Fanzine revival....anyone? Is there? Was there? Did they ever go away? (Nothing does, you know...someone somewhere is still enjoying Latin House records...though he's on his own, so that's hardly an ongoing support scenario...). I mean, things carry on...perhaps every cultural phenomenon lives in parallel to the rest...all buzzing, roaring, whispering and even waiting to be picked up by someone with clout to kickstart a revival, go mainstream (in a small way), before disappearing again because 'they' got bored with it...who? The Kids? I dunno...whoever makes things 'happening'.
A quick search shows 'zines are still being made...but they've got posh, posher than what used to be 'posh' back when desktops came in, even...posh like fancy print, high quality paper, snazzy design, full colour and all that...except...a lot are all surface glitter masking empty content, or rather, the glitter is the content...never mind the depth, look at the quality...
The good thing about John Eden's Turbulent Times is that it has content in the form of music/'zine/gig reviews and interviews. Another good thing is it's appearance, the form it takes, accentuating content over style, although this kind of old-skool 'zine is a style. Perhaps that's what will be in fashion next as makers abandon flashy tech, escape the iron heel of design and just do it cheap.
Anyway, Turbulent Times is worth getting. It represents an ongoing belief, not a trend or revival. There's a good interview with Concrete / Field too. Oh, and a funny typo in Eraciator's 'All-Nude Noise Fanzine Review' where he mentions 'free jazzman Steve Lazy'. Unless that's a deliberate joke. Either way, I like it.
Buy it here.
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