razorcake issue #16

(Such as music is expensive tomake, and just because music is ona major doesn’t necessarily meanthe music sucks [like Billie Holidayand the Beach Boys], but it doessuck that they are on a major.) I alsoenjoyed the sheer number of voicesgetting into the fray – with manycurrent players, from bookers tozinesters to musicians to label owners– allowing to have their say andstating the plusses and minuses.Definitely a nice addition to thecannon of sell-out discourse, onethat – quite honestly – was kind ofburnt out about reading before gettingthis issue. Good job. The interviewsare thorough (Dave Smalleyof Dag Nasty states that he“respected Metallica for going outon a limb” for suing their fans whoused Napster). Fracture’s leaguesabove the cut and paste publicistwet dream crud that other zinesaspire to. Thumbs up. –Todd(Fracture, Unit 100, 61 WellfieldRd., Cardiff, CF24 3DG, UnitedKingdom)GO METRIC!, #17, $2,7 x 8½, copied, 46 pgs.Ever think that there’s someone outthere who uses a lot of the samebrainwaves? I do. I think MikeFaloon is helming what could easilybe a hand-in-hand companion toRazorcake. Go Metric! is infusedwith an undeniable love of punkmusic (mostly of the poppy variety),a great understanding of whatmakes music tick, a healthy senseof humor, and a fun rogues galleryof contributors. The music reviewsare some of the best I’ve ever read.He gets to the meat, explains theheart and intent, and pulls nopunches. The ultimate testament toGo Metric! is that many new, happyadditions to my record collectionreflect many of Mike’s suggestions– mostly stuff I’d never heard ofbefore. The Baseball Furies’ newone is like a claw hammer to thesnacks. It’s great. In addition,there’s a great column by Rev. Nørbabout visiting Metropolis, IL, a listof French words to be deleted fromAmerican culture (“raison d’etre –there will be reason to be”), and thereason for their removal, JoshRutledge’s call to arms for theVapors first full length, an interviewattempt with the Kill-A-Watts,an interview with a long-ago girlpop band, The Poptarts, plus more.You can’t fake this type of enthusiasm,and it’s so right on target, Icouldn’t help but read every page.–Todd (Go Metric!, 15 ASouth BedfordRd., Pound Ridge, NY 10576)GOD KWIT, #2, $1,5½ x 4, 30 pgs.This zine is done in the same styleas Dunk and Piss, only not as good.Chris isn’t as good of a writer asAlex, and his stories aren’t as interesting,but this really ain’t half-bad.Pick it up if you see it. –Not Josh(God Kwit, 953 Spencerport Rd.,Rochester, NY 14606)GRACKLE, #1, $1 (or equivalenttrade), 4 x 5½, copied,silk-screened cover, 27pgs.Grackle is clearly written, positive,and unapologetic, three things Ihighly value. It’s basically a storyabout moving to conservativeWichita Falls, TX, getting into biking,continuing veganism in a morehostile and barren environment, andlooking up to one of the large questionsin life: continue workinglabor-intensive jobs (she works as ahouse cleaner in TX), or go to college?The zine has a good grasp ofgradual change. Its author is honest,hard working, and clear in thought,and that helps it be an engagingread. It’s a simple coming to termswith a new town zine, but that doesn’tdiminish its power. If you’reinterested in a mainly quiet lifegathering strength, this is the zinefor you. I really enjoyed it. (It neverhurts that I learned something. Ididn’t know that “Don’t Mess withTexas” was penned as a campaignagainst litter.) Also, see theThoughtworm review. They’reinterconnected. –Todd (Grackle,c/o Malinda, 1703 SouthwestPkwy., Wichita Falls, TX 76302)GRIND THAT AXE,5½ x 8½, copied, 14 pgs.I respect the idea behind whatthey’re trying to do: provide aforum where anyone can presenttheir opinion to whoever picks up acopy. The problem is that in realitywhen you open up that type offorum you get lots of people withopinions who don’t necessarilyknow how to phrase them, whocan’t write, or really aren’t sayinganything. In one instance, someonetook the time to proof an article,using the paragraph symbol wherethe writer should have, and that ishow it’s left. In another, someone isdescribing her experience withPaxil and keeps contradicting herself.She states that her doctor,“decided that since I was brightenough to read ‘Palace Walk,’ Imust not really be having memoryproblems, as much as I must bedepressed.” She continues to list thereasons that she doesn’t believe inthe diagnosis, but goes on antidepressantsanyway. Once takingthe pills, she says that she felt, “justalive and not dead, which was agood thing for I’d felt pretty suicidalbefore going on the anti-depressants.”Huh, how does any of thatadd up? Which is pretty much howI felt through the all fourteen pages.–Megan (830 - 17 th Ave., Seattle,WA 98122)HATEMACHINE #1, $2,5½ x 8½, copied, 38 pgs.This is hard. I like Rocco a lot. He’sso positive and earnest. When hevisited LA, we went out and ateMexican food together and he gaveme a stack of zines. Rocco’s a lifer– he’s booked clubs, he runs a radioshow, and he’s a huge supporter.That said, Hatemachine suffers, notfrom enthusiasm and heart – hecovers the Las Vegas Rockaround,Dead Bolt, his local music scene –but the fact that it’s terribly hard toread. The grammar’s bad, it needsto be proofed, and that makes itvery hard to follow trains ofthought along. Damn, that’s hard towrite. I hate to solicit on his behalf,but if you live in the Seattle area,are looking to lend a hand, want tohelp out a great guy, and have goodediting chops, I suggest droppingRocco a line. It’d be harder to finda guy with a bigger heart. –Todd(Rocco Galloway, PO Box 2743,Eugene, OR 97402)HATEMACHINE, #3, $2 (?),5½ x 8, 28 pgs.This is the “Women Who KickAss!” issue of a zine that focuses onballs-out rock and roll a la theHellacopters or Nashville Pussy.It’s got short interviews with Lili Z.of the No-Talents, DanielleEmerick, the Motorpsychos, Venus6, and Broadzilla, among others. Itkinda sucks, to be honest with you.–Not Josh (Rocco Galloway, POBox 2743, Eugene, OR 97402)HEY CABBY, $4.95, 5½ x 8½,copied, glossy black and whitecover, 40 pgs.This is a series of stories transcribedby Arthur Ginzburg’s son,ten years after Arthur’s passingaway. This oral history recountsmany of the exciting, harrowing,and drudging days in his twentysevenyears as a cab driver whologged 1.1 million miles in NewYork City. The zine is put in sections– including robberies, weirdcalls, pimps and hookers – and theassociated stories are bunchedtogether, some being as short as aparagraph, others several pages. AsI’d hoped, it was a great read, alongthe lines of what Studs Turkel does.Let the working folk talk, pay attention,and it’s amazing what you’lllearn – like December is the monthwith the most taxi hold ups and cabbiesshould never carry money intheir left breast pocket. Arthur is agreat, humanistic storyteller who istough and hardened, even a bit of awise cracker, but never macho orthuggy. During one hold up, herecounts, “a pistol bounced off theside of my head. Luckily, I have ahard head, so it 107