Locker Pin-Up's, Music and 'Zines, Oh My!
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Artist:
Remember your middle school locker? I kept mine clean but never without a healthy smattering of my favorite bands pasted on the inside. In early preparation for making another mini-zine of sorts soon, here's a short rundown of who was hanging up in my middle school locker and how music fueled my 'zine creations. By "'zine" I mean the DIY-published type (the kind you can hold in your hand! touch! feel!).
6th Grade: Xeroxing is fun
That was the year the Beatles Anthology series came out. My friends and I became such little Beatles dorks we performed a Beatles medley in the talent show later in the school year. By choice we stayed after school (our crushes were in detention...) to collage our lockers with black and white photocopies of the band. Trips to the public library and bags of change resulted in a locker full of all-era Beatles (Side note: Is it weird to crush on the same Beatle your mom did decades before?). My zest for photocopying was birthed!
7th Grade: Yay for Lookout! Records
I thought maybe I had some angst. Cue up the Nirvana, Hole and anything else out of Seattle I had missed a few years earlier. I clipped out any and all photos I could find of them, made mini-collages and hung them in my locker, along with old favorites Green Day, who are the equivalent of comfort food to me. The Green Day obsession was strong enough to lead me to their former label Lookout! Records, where I took to liking The Mr. T Experience, Pansy Division, etc. Lookout! is most likely responsible for awakening me to 'zines, as Lookout! band Pinhead Gunpowder's Aaron is founder of the punk 'zine Cometbus.
8th Grade: Pagan Kennedy and Grand Royal
I had teen magazine subscriptions telling me "worthwhile" things like who my hot, new, celebrity crush should be. The good thing was that every once in a while Sassy magazine (the cool, rock chick, big sister of the bunch) would review a book I wouldn't hear of otherwise. One of those books was The Exes by 'zine writer Pagan Kennedy (Pagan's Head). Its main focus is a fictional "painfully hip Boston-area indie alterna-pop band [...] that weaves pop reference and nerdy rock-geek sensibility into a combination Harlequin Romance/Celebrity Tell-All." I fell in love with reading about this fictional band and reading as the romance between band members emerged.
After I got waaaay into the Beastie Boys and found out they had Grand Royal magazine, my 'zine aspirations were a done deal. It was a magazine that included educational articles such as "Mulling Over the Mullet," plus contributions from the always-entertaining Ricky Powell (photographer and friend of the Beastie Boys, who currently holds a regular column in Mass Appeal called "Ricky Powell is...The Doloist"), and tons of music-related features- they put Lee "Scratch" Perry on the cover that was designed to look like a Wheaties box. Genius stuff. Is there anything as great at Grand Royal out now?
Enter the easy to use Kid Pix. Classic program! My best friend and I made a 'zine and named it Clunk! [1998-2003(?)], the name's exclamation may or may not be due in part to Lookout! Records use of it. Free copy machine access meant fat-ass issues, about 70-90 pages of both printed and handwritten articles/cartoons about whatever the hell we wanted and music was always a big part of any issue we would put out (one issue included musician men trading cards!). Sadly, I don't have a picture of the cover of Clunk! But I've included a picture of the most recent 'zine I put out, which was last year. It's a one-off issue, so I named it Trill and made it all about rap...and yeah, that's my head cropped onto some booty-candy as a reaction to all the "eye candy" sections in the mainstream rap magazines.
Below, "Sure Shot" by the Beastie Boys, a staple to Clunk!'s 'zine-making hey-days soundtrack.
Comments (27)
ha, I remember in 8th grade stacy gleeson was right next to me and her locker was a shrine to Ralph Macchio. Mine on the other hand was filled with pages from word up magazine with a big tribute to Public Enemy. I feel as if I am dating myself here
It's been a while, but i don't remember having anything hung up in my middle school locker...I think I would have had stuff by The Police, Squeeze, New Order, and maybe Duran Duran (or as the British pronounce it Juran Juran). I didn't have a locker in high school, but I did have posters of The Cure, U2, The Smiths, and Dire Straits in my room. I know I subscribed to a zine called "B-Side" and Rolling Stone when it was still good.
I never really used my locker in middle or high school. I did the whole logos-on-notebooks things. Except, I didn't really do it with bands or what have you. Instead of making zines, I made up my own fake record label (Failed Cow Recordings), and I put all my straight-from-the-radio mixes on it. I also put some garage recordings my friend and I made in 7th/8th grade, mostly Minor Threat covers and just random bullshit. In spring 2004, that morphed into scamelENT (also my AIM sn, my myspace url, and several other things), where I've made several really shitty bedroom recordings. Good times.
Is this Boston area indie alterna-pop band based on a small little outfit called Pixies?
I didn't have anything in my locker, but I do remember the tape I had in 8th grade. It was the only tape I listened to.
Side 1 - cure - head on the door
Side 2 - smiths - meat is murder
I grew to like the smiths simply because rewinding the walkman would waste batteries and limit listening time, despite my #1 love of the cure at the time.
Oh, me oh my, my walkman.
In the Eighties I used to browse at several magazine stores in Greenwich Village that had good selections of the type of 'zines you describe, all with high contrast black and white crazy weird primitive graphics, indie rock groups and other hip bohemian topics. I bet some of them would be worth something on ebay today. The closest I came to doing what you did was tape musicians' cut-out photos onto reel-to-reel tape boxes containing stuff I had recorded from borrowed records. I still cut out and save musicians' photos from papers and magazines. Here's a montage of Thelonious Monk photos I put together recently when I had nothing better to do.
I never understood the 'zine scene(at the time) although I guess it would be akin to modern day blogs, just far more work. Thanks for sharing your locker/zine memories.
Me and a friend did a zine in highschool. It' only lasted to issues and was focused on excessive and pointless violence via art.
Later on, another friend of mine started another one more focused to music called Salt, I used to write, take photos and do reviews for it. It lasted a good few years from early 90's into the late 90's or even 2000. It's dead and gone now.
Zines, known as Fanzines in the UK, really exploded at the same time as Punk in 1977. The punk ethic stated that anyone could do things themselves, regardless of a lack of any 'professionalism' or recognised training, as long as they had the enthusiasm to get things done.
Between 1977 and 1990, almost every gig you went too in UK would have 2 or 3 kids selling fanzines for 10p -£2. They where usualy fans of the band who came in on the bands guest list.
Original punk fanzines such as Ripped & Torn, Sniffin' Glue and 48 Thrills, provided graphics and typography that were part and parcel of punk's subterranean and anarchic style. A lot of writers and presenters learnt their trade producing this stuff when they where kids such as Steve Lamacq and Mark Perry, when Cut, Copy & Paste ment just that!
I knew a few people producing there own fanzines and sneaked them in and out of various collage's and work place's so they could use the photo copiers for free...
More info;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanzine
http://www.urban75.org/music/up-yours-cardiff.html
My memory is shot to hell, I have too many crammed into a small space, but I do remember Gerard Cosloy (now Matador Records) as one of the reining kings of 'zines. He ran Homestead Records (home to Sonic Youth) in the 80's. I was in the office next door with Rockville Records (home to Uncle Tupelo). Gerard's zine was Conflict, right? It was deeply cynical, snide, sarcastic and pretty fabulous. Craig Marks who went on to write/ edit for one of the well known music mags (Spin or Alt Press) was also very involved with both Conflict and Homestead.
One of the other very influential 'zines, which is now a magazine, but still based on underground pop culture was Your Flesh. And then there was a lot going on with bands like Minor Threat, SSD and Black Flag. Basically the hardcore scene was a birthing ground for 'zines. You earned punk points if you had a 'zine. Now I think you get them if you are vegan (and christ I am).
The really cool thing about 'zines, and BTW I love this post because it is bringing back all these long forgotten memories, is they weren't just about music. The 'zine medium reflected a lifestyle. They gave those published an outlet to opine on books, movies, art, fashion, politics (lots), shows, I dunno stuff. And artists an outlet to make art.
I wish I could remember more details like specific names of 'zines, authors, publishers and bands who were doing them etc... I hope someone else remembers more. Meanwhile, I am going to sit here and recall CBGB's 1983, Youth Brigade, The Proletariat and Cheetah Chrome... somewhere down the line this may have inspired a hardcore in the 80s post... let's see what I can dredge up.
Damnit, we never had lockers at my school. You American kids have all the fun. I used to cover my school exercise books with stickers and pictures...mainly The Clash
Classic clip... in Brasil have many fanzines too, my friend have a one with a funnie band histories! heehhehe... trash!!!
Great post, romantic times, good music, friends and some wine in the bag!!! The old days... never comin'g back!!!
I used to hang up those long cardboard boxes cds came in up all over my room as artwork. Brand Nubian, Public Enemy, House of Pain, Beasties. I know now how ecological unkind those boxes were, but man did I love them. Cut out a couple for the locker, but unfortunately we may have had the tiniest lockers in creation in HS. I did not have the luxury of a locker pre-HS.
Our HS lockers were so small there was no room for pictures. Although my bedroom walls were covered in my teenage obsession with Faith No More. I was hooked on their Angel Dust album at the time. I didn't do the Zine thing so much, but I made heaps of dodgy recordings of myself playing covers and my own (angsty!) songs. And when I learnt how to use the 4-track in the HS music room, well, life was never the same.......
Ah, zines. It kind of makes me sad that none seem to exist for more than 2 issues anymore. Instead you get stuff like Anti-Gravity back home, whihc while it has lots of nice stuff and a lot of information about whats going on, also has about as much ad space as actual content. I'm also a bit partial as a few people who wanted articles for some zines helped pay for a few trips to London.
I miss zines. I want nothing more than for Zines, enthusiasm, dancing, and drugs that make you feel fast and happy as opposed to slow and boring to be reintroduced to the music scene.
Mwaaahaha this post reminds me of this song for some reason! When you gonna put out a new issue? I love the new copiers they are making these days...high speed color and all that. (I still love going to work in a printshop! always getting the discount on the copy counts!) Plus we just laminate the shit out of everything we own. I loved this post H.M. Brittany ...your life seems to full of adventure and "what the hell let's do it"
"My friends and I became such little Beatles dorks we performed a Beatles medley in the talent show later in the school year" Ha ha! Now, that's the vid I want to see.
I was involved in zine-like college mags and football fanzines, which helped me get bigger jobs later on. They're a great way for writers to get started.
Great topic, I was only able to see thumbnails of your zines, they all sound fantastic. Particularly the 70-80 page blockbuster edition and last year's rap one. Trill probably means you've got a Clipse article or two in there?
Awesome comments, looks like everyone has a locker or 'zine memory! Thanks for reading. I got the front cover and back cover (featuring Clunk's fans in homemade Clunk hats) of an issue of Clunk! scanned:
Excellent covers, looking forward to the next zine ... B-ROK!!
HA!! Oh dear, what have I done to my name? I should've seen that coming. Have mercy, I was in high school.
The old zines were better than any blog. There was a LOT more effort and heart put into them. When I look at old issues of Kick Ass from the 1980's I can't imagine how much time was spent on a typewriter! Bloggers would never put that much effort into anything.
And in my high school locker you could usually find some awesome metal albums that my friends and I would trade back and forth (Slayer - Show No Mercy, Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac, Anvil - Metal On Metal, Metallica - Creeping Death EP, etc) and some dirt weeed.
Classic!!!
Oh, gosh... I'm such an 80s rock junkie! I had/have up Metallica, Iron Maiden, Def Leopard, etc.... I also had/have up Greeley Estaes, Underoath, The Devil Wears Prada, Becoming the Archetype, and Evanesence. And of course The Beatles "Abbey Road" cover pic. Unfortunatley for me though, I'm going to school during a time when pop rules and rock has been left in the dust so I was, in esence, a music outcast. But honestley, I'd rather listen to music that relates to me then listen to pop stars sing about buying shoes that cost 2,000 bucks. I wish I'd have been a teen in the 80s!!!
the decade is calling your name! haha, keep rockin it 80s style and reppin the days!
I am still such a little Beatles dork...I may never recover...I have to ask, who was your Beatles' crush?
it was Paul, i think at the time John still seemed a little too far out for me, but I think I'd go with John nowadays haha. (p.s. i like your pretty avatar! who's it by?). i don't think i've ever liked a band without developing some sort of crush on someone in the band!
Sorry to take so long to get back to you! I love John! (ok, I love them all, but John is my fav). As for the avatar, I feel guilty because I have no idea, I found it ages ago on google images but the source page was gone & I spent hours searching because I'd love to know who did it and see more of their stuff but I could never find it! I debated on whether I should use it but I am so in love with it I had to. It's awful I know.
It's great, I asked because I wanted to check out the artists' other stuff too. It looks somewhat familiar. I used to be into Incubus and once saw an interview of them showing artists they liked...based on their style/taste I'm thinking this artist's work may have been shown. now if only we knew their name!