode, the former editor of the seminal magazine Mondo 2000 opens up about his musical activities, how his view of technology has changed, and his enduring curiosity about the chaos all around us.
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Today, on this fun, round-number milestone, the Spotlight shines On legendary writer, editor, vocalist and digital culture commentator, Ken Goffman, better known as R.U. Sirius.
Most will know R.U. from his time as co-publisher and editor-in-chief of the 1990s cyberpunk magazine MONDO 2000. MONDO covered topics like transhumanism, virtual reality and smart drugs at a time when these things offered hope for a better or at least more interesting world, though the editorial tone always subversively poked at the soft white underbelly of technoculture and its champions. If Wired has become Kenny G, MONDO was Sun Ra, through and through.
R.U. is author or coauthor of books including Counterculture Through the Ages: From Abraham to Acid House, Everybody Must Get Stoned: Rock Stars on Drugs, How to Mutate and Take Over the World, and nearly a dozen more.
We covered a lot of ground, including but not only: online subcultures, cryptocurrency, societal repercussions of digital technologies, AI, conspiracy theory, politics, the shortcomings of transhumanism, deregulation, post-scarcity philosophy, the uses and limitations of irony and ambiguity and a ton more. I could talk to him for hours.
Music is a big part of the R.U. experience, as you will hear in our talk. He’s been a lyricist and composer for projects including Phriendz, Party Dogs and Mondo Vanilli. These show notes have a link to his Bandcamp page and you are encouraged to spend some time there.
R.U.’s various works have served as a guidepost for me since I was a much younger man. It was a special treat to connect with him now, in this time of reckoning with what the digital and internet revolution has wrought, to talk about the state of life and affairs.
Before we get to the talk, some quick thoughts on 200 episodes: Thank you, everyone, who supports this show by donating, shopping in our store, attending our live events, sharing our work and most importantly, just listening. My goal is to be your avatar in these discussions and I hope I serve you well.
I would like to dedicate this episode to Eve Berni, Ken’s partner of 26 years who passed away shortly after we recorded this episode. I did not know Eve, but I know she was deeply loved by our guest today. I wish Eve, Ken and all who knew them peace and solace.
(all musical excerpts heard in the interview are taken from R.U. Sirius’s Infinite Gesture (A Work in Progress))
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00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:04 - Lawrence's excitement to talk with R.U. Sirius
00:03:38 - Is music R.U.'s primary endeavor these days?
00:06:00 - Transhumanism: What happened?
00:08:56 - Technology adoption in Africa and the concept of leapfrogging
00:11:32 - The role of capitalists and the state in the digital revolution
00:13:43 - Liberals and libertarians in the 1990s
00:17:53 - The pandemic as the point at which everybody was forced online
00:18:24 - R.U.'s thoughts on Anonymous
00:20:30 - R.U.'s background before High Frontiers
00:23:53 - Post-scarcity philosophy in the 1960s counterculture
00:25:54 - Deregulation and the digital revolution
00:27:44 - The interplay between the counterculture and mainstream politics
00:30:54 - The unpublished book about the history of Mondo 2000
00:33:17 - The influence of Mondo 2000 on digital culture
00:35:46 - R.U.'s ironic and sarcastic perspective
00:38:17 - The potential of San Francisco, despite media narratives
00:40:43 - Outro
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Visit R.U. Sirius on his Bandcamp page → rusirius.bandcamp.com
and www.mondo2000.com
Follow R.U. Sirius on Instagram → mondo2000official
Twitter (X) → StealThisSingul
Facebook → groups/560622904113268
LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/in/r-u-sirius-b299
For extensive show notes, links, and podcast information, go to www.spotlightonpodcast.com
Spotlight On Instagram → spotlightonpod
Spotlight On Facebook → spotlightonpod
Spotlight On LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/company/spotlight-on
Spotlight On Mastodon → social.lol/@spotlightonpod
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#podcast #Mondo2000 #counterculture #cyberpunk
Переглядів: 39

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КОМЕНТАРІ

  • @bretbernhoft
    @bretbernhoft 4 дні тому

    I can relate to a lot of what is being said in this dialogue. Such as wanting to remain optimistic about technology, and choosing to do amazing things with emerging AI tools. Thank you for featuring R.U. Sirius on your program, I've been a fan of theirs for a while now.

    • @LawrencePeryer
      @LawrencePeryer 4 дні тому

      Thank YOU so much. R.U.'s voice is one I hope more people hear. Glad to play some small part in that.

  • @mitgift167
    @mitgift167 12 днів тому

    This man is deeply intellectual, deeply sensitive, deeply thoughtful, deeply creative, deeply artictic. Today he is over 70, I saw him in Concert "My songs" in Hamburg last November. He comes across youthful, you can see that his music gives him joy and energy. He needs touring, he needs to be playing on stage. It is what he is. He is such an inspiration. The human faults he might have like any human - invisible to me.

  • @deborahrohl7690
    @deborahrohl7690 Місяць тому

    Play it Timmy ❤ .I will never forget you and Inxs you definitely know how to play a guitar.I had an old Rod Stewart album he did pretty flamingo on that.Yeah I love Shabòoh shabah kick the swing .....❤ oh and listen like theives..

  • @porterkerckhoff3451
    @porterkerckhoff3451 Місяць тому

    I know he’s talented and everything but gosh solo he’s boring. I saw his years ago at the forum and all I did was smoke weed in the bathroom cause it was more interesting

  • @alenaM7210
    @alenaM7210 Місяць тому

    ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

  • @jessenowells2920
    @jessenowells2920 Місяць тому

    Baker had technique but Moon pushed the envelope.

  • @GeorgeZimmermen
    @GeorgeZimmermen Місяць тому

    Best trivium era. If you were around back then and a fan, you just know. Those first 4 records are like Metallica before the black album

  • @arianasilviaschamis187
    @arianasilviaschamis187 2 місяці тому

    Don't j😊ust dis1h

  • @podfuk
    @podfuk 2 місяці тому

    I get he wrote most songs for the Police, but damn his solo versions of their songs sounds so half-assed, not to mention his best solo song(Shape of My Heart) was written by Dominic ;) Still fantastic musician and performer, just with the Police his music was pushed and performed on another level!

  • @radicalcartoons2766
    @radicalcartoons2766 2 місяці тому

    At 23:00 you picked out a wonderful scene in that movie! Still gives me the shivers today! That's based on a real experience of John Glenn, he called them fireflies. I believe it was explained away as the urine being jettisoned, and the dropets catching sunlight.

    • @LawrencePeryer
      @LawrencePeryer 2 місяці тому

      Thank you. I don't recall that but now I have to watch again! Thank you for listening and commenting.

  • @radicalcartoons2766
    @radicalcartoons2766 2 місяці тому

    At 14:00 yes, the Warrens jumped out at me too. The Warren Foundation is still going strong. I had a 4-way chat with them on UA-cam, early 2023, with a hypnotist who did a "past life regression" on me. Its on Paul Goddard past life regression channel. ( No, I don't think my experience had anything to do with a past life, by the way).

  • @radicalcartoons2766
    @radicalcartoons2766 2 місяці тому

    I've very much enjoyed American Cosmic, and looking forward to reading Encounters. I first read Vallee's Passage to Magonia when it was published, when I was 14. So I've been reading this stuff all my life, plus sf books, movies, comics. Diana is such an important new voice. I also recommend other researchers who are collecting encounters: Nik Hunter of the ufo chronicles podcast, and Jo Hickey-Hall of the modern fairy sightings podcast. Engaging the Phenomena is a good one too. These are people who are open to the unifying nature of the phenomena, like Diana is.

  • @sharondavid-melly1498
    @sharondavid-melly1498 2 місяці тому

    Thank you, Diana, for your insightfull, important work. God bless you!

  • @rm5700
    @rm5700 2 місяці тому

    Thanks for posting! This documentary was a surprise.

  • @karenreardon5398
    @karenreardon5398 2 місяці тому

    John Mayer killed it. He was the best here!!❤

  • @alvaroresendiz6757
    @alvaroresendiz6757 3 місяці тому

    Cool, do you have more black sabbath Stuff from this year?

    • @LawrencePeryer
      @LawrencePeryer 3 місяці тому

      No, I do not. This was the only show I caught on this tour and I only collect shows I saw.

  • @sandraritakilim3428
    @sandraritakilim3428 3 місяці тому

    Jon Farriss você é meu baterista favorito .... você é o melhor....sou sua fã.... muitas saudades do grande INXS....a dor é imensa por vocês terem desfeito a banda...a perda do nosso amado hutch...os shows do INXS são inesquecíveis....amo vocês para sempre ❤️❤️🎵🎶🎵🥰🥰🎸🇧🇷

  • @paulgreen9618
    @paulgreen9618 3 місяці тому

    And Geldof too...

  • @paulgreen9618
    @paulgreen9618 3 місяці тому

    Hoffman making a twat of himself...

  • @BuckrBill
    @BuckrBill 3 місяці тому

    Even if this is through UA-cam I cannot believe I could be talking to Ginger Baker’s daughter I just finished reading HellRaiser… it was always up and down who is the better drummer your dad or Keith moon …there was no one that’s good as Ginger Baker!!!that read is so awesome thank you very much and I’m going to go and buy your next two books peace from Vancouver island…

  • @IAmAnItalianPizza
    @IAmAnItalianPizza 3 місяці тому

    If this was a zoom class, i'd leave the food in the kitchen and actually pay attention

  • @BarukYahuah
    @BarukYahuah 3 місяці тому

    wonder if that kid who got the guitar signed by them all sold it?

  • @memyselfandi8544
    @memyselfandi8544 4 місяці тому

    Google Ouija board possession.

  • @cmdr.sypher1820
    @cmdr.sypher1820 4 місяці тому

    A planet shared with another genus, the clues are everywhere and subject made taboo with the UFO moniker and all their pointers telling you to look at the sky and their they cant travel that far so they don't exist narrative. Their interest in the nuclear weapons only because they could affect them right here. We cant affect anyone 4 light years away with them. Temples built in solid rock below grade with no hardened tools. That's the biggest fairytale they tell you. Device screens creating the shadows on the wall to distract us all from the truth. The only question being how hostile could we make them with our genus shenanigan's. We seem to have no problem pissing off each other within our own races and cultures and we could only bow to them. "You know like they were gods and I'd bet that's that's no coincidence"

  • @jamesmicucci7028
    @jamesmicucci7028 4 місяці тому

    I have tapes of this show that i bought not long afterwards. I attended the event.... and it WAS an Event, certainly the largest concert crowd ever held in my hometown of Bristol, CT, up to that point in time anyway. Cars were even abandoned on the local interstate near the venue due to gridlock on the only roads leading to it. I have all the local adverts & news articles about it. Crowd was estimated at 25,000 but it could have been more than that. An interesting thing during the ahow was when Graham Nash introduced bassisst Bob Glaub as hailing from Bristol, CT. I'm a bass player from the same city, playing out since 1975. Never heard of him locally.

    • @LawrencePeryer
      @LawrencePeryer 4 місяці тому

      I wonder if that's one of those things Nash said in every city!

  • @mattlevy3199
    @mattlevy3199 4 місяці тому

    My first Tuna!!!!

  • @tomdorman2486
    @tomdorman2486 5 місяців тому

    Yes,John Glenn had a camera he bought at a drug store, had the nasa engineers modify it so he could use it with his gloves on. And the pictures are out there somewhere I saw them on an old show interview Mr. Glenn.

    • @LawrencePeryer
      @LawrencePeryer 5 місяців тому

      thank you for that info, @tomdorman2486

  • @No-thing-ness
    @No-thing-ness 5 місяців тому

    History is written buy the victors. As with dictators everything was written in the past fence by Plato. This means that as with most things in the past it should all be garnered with a percentage of mistrust. Rational logical facts are not conducive with pasts which people were never at. This includes 100 years ago let alone 2000. That’s why I never take too much interest of putting fact in to what is past told.

  • @thewaythingsare8158
    @thewaythingsare8158 5 місяців тому

    This is brilliant! One of the better interviews with Diana so far. And yes Vallee is absolutely key in this strange and somewhat sinister field of study

    • @LawrencePeryer
      @LawrencePeryer 5 місяців тому

      thank you so much for the kind words, @thewaythingsare8158

  • @trevorcarterva
    @trevorcarterva 5 місяців тому

    Jacques definitely changed my life by expanding my consciousness and I've never even met him.

  • @arakhneweaving
    @arakhneweaving 5 місяців тому

    Wonderful interview 💚

  • @AR-bl8zd
    @AR-bl8zd 5 місяців тому

    Such a treat to learn more about Eric. I’ve been a Thievery listener for nearly 25 years and respect this man immensely. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear music made by him and Rob. Love to hear that the albums will keep coming.

  • @christinehill4993
    @christinehill4993 5 місяців тому

    Eric Hilton 🙌🔥🔥🔥🔥

  • @_misnoma_
    @_misnoma_ 5 місяців тому

    Apparently this project was a stepping stone to the Police Certifiable tour. Kind of annoying the "documentary" used a bunch of unrelated studio tracks as wallpaper.

  • @cosmos7492
    @cosmos7492 5 місяців тому

    watched Genesis in Manchester on the 7/7/07 in was amazing I will never forget it as long as I live

  • @ImpartiallySpeaking
    @ImpartiallySpeaking 6 місяців тому

    In 1976 whilst in his 20s he was still using his real name Gordon Sumner for use with his first bands publicity material in material

  • @waynesworldizm
    @waynesworldizm 6 місяців тому

    This was an excellent interview from an artist I truly admire. She has incredible talent and I hope this release takes her closer to where she needs to be. I love the new record and I am gutted to hear there will not be a physical release. This album deserves to be released at least on vinyl and CD. I think she needs to do some gigs over seas as I know a lot of people in the UK, Paris, Berlin and much of Europe would absolutely love this music. US too. I hope Gilles Peterson gets hold of this release because he could really help this artist.

    • @LawrencePeryer
      @LawrencePeryer 6 місяців тому

      thank you so much for your comment. I definitely look forward to watching her career grow @missc-lineofficial

  • @philipzegradet5483
    @philipzegradet5483 6 місяців тому

    dear LAWRENCE PERYER, so this is a great documentary that I haven't ever heard about until just now in October 2023, and I'm a huge Sting and Police fan! Was this made cut and edited, just for the "Fan Club" DVD?

    • @LawrencePeryer
      @LawrencePeryer 6 місяців тому

      Hello @philipzegradet5483 - you are correct, this was made for the Sting Fan Club many years ago

  • @artisaprimus6306
    @artisaprimus6306 7 місяців тому

    The world is full of intelligent, creative people. A very few people can express themselves the way Sting does. So many of his songs are very personal and yet common. His song "Brand new day" is a song most people can relate to almost immediately. A treasure.

  • @HarryJoiner
    @HarryJoiner 7 місяців тому

    24:27 - total pro

  • @scotttucker3673
    @scotttucker3673 7 місяців тому

    No one can ever replace Michael, but please bring back JD. He was the best way forward!

  • @michaelwong6050
    @michaelwong6050 7 місяців тому

    You can see how much they tightened up their performances over the years. Recruiting Alex Bent has certainly helped as well.

  • @ImpartiallySpeaking
    @ImpartiallySpeaking 7 місяців тому

    Weird that he would adopt a police type rock band to perform police material without Stewart or Andy. What credibility would such a 4 piece rock combo have without the work of Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. Answer: Zero!

  • @knutschmag8090
    @knutschmag8090 7 місяців тому

    Police Songs without Andy und Stewart are shit....the other pussys cant perform this....

  • @henrymoonrabbit
    @henrymoonrabbit 8 місяців тому

    Classic

  • @jessrose52
    @jessrose52 8 місяців тому

    Elmo's Christmas Countdown Stiller The Elf

  • @ANDYMKOSI
    @ANDYMKOSI 8 місяців тому

    The illest from the South!

  • @matamoney
    @matamoney 9 місяців тому

    🫀

  • @matamoney
    @matamoney 9 місяців тому

    🌎

  • @matamoney
    @matamoney 9 місяців тому

    🧠