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U.H.F. (No. 10, July/August 1996)
A downtown cooler than thou fashion music issues mag (Back on the cover, LOTS of fashion ads and spreads inside) when a little "retro" with a fashion spread entitled "Lounge Hounds." All those swell expensive vintage styles one is supposed to dress up in to be cool and cocktail, models include Joey Altruda, Otto Von Stroheim, The Blue Hawaiians and others who should've known better.
Yahoo Internet Life (Vol. 3, Number 8, August 1997)
In a strange sidebar to a Conan O'Brien interview, Y.I.L. featured what they called "Cool Sites of the Nite." Among those listed were Shaken Not Stirred, The Rat Pack and Vik's.
Goldmine (Vol. 22, Number 16, August 2, 1996)
R. Perston Peek run through the history and aesthetic of the Cheesecake LP cover.
Lackluster (Issue #2)
OK. Lackluster has abslutely nothing to do with music. It's premise, though, goes to the very heart of vintage music...the ordinary and everyday. Issue #1 featured lackluster jobs, but issue #2 is the real winner featuring lackluster homes. Think of it as thrifting a domicile. These are homes people have built by hand or out of unusual material or based on bizarre concepts. Vik's not going to go into detail about what homes are featured...get this 'zine and learn home is more than where you hang your hat.
Lackluster c/o Amy Balkin & James Harbison, 456 14th St. #8, San Francisco, CA 94103 or email lacklstr@sirius.com
Film Score Monthly (Vol.2, Number 4)
Lukas Kendall's which features a discussion of "Martin Denny and the Sounds of Exotica -- A Look At the Unique Circumstances of 'Forbidden Island'". This 2.5 page article, illustrated by various exotica and soundtrack LP covers and a photo of Martin Denny's group, also provides a innovative "Road Map to Soundtrack Exotica" which challenges readers to add to or take exception with the 30+ exotica soundtracks listed by composers from John Barry to Les Baxter to Jerry Goldsmith to Ennio Morricone to Victor Young, and many inbetween.
Lo-Fi Magazine ($20 for one year plus a free Rockabilly CD)
NYC based Lo-Fi fits into the margins of swinger culture. While issues have had interviews with ComEd, Brian Setzer and the Squirrel Nut Zippers, this mag is pretty much for the rockabilly/surf/hot rod crew. Dive bar fans and swing kids will dig it...the cocktail nation might find it a little too frightening.
Lo-Fi Entertainment PO Box 20357 Parkwest Station New York, NY 10025
Exotica and Boxing Magazine (no info on price)
Vik received an email about this intriguing sounding 'zine. First issue has/had articles on belly dancing, klezmer music, Spike Jones, Joe Louis and more.
Exotica and Boxing magazine c/o Marco Panella, Auger Hole Rd., South Newfane, VT 05351
Girlyhead ($3.50 per issue)
This be one of them there gearhead 'zines...but girly gearheads. Rawk is the major flavor of the day, but the October 1996 issue (Vol. 1 No. 1) features a swell article on Brigitte Bardot. If that weren't enough, there's also a Brigitte paper doll to cutout and dress with abfab Girlyhead fashions (or just make your own).
Girlyhead PO Box 423657 San Francisco CA 94142
Brandweek ($3.00 per issue/$125 per year)
Unless your biz (or obsession) is advertising and the ad industry, you'd be safe to steer clear of Brandweek. A trade mag targeted at ad companies, the March 3, 1997 issue did have something of extreme interest to exoticats and kittens. Vik's friend and Bar d'O regular Becky Ebenkamp contributes "Tikis Transcend Tacky," a look at the rise of tikis in advertising in 1996-97. Wonderfully illustrated with a variety of tiki ads, the article features quotes from such luminaries as Sven Kirsten, Otto Von Stroheim and even a mention of the Scamp Denny re-issues. A fabulous look at Madison Avenue going tiki crazy!
Brandweek Subscription Service Center PO Box 1973 Danbury CT 06813-9845
Pulse (available at Tower Records/Video)
The December 1996 issue of Tower's in store hype rag featured a small mention of Sukia, Tiny Tim's Christmas album, Esquivel's Christmas album and an amazing but too brief) Joseph Lanza penned essay on Serge Gainsbourg. Usually worthless Tower self promotion made marginally tolerable.
Grand Royal ($4.95 per issue)
From the Beastie Boys and their cultural assassin posse comes Grand Royal, a slick glossy tribute to what a lot of money can do for a fanzine. Issue 3 features a thick 32 page feature on the Moog and other analog keyboards. Interviews with Robert Moog, Wendy Carlos, Stereolab and Money Mark plus Top 10 Moog Records, moog cooking, Theremin and more! Well written and great graphics.
Grand Royal PO Box 26689 Los Angeles CA 90025 email:grmag@biggun.com
Esquire ($3.00 per issue/12 issues for $8.97)
In the April 1997 issue, Randall Rothenburg's "The Swank Life" caused quite a stir among NYC cocktail crews. Mr. Rothenburg had been talking with most everyone. He seemed sincere. Wanted to know what was REALLY behind the cocktail revival. And he was writing for Esquire...once a venerable part of any bachelor's pad; now sadly just another yuppie lifestyle rag. So, why did we expect Mr. Rothenburg or Esquire to get this crazy scene? Well, the answer is...we shouldn't have. What we got was yet another fluff piece on those crazy kids playing dress up and drinking martinis. Nary a mention of the long (and, in retrospect, wasted) evenings discussing the music and culture with Mr. Rothenburg at Bar d'O. A marginal attempt at a little history rushed quickly through to get back to the sexy trust fund kids. The only real information was contained in side bars not even written by Mr. Rothenburg (and, to protect his reputation, shall remain nameless). A lesson learned...never talk to the press. (But at least it wasn't Absolute Sound.)
Esquire PO Box 7144 Red Oak Iowa 51591-2144
The Absolute Sound ($7.95 per issue) Remember back in grade school..that one kid who couldn't play kick ball, so he'd steal the ball an ruin the game for everyone? Later, than kid would grow up, crash your nice quiet party, guzzle a box of cheap wine he brought and puke on your new hardwood floor. Always a drag and usually because he just doesn't get it. Vik's betting Michael J. Gaughn has been that person all his life. His article "Powerhouse:The Mixed Blessing of Bachelor Pad Music" in the July/August 1996 issue created nothing short of a lynch mob mentality in the cocktail set. His ramblings veer into a scholarly (and somewhat convoluted) discussion of pulp fiction, Tom Waits, the B-52's, John Zorn, and a talentless group of hacks known as Elysian Fields (to which he admits their affinity to the '80s downtown scene of NYC yet still compares them to ComEd). He is obviously not a fan of any form of this music, preferring the more dissonant sound of beatnik/free jazz/and experimental bop, but got his chance to crash the party and puke on our kidney shaped coffee table because his editor was just as clueless. Certainly the most hateful piece of press from the media frenzy of 1996.
The Absolute Sound Subscription Services Box 3000 Denville, NJ 07834-9963
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