There’s much to be said for a printed copy of a zine, especially in the digital age. It’s a perpetual reminder of a world before, after, and without, the internet. In a mere fifteen years, the tool has subjugated most of the people in the developed world. Even in South Korea, kids are actually able to receive medical treatment for video game addiction- talk about plugged in! Americans ages 13-39 seem to need some kind of treatment for internet addiction (myself included; at least I can admit that I have a problem that also plagues the people I hate). There is a world, a REAL world, that consists of palpable things and not bits of data. The printed word is a testament to this, and the zine is a prime example of the printed word. This is one such zine that exemplifies the need for palpable existence for the printed word.
Sloppy Noise is an exclusively photo-based fanzine made in Lansing. There’s not much that needs to be said about the zine- it has crisp, clear pictures, the photos are themselves direct and portray activity at shows (be they onlookers, bands, or both), and it’s free. Beyond that, all one can do to experience Sloppy Noise properly is to go out and track down a copy, hold it with one’s own two hands, and read it with one’s own two eyes, without incurring eye damage by looking at a computer screen. The zine itself is top-notch quality-wise, well worth the time invested in tracking down and reading a copy. I can’t tell you how many fucking e-zines are out there; the ratio of e-zines to printed ones is just shocking. If you really want to unplug, get the word out through a natural network, and make or read a printed zine, for once. Stay analog, stay print, and stay off the fucking radar; let your efforts manifest into creating something REAL.
-Aunty Social
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