Got Throat Culture #14 in the mail. I guess I am on a mailing list and get free zines now which is awesome! I'm gonna send dude the some cash anyway for the new Crash Hounds tape and to try and get an ad in this zine. More awesome music reviews and this time a bunch of great zine reviews as well. Many of the zines I've heard of but a few I haven't. This zine totally makes me want to go old school and mail away for a bunch of stuff!

The only thing I am bummed about is there was only one comic in this issue. I wish instead of having two separate zines, one for comix and one for reviews, he published on zine that had both comix and reviews. Anyways def get on this guys mailing list because he sends out great stuff!!

Gonk Publishing
2700 White Ave #3
Chico, CA.
95973

Subtitled: Great Moments In History By David Puckeridge. Funny well drawn comix of different historical events through out time. Really got a kick out of this one!

For ordering information contact: [email protected]

Zines like this are the reason why I love zines. So specialized and personal. Can you imagine going to the local magazine rack and picking up a lawn mower fetish magazine? Probably not going to happen but in the zine world it is entirely possible! Thick zine filled with pictures of girls with lawn mowers, lawn mower themed collages and well drawn lawn mower story comics. It's an Australian zine so a couple of the jokes in the comics are over my head but I still get the point and it's still funny. Thanks to Sid Clark for sending me this! Check it out!

For ordering information email: [email protected]

Got this zine as well as 'Funny To Me' by R.L. Wallace in the mail. Super crude, weird and funny comix. I'm gonna so far as to say this style of art is one of my personal favorites. Since I got my first underground publishing material, stick man and doodle style comix have just really spoken to me. Real random thoughts turned in simplistic cartoons. I don't know but I love this stuff! The author is a super cool dude living the zinester dream and always includes a nice personal note. Also came with a catalog of underground music cassette tapes.

Send a dollar, trade or nice letter to:
Gonk Publishing
2700 White Ave. #3
Chico, Ca.
95973

The purpose of this article is to encourage you to start the fun hobby of sending away for things in the mail. It's a weird world out there and you can get all kinds of interesting and personal alternative media. Everybody is passionate about something and many people self publish zines about their hobbies and interests. You can get these small magazines by sending out a dollar or two or better yet by publishing your own zine and trading.

My own mail hobby started when I was in my young teens in the early 90's. I guess this was a golden age for zines. Two zines I subscribed to and loved were Thrift Score, a thrift store themed zine, and a Crispin Glover fan zine. The main source where I found addresses and reviews was a magazine called Factsheet Five. It was basically a big catalog of stuff you could mail for. The other source was a SubGenius book called High Weirdness By Mail. Upon doing a little research I found a webpage with updated links to most of the publishers featured in High Weirdness By Mail.

Being the horny teenager that I was also mailed away for anything with naked ladies or that had to do with sex. In the back of photography magazines there was addresses that for a few bucks would send you glossy photographs of nude models. I ordered catalogs of pornographic videos and magazines. I even subscribed to some catalogs of mail order brides.

So yeah, the early 90's was definitely a golden age for the mail. Mail order and zines are still very much alive though! I receive many interesting zines in the mail to this day. Recently I have received a wonderful new style of zine, a pocket zine with several pages that is comprised of one piece of paper folded several times with a cut down the middle. You open it up and read through the pages the when you are done you unfold it and there is art and more text inside. I also was just notified that my own paper zine is about to be reviewed in the newest issue of Xerography Debt. Xerography Debt is a current zine review magazine filled with addresses you can send requests to. I am hoping to get lots of trades!

I strongly suggest that you take few moments out of your day and send out a nice letter with dollar or two to some interesting people. It is totally fun to receive interesting alternative media in your mail box.

Let's Side is a mostly music related zine with an emphasis on record collecting. I been missing my record collection and this zine makes me miss it even more. I don't know but for some reason music sounded better on vinyl. It was also fun to dig through bins and find weird old records super cheap. Now many new records and record players are coming out so maybe I should get started collecting again? Does anybody those promo records places used to give out? Like Gremlins records?

The thing I really liked about this zine is the personal stories. Stories about trying to find a certain cord at a thrift shop or meeting a rapper for the first time. One review had a very interesting approach to reviewing. I want to learn this style of review where it's like free flowing poetry and you write about your abstract thoughts and feelings.

One exciting thing about this zine is they are looking for street soldiers in yo hood. By working for them you can receive free t-shirts, hats, tapes and CD's, posters, bumper stickers and concert passes. Send 2 bucks to:

June-Bug from North Bay
Let's Side
P.O. Box 504
Forest Knolls, CA
94933

More super weird newspaper clippings from all over the world. There is some very strange stuff from Japan in this issue! There was one Japanese guy who would slash tires at the supermarket just so he could strike up a conversation and exchange numbers with the woman while he fixed her tire. I like this issue a lot because the woman on the cover looks like a girl I dated. These are really fun to read so pick up an issue!

Send a dollar or a weird newspaper clipping to:
Stratu
PO Box 35
Marrickville NSW
2204
AUSTRALIA

Another zine from the creator of Rig-it & Relocate. I just can't get over how cool this design is! A full on zine using only one sheet of paper! I need to learn how to make these!! My friend Sid Clark says the author is going by the name Clell Miller but I still don't have an address for these. This issue is a short fiction (I hope!) about a down on his luck ex-con and his troubles. Pretty awesome I wish I had a whole stack of these zines to read every day!

Update! You can request copies of this and other zines by emailing [email protected] 

The first thing I liked about this zine is the design. It's like a little 4 page booklet that you can unfold to one big page. It's a good read with plenty of pictures but it is made up of one sheet of paper and I think that is really cool! The premise of the zine is that we should stop doing shit (work) and fuck around. Basically calls for you to disrupt your work place until you get fired. It goes back and forth between being vulgar profanity and academic style writing. Super funny and fun. No address was included so you are on your own trying to find a copy. Thanks Sid Clark for sending this one!

Update! You can request this zine and others by emailing [email protected]

Thank you Sid Clark for sending me this issue. It's a small zine and music review zine. Kinda like a Factsheet Five but with a cool cut and paste layout. And let me tell you there is tons of cool stuff out there! I want to order everyone of these interesting zines and albums. I encourage the reader to be old school and drop a few bucks in the mail and get some of these. Even better make your own zine and send out copies for trade. I ordered a surrealism zine called Paste Eater. Looking forward to receiving it! Send one dollar, stamps or a nice letter to:

Jason Rodgers
PO Box 62
Lawrence, MA
01842