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| MOJO #176 July 2008 + CD *** Bought this coz I'm a sad old Pistols fan who still hopes they can somehow reclaim some respect and intrigue from their groundbreaking past and sadly long overdue demise. Coming out prior to yet another set of London dates that were filmed (and later turned up on the rather good 'England's Dreaming' DVD). This candid 20 page roller coaster ride made up of 4 individual interviews with the Pistols themselves, is not as gross as it would appear. Lydon's still very much outspoken and can hit us with some classic quotes, but alas he's now not the sharp as a pin North London Antichrist. And although amusing instills his out of touch with reality LA viewpoint upon us more so. He even fancies writing a song for troubled Britney Spears arrrgghh!!!! I doubt very much that Lydon could write a credible punk song for the Sex Pistols or PIL let alone anyone else that would be considered legit these days. Although apparently he's big in the club scene under another alias? You can tell Steve Jones is itching to write a NEW Sex Pistols album and musically that could still be very interesting with Cooky and Matlock involved. However some hidden facts emerge amongst the questions and recorded output look back on their career. Paul Cook admits he never plays the 'The Great Rock N Roll Swindle' album while Glen Matlock digs the 'Spunk' sessions for obvious reasons and welcomes making a few extra quid! The rest of the mag as far as punk goes was zilch on the ground. So maybe not worth the cover price of £4.30 to most punks these days. But you did get a FREE 16 track punk disc on the cover featuring an interesting 16 track array of punk gems and the odd rarity from the past. www.mojo4music.com |
| RIOT ON YOUR OWN #31 October 2008 **** Great cover shot of the Restarts at Rebellion festival in 2008 introduces us to another edition of the scummiest freebie this side of a MP's rent boy tabl. Interesting editorial which spells out the dark, deep hole of heavy drugs in the punk scene and life in general. A sad fact which can only stifle creativity, entertainment and just plain focus in Punk. Sid, Malcolm Owen, Kurt Cobain...the list is endless. It also turns you into a lecherous, thieving cunt if the local drug lords are anything to go by. On a more optimistic note, there's a neat Joy Division profile, two low level although could be new hope interviews with Coleraine's Axis Of Evil who feature members of the now disbanded but highly rated Man Overboard. And Dublin's teenager louts Septic Pussy. The highlight has the be the annual Rebellion festival review which spans around 12 pages and will have you snickering in yr boots at some of the observations. It also features a great centre-spread collage of all the culprits in action, although SLF being the best band made for more suspect views never mind devices. And talking of dodgy geezers there's an absolutely riveting piece on some of Belfast's legendary street fighters. Not a playboy or promoter amongst em! Blokes who knocked out Bulls and one geezer who walked his pet Lions down the streets of Belfast lol. You gotta read it to believe it! We also get a review of the big Drumacanoo Punks Picnic, along with the usual wide array of gigs, records, DVD's and zine reviews. Still the best pound for pound punk freebie in the UK today. Issue's #32 and #33 are now on the streets! Miss em at your peril! FREE with an SAE to BILL, 5 GLEN ROAD, BELFAST BT5 7JH billyriot@hotmail.com |
| ANTI HIPPIE #5 Winter 2008 *** Ain't read a copy of this Finnish skinhead zine for a few years and it's back with with the same meticulously easy on the eye presentation along with good layouts and neat desktop presence. I gotta say though the skinhead Oi! scene does not really appeal to me so much these days. It's all very much one dimensional with no really great bands to come out of it and make an impression, apart from about 5 worldwide well known bands. From Russian with no love we have anti fascist skins rubbing shoulders with New York hoodlums. It less diverse and really takes a lot to get into if your not a Skin. Front cover features the stabbed to death Moscow Trojan skin 27 year old Filatov who got murdered last October (08). What really dismays me is all these skinheads fighting each other for poxy political views. C'mon get a life it's just not worth it. Music wise we get Slovakian Oi'sters Cenzura, The Hoist who are Finnish piss heads, New Jersey's Broken Heroes, and the Barons not to mistaken with the cabaret band, although stranger things have happened. There's a profile on the Moscow Trojan skin crew, some geezer called DJ Perry Man a Tampere skinhead, a profile on True Force Records and odd one out Californian punk author Russ Lippitt who had some novel views. A minor tape label Dagger promotions, plus some old UK skin newspaper cuttings and a Combat 84 piece. Which is puzzling as the editorial stance seems to veer towards the Sharp scene? There's a massive record and zine review section all Oi! incorporated which could probably ostracise the none skin readership.However gains bonus points for including a free 22 CD disc where you can hear most of the bands included inside. For more information visit www.mypace.com/oibootboy |
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| FEAR AND LOATHING #63 MARCH 2008 This is the 3rd installment of Fear and Loathing I have read in the past year. And although its over 2 years outta date the volume of impressive punk Lothario's covered within its pages gives unique zines like this the regal kinda quality it deserves. This fanzine don't need technical wizardry or artsy layouts to work. The art is in the writing and coverage, as vast swathes of reviews and experiences keep your head sunk into its A4 pages. Fear And Loathing don't need political verbal to cause a stir either. Its a zine that is solely punk rock based and great to just escape within the music and vibe. Talking of which, nice to see a decent interview with LA's Channel 3 in a British zine. If you've not heard them yet, check out their first two albums, that are a couple of the best imports released on the hit 'n' miss early 80's No Future label. Tomahawk are the weak link in this issues line-up, featuring ex members of Jesus Lizard, Helmet and the Melvins. But are followed by first wave punk stalwarts Eater, whose interview concentrates on the bands short live reformation in 2008, where Andy Blade (whose now a school teacher himself) and Dee Generate once more collaborated. I have to say this has gotta be the first punk zine where your likely to find a Prince gig review nestled amongst the Misfits and Toy Dolls sightings lol! Andy the editor bravely admits to being a fan for over 20 years tee hee. Canadians No Means No are a gigging machine since '79 and certainly look their age amongst this veteran line-up of interviewees, grimacing at the camera Reg Holsworth style. However the Undertones on the cusp of that other reunion with their stand in singer didn't quite stand the test of time. The Bad Brains interview stands out most, because the interviewees are so out of it. You will have to read it to find out, but God and Liberace are strange bed fellows. Cover stars Johnny Moped pictured in a field is by far the most exploratory of our interviewees as Fear And Loathing delve into the weird bipolar world of different people and characters that came in and out of the Moped punk bubble. There's also a really good UK Subs interview with Nicky Garrett and Charlie Harper that covers most of the important ground points. All this is set amongst an endless review pile of gigs our author relentlessly attends. Plus 7 pages of record reviews that covers most of the current crop of punk rock releases, plus a few exceptions. And lastly the back page features an image of Maximumrockroll contributor Lance Hahn, who had died a few months previous to this issue hitting the street! www.myspace.com/fearandloathingzine |
| ARTCORE #25 2008 ***** This 25th edition of Artcore kicks off with a scathing editorial on bands and individuals who let down Welly the editor by not submitting answers in time, and delayed its emergence! Sadly no names mentioned? Why? These sycophants should be outed, just so we know and can say told ya so. I can sympathise greatly with his plight, but the blame shouldn't lay solely at the feet of the Internet which this zine does. Punk today is a totally different ballgame, the attitude, the style, the vibe, the connections are a totally different culture, it ain't 1988 no more. Welly begrudgingly admits its possibly the converse trainers crowd of spoilt, lazy people who populate the more melodic sector of the hardcore scene this zine bends over backwards to promote, that are the main culprits. He gets it right by stating bands don't seem to need or want the free publicity zines like Artcore provide these days. But these spoon fed parasites readily expect a record, tour or publicity in these celebrity hankering times. We could write a book on the (f)Art of celebrity but that's for another day. Their loss our gain! Especially with zines so well put together like this one. Artcore would be sadly missed if Welly's enthusiasm and trade in zine production is snuffed out by apathy and vanity. But the music is still there, and that's all the inspiration he needs. Even if its performed in less than ground breaking formats these days. I've always enjoyed tour diary's coz I'm such a nosey cunt. This issue brings us another (the 3rd) Four Letter Warning tour of the USA, on a mammoth 7 page spread. How many independent punk bands from the Valleys can say they toured the USA... 3 times? And the grim reality is back home in Cardiff they could barely fill a local night club on their own! Such is the poles between punk and mainstream tastes! You have to take yer hat off to the geezer as he's as passionate about his music as he is about his art. Which gives this A4 zine a distinct advantage over his contemporaries. We need cheering up, but the yawning politically right on uni punk diatribe of Dan McKee ain't gonna do it. However interview wise, we get US tour mates the intriguingly named Off With Their Heads, who are a little less impressive sound wise, than their name suggests. Violent Arrest from Somerset features ex members of Ripchord. While Double Negative are more yanks from North Carolina. Artcore then provides a neat 2 page photo selection from the late 80's hardcore scene, but my fave part of this zine (and almost everybody else's) is the 'Vaultage' section. That boasts a decadent Nuns profile and an interview with punk author Aimee Cooper, who I suspect was a last minute stop gap. We are then treated to a Ripchord profile nicked from Ian Glaspers recent book 'Trapped Inside A Scene'. And finally an interesting look at Larry Livermore's Lookout label which were pioneers in exposing the likes of Green Day and Operation Ivy amongst others onto a worldwide stage. The mammoth record reviews in Artcore don't seem to be on the wain like some zines. They are still viced into short little chunks of print that the editor and sidekick reign over with with scary cynicism. Artcore zine and book reviews however are less crowded and almost an afterthought, considering Welly bemoans about no-one reviewing his own zine...so now we know why! It's also because he probably sends his review copies out to all the same spoilt, lazy people who have been blanking him, oh my what a vicious circle we move in. Artcore #25 closes on an artistic point of view, with the Dischord records sleeve designer who is supposedly influential, but his art is lets just say of a reserved taste. Finally this anniversary issue comes with a neat free 45 by The Beef People (review up soon) recorded in 1985 that's comes wrapped up in a magnificent glossy black 'n' white poster fold out with in-depth band biography and pics. Similar to Crass releases except from a Hardcore perspective, which is worth the £5.00 cover price alone. £5.00 PPD. U.K. €6.50 PPD. EUROPE $11.00 PPD. WORLD ARTCORE |
