// Category Archive for: Issues

Top Five Thrift Store Finds

By Lisa Haviland

Mrs. Lou Reed
Sunglasses from Buffalo Exchange, Brooklyn, NY; 2007

The Commack Flea Market was a teenage thrift-store-junkie’s dream: rows upon rows of inexpensive mini-stores—more like clothing bodegas than actual stores—in a multi-level arena five minutes from my parents’ house. It was in the confines of this Long Island mall-reprieve maze that I learned to dig through the chintz and hone in on second-hand gold.
(more…)

My One-Night Stand With Kevin Ayers

By Hanna

Ayers, Nico, Cale, Eno

Kevin Ayers, both as a member of Soft Machine and as a solo artist, is one of the most respected musicians alive today. Because of his easy-going good-humor and extensive back catalogue of avant garde music, he has been revered by music lovers for decades. Similarly, his collaborations demand respect and admiration, and confirm his position as a mainstay of what is considered intelligent music. His work with John Cale, Andy Summers, Ollie Halsall, and Mike Oldfield are examples of his eminent good taste in other music as well as his own.
(more…)

Peter Godwin’s Porn Purgatory

By Hanna

“I only subscribe to porn mags
for the articles, honest!”

“The Internet is for porn,” as the song goes, and so when I went looking for the allegedly raunchy video for the Peter Godwin song “Images of Heaven,” I imagined it would be easy. The song was popular at the time it was released, and still much-loved judging from blog entries about it. Plus, the artist and director are both still alive.

However, recent clampdowns on footage of a pornographic or otherwise graphic nature on YouTube and other hosting sites actually meant that it would not be easy at all.

(more…)

Urge Overlooked

By Michael Row

There was once a band from Hawthorne, California called REDD KROSS. Ever hear of them?? They were this wildly fun & funny punk/pop/rock group who dug CHEAP TRICK a heck of a lot. And they liked to get dressed up. Oh man, did they ever.
(more…)

Married and Buried: Punk As A Four-Letter Word, Part One

By Less Lee Moore

When others become misty-eyed with nineties nostalgia, I never know what to say. I’ve often felt like my memories of the decade are far removed from theirs. Although I liked some of the so-called “grunge” music, I resented the media co-opting of the word in an attempt to cash in on youth culture. It’s only recently that I started to feel like I may have been more attuned to the zeitgeist than I realized.

(more…)

My So-Called Memories

By Nicole V.

“People are always saying you should be yourself, like yourself is this definite thing, like a toaster. Like you know what it is even. But every so often I’ll have, like, a moment, where just being myself in my life right where I am is, like, enough.”
Angela Chase, Episode 13 of My So-Called Life
(more…)

The Death of the Mix

By Christian Lipski

Photo © Richard Jones

I used to make mix tapes all the time when I was growing up. I liked the idea of creating a single object or concept by combining existing songs, like making a quilt or a collage. When I was done, the tape was to be taken as a cohesive whole, not as individual tracks; that was the ultimate goal.

When recordable CDs became affordable, I was excited to begin a new phase in mix-making. CDs were more durable than cassettes after all, and computer software would allow you to assemble mixes even more efficiently than before. Or so I thought. It’s true that sound-editing programs provide the ability to make creative, cleaner-sounding mixes, but the flip side is that now there are too many possibilities, and that has killed the mix for me.
(more…)

Top Five Ticket Stubs

By Less Lee Moore

Like many hardcore fangirls, I collect memorabilia relating to my obsessions. I try to remain unfazed by the remarkable similarities between my collector habits and those of serial killers, and concentrate instead on the tenacity of spirit that such pack-rat-edness surely exemplifies.

There are many bands and movies I’ve seen more than once. Now I’ll take you on a pictorial journey through my favorite collections of multiple ticket stubs.
(more…)

Top Ten Lists of 2007

The staff at Popshifter share the lists of the Top Ten Things that kicked our asses this year.
(more…)

Top Five New Year’s Pop Culture Resolutions

It’s the start of a brand new year. Everything is fresh, untainted, golden. You can change your life! You can change the world!

At least that’s what we convince ourselves will happen. Truth is, the pressure of living up to your own outlandish expectations often means that the only things you’ll change at the start of a new year are your sheets.

Here are some New Year’s Resolutions we might actually stick to.
(more…)