Now Playing: Richard Kneeland LP
Topic: Minor change or comment
A note now to champion the 30-year anniversary of the leading '60s-oriented fanzine in the world, Mike Stax' UGLY THINGS. Those who know the zine well are likely to have noticed the grand celebrations recently held in honor of this great publication, with everyone from '60s pop stars to '90s neo-moptops paying tribute.
As testified in some of the articles I've written about the garage scene of the mid-1980s, Ugly Things has been a big deal to me personally, first inspiring and guiding me as a moptopped teenager, and more recently allowing space for several of my reviews and articles (the Mel Lyman piece in #22 was my first, the Perth County Conspiracy in #30 the most recent). Founder and editor Mike Stax has been encouraging throughout, and as you might guess, becoming a writer for a magazine that had been a formative influence in one's youth is a slightly surreal experience.
Most timely, the new Ugly Things issue is out, as big, comprehensive and cool as ever. I managed to close a cycle by reviewing a retrospective LP with the infamous Stockholm garage punks the Crimson Shadows, i e: the same guys that I idolized (and soon got to know) at the very same time that I first discovered Ugly Things magazine! Whether it's 1985 or 2013 doesn't matter, Mike Stax and his creation make their benign presence felt in my life.
