We get high-vallewton* with Tim Quirk, longtime cinephile and frontman of one of The Pink Smoke's favorite bands, Too Much Joy. At the height of the pandemic, Quirk initiated a binge of great movies that led him to Val Lewton's legendary run of low-budget horror films produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940's. Quirk was captivated by these deep philosophical explorations of darkness and isolation, which directly inspired songs on the latest Too Much Joy albums, Mistakes Were Made and All These Fucking Feelings.

Focusing on The Seventh Victim and I Walked with a Zombie (both released in 1943), we tap into Tim's enthusiasm for the economical creepiness, profound purple dialogue and "the glitter of putrescence" that preoccupies those who inhabit the shadows of Lewton's screen. Are they the real monsters? Do we as a society have a collective death wish? Are these complex explorations of loneliness, fear and self-destruction even really horror movies? However you define them, there's no question that Lewton's films are unlike anything else.

• Like, highfalutin.**

** We would at least task any other lyricists inspired by these movies to write a song that rhymes "highfalutin" with "Val Lewton."

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Tim Quirk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tbquirk

Too Much Joy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TooMuchJoyHQ

The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com

The Pink Smoke on Twitter: twitter.com/thepinksmoke

Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/cfunderburg

John Cribbs on Twitter: twitter.com/TheLastMachine

Intro/Outro Music: Too Much Joy "I Met a Ghost."

Broadcast on:

29 Nov 2022