Netpunk December 2001


As I write this, it has been a little less than a month since the terrorist attacks in New York.  It looks like things are calming down a bit (well, at least we haven't blown Afghanistan "off the map"), but who knows what will have happened in the world by the time that you actually have read this.

With that in mind, I wish to again mention Alternet.org (http://www.alternet.org/), where you'll find thoughtful essays on the events of September 11th, as well as news and information from a non-mainstream media perspective.

I'd also like to point you to Foreign Policy in Focus (http://www.Foreignpolicy-infocus.org/) , a progressive think tank that is dedicated to a citizen-based foreign policy agenda.  They have a lot of well-researched and informative articles that examine US foreign policy all over the world.  Of course, at the present, their most recent articles are on the Middle East.

Also, if you have a printer, go to http://www.hactivision.org/ and download their flyers dealing with America's response to the attacks.  They are meant to be printed and distributed, so get to it.

Also, the folks at Mr. Ridiculous have put up a page of their own writings, as well as links to other essays under the heading "Fuck War. Fuck Racism".  Indeed!  You'll find these thoughts at http://www.misterridiculous.com/911/ .

Those sites should give you plenty of political stuff to read for the next month, so now I'm gonna talk about punk rock.  The rest of the column is a mish-mash of sites that I've found or readers have sent me over the last couple of months.

For fans of the Wipers (and if you aren't, you should be) the Zeno Records website (http://www.zenorecords.com/) is choice.  While a bit light on text, there are some choice tidbits in the discography section where Greg Sage talks about "back in the day" and there are also some good photos of early Portland, Oregon punk and new wave bands.  In addition, you can order a 3 CD Wipers box set for 15 bucks plus shipping, and they also have a compilation of early PDX punk.

For more old school punk, check out the virtual mix tape at Deep Fry Bonanza.  Hell, for that matter, check out the entire site -- http://www.deepfrybonanza.com/ .  The mix tape is 180 minutes worth of Real Audio files of bands you've never heard of and/or can't get your hands on their music.  Deep Fry Bonanza also has a lot of photos and show reviews from the last couple of years, record reviews, a message board, and a bunch of other stuff.

While it looks like they may have abandoned it, Indiequirer (http://www.indiequirer.com/) is a laugh a minute.  Basically, this is the National Inquirer for the indie rock scene.  In other words, nothing you read is true, but it is often damn funny.

If you're looking for some online music, check out Total Punk Radio.   They are streaming lots of cool stuff, and are setup so that you should be able to listen without trouble over your 56k modem.  You can also request stuff from their library and have it play automatically, sorta like a jukebox.  Check it out at http://www.totalpunkradio.com/ .

The Punk Lyrics Archive is sorta a weird idea to me.  I mean, someone actually took the time to sit around typing up the lyrics to a few hundred songs.  (It's possible they did it with a scanner, but it doesn't really look like it).  Anyway, if you don't own the album, have lost the lyric sheet, or otherwise want to know what they hell the singer is going on about, this might be your place -- http://www.iol.ie/~darkduv/

Finally, I'll finish out this month with The Rawk, a site full of Garage Punk and RockNRoll news, opinions, interviews, etc.  You'll find everything here, from the Gaza Strippers and the New Bomb Turks to Paul Revere and the Raiders.  All of you rockers will want to head to http://www.therawk.com/ .

Allrighty then, that does it for me.  You can e-mail me at netpunk@diehippiedie.com or check out my columns at http://www.diehippiedie.com/netpunk/ .  I'm even keeping them updated!  Until next time -- unless we're all dead thanks to GW's foreign policy -- I'm outta here.