Contents:
#1 Hobnail Review - zine review zine
#2 Printed Poison - e-zine homage to the 30's pulps
#3 KPYK-FM radio The Pick of the Dial
#4 Brent Adair song One of these Days from Pieces CD
#5 KZQX LPFM Community Radio
#6 Billboard Song Contest #12
#7 R. Kimm poem Isolated Death wish
#8 American Idol TV Show 1/29/04
#9 Magnatune.com, net record label.
#10 Lauren Gifford 6-song CD Sitting Pretty
Grading system: 9-10 Highest grade - Life's work of a master (ex. Collected plays of Shakespeare, collected symphonies of Beethoven) 8-9 Single best work of a celebrated master's career. 7-8. Best work of an era or genre or decade. 6-7 Best work of the year. 5-6 Very good. 4-5 More good than bad. 3-4 Average amount of good = amount of bad. 2-3 Mostly bad with some redeeming parts. 1-2 Nothing redeemable. 0-1 So bad it is offensively bad and outrages the reviewer for taking up that time in his life - just awful.
Musea guarantees a review for all art work in any
conceivable field IF you follow the rules posted on alt.zines or
see our website or e-mail me.
Tom Hendricks tomhendricks474@cs.com
http://Musea.digitalchainsaw.com
Note reviews will have a $3 processing fee for the month of
Feb. '04
Review #1 1/04/04
Hobnail: A Guide to Small Press and Alternative Publishing #2
What Is It?: Publication. Zine Large size. 26 pages.
Technical Quality: Average. B/W cover of other zines.
Illustrations and printing clear.
Innovative Quality: Follows in the path of other zine
review zines with one distinction, covers a wider range with
zines, magazines, some books, mail art and assorted other aspects
of alt publishing.
Review: It seems right to make the first Musea
review a review of another source for reviews. Let's take a look.
This, only the 2nd installment, shows more promise than delivery
in this British guide to small presses and alt publishing. I
liked the all inclusiveness of it that includes extracts from
articles, publishing groups of note, mail art (something
zinesters don't talk enough about) radical pubs, etc. I like the
editors' classifications as radical, esoteric, strange, footie
(soccer) and more. What I didn't like was that the reviews were
too general and the reader couldn't tell one from the other. I'd
encourage him to go in depth a little more on the reviews. Also
don't be afraid to tell us what seems high quality and what
doesn't.
Contact Info: Ed. Ade Dimmick, Hobnail Press, POB 44122,
London SW6 7XJ, UK Price 1 pound.
Overall Grade: 3.1 out of 10 (see below for grading
system)
Editor's Choice - Mini Reviews
Advertising: Ads for kids: There is no excuse for anyone
in an enlightened society to allow ads directed at young
children. Grade 0
TV: Actresses: In the 50's situation comedy, Leave it
to Beaver, note Beaver's first teacher, Miss Canfield
('57-'58) played by Diane Brewster. This is one over looked 50's
beauty. No one for a minute would believe this starlet in the
Grace Kelly tradition would be stuck teaching school. But it's
fun to dream. Grade 6.5.
Media:: Newspaper Dallas Morning News. No daily has
sunk lower to mine profits than that of my cities daily. They
won't even tell me what is a press release article and what is
journalism. Until they do they can't be trusted from page one to
the end. Grade 0.5.
Review #2 1/04/04
Title: Printed Poison - the e-zine of the bizarre, the
strange, the inexplicable What Is It?: Website that
features a bi-monthly homage to 30's pulps, net magazine. Also
has weekly radio shows
Technical Quality: Great graphics but within the framework
of a Lycos border which is a distraction. Have to shift text to
read sometimes. Also I was unable to bring up the section titled
"Doc Savage" on my computer.
Innovative Quality: above average with an attempt to
recreate pulp fiction sensibilities.
Review: As the website says, "Printed Poison
is the e-zine possessed by the ghost of a dead 30's pulp... newly
penned by our stable of capable hacks." There are 4 issues
so far with first-rate campy covers (each an amalgam of real
covers from the era - I wonder if there are some copyright
problems brewing here?) and .pdf files of pulp stories. Add to
this weekly radio shows in MP3 format of what seem to be old time
mysteries. I was unable to load .pdf files or the radio shows
because of the low level of my computer. So some modicum of
computer power is needed to fully appreciate this site. The last
issue of the 4 here, had 10 writers (includes bios) and they say
they are looking for more who can write 'two fisted fiction'.
Also note the innovative links section with each link a brassy
banner of related pulp interest. The title Printed Poison
comes from a 50's pamphlet condemning pulp mags! Overall I got a
sense that these folks love their pulps and that makes it
infectious fun for the visitor.
Contact Info: printedpoison@yahoo.com
http://members.lycos.co.uk/printedpoision
Overall Grade: 4.2
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews: TV: Saturday
Night Live shines in their fake newscast, Weekend Update
with Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. Fun, smart satire from some
amiable characters: Grade 3.5
Movie: ad slide show before movies? I'm throwing popcorn
at this outrage. Why should anyone PAY high dollars to sit
through ads? Let's all really go out to the lobby to get away
from this Grade 0.1.
Zines: The Opera Glass by Iris Arneson breathes
fresh air into stodgy Opera. See it with new eyes from this
Tucson lover of the stuff. A Musea zine hall of famer.
Grade 5.1
Review #3 1/04/04
Title: KPYK 1570 AM, The Pick of the Dial, Big Bands and
Great Singers.
What Is It?:: Radio station Terrell Texas.
Technical Quality: The signal near downtown Dallas is thin
and I can only hear it in my car during the day. In Terrell, I'm
sure its fine.
Innovative Quality: Slightly above average in that they
seem to be bringing back a mix of old standards and radio
programs.
Review: It takes a small town radio station to show Dallas
how to do radio right. KPYK has a mix of music from Big Bands and
classic pop singers with specialty radio programming and solid
local coverage. The music features songs one seldom hears
anywhere else and that's a plus. For those of us that didn't grow
up with big bands, it's like hearing standards for the first
time. The specialty programming includes radio plays : The
Twilight Zone, Imagination Theater, and When Radio Was
with the still lively Stan Freeberg. Also, in house specialties
such as General Manager Len Mohnkern's Saturday Date(note
his drawl!), the daily Musical Milestones plus Good Day
with Doug Stephan. And finally some real local coverage of
Terrell Government and sports teams. I also liked that there were
few ads, and the little touches like the old-timey weather
jingle. In an era of radio consolidation, the individual stations
like KPYK stand out a mile.
Contact Info: www.KPYK.com
Overall Grade: 4.4 out of 10
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews:
Here are 5 fairly recent milestone buildings and their
architects:
1. AT&T building, NYC, Philip Johnson '84 - phone booth
building.
2. Pyramid - Louvre, Paris, I.M.Pei '93 - glass Egyptian
3. Sidney Opera House - '73 Jorn Utzon - sea shells
4. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Spain - '97 Frank Gehry - a real
explosion in a shingle factory.
5. Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - '98 Cesar Pelli -
highest twins. Grade - all together - 7.5
Review #4 1/04/04
Title: One Of These Days
What Is It?: Opening song from the CD "Pieces' by
Brent Adair
Technical Quality: Lead vocal adequate and above average
in expressive quality. No background vocals. Guitar, bass,
percussion adequate but average. Nice cover art and lyric sheet
enclosed. But note a pet peeve of mine - excessive packaging (as
in most CD's)
Innovative Quality: Low. Everything here has been done
before.
Review: Singer/songwriter Brent Adair has pluses and
minuses in this opening song: a pleasant and engaging voice,
somewhat bland lyrics, and a sparse and lackluster background
arrangement with no background vocals. Lyric sample: "If I
fall let me fall because I took too many chances... The music to
the verse is solid but chorus doesn't deliver much punch and this
in a song that is trying to build hope and resolve. Style is
folk/rock with a mostly acoustic guitar, base and percussion
sound.
I listened to the rest of the CD and didn't find much that I
liked till the last song, On My Own, a simple voice and
guitar tune. But this time things worked better than the opener.
It's a reflective song with a rich and complex guitar
arrangement. Lyric sample: "I'd tell all my friends how I
can't describe how different life looks from the other side of
being on my own... I'm not sure the exact meaning but...
I'd say, fix the opener - punch up the chorus, arrangement and
lyrics. Then put tune 11 on the flip side, and you'll have a
better than average offering. Till then...
Contact Info: www.brentadair.com
Overall Grade: 3.2 of 10 (see below)
Editor's Choice Mini Review:
Modern art is the Salon art of our day. Collectively its run out
of innovative steam and deserves a 0.5.
Review #5 1/04/04
Title: KZQX Community Radio 104.7FM serving Chalk Hill and
Lake Cherokee areas, Rusk County, Tx.
What Is It?: Website for LPFM and internet radio station.
Technical Quality: The Website looks fine with a great
shot of a beautiful old time radio. I did NOT like the pop-ups
though. Also as the front page loads voices chant
"unforgetable QXFM". The first 3 times it's cute. After
that it's ANNOYING! The radio station is accessed through Winamp
or Real Player. The actual LPFM (low power fm) radio station has
power restrictions due to the FCC mandated rules for all LPFM -
in this case to 74 watts. They enclose a page on "Reception
Tips" that helps listeners get the station.
Innovative Quality: Better than average. Reason? For
pioneering the LPFM type of community radio station. This being
the 5th station to be approved in Texas.
Review: We've heard about LPFM and how these small, often
rural, non commercial stations would help bring back local
coverage that the major radio conglomerates have neglected. Now
let's take a look at one. KZQX covers lots of local news and
information for its area (an upcoming chili cookoff for ex.) and
seeks input of more news from the community. That's a big plus.
Also it gave a very readable and even handed article on what LPFM
is and some of the headaches they went through to get their
license. Also it adds a lot of music: big band and crooner
classics from the likes of Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Bing, Dean,
Frank, Tony, Ella and Rosemary Clooney - with 400 songs daily!
The website had these additional features - shots of the control
room, some national news, local links, request for volunteers and
funding, list of songs played, etc. Overall this is what local
radio can and should be for its community. It's something that
we've lost in all the radio mergers.
Contact Info: 104.7@kzqx.com
Overall Grade: 4.8 out of 10
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews:
3 sites for some comic relief: www.theonion.com for the lighter
side of newspaper journalism, Michael Feldman's opening monologue
for the NPR radio quiz program, What do you Know - the
jokes performed before a live audience, cover the issues of the
region he's broadcasting from, with some of the smartest humor
anywhere, Dilbert, the daily funnies about corporate
craziness and the bureaucracy of middle management gone amok.
Overall Grade: 5.7 out of 10.
Review #6 1/04/04
Title: Billboard Song Contest - 12th
What Is It?: 12Th Song contest sponsored by the music
trade publication Billboard known for their music charts.
"This is the world's biggest search for the best and
brightest songwriting talent," says the mailing.
Technical Quality: Brochure outlining the contest is
professionally done but extremely cluttered and has virtually no
artistic merit on its own.
Innovative Quality: Nothing new here.
Review: Expensive song contest has little to offer its
contestants except lean hopes of stardom. Songwriters are asked
to submit a song on cassette or CD with a typed lyric sheet in
one of these pigeonholeing categories : rock/alt, pop,
country/folk, jazz, R&B/blues, Latin, contemporary
Christian/Gospel, Dance, Rap/HipHop, World. Apparently if you are
innovative enough to NOT fit a category you are already
disqualified - so we are assured the winners will all fit a
format! Each entry also requires $30!!! Note that will get you 10
songs reviewed on this review site.
Who's the better deal? Anyway your song is listened to by
"our panel of industry judges and is scored based on lyrics,
composition, melody and commercial appeal". No judges are
listed and no past songs are mentioned so there probably were no
big past successes that they can point to. Each entry receives a
'detailed report with judges notes, emphasizing your songs
strengths, and tips on how you can improve your own songwriting
abilities!'
I doubt that this can be that helpful or that anyone can give
much advice to thousands and thousands of entries. One winner in
each category gets these prizes: an award for excellence in
songwriting, a guitar and case, a subscription to Taxi,
sonicbids.com, Billboard, plus sunglasses, guitar strings,
a copy of How to Make it in the Music Business, some
software and as they say "Unparalled industry exposure on
the 12th Annual Billboard Song Contest Winner's CD."
Second and third prizes are even leaner. Awards celebration is in
Tulsa (not exactly the first place I think of as a happening
music city) where the top winners will be invited to perform
their winning song LIVE on stage. Key industry executives,
musicians, and press will be invited to attend." Though I
doubt any will show up! Let's cut to the chase. This is bupkus
prizes for 10 people while thousands waste a boatload of cash on
their entries. This is the biggest song contest - and it fails to
deliver much of anything. The smaller ones deliver less.
I would encourage songwriters to be very wary of such contests.
Pocket your money and practice more.
Contact Info: info@jimhalsey.com
www.billboard.com/songcontest
Overall Grade: 0.5 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews:
TV cranks up the volume on commercials, and we listeners dive for
the mute button. Stop it stations! How about cranking up the
quality on TV and lower the number of ads - now that's a plan.
Start that stations! Editor's Choice mini Reviews:
Overall Grade (for too loud ads) 1.2 out of 10.0
Review #7 1/04/04
Title: Isolated Death Wish
What Is It?: Poem
Technical Quality: There is no rhyming scheme to this free
verse so not much to judge on technical quality
Innovative Quality: Average
Review: Five short uneven verses describe an encounter
with a white fox that though captivating, bodes ill will:
"He is grinning, saying come
out and smell the rose-hips.
Evil grin on his black lips: " (lines 6-8)
The short poem sets up an intriguing mixed mood of attraction to
the fox on the one hand, with fear of it on the other. I think
its content is too vague. It would improve if either 1. The
vagueness was turned into more of a concrete story or 2. The
vagueness was loosened into more of a fantasy. As it is it is too
short to have the depth of meaning that I believe the author and
the title intended.
Also it falters in that it reads like prose cut up into lines to
look like a poem (which happens in a lot of modern verse).
Contact Info: R. Kimm, R.R. 02 3500 S St. Rd. Marcellus NY
13108
Overall Grade: 2.7 out of 10
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews: There are two types of
towns: Town A where the city leaders request - with open arms -
that artists bring more culture to their town and Town B where
artists plead with town leaders not to put them in jail when they
do something artistic. Which town do you live in?
Overall Grade 10 for Town A, 0 for Town B.
Review #8 1/04/04
Title: American Idol
What Is It?: TV Show Fox- 7-8PM. Hawaii episode 1/28/04
Technical Quality: Professionally done TV series
Innovative Quality: average.
Review: Amateur contest, unlike most, features short
auditions before 3 judges: Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy
Jackson. Then those approved by 2 of the 3 judges goes on to the
next level. At the end the TV viewers pick their favorites. This
episode the 3 judges are auditioning young amateur singers in a
Hawaiian hotel. There are some inherent problem in the process.
All contestants are limited to young people. And it is hard for
young people to have the well-developed talent that older more
seasoned singers have. Then too all the young people sing in a
style that mimics present day pop stars. Unfortunately even the
famous pop stars they are imitating are more often than not
criticized for their inability to sing. This shows up in those
that pass on to higher levels. They all sound alike. An example -
many often display in their voices something I call the Michael
Jackson warble - a quick scat singing around a melody note - that
is more window dressing than soulful singing. From last years'
winners we see that even the finalists seldom have much
innovation or quality to offer. The auditions are demeaning (most
are limited to singing without accompaniment which is hard for
any singer to do). The show should weed out all contestants that
can't sing in tune or on key from the start. There is no reason
anyone at that level should be used for TV laughs. This is TV
abuse for ratings. The teenagers are very enthusiastic which is
always refreshing but unfortunately, they are not getting a very
fair opportunity. The stress is high for a prize that is slight.
And in the end you only get a safe clone of the safe clone pop
stars we have now.
Contact Info: American Idol, Fox Network.
Overall Grade: 1.8 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews: More often than not TV
presents painters as effete shallow snobs in berets. I wonder
when - if ever - this stereotyping was true? I am a painter, and
I and the other painters I know are more often quiet
introspective craftsmen rather than pie-in-the-sky diletantes.
It's time for a reality check for TV script writers.
But until then their depictions of painters gets Overall Grade
0.9 out of 10.0
Review #9 1/04/04
Title: Magnatune.com, "The Open Music Record Label"
What Is It?: Website offering MP3s. "We're a record
label. But we're not evil."
http://magnatune.com
Technical Quality: At this stage of Musea reviews
(first month) we can only review the basic website graphics and
information. The site is straightforward with mostly writing on a
blue background.
Innovative Quality. None on website design which is somewhat
bland. But the concept of a 'shareware model applied to
music" is an innovative way of bringing new music to the
public via the internet.
Review: When the founder, John Buckman's, wife was signed
to a British record label, the couple was excited. But from then
on everything went downhill. So he decided to turn things around
with Magnatune. "I thought why not make a record label that
has a clue?"
You can listen to hundreds of MP3'd albums from their artists or
tryout their genre-based radio stations. The songs cost as little
as $5 an album with 50% going to the artist, who keeps all rights
to their music. Quotes: "Founded by musicians for
musicians" and "No label connections". The music
is in these genres: classical, electronica, jazz and blues, metal
and punk rock, new age, rock and pop, world, and other. There are
also a list of best sellers plus a quick description of all the
music listed. Ex. "La Primavera, English Renaissance
Music." There is also shoutcast radio stations that play the
music on either the shoutcast system, apple iTunes or Win Amp.
All the music is original - no covers allowed.
One thing I liked was his short essay/history "Why I created
Magnatune" that puts a face and character on the site. The
record contract terms seem very reasonable for the artists. They
include transparent bookkeeping (to see how much $$ you are
making), nonexclusive licenses, 50/50 gross revenue split, and
twice yearly payments. The musicians are allowed to submit their
work either as CDs or MP3s. Everything is listened to
(eventually) but only some are accepted.
All and all I think it is a windfall for an artist to showcase
his music without going through any record label hassles. Well
done JB!
Contact Info: John Buckman , john@magnatune.com
Overall Grade: 5.5 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews: 3 months of the year are
sweeps months for TV: Feb (coming up), May, and November. If TV
can come up with good shows then, why not the rest of the year?
For that sneaky uneveness:
Overall Grade: 0.8 out of 10.0
Review #10 1/04/04
Title: Sitting Pretty by Lauren Gifford
What Is It?: 6-Song CD
Technical Quality: Voice is pleasant and on key, recording
fine, arrangement average with notable acoustic upright bass -
otherwise the usual piano, guitars, percussion.
Innovative Quality: Not much groundbreaking here.
Review: Very attractive and photogenic Lauren sings
subdued vocals and plays piano on her own songs. The voice
changes little so the mood changes little. I'd like to see more
expressiveness in the voice and arrangements - let them build or
drop as the mood calls for it.
The 6 tunes and their lyrics are ok but never gel into a hit. The
choruses are better than average such as in Sleepwalker
where he won't smile and Never Look Back where
"memories keep my eyes awake". And the lyrics have good
lines but don't hold together as a single statement. For a moody
background album its fine but no single song stands out EXCEPT Temptation,
a rollicking, piano only composition where she really lets loose
- sounds like West Texas set to music.
Overall you have a pleasant enough mix of rock, blues, jazz,
country - the genre is hard to pin down - that would be the
perfect background for a dark and sultry hotel bar. For a hit I'd
rework the lyrics, music, and arrangement to Sleepwalker
and Never Look Back. Fixed they'd make a pretty solid two
sided single!
Contact Info: info@laurengifford.com
www.laurengifford.com
Overall Grade: 4.2 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice mini Reviews: Fashion - wearing fur
south of the arctic circle is no fashion statement - its cruelty
to animals.
Overall Grade: 0.0 out of 10.0
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