Related Recs

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Alissa Bennett’s Zines

I don’t personally know Alissa Bennett, but I think she is a brilliant and funny person who has clearly lived a vibrant life. A friend of mine once said about himself, “I’m not a journalist; I just live this shit.” I think this mantra (with the tweak, “I’m just really interested in this shit”) applies to Bennett’s writing and various projects — from her burner IG @regret_counter and podcast, to the next-level zines she publishes. Those zines though, wow! The writing is so intimate, confident, and, well, perfectly imperfect (sorry, sorry…).I like that every other paragraph has a typo, that she will frequently and flagrantly use cap-locks, and that she essentially unpacks the indiscretions of fringe tabloid figures in order to exhume her own demons and make sense of her past and present. It’s got a very “warts and all” vibe, and I respect that she’s willing to air her own dirty laundry in service of establishing a spiritual connection to the subjects of her texts. That’s not to say she goes easy on them, but it all feels empathetic instead of exploitative or solipsistic. Rarely do I audibly laugh while reading, but Bennett’s work consistently makes me LOL. Generally, I prefer when people write the way they talk. Her essays feel like the coolest girl at the bar is whispering (and occasionally shouting) a very good story directly in your ear, but she also doesn’t really care whether you like the story or not. She already knows it’s good.Start with “Bad Behavior,” which is a series of essays/love letters to various semi-public figures who engaged in specific, scandalous acts. Then hit “Pretend You’re Actually Alive.” Most of the zines are sold out, but I’m sure she’d send you a PDF if you ask nicely. There’s also a new one on the way.

@zach-sokol

Sep 8, 2022

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complications with beatniks

ever since finishing my Diane diPrima book, i have come to the conclusion that most of the beatniks were not great people. i remember reading the subterraneans when i was a teenager and loving how impulsive and carefree Kerouac and his friends were. but when i think about it now, and remember excerpts from ”memoirs of a beatnik”, all i see is impulsive, destructive people, who don’t care about tearing other people down if it makes them a buck or their life a little more interesting. this interview with alene lee’s daughter was very eye opening, and has validated ALOT of my feelings about this group of eccentrics is this to say that all people who don’t go with the norm of society are bad? not at all. but so many elements towards this lifestyle can lend itself to just awful relationships and trauma. it’s nice to see some of them recognize that when they get older, but then there are people who still want to perpetrate the horrible things in the past and once again, profit off it. anyways this read fascinated me

@chiawase_

Jan 16, 2025

⭐

eve babitz

every time i read one of her essays i am inspired to buy a short red dress, take a little bit of acid and go dancing reading her work is like hanging out with your most fun and sexy friend

@pinkdslite

Jan 26, 2024

Top Recs from @coreydubrowa

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When your new book is finally available for preorder ❤️

Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here: https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/ The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s. Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha). For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️

@coreydubrowa

Mar 27, 2024

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The cure announcing their first album in 16 years by PUTTING up a single poster outside the pub in crawley UK where they played their first gig

“Songs Of a Lost World” coming to a goth listening station near you Nov 1 🖤 The fr FW Me Friday the 13th the world was looking for

@coreydubrowa

Sep 14, 2024

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Unwound

I will fail to explain just how much this band meant to me in the 90s. So I will borrow from AV Club who did a fine job of distilling it: “Unwound is the best band of the ’90s. Not just because of how prolific, consistent, and uncompromising it was, but because of how perfectly Unwound nested in a unique space between some of the most vital forms of music that decade: punk, post-rock, indie rock, post-hardcore, slow-core, and experimental noise. That jumble of subgenres doesn’t say much; in fact, it falls far short of what Unwound truly synthesized and stood for. Unwound stood for Unwound. But in a decade where most bands were either stridently earnest or stridently ironic, Unwound wasn’t stridently anything. It was only itself. In one sense Unwound was the quietest band of the ’90s, skulking around like a nerdy terror cell. In another sense it was the loudest, sculpting raw noise into contorted visions of inner turmoil and frustration.” R.I.P. Vern Rumsey. This is their finest song, from their finest album. I really can’t say enough about the sheer bloody minded genius of this group. 🖤

@coreydubrowa

Mar 23, 2024

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