Enter Rachel Lichtman's groovy, shag-carpeted world of Golden Sands

I just discovered, through Frank Santopadre's podcast Fun for All Ages, the radio and television universe of artist Rachel Lichtman's imagined 1960s/1970s town of Golden Sands.

It's a surreal town stuck in a mid-century far out brown-and-orange aesthetic. Lichtman creates parody television commercials, and print and radio ads from the town of Golden Sands, as well as opening credit theme song videos from the town's television station, Programme 4.

The aesthetic and sense of humor reminds me of Chris Shapan's hilarious graphic work (which I can sadly only find on Facebook). And the interlocking, self-referential aspects of Golden Sands reminds me of National Lampoon's Dacron, Ohio, brought to life in its 1978 Sunday newspaper parody, The Dacron Republican Democrat. Lichtman's world is also like SCTV, in creating not only television spoofs, but also comedic takes on the fictional world where those fake shows reside.

After viewing enough videos, I feel like I've dined at Ramon's Venetian Room (on Route 9), and paid for my meal with a Shayle's Department Store credit card.

The humor is parodic, but also has a touch of affection; you get the sense that Lichtman is mocking this world, but also longs to live there.

Programme 4 is brought to you in part by Ramon's Venetian Room on Rte. 9

— Programme 4 (@programme4.tv) 2025-09-01T16:18:57.966Z

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Coming up on Programme 4: Gary Brooker (Procol Harum) is BROOKER

— Programme 4 (@programme4.tv) 2025-10-03T12:29:31.049Z

Just when I recently discovered Lichtman's work, I found that she was putting on a show in New York City, where I live. I attended the show last week, and it was in two parts: The second part was a screening of Lichtman's mind-blowing video work.

But the first act was a live show, ostensibly a sales meeting for representatives of The Browner Corporation, the fictional Golden Sands company that was launching the new TV station, Programme 4. The show was performed by a merry band of talented and famous comedians and artists that Lichtman has amassed. The "Thanks To" credit roll at the end of the second act's video presentation was basically a list of creative and funny people I love and respect.

Musician/rock star Ted Leo, playing the event's unctuous host, was a particular standout. Given his profession, Leo's excellent, droll crooning should not have been too much of a surprise. But his hosting patter was delivered with the confidence and timing of an accomplished comedian.

I spoke to Lichtman this week about her work, first asking how she got started, and the origin of Golden Sands.

I was listening to a station on satellite radio called Escape, and it just soothed me to no end. I really love easy listening anyway. And during the pandemic, I kind of felt very strongly that I wanted to be in a world, escape into a world, literally, that just felt better to me. 
… I created Easy AM66, which is a scripted audio comedy that sounds like an easy listening station in this fictional town that I created called Golden Sands.

In my mind, it was this combination of sort of the back of my grandfather's Lincoln Continental, and the dunes where I grew up in Northwest Indiana, and the local radio in that town, and the easy listening stations that I had loved so much growing up, like WJJD in Chicago and a bunch of stations that are gone, that had beautiful music formats that were just wonderful. So I wrote this comedy, and because it was the pandemic, it was easy for me to reach out to friends of mine and have them record audio and send it to me. I started to work on it, and that was the genesis of Golden Sands.

I asked her how she she assembles or creates the content that become these incredible, pitch-perfect videos.

It is a decoupage of my own graphic design and recut, repurposed archival footage, and stuff that I've shot myself. I've worked really hard to blend it in this sort of seamless fashion. … I have access to a very large archive of scans and clip art and catalogs and books and you name it, none of which is available on the internet. It's all truly art archival material.

I asked her what people can expect at the upcoming Programme 4 comedy show in Los Angeles (August 19, at Vidiots), and how it will be different from the New York City show, with the Browner presentation, that I attended. She said that all of her Programme 4 shows are different.

The first screening I'm going to do in Los Angeles [the August 19 show] is going to be a groovy party. 
It's more of a cinematic presentation. It's going to be hosted by the Skar Brothers, who are featured in Programme 4 quite a bit. 
I work with them a lot, and they're amazing. And then there will be a lot of special guest cameos popping up throughout the evening.

There will be a screening of Programme 4, preceded by a cinema snipe package for the fictional West Sands Plaza Cinema. 
And so it's like you're sort of there, in this cinema, watching Programme 4. And then afterwards, there will be a kind of a cocktail soiree in the lobby with Jon Spurney playing a Rhodes piano and many special guests who are going to pop in and do a number with him. … It'll be a really loose and fun sort of LA premiere. And then down the line there will be a bigger Browner presentation in Los Angeles.

Lichtman's website can be found here.

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