Back in the saddle soon... I received the latest issue of The Wire magazine at work today. That's right: my workplace has a subscription to The Wire magazine. Is that fucking crazy or what? Yes, it is, but as I've said in a couple of posts in recent times which you've likely glanced over and ignored, I am enjoying once again reading a paper & glue music magazine, even one w/ its head firmly placed up its rectum. The fanzine has gone the way of the dodo, and for toilet reads, that leaves me w/ MOJO, The Wire and, when a man gets desperate, Uncut. The latest issue features Swedish sax-blower Mats Gustafsson on the cover (I like what he does), and several other goodies scattered throughout - a Little Annie Invisible Jukebox, a piece on Topic Records by the Trembling Bells' [the finest outfit in Limeyland today] Alex Nielson, a piece of fluff on some idiot called Ergo Phizmiz, and more - but what caught my eye was the "primer" on US Hardcore. It had to be done, if only because it had to be done. Penned by Peter Shapiro, a name w/ a recognition factor but not much beyond that (at least to me), it'll give the chin-scratchers a brief diversion into a music form which is set to reach nostalgia overload within the next 12 months, but hey, I'm a nostalgic guy. Whatever the case, I don't hate what he wrote; in fact, I like a great deal of it. He covers most of the essentials (Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat), gives the DC and Boston scenes a nod and tip of the hat, allows generous space for the leading lights of Texan 'core (Dicks/Big Boys) and the midwest (Fix/Necros/Die Kreuzen/Negative Approach), seems quite dismissive of NYHC in general (a prejudice which I concur w/ wholeheartedly) and more besides (Husker Du, Minutemen). Dead Kennedys and Flipper? Nowhere to be seen. I guess you can't be all things to all people. Why NYC sportswear enthusiasts Judge get an entry remains a curious fact. Whatever. The Wire is on the occasional newsstand, and you could find worse ways to spend a few hours of your life than read it cover to cover.
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I ended up ordering this issue and found the article, despite its shortcomings (misses many interesting bands/scenes of course, and I'll never see the point of bands like SS Decontrol/ DYS/ Youth of Today..., but I guess the whole straight edge thing deserved some room in an USHC report, given its notoriety), a pretty good read.
By the way, as I was familiar with almost all the music included in the article, I was kind of intrigued by his write up of that Swiss cassette compilation of 90 bands. Well, the thing is that I found it on the net! (I knew I would, as any Hardcore demo, cassette only release or 50-copy seven inch can be eventually found on some blog):
http://www.goodbadmusic.com/2008/06/12/radio-show-speed-air-play-christmas-special-ultra-noise-switzerland-1986/
Well, yes, it has to be heard to be believed, but, yes he just nails it: it's just like an hour worth of the most rudimentary noisecore.
Pretty historically curious artefact, to say the least