Join us this month as we discuss David Gates' novel, Jernigan, a dark tale of a man way too smart for his own good. An overview of the book: Reading Jernigan is like stepping into the mind of a middle-aged man fraught in a tunneling psychosis so abysmally dark, that even the most enthusiastic PTA members would start wishing the titular Jernigan would do more than entertain his self-destruction and snuff out his candles burning at both ends. The protagonist Jernigan fathers, drinks, lusts, maims, remembers, drinks, fucks, hates, forgets and drinks his days away, not so found about the past or the future or – really anything at all. David Gates’ novel climbs into late Reagan era America and manhandles the reigns of the period, limning a mal de siècle vibe that adroitly fits accessible reading with the sort of lofty postmodern malaise you expect from the involuted phrasing of a Beckett or Burroughs. You’ll often get subtle nods to figures like Pound and Eliot, but the modernist canon is never a prerequisite for comprehension and serves as a bonus for discovering Jernigan’s attachment to the suffering that art invariably entails. Jernigan is a page-turner and while clocking in at 240 pages, the six-month timespan of the novel reads like the study of a polaroid or a lost and crackly VHS tape, the one where you see your dad as the barely contained manic-depressant, only kept from a nervous breakdown thanks to an interminable supply of 7-Elven beer and belts of Canadian whisky. The zeitgeist is not too far from our own and the deluge of motifs ranging from prescription drugs, alcohol, guns, infidelity, xenophobia, sexual abuse, and consumerism frames the American Dream as a mere chimera, its obtainment only made possible through rose-colored glasses or a detested safe and stable upbringing that would only make you another asshole in Jernigan’s eyes. Much of the story plays into our fate as not just people, but as Americans, as consumers, as the sons and daughters of our father and the mothers or fathers of our children. Jernigan seems to be looking for a way out of the karmic cycle, but it’s hard to say how hard and if there’s something to be valorized in his pure nihilism and dissatisfaction with living in the Greatest Country in the World. Whether you can’t manage to get out of bed due to a quotidian micro-existential crisis, or find yourself so deeply addicted to something that functionality is impossible without it, Jernigan will intone a dark message of empathy. For the arty, the depressed, or the bored, the narrative takes readers into the dark heart of a plasticized culture unwilling to speak what it feels and opens the scar tissue of wounds we sometimes forget in order to survive but need exposed in order to live.  -Jordan Finn

Waste Radio

Waste Books Ep. 1 - Jernigan

This month we discussed the novel Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth, the account of a lecherous old man grappling with his past. An overview of the book: “Sabbath did not care to make people suffer beyond the point that he wanted them to suffer; he certainly didn’t want to make them suffer any more than made him happy.” At 64 years old, the Mickey Sabbath of Philip Roth’s Sabbath’s Theater lusts for female flesh as if (and maybe it does) his life depends on it. The master puppeteer who once used his finger puppets as a dignified career is now riddled with the aches of osteoarthritis and finds old friends and a laundry list of lovers as his remaining fodder fora relentless and hilarious week of manipulation and shameless seduction. A man with no credo, Sabbath finds his only purpose in life cheating on his wife with the voluptuous and equally prurient Drenka Balich, who at the novel’s beginning, succumbs unexpectedly from ovarian cancer leaving Sabbath with only memories of a sordid lifetime to parse. A man in bed with the days of youthful philandering in the merchant navy and ‘60s free love, Sabbath flees his unhappy New England home forNew York City and confronts the realization that at the end of the century nothing is left for him but a tête-à- tête with a haunted history of death and trauma. Roth’s writing is that of a craftsmen, presenting characters and situations with a relaxed grace that embodies the loquacious confessions of a protagonist spilling his guts, but without even a paucity of contrition. He fleshes out Sabbath’s saga by providing rich flashbacks, initially overloading readers with a dense history of references to Sabbath’s terrible losses, but slowly unraveling who his disappeared Nikki is, how he lost his credibility with the off-off- Broadway crowd in the ‘70s, and why Drenka’s highway patrolmen of a son has it out for ol’ Mickey. The writing is informal but wise, tight but loose – like Mickey – the narrator delving into decades old anecdotes, ribald fantasies that are confused with reality, and a twenty-one- page footnote-cum- phone sex transcript. In other words, it’s an accessible yet serious novel and gets the blood flowing in all sorts of organs. And yet, Sabbath isn’t merely a lecherous pervert nor a villain. Our anti-hero bears much more resemblance to a Falstaffian anti-hero, a doggedly resilient man who refuses to move on or grow up, a quality both redemptive and damning. The freedom he showcases is a guiltless one: a liberation driven by his guile, lust for life, and independence. And while his obdurate isolation may appear as a shortcoming, he understands that “it’s the best preparation I know of for death,” the central preoccupation of the novel. Touché Sabbath. We’ll see you in hell. -Jordan Finn

Waste Books Ep. 2 - Sabbath's Theater

also includes some announcements about dreyfest and about our waste radio music roundup! if you want us to play your DIY music on this feed send it over to admin@waste-division.org. for more info on dreyfest visit waste-division.org !! find worst bois on yer podcast doohickey for more eps. and buy ur friends some gum!

worst bois 25: gumstop

worst bois is cruisin with a weekly series. their shit is so dumb we don't even want to list the episode names here. look up their new channel by searching "worst bois" to hear the second & third ep! this is the description for their recent one: "we are both getting good at oversharing and worse at broadcasting. lou seriously needs some gas meds" that's all it says. search "worst bois" on yer podcast thing to hear more!

worst bois 4: call for help

We talk about Ta-Nehisi Coates' book, a letter he wrote to his 15 year-old son about being black in America. You should read it too, probably. It's good.

Waste Books #17: Between the World and Me

Getting started with those most iconic of witches, the Sanderson sisters, The Witching Hour is discussing Hocus Pocus! Laura and Kendall question how magic works in the world, why we're shaming 16 year old virgins, and have a cackling good time as they figure out how to podcast!Oregon witches Kendall and Laura are evaluating representations of witches in media. Movies, TV, and books are all fair game on this podcast! Join them as they compare magicks, fashion, and storytelling during The Witching Hour.waste-division.org

The Witching Hour 01 - Hocus Pocus: Virgins, Fishnet, and Nostalgia

it's a bro podcast with 2 REAL brothers. so yeah i feel like putting a content warning on this but its a bro cast with the name worst bois so what do you expect. we talk about the potus debate & the ufc fight and some other less manly stuff. it's decent for a first (second) pod. jack could do a little better but he's pretty good for a twerp.also coop did this graphic too cuz i love his shit. hit him up on insta for commissions @coopermalinwaste-division.org

worst bois 1: master debators

riddy arman and me talk sadness, songwriting, & the 4th of the july in this ep and i don't fuck it up too bad. we had fun! and riddy sings a pretty song of hers. she's great. also cooper hijacks the interview for a bit like halfway thru@coopermalin on the graphicwaste-division.org

Philthy Talk #12: Riddy Arman (songwriter/badass)

Overview   Our favorite flash fiction competition podcast is back with their next showdown! Game of Prose pits friends and co-hosts Alina Cross and Dave Zee against each other in a war of the words. Given a prompt, our formidable contestants get a week to prepare a piece of writing whether it be a short story, script, poetry, song, etc. A special guest judge each episode decides their fate! The fight continues in round two with a virtual literary battle as they step into the world of video games. Will Alina take another win, or will Dave write something good for once?   Graphic by Alina Cross (@a.cross.art on Insta)   For more arty shit like this visit waste-division.org. If you're interested in supporting Waste Division financially visit our Patreon page. It helps us with operating costs so we can continue to supply you with good stuff like this!  

Waste Radio Network: Game of Prose (Round 2)

For this episode Phil talks with Ash Nataanii, lead singer of Missoula band (Phil's fav MT group) FUULS. They talk about Ash's journey as a trans indigenous woman, they talk about grief & capitalism & dystopia, they crack jokes, they talk about Jewish mysticism, they get drunk. Don't miss this ep! End music by FUULS, with their track "Freudian Slurs" off their 2019 release About-Face. Follow @fuulsruuls on Instagram or look them up on Spotify or Bandcamp for more of their stuff! For more arty shit like this visit waste-division.org. If you're interested in supporting Waste Division financially visit our Patreon page. This helps us with operating costs so we can continue to supply you with good stuff like this! Podcast by Phillip Griffin. Graphic by Cooper Malin.

Philthy Talk #11: Ash Nataanii (FUULS singer)

This is the podcast edition of our Sunday streaming show, Quarantine Daze. With a lack of concerts & other social gatherings we've decided to refocus our efforts on a regular stream featuring our friends, favorite local artists, and other movers/shakers in the Montana art community. Episodes include an interview section, a musical/poetical performance, and a gang bullshit session, usually in that order. For this episode we were stoked to have our activist friends Siesa Shuman & Jana Richter to talk about their experience organizing a vigil at Kirk's Grocery for George Floyd, and about broader issues of BIPOC experience in Billings. Then Isaiah Demontiney & Michael Birdinground present a beautiful poetry/noise piece. John "Bear" Birdinground tells an impassioned story about his experience growing up as a local native person. To finish we have a gang discussion, and end up drawing solid connections between indigenous & black experience in the modern American police state. Be sure to check out our next stream on July 12th at 7:00 pm MST via the Waste Division Facebook, Youtube, or Twitch page. We stream every other Sunday and welcome audience comments and questions! Special thanks to Tyson Kreiter for being our audio/visual tech guru and to Eric Toennis for his promotional efforts. To see more of our collective work visit waste-division.org! Graphic by Cooper Malin - find @coopermalin or @rustyfleece on Instagram to see more of his work or to contact him about commissions.

Quarantine Daze #4: Siesa Shuman & Jana Richter; The Trash Gang (Michael & Bear Birdinground, Isaiah Demontiney) - 6/14/20

This is the podcast edition of our Sunday streaming show, Quarantine Daze. With a lack of concerts & other social gatherings we've decided to refocus our efforts on a regular stream featuring our friends, favorite local artists, and other movers/shakers in the Montana art community. Episodes include an interview section, a musical performance, and a gang bullshit session, usually in that order. For this episode we were happy to have Wes Urbaniak drop in with his homemade guitar to play some fiery folk music. After that we have Maraud and Josh Paulson to talk about the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis & around the country, and we also talk about mental health & suicide. At the end we have a gang discussion. Special thanks to Tyson Kreiter for being our audio/visual tech guru and to Eric Toennis for his promotional efforts. To see more of our collective work visit waste-division.org! Graphic by Cooper Malin - find @coopermalin or @rustyfleece on Instagram to see more of his work or to contact him about commissions.

Quarantine Daze #3: Wes Urbaniak, Joshua Paulson, & Maraud - 5/31/20

This is the first podcast edition of our Sunday streaming show, Quarantine Daze. With a lack of concerts & other social gatherings we've decided to refocus our efforts on a regular stream featuring our friends, favorite local artists, and other movers & shakers in the Montana art community. Episodes include an interview section, a musical performance, and a gang bullshit session, usually in that order. For this episode we were happy to have a convo with Shane De Leon, owner & manager of downtown art gallery/venue Kirk's Grocery, to see how the pandemic has effected the gallery & other aspects of his life. After that Chad Zigweid performs some of his melancholy singersongwritery tunes. He is joined by Ty Herman, the other guitarist in the band they call Bill Moved Away. At the end we have a decent gang discussion between all of us hangin--Shane, Chad, Phil, Ty, Becca, Jordan, and Tyson. Special thanks to Tyson Kreiter for being our audio/visual tech guru and to Eric Toennis for his promotional efforts. To see more of our collective work visit waste-division.org! Graphic by Cooper Malin - find @coopermalin on Instagram to see more of his work or to contact him about commissions.

Quarantine Daze #2: Chad Zigweid & Ty Herman, Shane De Leon (5/17/20)

Let’s welcome the newest show to join the Waste Radio podcast network! Game of Prose is a flash fiction competition podcast produced by Midnight Scario Productions out of Pittsburgh, PA. Episodes pit friends and co-hosts Alina Cross and Dave Zee against each other in a war of the words. Given a prompt, our formidable contestants get a week to prepare a piece of writing whether it be a short story, script, poetry, song, etc. A special guest judge each episode decides their fate! It's a throw-down for literary supremacy as Dave and Alina battle it out in round in the premier episode of Game of Prose! For more arty shit like this visit waste-division.org. If you're interested in supporting Waste Division financially visit our Patreon page. This helps us with operating costs so we can continue to supply you with good stuff like this!

Waste Radio Network: Game of Prose (Round 1)

For this episode Phil talks with Lenny Howes, who owns Ebon Coffee in downtown Billings, MT. They talk about education, capitalism, John Taylor Gatto, and more. End music by FUULS, with their unreleased track "Bloodmouth." Follow @fuulsruuls on Instagram or look them up on Spotify or Bandcamp for more of their stuff! For more arty shit like this visit waste-division.org. If you're interested in supporting Waste Division financially visit our Patreon page. This helps us with operating costs so we can continue to supply you with good stuff like this! Podcast edited & produced by Phillip Griffin. Graphic by Cooper Malin.

Philthy Talk #10: Lenny Howes (Ebon Coffee)

Waste Radio is the audio arm of Waste Division, an art collective dedicated to the proliferation of independent (and dope!) art in the midst of all this fucking garbage.

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Waste Radio

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