11.KZQX 104.7 -
LPFM Radio
12.Project Censored -
Website
13. Here Comes Trouble - CD by
Troublemann
14. NYT Book Review,
Feb 8, 2004
15. Untitled - Art Work by Nick
Crow
16. Fog of War - Film
17. Quick - Weekday
magazine
18. Tablet - March Issue
19. Book of Letters #18
20. Shots #83
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
Review #11 2/04
Title: KZQX 104.7 FM, Chalk Hill Texas
What is it?: Cassette of the radio programming from 4:15-5:45PM Jan
26, 04
Technical Quality: This is LPFM, low power FM, but sounds equal to
any station on the dial.
Innovative Quality: Above average. LPFM stations should be commended
for what they are doing. They are new and rare and pioneering the way back
for radio that has community values again.
Review: Due to automated format , there is little on air chatter and
almost all music.
The music has a wide range with MOR artists like Johnny Mathis or Nat King
Cole, crooners and jazz singers such as Frank, Satchmo, and Ella, and some
newer recordings including Willie Nelson, Diane Krall and Rod Stewart,
singing from his recent album of standards. I like that they played lesser
known cuts from these big stars with some real delights along the way such
as Marilyn Monroe singing "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" and an old swing
song that is new to me "Mildred Won't You Behave!" Music that is
unpredictable is so much more fun than the fare we have on most stations.
It's a real delight. They must not only have a large library to pull from,
but whoever is pulling knows good music. On the promo sheet sent with the
tape, Station Manager Chuck Conrad says," You will notice that we are
automated...While I like live programming better, automation is the only way
we could run this station on a reliable basis 24 hours per day. For most low
power FM stations like us, it is simply a fact of life.... The problem is
finding volunteers who can do a competent job, who are reliable, and who can
do a regular air shift."
That is something to shoot for in the future, but I didn't much mind the
mostly music radio. There were nicely produced 50's sounding, jingles and a
few public service announcements - otherwise just music. It would certainly
be a nice station to listen to from a satellite feed. If you like the stars
named above, singing in the soft, cool, swing style, with some local news and
events as flavor, you'll like the music mix and the station.
Contact Info: kzqxlp@aol.com 104.7@kzqx.com www.kzqx.com
Overall Grade: 5.2 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice mini Reviews:
For promoting preservation, nothing better than taxing developers and tax
breaks for renovators. That shows the citizens that the city leaders care for
their town's past. Overall Grade for that idea 4.6 out of 10.0
Review #12 2/04
Title: Project Censored
What is it?: Website of Project Censored, a media research group from
Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, known for choosing the top 25
censored or least covered news stories of the year.
Technical Quality: Average. Nothing special about the web design or
presentation except a friendly photo of the staff on the home page which I
liked. Also note that much of the site is under construction so this review
will be limited to what is now available with the understanding that more is
on the way.
Innovative Quality: The innovation is not in the web design or the
Website but in the innovative basic concept of Project Censored to spotlight
key stories that were neglected or buried in the media.
Review: Quote: "The mission of Project Censored is to educate people
about the role of independent journalism in a democratic society and to tell
the news that didn't make the news and why." They take between 700-1,000
stories and whittle them down to the 25 most censored which they publish in
book form, the latest being "Censored 2004". The program was started by Dr.
Carl Jensen in 1976.
All the stories from 2000-2004 are listed and summarized. An example from
2004, #17 Clear Channel Monopoly Draws Criticism. Outside of the major
stories listed, there is mostly the basic web stuff - how to get the info or
buy the book, an FAQ section, contact info, etc. What impresses me is the
work that goes into getting the list of 25 stories, the courage to tackle
such powerful forces for the betterment of journalism, and the consistency of
the mission. High marks for this basic website because of the big ideas
behind it.
Contact Info: censored@sonoma.edu
Overall Grade: 6.2 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews: Here are 3, 2004 films deserving of
high praise:
Rivers and Tides, art doco of Andy Goldsworthy and one of the most
beautiful films made; American Splendor - a zinester/cartoonist steps
out in this innovative and heart warming bio with its fun mix of real and
fiction; and Millenium Actress, anime from Satoshi Kon that is more
down to earth and substantial than most. It ends up telling the recent
history of Japan through the main characters bio.
Overall Grade: as a 3 movie group - 6.8 out of 10.0
Review #13 2/04
Title: Here Comes Trouble
What is it?: 2 CD's by Troublemann. Both have the same music though 1
is non explicit (for radio play) and the other has parental advisory for
explicit content. I'll review the uncensored version.
Technical Quality: Above average quality in recording, music
performance, arrangements, rap voice, and background voices - art work
too.
Innovative Quality: Low - nothing here that hasn't been done before.
Review: Big rap album has 20 cuts. All songs are well produced with
some notable help on choruses from Impact and Krystal Romo. The mood is
mellow but creepy, and threatening throughout. There is a lot of anger in the
lyrics here. A number of the cuts had some good choruses but I didn't hear a
single that stood out from the rest. He seemed to be the most sincere and
passionate in Moma's Day, a tribute, and Hataville, Look at 'um
Hatin. Other notable cuts, the show off song with a fun intro, Here
Comes Trouble, the sexy Junk in the Trunk, the more mellow So
Fine, and the very fast-talking Come On. It's obvious that
Troublemann has got a great crew behind him. That's a big plus. But the songs
sometimes sound alike, and the lyrics would make more of an impact if they
told more specific facts about his life in Fort Worth - with real places,
real names, and real events.
Contact Info: www.nationsrhythm.com
management@nationsrhythm.com
Overall Grade: 3.8 out of 10.0
Review #14 2/04 Title: New York Times Book Review - Feb. 8,
2004
What is it?: Sunday insert magazine for the New York Times
Newspaper that reviews current books.
Technical Quality: Printing fine. Illustrations slightly above normal
and obviously the work of skilled professionals, but universally cold and
unfeeling throughout.
Innovative Quality: Mostly in the concept of being THE main source
for book reviews in the US.
Review: The NYT Book Review is perhaps the most influential
publication on new books in the country. I wanted to see how this 'Bible' of
book reviews had held up. It's time to review the reviewer.
I counted 17 large full reviews, 18 medium sized reviews and 16 books with
small or capsule reviews, plus their noted best seller lists. A total of 32
big newsprint pages. Most of the books are reviewed by authors in the same
field, some by the NYT staff.
There were similar problems in virtually all the reviews. They are written
with a first paragraph that seemed unnecessary padding, or what I termed
'intro blather'. Ex. "Have you ever been squirted by a vinegaroon?" first
line from For Love of Insects. The reviews were too long and rambling.
Ex. My Prison Without Bars, an autobio of Pete Rose. Reviewers often
talked too much about ideas in the books and not enough about the books - as
if they were preaching an agenda with an axe to grind, or standing on a
soapbox. Ex. The 3 bios of Martin Luther King. In fiction they gave away too
much of the plot. Ex. Loving Che. There is a noticeable liberal slant
that hinders the fairness of the reviews of political books. Ex. An End
to Evil, How to Win the War on Terror.
Though all the reviews talked about the ideas or plot in the books, hardly a
single one talked about or quoted from, the writing style - let alone
discussing the illustrations, book jacket, or the level of bookmaking. And
absolutely not a single mention of the outrageous prices of these books:
$22.95, $23.95, $24.95, $25.95,$27.95. The Review carries ads from the major
publishers and there is always some concern that they may influence the
reviews of books by those publishers. Ads have no place in review
magazines.
The children's book section showed samples of book illustrations which were a
welcome relief to the other cold illustrations. But all the reviews here were
puff pieces too, and the reader can't tell the quality of one from the other
when they are all praised alike. There were no reviews outside of the
mainstream. There was no mention of zines at all. This would suggest an
isolated staff unfamiliar with the vast amount of literary achievement
outside of NYC. And that is best exemplified in this real - and I'm not
making it up - quote from Lisa Zeidner's review of, Apprentice to the
Flower Poet Z, a novel about a poet in the 80's with a personal
assistant!: "But writers lucky enough to have university appointments could
avoid carpal tunnel syndrome by signing on pert young assistants who not only
eased the burden of poetry production but served as personal shoppers and
occasional therapists." Could anyone that supposedly loves books and is aware
of what is going on in the real world of literature, say this with a straight
face? How isolated and stuck in an ivory tower can one novel and its reviewer
get? A reality check is needed badly.
And most damaging of all is that all of the 51 major reviews were soft and
promoted books that didn't seem very worthy; with 1 exception - Madras on
Rainy Days, a mystery that the reviewer satirized: "Rife with gothic
plot twists". But even in this review the reviewer never could bring herself
to openly say it was bad!
Also I looked at the noted, and often cited, Best Sellers list. The fine
print talking about their process of ranking the books, says
"...statistically weighted to represent all such outlets nationwide." That
is suspect in my book, and allows for a lot of fudge factor that is outside
of real statistics. The music business had this same problem and had to
switch to a fairer model. Perhaps the NYTBR should do the same.
Overall I found these to be shallow books with slight reviews. And most
damaging of all is this. I'm a great lover of every aspect of books. After
reading this from cover to cover, there was not a single book reviewed, that
I wanted to read. Something is very wrong here.
Contact Info: books@nytimes.com
nytimes.com/book
Overall Grade: 2.1 out of 10.0
Review #15 2/04
Title: Untitled Art work by Nick Crow age 6
What is it?: Art work. Water color on paper. 8" square.
Technical Quality: Precocious for an artist so young
Innovative Quality: Slightly above average.
Review: Nick has done a painting of 6 vertical strokes and 1
horizontal stroke that looks like 6 trees with bushy tops, a shoreline, and
the 6 tree trunks reflected in the water below the shore line.
Each tree is a different color: green, orange, scarlet, blue-green,
brown-red, and purple. The horizontal strip is olive green. Somehow the
simplicity of it all suggests a fine sketch , and the range of colors suggest
an eye better than one would expect in a child artist.
Sometimes a painting from a youngster has all the charm, freedom, and naive
talent of a professional artist (who in turn is aping the best aspects of
untrained art). The trick is can he do this consistently. Nick has succeeded
in this case, and it could pass for a professional artist's work. Fluke or
talent? Time will tell.
Contact Info: See Musea
Overall Grade: 4.1 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews: For movie lovers there is nothing more
substantial than the International Movie Database. IMDb.com IS the
encyclopedia on all movies and TV. Need to know anything about any movie?
Start here. Overall Grade 6.0 out of 10.0
Review #16 2/04
Title: Fog Of War
What is it?: Documentary film by Errol Morris
Technical Quality: Very good
Innovative Quality: Extremely high from the camera/monitor device that
allows McNamara to talk directly to the camera - to his double exposure shots
that show the same scene but with action going at two different speeds - it
makes for a very ghostly image! Though this is a documentary, the film
techniques are extremely innovative and match the most elaborate fiction film
making.
Review: Noted filmmaker of innovative documentaries (such as Fast,
Cheap, and Out of Control), Morris this time looks at the career of
controversial Secretary of State under Kennedy and Johnson, Robert McNamara.
Through 13 snippets of advice, McNamara reflects on his life. In doing so we
see a history of the US and global affairs from the end of WWI to his
resignation/firing in the 70's. While McNamara is talking Morris often shows
us pertinent films from the era mentioned, or symbolic visuals of the events,
that seldom fail to surprise and illustrate the times and the issue
discussed. Ex. Dropping skulls illustrating Ford's research on the behavior
of human bodies in car crashes.
McNamara talks about the fire bombing of Japan in WW2, his job as CEO of Ford
motor company and what he accomplished there, the Cuban Missle Crisis and
Kennedy's assassination, and perhaps his most controversial actions as
Secretary of State under both Kennedy and Johnson concerning the the Vietnam
War. He is both candid and protective in what he says. In the end this viewer
is left with a disturbing feeling as to the machinations of war and the
effect it has on so many innocent people - or "A Fog Of War".
My only quibble, and that is all it is, is that it was long and after awhile
you wanted to escape the madness portrayed through the behind the scenes
politics of war. Also note the innovative use of the celebrated music of
Philip Glass. He is not a favorite composer of mine, due to the repetitive
nature of his work, but it fits well here - very well. It's another plus in
an almost flawless film.
Contact: Info:Errol Morris
Overall Grade: 7.4
Review #17 2/04
Title: Quick
What Is It?: Monday-Friday news magazine. This issue: 2/19/04
Technical Quality: Printing quality is high. Illustrations and photo
quality are average. Color throughout. Printed on newsprint.
Innovative Quality: Quick sits halfway between a daily
newspaper and an alt weekly. It's a new niche and new ground. Above average
innovation.
Review: The daily Dallas Morning News has tried something new
called Quick, a free news magazine offered each weekday. It's
advertised slogan is "Quick cuts through the clutter." Of the 24 pages
there were about a total of 9 pages worth of ads scattered throughout,
including one page of classifieds. The 15 pages of mostly contents, included
2 on "People" with Hollywood type news, 3 on "Biz", 3 on 'Sports', 2 on
"Pop Life" with more Hollywood news, a game page, plus a 9 page roundup of
Texas, USA, World, and City news events.
The first thing that strikes me in reading this is the layout. The section
titles and a related quote are very large bold print. The photos - and there
are many - are about one third to one half as big as the short articles they
illustrate. The titles are one fourth to one third as big as the articles.
What's left are short lite summaries of the day's headlines and assorted odd
bits of news. The content is disappointing in its lack of depth, and in the
end is insulting to any high school graduate or higher. One wonders who this
is aimed at? It could easily pass for a first newspaper for a 7th grader.
Most of the 'serious' news stories are no more in depth than a typical TV
newscast.
At its worst, some stories are embarrassing such as "Lollipops Recalled"
because they may have peanut residue, or "Tree to Live on as Art" with this
quote:
"A crane wrenched the dying American Elm tree that had towered over Dan and
Cookie Owen's home from the ground, lifted it over the house and plopped it
on a truck to be hauled away."
And that sentence is one fifth of the entire story! There is a crossword
puzzle that might attract some readers. Yet the answers are on the facing
page, 3 inches from the puzzle. Hey Quick why not fill in the blanks
for us too? Maybe we can color it in! So even that page is ultimately
unrewarding.
In the end I can only wonder who this is aimed at? Why would advertisers get
involved in this mess? Why would a reputable journalistic source start this
up and spend so much money producing such mindless news coverage. And
finally, what reader is this shallow that this fluff of headlines would
impress them? Talking about dumbing things down - yikes! Quick in the
end, sinks in the shallows.
Contact Info: Quickdfw.com 214 977-8222
Overall Grade: 1.2 out of 10.0
Review #18 3/04/04
Title: Tablet #85 March Issue "The Hook-Up Issue"
What Is It?: Monthly alternative arts and entertainment for the
Seattle area.
Technical Quality: High with color cover, above average illustrations,
and fine layout design throughout. Praise goes to the art and production
staff.
Innovative Quality: Above average in design and the unusual subject
matter of some of the stories covered.
Review: Tablet ended its 'inkier newspaper format' in Dec.
'03. This is the new and improved design and it looks good. The color photo
extends to the back with the boy on the front cover chewing on a string of
bubble gum that leads to the girl chewing the other end on the back cover,
like the famous Disney "Lady and the Tramp" scene.
Inside the first thing I noticed was the high quality of magazine design and
illustrations in the black and white pages. Edgy stories include an editorial
on creating the Republic of Cascadia a separate nation composed of the
states of the Northwest US and British Columbia, mostly negative feedback
letters on their suicide issue #85, and methods to scam people. Then follows
articles on commune living with the Jolly Ranchers, alts to the popular
friendster site on the net, and Sissyfight, "essays by progressive
queer writers.". The rest of the issue is a look at area arts.
I found the music articles about Shane Tutmarc's group Dolour, the Crystal
Method interview, the DJ Donald Glaude interview , the articles on Static
Factory Media, and The Pacific Northwest Musicians Resource Center to be soft
with more a press release feel than hard journalism. The same is true with
the music reviews with the majority of recordings getting 8 or above, out of
10, and the lowest getting only a 5 - though I do note the one exception
titled "Worst Album of the Month." The art reviews were more varied though
any art critic that sees such conceptual silliness as My Weight In
Records - damaged cardboard boxes filled with records" by Christian
Marclay as being consequential art - needs a reality check. Film coverage
was confined to indy works - but often swerved into the Hollywood end of it
with a review of the more mainstream Monster, and filmwriting for
Hollywood in "Hollywood Words, Hooking Up Your Screen Play With the People
That Matter." The literature reviews were interesting, but this being Seattle
I expected a LOT more zine reviews. The issue ends with some lite fun with
people on the street responses.
Overall this fine looking alt monthly is more trendy than soulful and the
reviews are a bit soft, but for free, its still a nice altermative to the
main chain of weekly alts that cover most major cities.
Contact Info: editor@tabletmag.com www.tabletmag.com
Overall Grade: 4.5 out of 10.0
Review #19 3/04/04
Title: Book of Letters #18
What Is It?: Zine that's a collection of letters to corporations plus
their responses. 40 pages.
Technical Quality: Average and sometimes below average. The text is
copied letters and sometimes print is tiny and/or blurred. Innovative
Quality: High with a novel way of satirizing advertising, big business,
and greed through letters to major corporations. Also excellent cover art.
Review: The Rev. Rich Mackin calls his letters to corporations,
'consumer defense corporate poetry'. I call it using scathing and/or flippant
humor to examine product claims for wording, content, and irony. Example,
his letter about a Gap ad that "has people of enough ethnic backgrounds so it
looks like it reflects people of all kinds. Well, at least people of all
kinds of shopping affluence... I am confused, when the people of Saipan and
South Asia join hands to start a love train, won't the overseers in the
sweatshop beat them for delaying Gap product production?"
And almost as comical, though they're never intended to be, are the dry form
letters that he gets back from the corporations. After getting more than one
Mackin answers Gap back, "Thank you for your form letter in response to my
making fun of your form letter. The very fact you sent me ANOTHER form letter
indicates the fact that you really are a faceless evil corporate empire."
Targets include mostly major plus some smaller, companies such as Procter
& Gamble, Kraft, McDonalds, Schick, Charles Clark Chevrolet Co, etc. The
latter letter ends with, "More disturbing is your qualification that you
don't want Texans to drive drunk IN TEXAS. It's almost a call for all lone
star residents to get all lubricated and speed off to Louisiana or Arkansas.
Wow, now I understand why State Troopers in New Mexico are so militant."
Priceless fun with a serious side.
Contact Info: richmackin@earthlink.net www.richmackin.org
Overall Grade: 6.3 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice Mini Reviews: Bands have been around for 40+ years
now (1963-2004. When their press releases claim they are innovative, I have
to wonder. After 40 years of the same thing the only thing bands are
rebelling against is change. Rock has become everything it started out
opposing. For that downhill slide I give it an overall grade of 0.9 out of
10.0
Review #20 3/04/04
Title: Shots #83 What is it?: Black and White photography
zine. 48 p.
Technical Quality: High quality on all b/w photo reproductions. Nice
understated design throughout, spotlights the photos well.
Innovative Quality: Above average. Photo zine is geared toward the
professional and amateur photographer that is more interested in photos as an
art form than commerce. Also Shots gets most of its funding from lifetime
members not ads, and is open to submissions from all.
Review: Long running photography zine is an anthology of work from
numerous photographers from across the world. This issue starts out with an
interview and samples of the work of George Krause by editor Russel Joslin.
The rest of the zine is all photos with lots of variety. Though all are
artistically accomplished, only about one fifth were engaging to me. Those
personal favorites included Krauses Sheep, a crowded swirling
landscape filled with sheep; the surreal photo Wishing Stick with a
child holding a bird of prey on a stick with his mom (?) about to cover his
eyes; Mike's Bar by Y.A. Kuniuki, Jr.; T Minus Half a bus in
the snow by Hans Hansen; and Self Portrait, Forest Door" the headless
portrait from the back by Russell Joslin. It's a great magazine for photo
lovers, though I wish the editor would hold out for better photos until all
matched the high quality of the best of each issue.
Contact Info: shotsmag@juno.com
www.shotsmag.com
Overall Grade: 4.7
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