Episode 4 - Convince Me To Like... RUSH
In Episode 4, Passionate Rush SUPER FAN and former aide to Barack Obama, Jillian Maryonovich, (AKA, "Rush Fan-In-Chief"), who has seen the band live over 90 times, has been featured in the Rush documentary Time Stand Still, and is a co-organizer of RUSHCon, (the convention for Rush fans), professes her deep and obsessive love for RUSH and argues on behalf of The Holy Trinity against Rush "HATER", Brian Cogan, Ph.D who is a professor and author of several books on pop culture, including The Encyclopedia of Punk , Deconstructing South Park, and Everything I Ever Needed To Know About ___* I Learned From Monty Python.
THE GUESTS
THE SUPER-FAN
Jillian Maryonovich “fan In Chief”
Jillian i s
WATCH:
Docu-clip on Jillian the RUSH FAN-IN-CHIEF
Some biographical notes on Jillian:
RUSH Super Fan Jillian Maryonovitch, puts her extreme passion on display in Episode 3 when she emphatically defends Canada’s Holy Triumvirate against charges of pretension by Dr. Brian Cogan.
Maryonovich is a devout Rush fan who has seen the band perform over ninety times. Additionally, she is the co-organizer of RUSHCON, a conference and event organized specifically for the fans of Rush. Jillian’s extreme fandom was featured in the 2015 Rush documentary, TIME STAND STILL.
As an interesting aside, Maryonovich has a successful career in politics, working as Creative Director for the Office of Digital Strategy for both the Barack Obama administration and, most recently, the Pete Buttigieg presidential campaign.
THE HATER
Dr. Brian Cogan, PhD
Insatiably curious, always interested and completely fascinated by the world around me. That’s me in a nutshell (Except I suspect I am a bit too large to fit into all but the largest available nutshells. I like to think that one of the things that keeps me going is that there is always some new book, movie, art work, television show or media piece that piques my interest. And when I get interested in a topic, I usually end up writing about it. Writing is what I do, as well as art. Well, writing art and research. Actually, Writing, art research, and drumming. And singing. Oh, and drumming as well. Amongst the many things I do…well, you get the picture.
As a writer, I’ve written/co-written/edited/co edited nine books and counting, as well as contributing to academic journals, newspapers, databases, encyclopedias, book collection and assorted sundry and various topics, but what we call Popular culture, for lack of a better word is a specialty. I’m also a media Ecologist, more about that below.
I’ve been influenced by people as diverse as my late mentor Neil Postman, one of his influences Marshall McLuhan, to more current authors such as Jaron Lanier and Sherry in my writing on media and technology. In terms of my views on media, I’m a media ecologist who examines media not just in terms of social, cultural and political frames, but also in terms of how our mediated environments affect us as much as our physical environments, for better or worse.
In terms of popular culture, I like to think that what I examine if the meaning making process that people use to describe and make sense of their environments. I like to see what kinds of ritual, ideas and narratives that people use to make sense of their worlds.
One of my lasting loves is that untamable (but easily commodifiable) beast known as punk rock. I’ve written two books and numerous articles, interviews and other observations about punk over the years. Some examples here.
In terms of literature, I find myself a traditionalist as well as someone who appreciates everything from surrealism to footnote laden novels to graphic novels. I’ve been listing every book I’ve read (Cover to cover, not counting any I skimmed for research purposes) and you can find the ongoing list right here.
Books
I’ve written or edited nine books (actually ten, one died a premature death, alas), about topics as diverse as punk, metal, politics, youth culture and politics, South Park, Monty Python’s Flying circus and the baby boomers generation. I’ve also written a novel Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (see separate page) and you can either read them for free in the library, (be sure to return them on time! Librarians are picky about that!) or buy them online or at your local brick and mortar store. For more info, click here.
Projects
Right now, I’m working on a few long-term projects. One is the thousand books project, chronicling my quest to list 1,000 books as I read them and how this has changed, as I grew older. A preliminarily list is here. I’m also working on a book about Batman, on about underground culture in New York in the nineties and several other projects that will pop up here.
Media appearances/Interviews
I’ve popped up in the media every now and then for a quote here, a little pontification there. Among other outlets, I’ve been quoted by the Associated Press, been heard on NPR in Chicago and Wisconsin and been interviewed in outlets as far away as the land of wine and gelato, in an interview in Italy’s La Repubblica. Links of some of these below and on the publicity page. Looking to talk to me about one of my projects or one of yours?