NEWSLETTER

THORN #6

Out of the zillions of Riot Grrrl zines that are currently keeping Kinko’s in business, SF-based Thorn stands out from the grainy pack, and not just because they won a coveted spot in Sassy’s zine-of-the-month column. Yeah, they’re pissed, and yeah, they’ve got some pissed poetry typed out on an old typewriter (“I was your cake/You ate me whole/Bake your own goddamn cake”), but they’ve also got interviews with the excellent queercore band Fagbash and Slim Moon, founder of Kill Rock Stars, the coolest label in the world. A Megan Kelso comic and an ode to Jennifer Trux also serve to cleanse the palate in between more serious rants and artsy collages. This is definitely one of the least kvetchy girl zines going. Kudos to Keroscene Kelly!

NANCY PANTS



WAFFLE #4

The Love & Hate Issue is full of, you guessed it, the stuff we all love and hate (love: Jesus Lizard; hate: Barney the Dinosaur—ooh, take that, Barney!). Those Waffle kids sure know how to get good interviews. In this issue they interview Darby Romeo (the editrix of Ben Is Dead and the infamous I Hate Brenda Newsletter), Peter Bagge, Lisa “Suckdog” Carver, Maseo of De La Soul, and, um, Vanity Smurf? There’s even a multiple-choice quiz called “Are You a Good Lover?” Ew, “lover.”

SKYE BONGO



HOLY TITCLAMPS #13

Let us now hail Larry-bob as one of the pioneering pioneers of zine-making and the king of all things homo-y. He’s been doing Holy Titclamps since ’89 and he also publishes Queer Zine Explosion, which is pretty much the gay version of Factsheet 5. My favorite things in this issue are the guide to selling out (be like the band Huggy Bear and refuse to talk to the press—seems to be working out for them!), the guide to unsafe sex, and the rant about why San Francisco sucks (too many dull homos, bad food). Don’t miss the section of letters from gay prisoners looking for pen pals—it is illuminating. And while I’m on the subject, if you’re a queer punk and you still haven’t checked out Matt Wobensmith’s zine, Outpunk, you’re a fag.

MARTY MCPANTS



PATHETIC LIFE #7

If you haven’t read Pathetic Life yet, I’ll give it to you in the author’s own words: “My name is Doug and I’m a fat slob. Among my hobbies are reading zines, riding trains to the end of the line and back, killing roaches in my room, and going to the movies alone. It’s a pathetic life, and this is my diary.” What Doug fails to mention in this self-deprecating intro is that his “pathetic life” is so vastly entertaining to read about, it almost trumps the fact that we’re supposed to feel sorry for the guy. Does he really eat cat food ’cause it’s cheaper than tuna fish? Does he really have a pet roach? You’ll have to read this zine to find out.

TAWNY NOGGLER



THRIFT SCORE #7

If you read zines, then you probably shop in thrift stores, and if you shop in thrift stores, then you should be reading Thrift Score, Al Hoff’s zine about thriftin’. In this issue Al focuses on denim, with the history of jeans BC (before Calvin) and AD (after Dean)... it even comes with a “genuine swatch of retro denim” stapled to the cover! One of the great things about Thrift Score is that every issue has a boatload of thrifting tidbits sent in by Al’s readers. This time around, Al asked readers to send in stories of their biggest thrifting regrets, and the results are what you’d expect, from an Eames chair that got away to a missed opportunity with a Vienna-sausage warmer.

HORTENSE KUWAKINI




DISHWASHER #13

Dishwasher Pete is kind of like Jesus. He is a man on a mission, traveling the land, but instead of preaching gospel to the masses, he’s washing their dirty dishes. It’s a thankless job, but someone’s gotta do it. In this issue, Pete tackles Portland’s annual Oktoberfest, with all of its unwashed beer steins, sauerkraut vats, and greasy bratwurst pans. Since washing dishes is Pete’s idea of heaven, he doesn’t mind the backbreaking work and often finds time to steal away from the sink to explore his surroundings... soft German pretzel under the stars, anyone?

JOBIE TIXIER

BEN IS DEAD #23 I’ll give you one guess as to who graces the cover of Ben Is Dead’s “Sassy Issue” and no, it’s not Blossom... it’s Chelsea Clinton! Inside this issue (along with a super-in-depth examination of all things Chelsea) you’ll find lots of features that will be familiar to you if you read Sassy, including a harrowing “It Happened to Me” by Perry Farrell’s girlfriend, Casey Niccoli, and the best “Ones to Watch” ever, featuring Shudder to Think, that dog., and Evan Dando. My favorite thing in this issue is the list of “101 Sassiest Things of the Moment” (Fluevogs, eating boogers, cinnamon gum, and butter-rum Life Savers). ZELDA DEFRANK

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Comments

	enstigator, on Oct 16, 2009 wrote: thrift score needs to be blow-uppable.
Anonymous, on Oct 15, 2009 wrote: There is nothing pathetic about Henry Rollins. It shocks me and pisses me off that people could have ever thought this.
Anonymous, on Oct 12, 2009 wrote: holy titclamps looks like the next deerhunter album cover.