This week we cover one of the defining works of cyberpunk. Burning chrome is a simple story that perfectly illustrates the High Tech and Low Life aspects of the genre and does so while being really freakin cool.

The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property, it's influences, it's prescience, and enshrine it in the chrome and neon halls of Neo Valhalla.

Bluesky: @hightechlowlife.bsky.social

Patreon: http://patreon.com/hightechlowlife

Cover art by Gillyvor

Theme music by http://www.nihilore.com

Brion James was part of some truly iconic and groundbreaking films. He was also part of some absolute hot garbage. The bright side is that, give the guy enough lines, and he can drag that garbage out of the dumpster and into the... parking lot next to the dumpster, I guess? What I'm saying is it's still garbage but he makes it entertaining when he's on screen. Geoff from Astronomica was nice enough to endure this movie with us.

The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property, it's influences, it's prescience, and enshrine it in the chrome and neon halls of Neo Valhalla.

Astronomica: http://www.astronomicapodcast.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnny60seconds

Patreon: http://patreon.com/hightechlowlife

Theme music by http://www.nihilore.com

Have you ever seen Van Gogh's Starry Night? Maybe you saw the AI version circling the internet a few months back where Claude or Chat GPT or whatever cleaned it up and made it look like an actual starry night modelled after the original painting. When I saw that I thought "What is the point of this? It's ostensibly the same image but with everything that made it compelling, beautiful, and good removed by a robot and replaced with sanitary, unremarkable boredom". That's Total Recall 2012. A beautiful and weird and sometimes uncomfortable thing with all that scrubbed away into a perfectly unremarkable smooth white scoop of mashed potatoes. No salt. No butter. We hated it.

The High Tech Low Life Podcast is a retrospective of cyberpunk fiction across all forms of media. Film, Television, Literature, Games, and Music are all on the table. In each episode we will revisit the property, it's influences, it's prescience, and enshrine it in the chrome and neon halls of Neo Valhalla.

Bluesky: @hightechlowlife.bsky.social

Patreon: http://patreon.com/hightechlowlife

Cover art by Gillyvor

Theme music by http://www.nihilore.com