MM42 - Hippie Satire ‘68
Added 2025-06-25 11:00:13 +0000 UTCProducer Chris programs two counter-cultural oddities from 1968: HEAD written by Jack Nicholson and starring the Monkees, and the American International Pictures dystopian “hippie-sploitation” flick Wild In The Streets.
HEAD depicts the Monkees as a group of talented performers well-aware of their “manufactured” nature, trapped in an endless maze of bad genre pictures, Hollywood backlots, and musicians and celebrities repulsed by their very presence. It’s a genuinely hilarious and groundbreaking meta-romp through the world of 60’s celebrity with some killer tunes and all-time gags, all culminating in the Monkees committing both figurative and literal career suicide.
Wild in the Streets examines the horrifying possibility of young people gaining actual power in the American political system: 30 set as a “mandatory retirement” age, old people carted off to LSD free-love camps, and an aimless and self-interested youth running, well, wild in the streets. But while it’s most interesting in how confused its grasp on ‘60’s culture might be, the film does offer amazingly prescient portrayal of where the boomer generation ends up in 15 or so years.
Comments
STP is super acid used during MKULTRA. it’s like LSD but with the upper effects of meth. Bad trips are extremely common & can last up to 24 hours. It’s usually referred to as DOM, but STP is the street name. It stands for Serenity, Tranquility, Peace. (A cruel joke because its trip is usually the exact opposite of that.)
Max Fennig
2025-10-20 05:05:52 +0000 UTCDid a cover of Porpoise Song a few years ago https://youtu.be/Ls0CfuTmElY?si=0MSVyoypKk0LtcvF
Lincoln por Supuesto
2025-07-10 14:12:22 +0000 UTCVictor Mature is dressed as a director ala "Duffy duck in Hollywood"
Alex
2025-07-08 07:01:55 +0000 UTCThose are two of the worst movies.
Ryan Gullage
2025-07-07 00:34:56 +0000 UTCMaybe a silly question, but are they doing Ghoulvie Screamset again this year? They didn't mention it here!
Jacob Harris
2025-07-06 15:17:41 +0000 UTCNovel mindset.
Ryan Gullage
2025-07-06 00:27:22 +0000 UTCTHE TENANT
Ryan Gullage
2025-07-05 23:33:10 +0000 UTCHesse walks the halls in the Shining.
Ryan Gullage
2025-07-05 23:31:54 +0000 UTCFeels like bias.
Ryan Gullage
2025-07-05 23:28:49 +0000 UTCHad never heard the phrase 'fagged out' either, but was just reading Tom Sawyer and it showed up there too! Apparently it just means tired, exhausted, haggard etc.
Locomdenom
2025-07-04 00:40:59 +0000 UTCHesse's Nicholson impression had me rolling, incredible. And Season 4 suggestions were 🔥🔥🔥
Drew
2025-06-30 11:38:57 +0000 UTCEvery time a movie mindset season ends I am left with a sad feeling. "Damn, I wish they just did this forever" my hoggish self says as I beg for more podcasts. Also if you can't do Decline of Western Civilization as a Movie Mindset episode, they I beg that Chris at least covers it on And Introducing
Mary Mallone
2025-06-30 05:37:40 +0000 UTCOo go off n Ok mm😄 C C
Jeremy Lawson
2025-06-29 21:22:15 +0000 UTCThe groovy handjob cinematic universe.
Yarblockos
2025-06-29 05:36:42 +0000 UTCHessa’s impersonation of Christian Slater in Heathers is dead on 🎯
Hellohellohellllo
2025-06-28 16:28:22 +0000 UTCdo Conan
Adam
2025-06-28 16:16:01 +0000 UTCSupplemental viewing, if you dare: THE PHYNX (1970), about a Monkees-like prefab band formed by the government in order to get involved in foreign intrigue, with an utterly INSANE series of cameos (including a far-worse squandering of Richard Pryor than WILD IN THE STREETS) and a wildly convoluted unto nonsensical plot that just keeps burrowing farther up its own ass as it goes along, and ANGEL, ANGEL, DOWN WE GO (1969), retitled CULT OF THE DAMNED the following year to exploit the Manson resonances that it inadvertently presaged, written and directed by WILD's screenwriter and featuring an even more psychotic rock star as he insinuates himself into the life of a rich family and methodically destroys them via drugs, sex and - uh - skydiving. Imagine TEOREMA crossed with SALTBURN with their combined IQs halved and the lead role given to the fifth-place winner of the 1968 Jim Morrison Lookalike Contest. Truly crazed turn-of-the-sixties cinema, both featuring songs that'll make you long for the artistic heights of "Free Lovin'" and "Fifty Two Percent." Both can be found with a minimum of effort online; God speed/help you all if you dare to dare them.
William C Ham
2025-06-28 00:41:20 +0000 UTCI’m glad next season you’re going to do more movies working people care about, but you simply must add Shrek and Shrek 2 to the list!!! That’s the movie of the proletariat of the people! Give us SHREK
Smooth Shrek
2025-06-27 22:01:29 +0000 UTCIDK if anyone cares, but… The reason why that “14 or Fight” tune is so singable is…that melody is taken from the guitar riff to “A little bit O’Soul” by The Music Explosion.
Hot Rod
2025-06-27 18:29:20 +0000 UTCgive me barry lyndon or give me death
Kamran Husain
2025-06-27 15:28:13 +0000 UTCPaths of Glory rules! Kubrick in black and white 🤌
Tim O'
2025-06-27 01:13:44 +0000 UTCAn insane week - I hadn't seen nor heard of either of these movies and I love that. I don't know how to explain it but Wild in the Streets feels like a movie from a parallel dimension - The poster, the actors, the music.... it all feels like something you know and recognize but tilted slightly on an angle. I will now never be able to separate this movie from Southland Tales in terms of it's anticipation of cultural transformation.
Zach G
2025-06-26 21:25:04 +0000 UTCAnother fantastic season. Movie Mindset 1000 years. If you guys are considering a bonus episode this season, considering the news lately it would be really cool to highlight Iranian filmmakers. I think you could program a pretty dope double feature with a couple Kiarostami movies.
Evan Tiesman
2025-06-26 21:11:04 +0000 UTCSTP is DOM, a mescaline derivative and the acronym for “serenity, tranquility, and peace.” Shulgin made it and later found it in circulation in the black market from someone cribbing his formula
Gus
2025-06-26 20:34:06 +0000 UTCis Human Traffic still worth watching even if I saw all the clips on youtube dozens of times?
etienne
2025-06-26 15:53:35 +0000 UTCFun fact about Timothy Carey: he was disruptive and annoying during the Paths of Glory shoot, and Kubrick eventually fired him after he faked his own kidnapping for publicity!
David Johnson
2025-06-26 15:43:04 +0000 UTCThe Monkees commentary track on the Criterion version of Head is pretty great. Mike mainly sticks to technical behind the scenes stuff, but gets insanely jealous when the Davy song and dance number pops up. Mickey name checks his celeb pals constantly. Peter is completely bitter about everything having to do the movie and the Monkees in general. And Davy pops in every ten minutes or so to say "This is stupid. Why did we do this?"
Matthew Golden
2025-06-26 15:40:01 +0000 UTCGibney’s book “A Generation of Sociopaths” explains the boomer mindset to a T. They suck, they deserve to be dumped, the best thing you could do is knock out power in Florida and kill as many boomers as you could and become a hero
MCL
2025-06-26 15:19:23 +0000 UTCPlease do a John Milius ep
nick
2025-06-26 14:11:15 +0000 UTC24 Hour Party People x True Stories
Tim U.
2025-06-26 12:41:22 +0000 UTCHead is on yt for free BTW everyone
Kyle Doeden
2025-06-26 12:00:05 +0000 UTCwas reading the R.E.M. biography and they would do covers of the Monkees theme song while doing videos for accepting awards if they couldn't show up. Real recognize real
etienne
2025-06-26 11:54:50 +0000 UTC24 Hour Party People x Human Traffic 👀
Dec
2025-06-26 10:31:14 +0000 UTCin the pocket!
Ryan Herrmann
2025-06-26 08:23:29 +0000 UTCHire Hesse
Ryan Herrmann
2025-06-26 08:19:18 +0000 UTCHesse’s bit as Jack at the beginning of this episode is so, so fucking good that it moved me to make this reply. Please someone let Hesse write comedy like that. They’re incredible at it.
Ryan Herrmann
2025-06-26 08:18:06 +0000 UTC"Thatta boy Mike!"
PAC
2025-06-26 07:19:58 +0000 UTCThank you, my head is exploding over this seemingly obvious Mickey connection (which I had never considered)!
Aaron Lee
2025-06-26 06:00:41 +0000 UTCPhenomenal ep here gang
jay k.
2025-06-26 05:33:51 +0000 UTCI need the ep where Hesse can finally program The Skin (1981)
Rae Castello
2025-06-26 03:08:31 +0000 UTCHesse is a national treasure
fasd asdfa
2025-06-26 02:41:46 +0000 UTCFuck me, Hesse! You killed that pitch bit holy shit, that was up there with Virgil's recap in tabletop game theory in 1920-30's slang. EDIT: Great call back to Chapo Mk I hot house guy theory, a GOAT episode
Eamon Short
2025-06-26 02:31:54 +0000 UTCMM was always great, but just home runner after home run this season. You guys are batting 1000
Eamon Short
2025-06-26 02:25:07 +0000 UTCYou forgot to mention that Toni Basil was also in the Daddy's Song scene. Her song Mickey may be about Mickey Dolenz.
Connor Schoen
2025-06-26 01:56:20 +0000 UTCSaw Head as a hot couch movie as well I was in Portland and it was on the cable “on demand” under Free Movies. No network. And have had it rattling around my head for like 18 years.
Sneakin Sally
2025-06-26 01:11:15 +0000 UTCIf we can throw out ideas for double features for the next season, how about Le Samurai, sort of a codifier of the meticulous, stoic assassin, and then Man Bites Dog, which is the complete antithesis in every way. Maybe add in a bit of The Killer as a recent comparison, where Michael Fassbender thinks he's Delon but deep down is actually Ben
Christopher Small
2025-06-26 00:46:40 +0000 UTCAnother fun entry in this genre is Roger Corman's The Trip, also written by Jack Nicholson and starring Peter Fonda. It's just about a guy who does acid for the first time. Got the chance to see it in the theater after Corman died last year. It wasn't mind-blowing, but it was a surprisingly true-to-life depiction of an acid trip. Peter Fonda's character really did act like he was on acid for the first time. The highlight was when he entered a stranger's house, accidentally woke up their 6 year old daughter, and started watching TV with her
Gordon Schmidt
2025-06-26 00:20:43 +0000 UTC“Charlie” is the film adaptation of Flowers for Algernon
josh heffernan
2025-06-25 23:24:55 +0000 UTCThree 6 Mafia mentioned. RIP Gangsta Boo!!!
Nimbly Bimbly As FUCK
2025-06-25 22:34:57 +0000 UTCA humble suggestion for pairing with 24 Hour Party People is Todd Haynes’s Velvet Goldmine.
Louis Ludwig
2025-06-25 22:17:14 +0000 UTCPaul is GOAT, got your back Hesse
Ahstin (she/her)
2025-06-25 22:06:30 +0000 UTCSTP is ether
Quinten Monson
2025-06-25 21:51:03 +0000 UTCThey are GREAT at impressions.
Jason Chapa
2025-06-25 21:40:38 +0000 UTC*started in the 60s actually.
Horseloverfat
2025-06-25 21:26:07 +0000 UTCSTP is DOM, one of the many experimental psychedelics synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in the 70s in his home lab. If you don’t know anything about him, his life is wild — he’s responsible for (as far as I know) most of the research chemicals posing as LSD these days, and he tested hundreds of previously unsynthesized chemicals on himself.
Horseloverfat
2025-06-25 21:22:26 +0000 UTC“they’re all pirates out there man”
bruce
2025-06-25 21:18:42 +0000 UTCThe last Monkees TV episode The Frodis Caper is also great
Peter Pearson
2025-06-25 17:51:07 +0000 UTCIf you like Head, I would recommend checking Mike Nesmith's Elephant Parts. It basically inspired the creation of MTV
Peter Pearson
2025-06-25 17:40:25 +0000 UTCDavid Lynch episode when???
manbob
2025-06-25 16:04:09 +0000 UTCHesse’s Jack Nicholson is one of the funniest things I’ve heard in years. I listened to it 3 times in a row
Folks,,
2025-06-25 15:29:13 +0000 UTCThe Jack Nicholson pitch sounds like something Hunter Gathers from Venture Bros would say lmfao
FA
2025-06-25 15:21:05 +0000 UTC1488 or Fight
Marc Silverstein
2025-06-25 15:09:43 +0000 UTCwild in the streets was a grating movie and only when i saw richard pryor and was really curious if it hindered his mainstream success. the entourage and mansion is like how i imagine sam bankmam fried honestly.
wailing ken jennings
2025-06-25 13:48:52 +0000 UTCMickey Dolenz kinda looks like a monkey even
atatrs251
2025-06-25 13:38:58 +0000 UTCI'm almost 35, let me retire to the LSD camp
Anomalie
2025-06-25 13:22:34 +0000 UTCThe best part of “Wild in the streets” is the awesome counter culture pony tails they all have. Hilarious movie.
Huge Logo
2025-06-25 12:38:13 +0000 UTCThis season went from fascist easy rider to the movie that paid for easy rider. Good stuff.
Robert Granniss
2025-06-25 11:55:36 +0000 UTCHesse has the craziest repertoire of impressions and the longer they go the funnier they get.
Stealtreasure
2025-06-25 11:47:52 +0000 UTCHesse Nicholson pitch deserves an Oscar for screenwriting and acting
Blank
2025-06-25 11:42:53 +0000 UTCI watched Wild in the Streets along with John Wayne’s Green Berets because of their mentioning together in Nixonland.
danny
2025-06-25 11:36:51 +0000 UTCThe Jack Nicholson intro is the high water mark of Movie Mindset.
Philip Malcolm
2025-06-25 11:32:29 +0000 UTCThere's a new sun Rising up angry in the sky There's a new sound Saying "We're not afraid to die" And nothing can change the shape of things to cooooooome
Michael S. Judge
2025-06-25 11:28:42 +0000 UTC"Fraulein Ravenwood, let me show you what *I* am used to" was the wildest shit I'd ever seen at age 7, you're doing God's work
Matthew
2025-06-25 11:22:19 +0000 UTCI have finally partaken in the proud tradition of Dad's blowing their kids minds with badass films while mom is out of town, and watched Raiders of the Lost Ark with my 4 and 7 year old. The boys loved it. Fully engaged from the beginning, freaking out when shit got scary and edge of their seats during the action scenes. It looped back to Hesse's point a few episodes ago of action scenes communicating geometric information and the positions of the belligerents relative to one another. The physical logic of the action used to make sense. The boys immediately started playing Indiana Jones with their toy cars and they were fighting over whether the car was first or the truck and then they realized that there were two cars with one in front, one in back and the one in back drove off the cliff (which they loved btw). Down to that level of detail, they understood the logistics of the action scene. And they recreated the whole thing and eventually incorporated the motorcycle. They do not make them like that anymore!
THEKILLERWHALE
2025-06-25 11:19:09 +0000 UTCYou don’t have to do these, but here are five ideas for next year’s Movie Mindset. Cinema of Brazil – At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964), A Dog’s Will (2000) I was gonna say how you guys haven’t watched any films from the Third World, but I guess Hong Kong kinda counts. As the title says, these films are from Brazil. At Midnight is a lot more bloody and violent than you’d expect a 60’s horror to be. A Dog’s Will is a super-fast paced comedy that people either love or hate. Elmore Leonard – The Tall T (1957), Jackie Brown (1997) Connected not by actor nor director, but by author. Elmore Leonard was a pulp novelist whose work ranged from Westerns to crime, and Hollywood has adapted a couple of his stories. You got Budd Boetticher’s most known film and Quentin Tarantino’s most underrated work. Films Referenced by the Smiths – A Taste of Honey (1961), Sleuth (1972) Morrissey sings about "A Taste of Honey” in "This Night has Opened My Eyes", while the Sleuth line “a jumped up pantry who doesn’t know his place” is used in "This Charming Man.” The first film is a kitchen sink drama that touched upon interracial affairs and homosexuality, subjects that were taboo at the time (fun fact: Shelagh Delaney, the playwright/screenwriter of the film, appears on the cover of Louder Than Bombs). Sleuth is a thrilling two-hander starring two generations of British acting: Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. Short Film Festival – La Jetee (1962), Scorpio Rising (1963), The Grandmother (1969), La Cabina (1972), Elephant (1989), Food (1992) Six short films to discuss. In La Jetee, still images tell a story of time travel and nuclear war. In Scorpio Rising, Kenneth Anger invents the music video with gay Nazis. With The Grandmother, David Lynch displays surreal horror and is very much a precursor to Eraserhead. La Cabina is a surreal horror that many people find to be scary, but I think is a bit silly. With Elephant, Alan Clarke depicts eighteen murders related to the Troubles. With Food, stop-motion maestro Jan Svankmajer becomes politically charged. German Expressionism – Faust (1926), Spies (1928) You two haven’t done silent films yet. German Expressionism is one of my favorite film movements and it sadly ended with the rise of Hitler. The first film sees FW Munrau do his take on the Faustian myth. Fritz Lang's Spies is technically the first Eurospy film ever made, and it is better than M or Metropolis. As the guy who recommended Head last year, I’d like to shill this low budget horror movie script I wrote. It’s called Delaney, and it’s about a suicidal woman who becomes an assistant caregiver to Delaney, a former psychic with a severe chronic illness. The link is here: https://www.deviantart.com/spademckenna/art/Delaney-Full-Horror-Movie-Script-1176619473 And if that link doesn't work, I can send it to you through G-mail. For the DeviantArt link, don’t read the comments because they will spoil the story for you.
Connor Schoen
2025-06-25 11:13:37 +0000 UTCLobbying Chris for another episode like this that covers Gas-s-s-s (1970) 🙏
Matthew
2025-06-25 11:12:34 +0000 UTCC’mon. Y’all have mentioned the best 60’s satire “The President’s Analyst” independently at least twice on other eps but don’t include it here? It should be in an ep about James Coburn in the future.
Zach H.
2025-06-25 11:08:59 +0000 UTCoh can you also do the milos forman film "taking off" and the jules dassin film "up tight" at some point? two lesser known gems from that era :))
Alexander Fuchs
2025-06-25 11:08:24 +0000 UTC
