We talk about folk creatures, coffee anxiety, & Joseph Campbell's book Hero With A Thousand Faces. Though we had no intention of entertaining Campbell's monomyth, we took it for a spin and were really impressed by its interpretive power. The heart of the show, though, is Caroline's field report from the fontana de Saint-Jacques. A decorated master in the OSGH, Caroline reflects on the nature of powerspots, sacred space, and sonic zones. Selah!

We scoured the internet for, um, internet music. You know, music that was made popular on account of their role in meme culture. There is some Neon Shrine chat at the beginning and the end, but the middle of the show was given over to the grooves.

Yes it's the first week of November, and yes Stella & Jojo are already in Xmas mode. In this extended episode, we start with Godzilla day and then make our way through some great Xmas songs as we plan the newest OSGH tradition: the Feast of the Winter Star.

This episode is a celebration of the good feeling of goofing off with friends. Stella and Jojo try a new drinking vessel and do a depe dive into the mythos of the punk art/music project Hank & Dad with its creator Jeb. All are joined later by Mac and Crom for more musings on the nature of youth and aging.

For our 40th (!) episode, Jojo is finally back in the studio with Stella. After some good old fashioned travel-themed goofing, we are joined by the author of Grate Scapes, a psychogeographic photobook of sewer grates and their mysteries.

Stella's in the studio and Jojo calls in to talk travel turkey. Also featured are some field recordings from San Francisco's Chinatown and New England's trains on guest etiquette and festival revelry.

That is right, this is a six-hour Neon Shrines broadcast. I am joined in the studio by my friend Pat, and we talk about noise music, travel, and irony. We also play some of the choicest tunes ever created by humankind.

We dive into the music of Hank & Dad, an experimental performance project by one of the OSGH grandmasters. The music carries listeners back to the 1990s, a realm of fantasy which Stella & Jojo discuss along with a very special guest caller.

Playlist
Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force - "Planet Rock"
Culture Beat - "Mr. Vain"
Madness - "One Step Beyond"
Toots & the Maytals - "Pressure Drop"
Hank & Dad - "Enemy Kids"
Hank & Dad - "Invite me over"
Hank & Dad - "Don't Do Snacks"
Hank & Dad - "Catchin' a Cold"
Hank & Dad - "College Years Old"
Hank & Dad - "Meet my Friends"
Hank & Dad - "When I am Smart"
Hank & Dad - "Pass the Test"
Hank & Dad - "Spending the Night"
Hank & Dad - "This Clever Man"

Solo in the studio again, Stella muses on what a Hell Camino might look like after listening to a report from Jojo about Moby Dick and the thumping of life. Guests Sam & Sara join from Joshua Tree to talk desert landscapes and powerspots.

It's Stella solo in the studio but never gear, Jojo calls in with an East Coast report. Then Stella dives into her long-standing loves of the moody lives of saints, before turning to Henry Miller's reading-on-the-toilet musings.

Stella is in the studio, mixing up a series of audio recordings the OSGH made while walking the Dutch section of the Camino. It is a wild ride.

We are back from yet another trek on the Jakobweg, the Dutch segment of the Camino de Santiago. However, we never get around to talking about it because of the rip-roaring time we were having in the studio with our special guests, Mac & Thoth. We discuss renaissance image magic, hearing loss, the spectacle, the philosophies of boredom, Albrecht Dürer's Melancholia & Knight, the meaning of dreams, and memory & memoirs.

Just Sarah joins us again this week to provide a rundown on her latest travels. Talk turns to what art should do (make us horny; provide fun).

We finally get into what the title of this show means, and follow the lines of association until we arrive at something unexpected, & marvelous. We then dive into a few Camino books, celebrating brilliance & razzing the duds.

Stella is back, and the universe rejoices. We discuss Tolkien, Rush, and go deep into elaborating the occult art of automatic writing.

I have two guests this week, starting off strong with a member of the Order calling in to walk us through some lost psychedelic lore based in Michigan and reflections on being a pilgrimage industry hustler. We had the cut the conversation short, as Dr. Yoni paid a visit to the studio. We discussed the art of seeing, without letting the main get in the way.

With Stella out of town, Jojo teamed-up with a friend of the show, Mac, to discuss on djinn, tutelary spirits, & dreams.

A technological issue prevented the first 45 minutes of the show from being recorded. Stella leads a deep-dive into the heart of Arthur Kingsley Porter's research on the holy road, and at the end of the tunnel we found a new means of conceptualizing our research on pilgrimage, "Camino Modernism." The second half of the program is given over to musings on OSGH iconography.

With Stella out of town, jojo hosts a special episode devoted to discussing the master travel writer, Bruce Chatwin. I follow the lead of my special guest Will, a life long Chatwinnian, as we make our way into "In Patagonia," amongst the greatest travel books of the modern era.

Stella & JoJo attempt to figure out how to respond to the question, "how was your pilgrimage?" Turns out, we just have to trip the light fantastic and eff the ineffable.