When Jay Reatard was alive, he got called anything from “possessed” to “total dick.”

Looking back on his recorded legacy with the ease awarded by hindsight, I see that he was consumed by his own aesthetic: a wild man with a vision. …more

I like to play the part of the pessimist from time to time, but it’s all a façade – I’m a total believer.  I genuinely think things can somehow get better and I’m constantly inspired by the people I know, and the work they do. …more

I’m not sure if 2009′s quality crop of zines was a reaction to the sad state of print media, but it would hardly surprise me if that was indeed the case.  Through casual observation, a thumb-through of the Microcosm Publishing catalog, a walk through stores like Quimby’s in Chicago, or Spoonbill & Sugartown in Brooklyn, you see that a culture thought to be dead or dying is thriving.

If you need proof that 2009 was a better-than-average year for DIY publishing, look no further than Aaron Cometbus, who published two issues of the influential zine that bares his punk rock surname this year. …more

Gawker’s proclamation of the “Heeb Magazine Deathwatch” got me thinking again about “radical Jewish culture”, but this time in terms of it’s short life, possible death, and whether the tag really means anything other than getting donors to contribute to off-kilter non-profits.

Of course, I find that there have been valiant attempts to get the old gears of Jewish thought turning again. …more

Charles Manson is a bad man. I’ve never kidded myself to that fact, and I don’t glamorize his crimes or the crimes of his “family” one bit. …more