The National Cynical Network has just released...

'APOCALYPSE TRUMP!'

(An AI Parody)

Been working on this now for a few years, or a couple of years at least, I think. Moreso lately, in light of current events. Wanted to get this part out at least, by today.

There will be other versions of this in the future, expanded versions which will be called 'Redux' and 'Final Cut' in keeping with the original movie's version arc. This one includes a cameo from Marlon Brando via original 'Apocalypse Now!' outtakes and the Redux version is going to probably include Robert Duvall (Kilgore).

This is mostly told in a similar narrative to the 1979 Francis-Ford Copola Vietnam War movie tour-de-force seeing Willard (Martin Sheen) sent on a mission to 'terminate the command' of the mad.... Donald Trump (referred to here enigmatically as 'The Colonel') but turning the original story on its ear with all matter of remixture and re-cutting, AI re-interpretation,, a bevy of Jim Morrison/The Doors remixes especially of their famous song, 'The End' used in the original film, plus remixes of other similar songs.

The AI part comes in when Willard and 'Trump' finally meet and carry on an hilarious (IMHO) conversation with each other, all leading to a fantastically psychedelic and mind-blowing conclusion.

The AI part is a recent development in the history of this production and was used as a TOOL by the artist (myself) as opposed to letting 'it' create itself... but only takes place in track 7 'The Colonel' (no fair skipping ahead, though I know you will!)

Other representations of Trump come from comedian J-L Cauvin whom I especially and personally commissioned the work from, for this project (thanks, Patrons!) who appears in Track 2: 'The Mission' (cued up in the webpage's webplayer) as well as an older Trump/Apocalypse Now mashup treatment that I found called 'A Trump Apocalypse' which I adapted for this project.

Also, my friend Douglas Wellman and Gary Hughes, I think his name is (aka Gary G'Broagfran) appear in Track 1: 'The End' and fellow found sound mashup artists 'The Kleptones' (aka Eric Kleptone) appear in Track 4: 'The River' where one of their track is used.

You do not need to pay anything to stream or download this program.

This is, in part, a tribute to the film 'Apocalypse Now' which I remember first seeing in its first-run at Century 23 Theater in San Jose. Its opening sequence was the first time that I had heard The Doors' song, 'The End' and it impressed me. I am now a big Doors and Jim Morrison fan.

Apocalypse Now was almost always a sonic experience for me. Apocalypse Now came out in 1979 and this was a time that was before home video, and so the way that I would re-create the experience of 'Apocalypse Now!' in my home, as a high-school teenager, was to LISTEN to the LP (this was even before CDs existed) that was created by Carmine Copolla who took not only the soundtrack music of the movie, but also THE MOVIE: the story, the dialogue, the narrative, the sound effects, the sound design (which is of course, excellent) and presented it as a kind of audio-movie digest form of itself. You can find this version, now, on Youtube.

The Bandcamp version is slightly better quality than what is offered on SoundCloud as it was rendered at 48khz instead of the 44khz encoding only allowed on SoundCloud. The version at archive dot org is the 48khz version.

The SoundCloud version is slightly different than the Bandcamp version in that the Bandcamp version features (in Track 1) an NCN introductory piece which is a sendup of a Jim Morrison spoken word piece called 'The Movie' and SoundCloud disallows this piece and so it has been edited out of the SoundCloud version.

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Most of the individual pieces in this mix were painstakingly assembled by NCN and have never ever existed in this overall form before March 30th 2023 (the date that Donald J. Trump was indicted in the Stormy Daniels 'hush fund' case), but most pieces, individually were not created by NCN but rather were created by various mainstream, underground, obscure, or DIY artists and are being used (fairly) in this mix. All derived material has been somehow transformed here or is being used as a cultural touchstone or reference. It is NCN's hope and intention that our use of these artists' work increases their scope and their audience and get them more attention. They deserve it. We feel that they were important, and/or interesting and/or worthwhile voices in the cultural conversation that we are trying to portray and capture with this program. Please note that the idea of 'Trump as Kurtz' is not original to NCN and that this program is, at least in part, an exploration of that cultural trope and a parody of it. It should also be noted that the artform of parody is legal and protected under U.S. Copyright Law.

Bandcamp Version Total program length (running time): 2 hours 33 minutes and 38 seconds.

Bandcamp Version Total program length (running time): 2 hours 31 minutes and 52 seconds.

PRO TIPS on how to listen to this program:

- Use headphones
- Take breaks. This is a long program. It is not necessarily meant to be 'consumed' all in one sitting. Think of NCN programs not so much as traditional 'albums', but more like eclectic 'sonic photo albums' or 'audiobooks with music'. The best place to take breaks is when you hear an NCN 'Station ID' which identifies that you are listening to The National Cynical Network. This usually signifies that a temporal, thematic or subject-oriented change is taking place in the program.
- If you are listening to the program in tracked form (as it is offered on Bandcamp) then you should make sure that you are listening to the tracks in the numbered order and with GAPLESS PLAYBACK i.e. there should be no pause or blank space between tracks. If you do not listen to the program with gapless playback you are not getting the best and intended effect.
- Be sure that the 'mp3 gain' setting is checked on your digital player if you're listening to it on an mp3 player or on the computer in order to avoid any big jumps in volume or 'gain' that might be uncomfortable. NCN is a collage art enterprise and we're dealing with a lot of different audio sources here with different loudness levels. While we have done our best and made every effort to provide a comfortable listening experience, we are not professionals.
- Try listening to it in the background while working on the computer or even long trips, like on an airplane or bus ride. The way these and other NCN programs are constructed (we find) is that they are both effective as a mental sonic 'wallpaper', because of the dynamic richness in form, but also rewarding listens if you also devote your entire attention to them, due to the crisp and compelling nature of the content and its sequences.

Happy Listening!

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Enjoy!