Unbelievably Bad#14: There’s a lot going on in this big issue of steaming goodness behind a very Chthulu-like cover by Rev. Kris Hades of Sadistik Execution infamy. There’s also a dopy interview with the dude, which even Von Helle admits would’ve been better if he hadn’t let Hades see the damn thing first and “edit” the article. My favourite piece was the entertaining interview with punk legend James Baker (The Victims, The Scientists, Beasts Of Bourbon, etc). He even politely touches on Ross Buncle’s bitter article denouncing Baker from three issues earlier. Other highlights include Von Helle’s never-ending interview with HG Lewis (this instalment – about three recently rediscovered sexploitation flicks he made in the 60s – was actually interesting to me); a feature on forgotten punkers King Snake Roost, Acker Bilk’s hidden history with Black Flag, interviews with Pete Shelley and Gary Numan, and a look at the stunning rock photography of Rod Hunt.
Unbelievably Bad, c/- Von Helle, 9 Ross Street, Dulwich Hill, NSW, 2203, AUSTRALIA unbelievablybad@optusnet.com.au [AUD$8 or e-mail for details if from overseas, 68 x A4, 45 minutes]
Reiko Ike
Pink Factory: This Crime Factory special edition PDF zine took me months to read, which is never a good thing. A really great zine gets read in one sitting, but not this baby. Not to say there were highlights, including John Harrison’s feature on Rene Bond, a piece on 70s Japanese sexploitation star Reiko Ike’s singing career (which convinced me to buy her album…and it’s pretty cool) and some cool erotic fiction by Criseyda Lake and Louis Bravos. But the lowlights were pretty low including the rest of the erotic fiction, and several articles so poorly written that I couldn’t bring myself to keep turning the pages. And when a zine dedicated to erotica can’t engage my brain (or my loins0, then it’s doing something seriously wrong.Pink Factory, www.thecrimefactory.com [e-mail for details, 66 x A4 PDF, 60+ minutes]
Sprak!Vol. 2 No. 9: Review after review of shitty films (and a few good ones). Thank God Kami is watching this stuff, so we don’t have to. This issue sees the veteran zinester take a celluloid bullet for us while watching the likes of Bath Salt Zombies, Sexsquatch, Andy Warhol’s Bad, two Ilsa films (!), Robot Monsterand more! Mind-bending madness – you have been warned.
Kami, PO Box 278, Edwardstown, SA, 5039, AUSTRALIA [trade! 24 x A5, 25 minutes]
Grunted Warning#22: More demented news clippings compiled from MX, regional newspapers and Japan! My copy came with a mini-zine, which was a nice bonus.
Stratu, PO Box 35, Marrickville, NSW, 2204, AUSTRALIA [trade! 12 x A5, 25 minutes]
The Menkas
From What I’ve Read So Far Of Yours, It Sounds Like Every Man In Macedonia Hit On You
Lezbianka
I’ve said before that I think Tamara Lazaroff is one of the great unheralded Australian writers of the 21stt century. Her work is whimsical, powerful when it needs to be and always painfully, exquisitely written. Lezbiankais a childhood reminiscence about meeting a friend’s older sister, freshly returned from rehab. From What I’ve Read…could be true or it could be fiction. I hope it’s mostly real, because I like the idea of poets being treated like rock stars in Macedonia and huge poetry festivals being attended by thousands of adoring fans. The Menkas is a modern fairy tale about a man, his wife and a pet bear. And how one should not confuse the other two, especially in bed at night.
If there is any justice in this world, Tamara will one day be feted in newspaper columns, attend writers’ festivals and win awards. If I can do anything to facilitate this, I will. She is simply too good to be unnoticed any longer.
taazan@hotmail.com[email for details]