Cover by Shintaro Kago
 SHEPPARD'S VIDEO-GAME PIEWe gauge Stephen's gaming credThis month we did a little mini-interview with Stephen about his gaming credentials, just so you know what kind of professional you're dealing with.
Vice: Have you always loved video games?
Stephen Lea Sheppard: Yes, ever since I played the first Super Mario Bros., but m... | |
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  PENIS PANIC!!!Coming to Terms with Genital Retraction SyndromeIn 2003, the Middle Eastern Research Institute reported on a new craze sweeping the Sudan. People believed that foreigners were roaming the streets of Khartoum and causing the penises of locals to melt in via handshakes and "electric combs." According to Ja'far Abbas, a Sudanese writer, "No doubt, t... | |
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 REFLECTIONS ON IKE TURNERIke Turner, one of the principle innovators in American music, died recently after a brilliant career. His records from three decades are classics, and his live revue with then-wife Tina was a spectacularly kinetic and hypersexualized showbiz explosion.
His composition "Rocket 88," about ... | |
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 PENRY'S PET PORTRAITUREJ. Penry, one of our favorite illustrators, is now offering his services as a pet portraitist. Now you too can own a precious artwork depicting your furry beloved rendered in Penry's signature style, with a dash of panache and whimsy. Eventually Penry hopes to collect all these portraits in a book. ... | |
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 THE BRANDED AND THE STRANDEDWrangling Cattle on the Most Dangerous Stretch of the US-Mexico BorderOne morning back in September, a cowboy in southern Arizona found a human skull in the desert near the Mexican border. Over the years, our cowboy, a man named Scott, had seen two complete bodies as well as a number of loose rib cages and arm bones in the brush. Running across human remains out on th... | |
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 VICE MAILShred in the Face, I'll Be Bath, Merry Xmas, Henri, Gear Crisis, Doobie Brothers, RE: Ghostface Review, Creepy Letter Du Jour, Hey Vice, Want Some Stuff?, the Downsides of Cocaine (Again), Let Them Eat Cake, Fuck My Ears... | |
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 DO IT!As the mist gathered down outside, I became acquainted with a young Polish girl who told me tales of a new type of music called crunkczar coming from her homeland.... | |
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 SKINEMAVoluptuous Life
My wife of nearly two years is cheating on me. I am quite certain of it. I am not a jealous man nor am I a brute or a fool. I would like you to think of me as a somewhat intelligent man who would not make such damning accusations without first doing some thorough investig... | |
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 WHO GOES THERE?Getting to Know the Sian Alice GroupSian Alice Group are a cute gang of friends from all over Britain who naturally gravitated to London because it's a safe haven for weirdos.
Mentored by Jason Pierce of Spiritualized and including Jesus and Mary Chain founding member Douglas Hart on bass, SAG sound like the spooky laughte... | |
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 SHINTARO KAGO TURNS SHIT INTO GOLDThe Vice InterviewMillions of tons of manga, in all shapes, forms, and colors, have been flying out of Japan every day forever. Are we getting really tired of it all even though we were once excited by it? Yep. And are we now even bored with hentai, the porno-snuff-scat-death-puke subgenre of manga? Pretty much, beli... | |
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 A FLUX OF PINK INDIANSThe Gulabi Gang Hate Men, and Rightfully SoThe Bundelkhand is one of the poorest parts of the Uttar Pradesh region of northern India. It's also one of the most populated areas of an already hugely overpopulated country. The inhabitants of Bundelkhand face a daily struggle for survival as they cope with infertile land, a corrupt judicial syst... | |
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 DAWN OF A NEW SUPERGROUPKasner, Bannon and Dwid Converge to Form IronsThe word "supergroup" is both a little a gay and a lot overused. Anytime Carl Barat picks up a guitar and jumps onstage with David Coulthard-head guy from Razorlight down the Old Shaggy Tin Pot, or wherever it is those guys hang out these days, it only serves to sully the legitimate use of the word.... | |
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 RECORDSMusic Reviews - v15n2LUPE FIASCO
The Cool
Atlantic
After he messed up Tribe's lyrics at the Hip-Hop Honors, Lupe pretended that he was never a fan of Tip and Phife, but rather had spent his whole life bumping Spice 1. Well, guess what, homie? Spice 1 ain't inviting you up at the Hip-Ho... | |
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 VICE PRESENTS THE PEOPLE'S LISTSThe Birds And The BeesThe unicellular bacterium, Trichonympha, which lives in the intestines of wood-eating cockroaches, is completely bisexual. The sexual act is performed when the cell playing the male role enters the rear of the female through a special plasma zone and the two cells fuse. Which bacteria will pl... | |
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 LITERARY25 POEMS, 3 RECIPES AND 32 OTHER SUGGESTIONS (AN INVENTORY), TOKYO STREET STYLE–FASHION IN HARAJUKU, BUNKER SPRECKELS: SURFING'S DIVINE PRINCE OF DECADENCE25 POEMS, 3 RECIPES AND 32 OTHER SUGGESTIONS (AN INVENTORY)
Tim Key
You could be forgiven for feeling a little let down with London's current crop of DIY punk activity. Alternative comedy, however, although roughly the same age as punk, has over the last few years come ... | |
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 ASBESTOS PARTYThe Death Set Will Play AnywhereI'm in love with Baltimore. A little weird as I've never actually been there. To me, it's an exotic wasteland of derelict warehouses strewn with the victims of Edgar Allan Poe tales, fringed by those highrise projects you see in The Wire, while Gram Parsons records leak from late-night docksi... | |
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 MENTAL OVERDRIVETelepathe Know Everything About YouBands tend to treat the "Influences" column on their MySpace page like their own personal peacock parade. A chance to puff their chest, display their plumage, and concoct the most eclectic, obscure and populist list possible. Most of the time it's just easier to listen to the tracks.
A li... | |
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 OH, THIS IS GREATHumans Have Finally Ruined the OceanI'm not one of those guys who corners folks at parties to rant at them about biodiesel or calls people "fucking idiots" for being skeptical about global warming. But I should also point out that I'm not one of those Andrew Dice Clay "Fuck the whales" types either.
The problem with all the... | |
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 TRAUMATIC YOUTHThe Carbonas Delve Into Their Childhood LoreRemember in cartoons how they'd always have the band that was basically a composite of whatever the thousand-year-old animators had heard about rock n roll?
The Carbonas are basically the human, good version of Jabberjaw, the Bugaloos, et al. They make late-70s style pop-punk tunes so unpretentious... | |
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 EXPLOSIVE MENTAL IMAGESTimes New Viking Sounds Like Shitting in a Tin CanIf you've entered 2008 feeling somewhat underwelmed by the crop of new bands on the cards, you may at least find some solace in the fact that you're definitely not alone. While the past few years have hardly thrown up a succession of life-changing masterpieces that our grandchildren will eventually ... | |
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 GHOULISHLY RAREMy Disco Get Blue With AlbiniMy Disco are a screechy minimalist trio from inner-city Melbourne. As was once the wont of screechy minimalist trios worldwide, they recently forsook the loving bosom of their homeland in favor of working with the king of screechy minimalist trios, Steve Albini. We decided to ask guitarist Ben Andre... | |
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