Mixtape: No Sleep
In the [gulp] 26 years since I started writing about music, I've never made a zine. Mostly I chalk that up to being an early internet adopter — I started a Christian punk webzine with a message board friend in 1998 — and have been evolving in that space ever since. Hand-coded HTML and stolen CSS frames, Blogspot, Livejournal, Tumblr, CMS, podcasts, newsletters … for someone who considers himself pretty hands on when it comes to music, especially physical media, I'm surprisingly digital.
Here are a few recent zines that might inspire a move toward paper for a special project:
Five Songs by Marissa Lorusso: The internet is a terrible place to spill secrets. Marissa, my dear friend, smartly opts for staples, paper and a few bucks to share first-thought-best-thought stories — some funny, some quite intimate — about how music can shape memory and twist a moment into something unexpected. Available from Marissa's must-subscribe newsletter.
101 Heavy Albums from 2023 by Ben West: Did I even listen to 101 heavy albums last year? I haven't even published my own personal year-end list, yet! Ben was the dude behind Oaken Throne, a black metal zine that, along with aQuarius Records, had a pulse on the USBM scene over a decade ago; he also ran a rare interview with the clock head from Portal. I really like the simplicity here: extremely short reviews that give you a good sense of his taste, classy font choices, minimalist design. Ben kindly sent me a copy, but I bet you could ask for one, too.
Small Sounds Press: Issue 2 by Jeff Cloud, et al.: More record labels should make zines — you really get a sense of its aesthetic and artists as listeners. Jeff has run Velvet Blue Music since 1996, releasing music by Starflyer 59, Map, Fine China and lots of related dream-pop/shoegaze acts. This issue catches us up on Joy Electric's Ronnie Martin (apparently a published author now?), classic record reviews of Prince and The Icicle Works by the label's roster, a thoughtful Richard Swift remembrance. There's also a sampler CD! I still like CDs. It includes tracks by VBM and VBM-adjacent artists. Available from Bandcamp.
Oh, and speaking of digital ink, I have a new column on NPR Music! It's called 8 Tracks, basically a weekly round up of new music, mixing in old songs, and sometimes tying them all together with a theme. I've linked Kim Gordon to the Shangri-Las, meditated on lyrics as poetry, explored what happens next in love and mortality, nerded out on cassettes and reimagined Lilith Fair. Please read them so I can write more! —Lars Gotrich
Stream the Viking's Choice mixtape via BNDCMPR. Follow my Bandcamp collection. Tracklist below:
Unwed Sailor, "Final Feather"
Still House Plants, "no sleep deep risk"
Angélica Garcia, "Juanita"
Olaf Dreijer, "Coral"
Nox, "Iron Knowledge"
Claire Rousay, "head"
The Lost Year, "Act Like You Mean It"
Restorations, "Cured"
So Totally, "Distinct Star"
Pinkcourtesyphone, "pre-sumptuous / post-sumptuous"
Casmimir Liberski & Tatsuya Yoshida, "Dirty Water"
Outer World, "The Drum the Beat"
New Dog, "Thirteen"
Maxine Funke, "Clear"
9T Antiope, "Shapeshift"
La Sellrose Can Can, "Aerobicise"
Harry Gorski-Brown, "Dùthaich MhicAoidh"
Stumbleine, "Will They"
Hyozo, "Anima"
Can, "Halleluhwuh"
Penny Carson Nichols, "Just This Time"
Linda Smith, "Fin De Fete"
Craig Peyton, "Be Thankful for What You Got"
Jay Kshirsagar, "Kink Crimson"
Chain Circuits, "Coup d'etat"
Freeways, "Dark Sky Sanctuary"
Joy Guidry, "Members Don't Get Weary"
Meshell Ndegeocello, "Departure Guide of the 7 Sisters"
Milkweed, "My Father's Sheep is Dead"
Jessica Pratt, "Life Is"
Gustavo Obligado, "Doesn't necessarily have to mean something"
Hiroshi Kamayatsu, "Have you smoked Gauloise?"[Ahmed], "African Bossa Nova (excerpt)"