LEFT OF THE DIAL #1, 2001.

The first issue of this Houston, Texas magazine - it was fanzine in spirit, but slick enough in presentation and intent to grant it the M-word - produced in the year of 9/11 when I was working at Missing Link. This topic has been touched upon by myself (and others in this blog dorkosphere), but the turn of the century presents a wobbly period for underground music. I have stated before that I consider the annums approximating roughly 1999 - 2006 to be pretty much the lowest/worst period in music since the 1940s in regards to quality, excitement factor and whatever voodoo methodology we use to define such subjective matters, and whilst this is purely my opinion, I'm going to run with it.

LOTD was released in the middle of this purple patch, and while I was working in Punk Rock Central (i.e. Missing Link), my mind was largely elsewhere, mostly in the world of improvised jazz and the kinds of things being released on labels like Aum Fidelity, Eremite, FMP, Leo, Tzadik, etc. Looking back, and this was also probably the influence of my place of employment (and when you work in music, that's often a factor of what you listen to, both as a reactive and proactive thing), I was also knee-deep in the sounds of Heavy, meaning bong-rattlers such as Electric Wizard, Sunn O))), Neurosis, Melvins, Burning Witch, Isis, Goatsnake and the like. It was simply a jam I dug and there's no regrets to speak of (especially since I still enjoy such sludge). And I would still buy just about any fanzine that came in the door if it vaguely touched upon one of my musical interests.

So anyway, in the midst of this came Left Of The Dial, a publication put out by one David Ensminger who denotes his age in that year to be 29 years of old, which means he's roughly or exactly my vintage, give or take the months required. His editorial notes his history of immersion in hardcore punk, brought his way via a hep older sibling, and in many ways I guess it mirrors mine. What LOTD does very well is cover this first wave of hardcore punk, with genuinely interesting and illuminating interviews w/ Ian MacKaye, Gary Floyd, Jello Biafra, Gregg Turner and even a couple of clowns from TSOL. If you're up for it and feeling brave, there's even some yabber from Articles Of Faith's Vic Bondi. The contemporary interview with Yo La Tengo is also a necessary glimpse into some vital indie-rock (excuse me) being produced during this dark era in human existence; The Nerves' Peter Case has a deep history worth digging into; and the Jason Ringenberg interview (from Jason & The Scorchers - come on, their Lost & Found LP from '85 is a pretty rock-solid slice of cow-punk malarky!) is a welcome distraction. 

I have little to no interest in the music of Spoon, Delta 72 and especially the Reverend Horton Heat, which is where my nose turns up and I pompously announce "Pee-yew", but these are his passions, not mine. In some ways, it reminds me a little bit of No Depression and Punk Planet magazines mashed into one, at least for the detritus that isn't first-wave US HC, meaning a certain level of flatlined post-HC indie-rock and banal "Americana" made by ex-punkers. If anything, these weaker elements remind me of the cultural malaise that was taking place in a pre-9/11 2001, especially in the world of underground rock music that was looking for something new and exciting.

LOTD wasn't "hip" in the way other mags of the era may have been. I'm thinking Popwatch as a good example of a post-hardcore periodical from the period that covered the best and hippest of the time. Perhaps credit is due to LOTD for not being so self-conscious, but on the other hand, I'd say that Ensminger wasn't exploring the better music of the era, though of course I'd also give him full credit for his excellent coverage of older heroes and groundbreakers herein. Why should the guy give a fuck what I think, anyway? I'm unsure as to how long the magazine lasted, but I do also have issues 3 and 6, and will likely cover them in the future. 2001 was a bad and/or weird time for everything, and you could do worse than peruse the better parts of Left Of The Dial to see where some heads were at. I'm not getting buried with it, but I'm certainly keeping it.