BRILLIANT!
Sabina attended university with me, and, like me, lives in a relatively small town which is, mercifully, not too far from a largish city.
This is a VERY personal and VERY opinionated 'zine. The introductory essay proposes the vital importance of maintaining a leftist voice in the face of increasing corporate hate and the growth of intolerance as 'rebellion'.
"Of Passions and Pastors" is a stunning piece on Matthew Shepard and homophobia, with a white-hot-furious coda dedicated to that paragon of filthy virtue, Fred Phelps (even I only wished him a quick, but not necessarily painless, death), who picketed Matthew's funeral with infantile anti-gay signs.
"Network Neighbourhood Moron Watch", "I Was A Teenage Alien" and "You Just Don't Get It, Governor!" address various aspects of high school/teen/conformist culture as they relate to the Littleton tragedy, the murder of Reena Virk in British Columbia, and, yes, less dramatic but equally painful nastiness in YOUR town (whoever and wherever you are), and do so strongly and movingly. As she says at the end of "I Was A Teenage Alien": "Defuse a bomb - hug an alien today!". More politically, in "You Just Don't Get It, Governor!", she warns: "If you would stave off deadly rebellions, start by eliminating the things the rebels are pitting themselves against."
Her short story, "The Bomb Squad", also touches on the subject in a hopeful way.
Throw in some poetry and some well-written book and record overviews, and you get a picture of a woman I am proud to call "comrade".
This issue is for the working bisexual - specifically, the sex-trade-working bisexual (or those who are interested - oops, better be careful - wouldn't want to be seen as soliciting or endorsing the right for someone else to exist in a job that 'breaks the law' (stomp, stomp - break, damn you!)).
There is a good piece by one Andrea Michaela-Gonzalez on the ties between the bisexual and the sex worker communities (I should add, as more or less a monosexual, that I think there are ties between the gay and sex worker communities - or, rather, that there should be - I know damn well that the 'mainstream gay community' (I do NOT consider that an oxymoron) feels otherwise).
There is a fascinating piece on the history of a brothel in Butte, Montana, that is actually a designated historical site, written by the editor of ANYTHING THAT MOVES.
There is yet another compelling piece on transsexual issues, focusing on youth, by Suzan Cooke, a transwoman herself.
A compiled article on the busting of prostitutes makes a good point, derived from a poster - when prostitution is put on one's record, it tends to prevent one from getting another job, which tends to lead back to...well, you guessed it. If society REALLY wanted to combat prostitution, based on the assumption that it is a bad thing (there are certainly problematic aspects to the job, as I doubt anyone would deny), a lot of work needs to be done in terms of alternatives.
There is an article by a male escort, Aaron Lawrence, on his experiences, and an interview with Jeanna Fine, a bisexual porn star (though she doesn't actually use the label).
There is a piece about a sex therapist/surrogate partner, Linda Poelzl, who has worked with both men and women.
It never fails to strike me as ironic that many gay media outlets speak of bisexuals as
somehow privileged and 'fence-sitters', when this magazine is far more radical than the
vast majority of mainstream gay rags. So, even though I would say I'm probably about
80-90% 'gay' (if you MUST use that label...), I find I relate to this publication a heck
of a lot more than, say, the ADVOCATE. It sticks its neck out far, and sees interesting
things while there. Read it - NOW...(who says I can't be dominant? *grin*).
Two youngish, queerish folk from Russell, Pennsylvania put out a 'zine, and the world falls to its knees in admiration.
But enough about my sex life...god knows there's enough about EVERYONE ELSE's in this issue!
There are some token serious pieces about art, body image, sexism in the gay community, activism and the like, but a goodly portion of this issue is devoted to: SEX! MASTURBATION! ADULT TOYS! DEATH METAL!
I just don't know about the youth of this generation. They don't seem serious enough about important, adult things like destroying other people's lives, greasing the bloody wheels of capitalism or being homophobic. They'd better start soon - there's a whole wide world out there to render unliveable, unfun and profitable...
To explain, one of the centerpieces of this issue consists of various punk celebrities' responses to questions about masturbation (members of God is My Co-Pilot, Pansy Division and Fifth Column), thoughtfully giving contact addresses so you can write and follow up, perhaps with questions about important issues (if you feel you must). This ties in neatly with the how-to information and the stuff on toys too.
A very, um, stimulating issue...nice to see the kids are NOT alright...
A very attitude-packed publication from New Orleans (home of Lee Harvey Oswald and Mardi Gras - what better combination?), full of attacks on 'nice' queers and 'polite engagement'. Thanks ever so for sending me these, Avalokitesvara...and for the news that a new one is due!
#2 has interviews with the Impotent Sea Snakes (a sort of very offensive and brilliant trannie band); some tranny cut-out paper dolls; some very violent and fun steps to making a better partner out of the raw material you must work with; a letter page whose truth I am obliged to question (why do I NOT believe that Celine Dion would write to this magazine, or George Michael, or Anita Bryant or NAAMBLA? Cynical, I suppose...); a piece about a New Orleans tranny named Erica; some very peculiar video reviews (not quite my kind of thing, but fascinating); a Marmaduke cartoon about how he now only eats pink triangular pieces from his food (a REAL one; of course, my (human) Great Dane is pink-triangle-oriented too...); and, why, more, more, more!
#3 has stuff on language; a profile of the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, a vaguely goth band; the obligatory piece on Teletubbies; a hilarious spoof of the old hanky code we queer men are supposed to have memorized (personally, I use Kleenex...); an interview with a (gasp!) porn star, Jim Buck; a tasteless and thus classic piece on car crash eroticism; MORE tranny cut-out paper dolls; more truly tacky video reviews; a handful of record reviews; and some 'zine reviews as well.
Truly styling, twisted, and thoughtful.
Just as a little tease...each issue's cover page has a different acronym from QUEER, so you have to collect them all to get the secret code that will turn everyone queer... :)
This issue features an interview with Sleater Kinney (Carrie and Janet, specifically); a piece on legendary punk figure, Helen Wheels; info on queer songwriter/pianist Magdalen Hsu-Li; an article about Sinead Lohan, a new Irish artist; a profile of various NYC rhythm section players; writing on Sean Yseult, ex of White Zombie, and her new surf band; and so much more.
The news section talks about a song that a band called PURRR recorded to challenge this obnoxious white rapper Eminem's song 'Guilty Conscience' (which has now been released as a single, probably partially due to the publicity over it). If you see Eminem's single, and it is in your power to disappear it, it is something that could be considered, though, of course, I'm not recommending it...
Continuing on this fresh socially conscious theme, there is a critical piece on media images of women, as typified by an infantile spread by Britney Spears (hint - if Miss Spears is your role model, seek help immediately...) from ROLLING STONE and a series of insulting shots from guitar-maker Epiphone's 1999 calendar that suggest women buy guitars to use as sex toys only.
There is also a reader survey included inside, which sending in could lead to a chance of winning a nice amp (this might be over by the time you read this, of course).
Another solid effort, and worth reading to find out about up-and-coming women in rock.
This issue focuses on women-run labels, including Ani Difranco's RIGHTEOUS BABE(anyone who thinks she's rolling in dough should check out what happened when NOT A PRETTY GIRL started the ball of media attention rolling...and how the label teetered on the edge of bankruptcy); Jane Siberry's SHEEBA (the interview was done almost a year and a half ago, and she has had severe problems with the label since; its website address, is, by the way, really www.sheeba.ca; if you followed the link in the article, you'd end up at some airplane-related site, I believe...); Amy Ray of Indigo Girls' DAEMON (a non-profit label); and the only Japanese woman-run label, BENTEN (I had thought Shonen Knife's Zero Records was owned by them, but I don't believe it exists anymore, and I could be wrong...); and so much more.
There is valuable info on setting up business plans and the like and a few book/record reviews.
What with the first full-colour cover (a good shot of Ani Difranco) and the eight extra pages, it's starting to be a cost-effective publication. :)
This book is short and to-the-point, and chockfull of actual interviews with various members of the band that time forgot.
To explain briefly, the New York Dolls existed from about 1971 to 1976 in New York City. They were a ferocious, hard-rocking, yet campy project, consisting of David Johansen on vocals and harmonica; Sylvain Sylvain on guitar, piano and vocals; Arthur Kane on bass; Johnny Thunders on guitar and vocals; Billy Doll (replaced by Jerry Nolan) on drums; and a few other people briefly in their final days.
They put out two albums, NEW YORK DOLLS and TOO MUCH TOO SOON, the latter title being prophetic. In addition to being too much in terms of being bad boys in every sense of the word, their sound was about four to five years ahead of its time.
Unlike the Velvets and the Stooges, who were in a similar position, they have not really been canonized posthumously in any big way. Perhaps because the members didn't really make huge splashes as solo artists...perhaps because they were so out of control...who knows?
In any case, this chatty, informal, obviously-loving-but-not-immune-to-criticism volume will, with any luck, help to redress this balance and give one of the greatest bands in the world some of the due it should have received then.
The Foxglove Collective consists of: T. Anne Archer; Mary Cavanagh; Elizabeth Greene; Tara Kainer and Janice Kirk, who all lived in Kingston at the time this project started being fleshed out in 1993.
The idea was to gather writing toward the year 2000, and, for some reason, most of the writing seemed to be looking back on the 20th century instead. This slightly puzzled both me and, when I spoke to Tara, the collective.
However, the 45 poems, essays and short stories here are a wildly varied bunch, and are rarely just nostalgic, covering such topics as racism (past and present), poor childhoods, religion and dissolving relationships.
The most famous writers here would be playwright Kate Barker, poet Michael Crummey, author Kent Nussey and poet/novelist Steven Heighton (ooooh - three from the Kingston area, although one lives in Toronto now and one is originally from Newfoundland by birth). However, everyone has something interesting to say.
My personal faves would be Patricia Nolan's "It Has A Place For Rabbits", which manages to be both ironic and moving about a relationship with a married man; "The Applicant" by Kate Barker, a disturbing, socially conscious, darkly humourous and arguably blasphemous tale; and Jocko Benoit's cautionary "Bosch's Beasts", a poem about the possible perils of techonology and consumerism.
However, as I said, it's a wonderful cross-section of cultural and social strata and
approaches, and well-worth the investment and reading.
