BITCH #38, $5.95, full size, offset w / glossy cover, 96 pgs.
Huh. I thought this magazine went down with some of its contemporaries like Punk Planet a while back, but it’s still here, spewing out liberal bullshit and griping about TV characters. It’s really hard for me to give a shit about the way beauty pageant contestants are portrayed, what Democrats are doing to win gay voters, the way wimmin who work on Wall Street are stereotyped, or how totally airbrushed the models in that make-up ad looked because all of the concepts behind beauty pageants, voting, the stock market, and make-up ads are totally fucked. What do they expect instead: An empowering beauty pageant? Barefaced make-up models? An article about what Democrats are doing to abolish the voting system? The tagline for this magazine is “A Feminist Response to Pop Culture.” For the wimmin represented here, it’s apparent that their response is not to create a culture outside of the mainstream that they feel oppressed by, but rather to make snarky comments and skin-deep insight about pop culture. Like that’s going to change anything. –Lauren Trout (B-Word Worldwide, 4930 NE 29th Ave.,
LAZY BOY #1, $2, free to prisoners, quarter size, photocopied, 36 pgs.
Between the pink covers of his zine are Mike’s well-written anecdotes about the guys he’s gotten it on with. While recounting each experience, he explains the context of what’s going on in his life and describes the atmosphere a bit, so when sex inevitably comes up, it seems like a natural progression of the story. This is only the second gay erotica zine that I’ve ever read, probably because I have never actively sought out such literature.
MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL #296, $4, full size, offset newsprint, 100 pgs.
With its cover torn to shreds as usual, MRR came to haunt me again this month. Last time around, I was supposed to review MRR #294. But George Tabb’s column about being a judge for a stripper pageant made me view MRR in a negative light for printing it, so I didn’t feel like I could give a fair review to the zine as a whole. If you don’t read MRR regularly, this particular column detailed the physical features of ladies who were competing to be the host of a new porn channel, described how the author got off on looking at and talking to the women, then dismissed them as a bunch of fake, plastic bimbos in the end. I don’t know if the old-timers at MRR still think it’s punk to be offensive or if the readers just don’t mind blatant sexism or what, but I thought it was fucked up and I didn’t feel like reading the rest of the issue. Anyway, I decided to give this month’s issue a chance and this time, it’s Mykel Board talking up his sexual exploits with young boys and girls. Luckily, some badass columns by Matt Bernstein Sycamore, Cindy Crabb, and Jessica Mills had more relevant subject matter. Erika Ransom’s column centered on Christmas and a father whose death she isn’t exactly mourning was definitely the standout piece of the whole zine. The rest is made up of reprinted news stories that are peripherally related to punk, band interviews, and record reviews; none of which really caught my interest. I’m not really into talking shit or collecting records, so I felt like I just didn’t “get” MRR, and I’m okay with that. –Lauren Trout (MRR, PO Box 460760,
PROFANE EXISTENCE #55, $5, full size, offset newsprint w / glossy cover, 82 pgs.
Okay, I’ll admit that this zine was better than I thought it would be, but I still have to rip on the cover first: It’s an illustration of the grim reaper holding up some bloody skulls with some wolves and spiders in the background, all underneath the Profane Existence logo in green and purple. Props to PE for using artwork instead of a photograph, but seriously guys, this looks like a cover for a “New” Misfits record. Aside from that, PE #55 is a solid zine that includes standard fare for a music zine—interviews, columns, and reviews—but seems really accessible and well thought out. I usually just skim through band interviews, but the articles in PE #55 were worth reading because the interviewers always had a good angle. There’s no “What got you into punk rock?” or “What does your band’s name mean?” questions in here. The topics for columns were really diverse: punk business, long term relationships, attempted murder, sick parents, psychology, social security numbers, and a whole lot more. Yeah, there were more skulls and hearts and flames to be found adorning the pages, but once I started reading the content, I realized that there is a lot of depth in the text, which just so happens to be surrounded by bad design. –Lauren Trout (Profane Existence, PO Box 18051,