Strange Brew Podcast Episode 28042025

Blaxploitation Grooves & Blue Mountains Cool with Bill Hope

In this very special Strange Brew episode, broadcast on Monday, April 28th, 2025, Caroline steers the musical time machine into the gritty, glorious world of 1970s Blaxploitation cinema — a cultural movement that exploded across screens, record players, fashion runways, and the streets of America. Join her for a deep dive into the iconic soundtracks of the era, featuring the revolutionary soul and funk sounds of Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, Roy Ayers, James Brown, and more. It’s not just music — it’s attitude, style, and radical cinematic storytelling, where female leads like Pam Grier became fearless icons in films like Coffy and Foxy Brown.

But wait — there’s more. After 1pm, Caroline is joined live in the studio by Bill Hope, award-winning illustrator, graphic novelist, fashion satirist, and recent collaborator with children’s author Andy Griffiths. Bill shares tales from his journey from the Central Coast to the Blue Mountains, chats about his cartoon work, his love of absurd fashion trends (like “bratwurst-core”), and his cheeky Zine Fair debut at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre.

Together they laugh, riff on retro aesthetics, play with candy cigarettes, and discuss everything from Starsky and Hutch to the power of storytelling through pictures. It’s a joyful, genre-mashing celebration of sound, art, and style — part vinyl revival, part zine culture love-in, and all Strange Brew.

Turn the dial up loud and relive the funk, the flair, and the fabulousness.