8-Track Mind #101

Zine Review: 8-Track Mind #101 - from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick


After a decade since the “final” issue of the classic zine “8-Track Mind”, Russ Forster has created issue #101 – not so much about 8-tracks but a meditation on zines vs. blogs. Electronic vs. paper communications and information sharing is one of the sweeping issues of our time, which is given little attention by the media or educational institutions. For decades the cultural clamor has been to mindlessly embrace all new technology – and in the space of just 20 years we have seen a serious change (possibly disruption) in the way people read, think, communicate and process information. The internet generation has spawned less dialogue, a bloated glut of disinformation, and people making snap judgments and opinions based on very little truth. Twitter seeks to limit people to 140 characters of expression. Libraries of rare and significant books are being replaced with computer screens. People don’t write letters any more. And we’re not getting any smarter, or wiser from any of it.
We’re sacrificing our souls (8-tracks) for convenience (mp3s) and sacrificing our physical connection with objects like records and tapes for bits & bytes in devices and downloads that make corporations like Apple billions in profit.
Ok, this is sounding more like an editorial than a review (it is). Zines like 8-Track Mind are the panacea for a blog-infested world. (You may be reading this on my blog or in my paper zine … truth is, my paper zine will be here long after the blog is deleted … also … how many of you are actually reading this blog, anyway?)
This issue is packed with 38 pages of writing taking a long look at the analog vs. digital culture. Contributors include Malcom Riviera, Peter Bergman, Kim Cooper, Dan Sutherland and many others. My heart soars when I read thought provoking zines like 8-Track Mind. I may not be more enlightened after pondering it all, but at least it affirms there is still much coolness to be found in the zine world … and that’s just fine with me.

One Minute Zine Reviews, Night Train to Mundo Fine, Signals

I have three zines to review here, all from our new friend and syndicated reviewer, DJ Fredrick.

One Minute Zine Reviews #1, 2011: The Revenge of Print!
16 pages, digest
Price, $2

It's exactly what the title says. 10 zine reviews plus 1 cassette review and 1 book review. The "One Minute" part is taken from his radio show of the same name. The reviews are in no way micro-brief, nor glib, as one might misinterpret. The reviews are about average in length compared to places like Zine World and Factsheet 5, and adequately describe content, etc, to the perspective reader. Neither overly opinionated nor wimpy, just good reporting.


Night Train to Mundo Fine
4 pages, half legal
Price, one stamp

This one I'm not sure what to make of, as it is very brief (one piece of paper, folded,) and my first exposure to it. This unit is pulled together around the general theme of manual typewriters, the ever changing forms of media, what we may be losing in the process, and a little angst thereabouts. While I can't say I agree with the angst or lamenting, I certainly share some nostalgia and some concern regarding the pros and cons of the digital age. The music of Fletcher Tucker, the film, "So Wrong They're Right,"(exploring the underworld of 8-track enthusiasts / eccentrics,) and a poem.


Signals #5, a Media and Radio Zine
28 pages, half legal
Price, $4

This is the meatiest of the three zines: introduction to shortwave pirate radio, glossary of shortwave terms, DJ's 8 eight favorite radio programs of the last 50 years, a beginners guide to buying portable shortwave receivers, my first pirate radio station, Ian Freeman & Liberty Radio Network, 8-Track Mind Magazine, the film "So Wrong They're Right", and eight noble truths. I have to say, this was very engaging. I got caught up in DJ's fascination, although I admit I skimmed over most of the technical stuff, I have a new appreciation for the whole subculture, which is kind of like the zinesters of the airwaves. I had no idea. Nice work.


End Notes: based solely on these three issues that all arrived together, (along with a nice handwritten introduction page,) I don't see the need for Night Train as a stand alone publication: it's only one piece of paper, it's on the same general topic as Signals, and there is overlapping content. As a consumer I'd like it more if it were all rolled up into one, even if that meant alternating themed issues.

Fredrick Moe
36 West Main St
Warner NH 03278
singinggrove[]conknet[]com
http://www.zinereviews.blogspot.com/
http://paperradiozine.blogspot.com/