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Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Slash Vol.1 Number 1 - Vol.3 Number 5 (complete run)
The Bible of L.A./Westcoast punk. "In its brief run, Slash defined the punk subculture in Los Angeles and beyond with the comic strip Jimbo by Gary Panter and photographs by Melanie Nissen, the cofounding publisher and longtime photo editor. Writing by Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Chris D., Pleasant Gehman and Claude "Kickboy Face" Bessy explored reggae, blues and rockabilly in addition to punk and new wave. Slash diagnosed the nascent punk scene's challenge to the music industry and established its own oppositional voice in the editorial of its very first issue, staking a position against disco, Elvis and concept albums, and declaring: "Enough is enough, partner! About time we squeezed the pus out and sent the filthy rich old farts of rock 'n' roll to retirement homes in Florida where they belong." An incredibly well put together, and very well art directed newspaper by people who really were fans, back in a time when the wider world was completely disinterested in what they were doing. From hosting the first gig of The Screamers to covering Black Flag, The Ramones, The Cramps, The Damned, Fear, The Germs, Nervous Gender and everybody else making a racket in L.A. Really special.
New York Rocker 1-10 - February 1976-December 1977
The early downtown NY punk/rock scene in all it's glory. From a map of where everybody lives to hundereds of photographs of who was who at CBGB's, Max's and the like to profiles of The Ramones, Patti Smith, New York Dolls, Television, Richard Hell, The Runaways, Iggy, Blondie, Cherry Vanilla, Mink DeVille, Mapplethorpe, John Cale and english people (Pistols, Clash etc.) In many cases NY rocker was the first on the scene, when it was a much smaller affair. Texts and photography are phenomenal, and comprise one of the most complete records of underground rock and the downtown scene during the period.
Madrid Me Mata 1-16 (complete run)
"It's difficult to speak of La movida and explain it to those who didn't live those years. We weren't a generation; we weren't an artistic movement; we weren't a group with a concrete ideology. We were simply a bunch of people that coincided in one of the most explosive moments in the country." - Pedro Almodavar. Madrid me Mata (Madrid Kills Me) looks very much to be the i-D of Spain, contributing to a common identity in youth culture during the post Franco years, and chronicling the goings on at the epicentre of the Movida Madrilena. Contributions from Almadovar, Alberto Garcia Alix, Miguel Trillo. Streetstyle, nightclubs, fashion, cinema, daily life.
LiLiPUT Press Pack
liLiPUT press pack put out by Rough Trade in 1980, covers the Kleenex years and forthcoming material. Images by Peter Fischli and others.
Neil Anderson - The Poser Photozine (complete run)
Very special, and scarce zine started in 1979 by Anderson, which John Peel described at the time as 'worth getting hold of'. Anderson was a photographer rather than a journalist, which makes the poser more of a photographic document than a fanzine. Though it is a very DIY publication the layout, printing and photography is extremely high quality, and makes for a distinct visual record of what was a fertile music scene in London at the time. Covering the Mo-Dettes, Iggy Poop, The Ruts, The Underground sound of Chippenham, The Slits, Throbbing Gristle, Penetration, The Clash, Siouxie and so on. The images are interspersed with short reviews of the gigs attended, and tips on gig photography. As a photographer Anderson seems more interested in composition, and bands that look visually striking, though many of the groups themselves are now considered essential in the punk and new wave canon.
Donna Santisi - Ask The Angels - 1978
Santisi's yearbook of the L.A. punk and new wave scene. As a regular gig goer and later friend of some of the artists who appear in the book, Santisi captured the L.A. rock scene from a very individual viewpoint, and solely for her own pleasure. It's more a family album than rock documentary, and was printed by her friend Marcy Blaustein to be sold locally- "I saw it as a way to document what was going on in the LA scene. I felt it was important for people to know about these incredible bands and the impact they were having. Initially we put the book out because of our interest. We didn't know if or how much reception there might be on the part of others. It was solely about the project and what it meant to us more than any ideas of grandeur." On the pages are Patti Smith, The Zeros, Ramones, The Runaways, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, John Cale and a host of local faces with Hellin Killer and Trudie on the cover.
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Art RIte Special (no.13) by Alan Vega (suicide)
"We dedicate this issue to the average American in search of excitement. These images, distilled from the ambient culture, are the touchstones of a new sensibility, icons of the dissipations and strengths of the modern spirit. Let the way of life idealized in the pages by the To Lose lo Track of the punk scene bring into your home the romance of the underculture - horse racing, white-trash smut, greasy rock 'n' roll, muscles, motorcycles and the end of civilization." Collaged images of Iggy Pop, Elvis, Willy Mink DeVille and others. A somewhat violent tribute to popular culture.
Bettie Visits CBGB's
The Story of Bettie visits starts in 1976- when the dutch born Ringma arrived in New York from Washington where she had studied art therapy. Outside her new apartment on The Bowery- Ringma noticed a group of people on the opposite side of the street, this turned out of course to be the legendary CBGB's. Rather drunk one evening Ringma asked Pattie Smith to pose for a photograph with her, which soon became a series, and here are included photographs of Debbie Harry (x2), The Erasers, The Screamers, The Voidoids, The Dictators, The Shirts, Tina Weymouth, Willy de Ville, John Cale, The Dead Boys, The Cramps, The Zippers, Joan Jett, The Ramones ,Rat scabies out of The Damned and of course that Patti Smith. The folio also includes photographs of the exteriors of both CBGB's and Max's Kansas City and Bettie either being arrested or posing with the police. Many of the images with the bands were taken before they became known to a wider audience, and CBGB's was, according to Ringma- "where future rock legends were just as likely to be hanging out and drinking by the pinball machine as performing on stage."
Friday, 25 November 2016
Saturday, 19 November 2016
Gus Van Sant / 108 Portraits
A beautiful production. "he film director's debut collection of portrait-photographs. Every subject is photographed in exactly the same way: A frontal pose, taken at a medium-shot angle, with minimal lighting, thereby bringing out both the chiaroscuro effect of light and shadow and the expressiveness of his subjects' faces and bodies. Gus Van Sant began taking photographs for the auditions of "Drugstore Cowboy" and "My Own Private Idaho". The casual picture-taking quickly developed into a full-fledged project, encompassing a Who's Who of the 20th century and capturing the exuberance and hedonism of a decade." Robert Altman, Traci Lords, William S. Burroughs, David Byrne, Annie Leibovitz, Dennis Hopper, Ken Kesey, Keanu Reeves, Flea, Kevin and Matt Dillon, Allen Ginsberg, River Phoenix, Heather Graham, Anthony Keidis, Kelly Lynch, David Bowie, Udo Kier, Francis Ford, Roman and Sofia Coppola, Tod Haynes, John Waters, Patti D'Arbanville, Peter Boyle, Steve Buscemi, Faye Dunaway and more!
Friday, 18 November 2016
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