Last updated 6-28-2022
What the hell possesses someone to bomb a building full of innocent civilians in order to voice political protest?!? I've never understood this, no matter where it's happened. Violence has never been a viable form of expression; it may earn you cheers from your own, but it will only earn you the contempt of the civilized world. A last word on the subject of OK; why was everyone so quick to jump on the anti-Arab bandwagon during the early hours and days after the bombing, when it was suggested that this may have been committed by foreign terrorists and not domestic ones? I wonder if any apologies were issued...
I think we're being reminded that nature is still more powerful than we are. Necrotizing faciitis (the flesh-eating disease) and ebola have both been in the papers several times in the past few months. These are both diseases that kill quickly, and their victims die horribly. Hopefully, we will find the means to eradicate or at least control them, but... it HAS been theorized that what will decimate the human population is not a nuclear exchange but a new disease, and they are cropping up lately. Not with a bang...
There's going to be an Underground Press Conference in Chicago in mid-August, and many of the people involved in 'zines will be in attendance. I'm going, too, though I don't really think of the Extreme as a 'zine; it's a bit more polished, doesn't have a particular theme or direction, and contains far fewer typographical errors. (!) I have to shake my head at the title, however, and at the 'zinesters who indignantly insist that their publication is more "punk" or "DIY" or "underground," and that someone else's is "not legit" or "selling out" or whatever.
I see 'zinedom in terms of the punk revolution. In the mid-'70s, there were a few punk bands. Towards '77 and '78, the record industry realized that punk was "in" and could make them a lot of money, and they began signing anyone who came close to being punk. Johnny Rotten and the Pistols self-destructed; the Clash started moving their sound in a different direction; and a handful of the other original bands just kept doing what they had been doing. But the punk revolution had been turned into an industry. Hardcore was an attempt to circumvent that industry, but... Jello Biafra once sang, "Punk's not dead, it just deserves to die / When it becomes another stale cartoon." As far as I'm concerned, punk is now dead; the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, the Exploited, and their peers of the mid-'80s were the last punk bands (the Ramones, of course, will carry the title of "last punk band on earth" to their graves, and X still get together every now and then). While I like the Offspring, neither they nor Green Day (or Rancid or the late Nirvana or Tool or anyone else you care to name) are really punk rock.
I was going somewhere with this, wasn't I? Oh, right; the early 'zines were like the early punkers. Don't ask me to name them, I'm really not an expert on 'zine culture. They were truly independent and DIY and set the course for future 'zines. Within the last two or three years, though, there has been a tremendous growth in the number of publications; just about anyone can do one, really. There are a few bad ones, a metric ton of mediocre ones, and a handful of really good ones. This is not "underground" anymore. A few years ago, a co-worker and I collaborated on a newsmagazine called the Underground Giraffe that truly was underground; it was like an alternative to the company newsletter and featured articles, columns, and ads that poked fun at company policies. When I created the Extreme, I knew there would be nothing really underground about it. Maybe some of the poems and fiction you can read here is not stuff you'd find in mainstream magazines, but that doesn't make it underground.
The fact that there's a "second annual" Underground Press Conference spells the doom of the 'zine revolution. That doesn't mean we're all going to suck. I attended the first Lollapalooza tour and enjoyed seeing bands like Jane's Addiction, Living Colour, Ice-T, and Nine Inch Nails. It was an alternative concept, and the bands were, at the time, rather alternative themselves. The successive tours, while boasting some talent, were mockeries of the original. The music was no longer "alternative," at least not by definition. I feel the same about this conference. Last year, maybe 'zines were still "underground;" now, they really can't be.
Whew! On to television... "The X-Files" season finale was astounding. They always manage to leave us wishing the summer were over (incredibly enough) so that we could see the conclusion. Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are a great team, and I hope they'll be working on this show for years to come.
Another superb show on Fox is "VR.5," starring Lori Singer. I read rave reviews repeatedly (try saying that five times fast!) before the premiere was broadcast, and I found myself pulled into the show even faster than I'd been pulled into "X-Files." The visuals are stunning, and the storyline has convoluted enough so that you're as unsure of what really happened to the Bloom family, and why, as the sisters are. Well, the truth is out there... Hopefully, Fox has the sense to bring this show back next season; it definitely has the potential to become another "X-Files" for them.
All right, that's enough. If you'd care to comment on any of this, do so! 'Til next time...
Last updated 6-28-2022
