73s From the Evergreen State

Here is a zine / book / pamphlet that rocks my eclectic sense of wonder - 73s from the Evergreen State by Jordan Smith, published by Public Collectors, a visual tour into the world of CB Radio QSL cards.

I have a collection of shortwave QSL cards from international and pirate shortwave stations I have heard over the years - but CB Radio QSLs? Where was I back in the day? And why wasn't I on CB? Fascinating glimpses here into the personalities of the public airwaves with cards from numerous artists. A must read for any radiohead.

http://73sand88s.com/

Cassette Review: Unableto by David Thomas Broughton

Unableto

David Thomas Broughton

Antiquated Future

Visually, this is a stunning and beautiful release with an emerald cassette and a glassine, vellum insert. Musically, Unableto is a journey through the wasteland of the psyche. I wish this tape had a lyric sheet included. I also wish there was less squelch & noise and more clarity – there is melodious, seething life here which needs to be heard. About ¾ of the way through the journey, Unableto becomes a proggy new age instrumental. Intrigue abounds. 

Cassette Review: Tucker Theodore

Tucker Theodore

To Make the Sun Hurt cassette

available from antiquatedfuture.com

This incident might be from another lifetime. Perhaps it was sometime in the 1990’s. A man in the apartment next door is fiddling with an amplifier and an old tape recorder. You hear his howls through the wall. Maybe he’s been listening to Bonnie Prince Billie. Maybe he’s secretly Jandek. You don’t know him very well, you mumble "hi" to him at the mailbox & don’t make eye contact. At one point he starts whistling along with the thrum of his guitar. His voice sounds like it’s echoing out of a coal mine. The batteries run down in the tape recorder and he stops singing. You’re not sure what you just overheard, yet it haunts you like surrealistic dreams of clouds. 

Where You From #4

Where You From #4

News from Home

New Hampshire in the 80’s

Review: Hope has created another absorbing issue of Where You From, forty pages of histories and reminiscences of growing up in the Granite State, my place in the world. Through several chapters, Hope documents her recollections and impressions of the Challenger space shuttle disaster, the police brutality against Rodney King, an out-of-control murder of a local family man by police in Hudson, Ram Dass in New Hampshire, and more. Peppered throughout are grainy black & white images that perfectly accentuate the histories that Hope explores. Where You From #4 is a lovely and provocative zine.

Commentary: I grew up in and have lived 99% of my life within the geographic boundaries we call New Hampshire. Though I was a young adult with three children during the era that Hope describes, it is almost as if we lived in two different states and two different times. I grew up in southern New Hampshire and was acutely aware of the social injustices going on both nationally and next door. Most of my family’s friends were non-white, non-wealthy, and some were non-neurotypical. Where Hope states that “…this is why we get out, to see a bigger picture, to understand more …” I think: this is why some of us stay (in New Hampshire) or in our home towns … because the bigger picture is not outside of us, somewhere else, it is within our hearts.

email for more information: gutwrenchpress@gmail.com 

Bizarrism 14

Each edition of Bizarrism is an inclusive, bordering on encyclopedic, compendium of true (and bizarre!) stories from around the world. For fourteen issues Chris Mikul has reported on topics are diverse as Sea Monkeys, The Shaggs, and the Mystery of the Somerton Man. Chris approaches his work as a journalist in a scholarly manner. His articles and essays brim with information, and are pointers to elements of history that often escape our notice.

Issue #14 includes articles on the debauched world of Francoise Dior, the religious empire of Sun Myung Moon, and the strange rise of atheism and Madelyn Murray O’Hair. Chris also explores the legacy of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Mikul also delves into the fascinating world of prolific graphic artist / would-be soul musician Mingering Mike, and reviews Jim Elledge’s book Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy: The Tragic Life of an Outsider Artist.

For more information write to:

Chris Mikul

PO Box K546

Haymarket NSW 1240

Australia

How to Make Radio #2

How to Make Radio #2

by Julie Sabatier

destinationdiy.org

Julie is a veteran radio producer creating shows and segments for community and public radio stations. Julie’s zine is clear, concise, and an excellent orientation to developing audio for radio or podcasting. Topics covered in this zine include your radio voice, editing audio, creative commons music, and funding your show / podcast. Some of the technical information in How to Make Radio #2 may be outdated (tips on using software and recording using iPhone devices). The downside of this zine is that Julie seems to be a shill for NPR podcasts, which are sometimes creative but more often formulaic and dependent upon pleasing corporate funders. Still, everyone is entitled to an opinion (and that’s ye old zine reviewer’s!). How to Make Radio #2 is available from Portland Button Works.

Thrifty Times #27

Thrifty Times is a monthly zine published by Sarah MacDonald in Allston MA. Each issue explores Sarah's favorite thrift finds. If clowns make you nervous, read no further! Just kidding. Most issues of Thrifty Times have a "theme" and the March 2015 theme is clowns. Sarah launches the issue with her customary Dear Readers section, then unveils a creepy clown pillow, hand stitched by someone with the initials CSS. Nick Burgess discusses the book "The Book of American Types" discovered at a thrift shop, and there's a review of the LP "The Klowns" in the Record Roundup Section. Sarah also reviews ten comedy LPs scored at thrift shops. Every edition of Thrifty Times is well written and a lot of fun to read. Recipes! Games! Comics! Romance books! What's not to love? Now get thee to a Goodwill ... and find me a shofar!

www.thriftyzine.com 

Secret Order of the Caboose

Caboose #9

Masons On Masons:

How to Start a Secret Society

By Liz and Joe Mason

caboosezine@gmail.com

48 pages / half-letter / $3

PO Box 477553

Chicago IL 60647

Recently ye olde zine reviewer has embarked upon learning about what is behind the social / political veils in our culture – particularly the role played by underground yet hidden in plain sight groups like the Freemasons. Such research could spiral into a lifetime of diversions – there are so many groups, so little time. Therefore, when I spotted Caboose #9 Masons On Masons: How to Start a Secret Society at the venerable Antiquated Future website, I ordered it without hesitation.

Written in a style that is both smart & smart-ass, the Masons may give you some ideas about how to create your own nerdy group, order, lodge, happening, etc. All of the bases are covered: groundrules, membership, language, mirthful activity and even secret handshakes. Yet what I had hoped to find here was more actual substance about Freemasonry, The Illuminati (though reading about its book-club origins was intriguing), and other elites & followers of our day that seem to wield power and influence in our bizarre and unwieldy culture. For example: who were the Oddfellows and am I related to them?

Ok, I’m off to organize the Freemen of Kearsarge Mountain Lodge. I’d tell you when & where the first meeting is, but then I’d have to kill you.

Did the NSA just read this? I’m fucked.

New Paper Radio MiniPodcast with DJ Frederick

Give Me Cassettes Or Give Me Death

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/80292

Proof I Exist #19

Proof I Exist #19 is the latest in a series of zines created by Billy, turning the paper camera on events and happenings in his life. Issue #19 is a time capsule from January 2015 when Billy pranked Albuquerque with a groceries on the car roof trick, played a punk rock gig with his band, and invented Zinester Trading Cards. And that’s just for starters! Billy writes Proof I Exist in a friendly, creatively honest, engaging style – he packs a lot of living in each day and invites us along to be the artists of our own lives. For more information on Proof I Exist check out:  
https://www.etsy.com/listing/222822877/proof-i-exist-19?ref=shop_home_active_5