You’ve probably seen her work already, but if you haven’t, you’re missing out. Trust me. She is my new favorite artist and a totally brain-melting creative mind. Originally from Florida but now calling NYC her home, the lovely and talented Cristy C. Road and I recently got a chance to sit down and discuss, among other things, Ben Weasel and the nefarious conspiracy behind art supplies.
“New Year’s Day” (2007)
Punk Planet zine has announced their own death today, halting printing due to a variety of difficulties in the past few years. Here’s some of the statement, all of which can be found here;
Dear Friends,As much as it breaks our hearts to write these words, the final issue of Punk Planet is in the post, possibly heading toward you right now. Over the last 80 issues and 13 years, we’ve covered every aspect of the financially independent, emotionally autonomous, free culture we refer to as “the underground.” In that time we’ve sounded many alarms from our editorial offices: about threats of co-optation, big-media emulation, and unseen corporate sponsorship. We’ve also done everything in our power to create a support network for independent media, experiment with revenue streams, and correct the distribution issues that have increasingly plagued independent magazines. But now we’ve come to the impossible decision to stop printing, having sounded all the alarms and reenvisioned all the systems we can. Benefit shows are no longer enough to make up for bad distribution deals, disappearing advertisers, and a decreasing audience of subscribers.
Back in the beginning of January, the IPA (Independent Press Association) ceased to exist due to bankruptcy issues. Among other things, this meant that Punk Planet, the long-running and influential zine out of Chicago, can no longer get any distribution. This includes my own subscription to this magazine.
Punk Planet wasn’t the only magazine using the IPA. There were others, but thanks to an inability to raise funds to pay of debts to the Indy Press Newsstand Services, IPA went under and all their assets liquidated to pay off debts. What does this have to do with anything? Not much if you’re a subscriber to Alternative Press or Rolling Stone or something like that. However, if you’re a fan of independent zines and independent media (including paper media), it means a lot. Essentially lost in the shuffle now, this is just one shot fired in what is the attempted assassination of the paper medium and physical zine culture.
I know, it’s weird to talk about paper zines on a website, but the fact is that for hundreds of years, the paper medium has survived to bring information and opinions to people. In 19th century in Europe, literary/religious/philosophical pamphlets were used to distribute tracts on almost anything, and were sometimes banned by local and national officials. Writers and publishers like Keats and Byron would attempt to publish from outside their home countries (as proto-expatriates) and smuggle their works into Britain for distribution. Paper was, and to an extent still is, dangerous.
While the internet has allowed for zine culture to go to the next level, increase readership, allow for greater contact between people on opposite sides of the nation, even the world, there are still drawbacks. For one, digital information is always at the mercy of electricity. Loosing power means you might loose everything, simply put. Also, in this day and age where rights and freedoms are constantly at risk of becoming the next China (where there is constant internet monitoring and censorship of specific sites, not to mention what happens to dissenting media heads there). In the US, there is almost constant talk about internet censorship. Usually focusing on the pornography debate, the war on terror and attempts to disseminate information that is deemed “unpatriotic” bring the conflict more and more towards attempts and regulating digital information.
Paranoid? Probably, I don’t sleep that much these days.
Last month I got my hands on 3 Records, a zine put out by punk photographer Chrissy Piper, a great idea she worked on and is attempting to do for a second issue. Friends of mine who run DIY shows in the Bronx recently started distributing free back issues of Razorcake at their shows, and the past year brought me back to reading zines like Punk Planet, which covers more than music, but also art, literature, and politics that fall far out of the normal range of “conventional” media coverage. Zines have been a vital part of punk rock for a long time, and they continue to do so despite the spread of the internet. However, the downfall of independent distribution not only keeps me from getting my bi-monthly Punk Planet fix, it’s also a sign of things to come. There’s a steady flow towards the conglomerization of media outlets, with non-mainstream/independent paper zines falling to the wayside as a result of buyouts and mergers. There’s also the societal push towards digitalization which, though it does offer many benefits, is still susceptible to censorship and control.
The historical significance of literacy is that it has almost always been a key part of any revolution. Words on paper are incredibly powerful, and whereas a data stream can be intercepted, a swapping of pamphlets, easy to hide in your pocket and under your mattress where you can later read truths by candlelight, can’t. At least not as easily as digital information. On a larger scale, what’s a more powerful image? A glowing computer screen, or words on a piece paper clutched in a raised fist?
Keep paper dangerous.
Thanks to Punk Planet for the picture from their webstore, and for trying to keep loyal fans appraised of what’s going down with the magazine.
Copyright © 2008 Late Night Wallflower
graphics by lauren at blackandredeye | layout/coding by bill
