Netpunk March 2003

I have a bit of a mishmash this time around, with sites that struck me as interesting or worthwhile in the last month or so, and some stuff that I've been meaning to get to, but just haven't found the chance.  Remember to send your worthwhile site suggestions to me at the address down at the bottom of this column.

I ran across a super cool old school site in the form of Ruth Parson's p0ps (spelled with a zero).  The punk rock section of p0ps includes photos and stories from San Francisco bands circa '79 and '80.  There are some great photos here, including ones from Eastern Front.  The story section includes remembrances of the early 80s in SF and New York.  Check out p0ps at http://www.p0ps.com/ .

Speaking of late 70s and early 80s stuff, I happened upon a site about Palmolive from the Slits / Raincoats.  This has probably been online for quite some time, but I just ran across it and found it very interesting.  When the article was written (in 1995) Palmolive was living in Massachusetts, going to church, and drumming in a religious rock band.  Her band even did a cover of the Slit's 'FM', but with the lyrics changed to glorify Jesus.  Anyway, it is a pretty interesting read.  She doesn't seem ashamed of her past, but it just isn't where she's at anymore.  Take a look at http://www.nstop.com/paloma/ .

Speaking of old school women in punk rock, there's a mailing list available (via Topica) called Typical Girls that is all about late 70s and early 80s punk rock women.  The quantity of mail on the list isn't overwhelming, and you can always unsubscribe if it gets that way.  To sign up, go to the Topica page at http://www.topica.com/lists/typicalgirls and follow the instructions.

As long as I'm in oldies mode...  remember the band Toxic Reasons?  (If you don't remember them, check out http://www.angelfire.com/oh/liveperformances/ToxicReasons.html and seek out their Independence LP, at any cost).  Anyway, Toxic Reasons called it quits a few years ago, but it seems that Bruce Stuckey is still rocking in a new band, The Giggies.  You can download their music, check out some photos, etc at http://www.thegiggies.20m.com/ .

Though it has way too many hippie leanings for me to be completely comfortable with it, the Love Underground Visionary Revolution (LUVER) is one of the most radical and interesting things going on the net.  Based out of performance artist Frank Moore's San Francisco pad, LUVER has something for everyone, including weekly airings of old MRR radio shows.  Worth visiting to look at a schedule to figure out when you want to tune in.  You'll find LUVER at http://www.eroplay.com/luver/ .

Another pretty interesting site, though somewhat sparse on content, is Sex and Guts Magazine online at http://www.sexandgutsmagazine.com/ .  Edited by Gene Gregorits and Lydia Lunch, Sex and Guts is a print magazine, but they include quite a bit of content on the website.  Make sure to check out Lydia's poem / rant against GW Bush's war (called WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST) while you are there.  

The Inner Swine (http://www.innerswine.com/) is another interesting read.  Their slogan, "Everyone's an asshole, especially us", gives you a pretty good idea what you're in for before you start reading.  While it is actually a paper zine, they put their past issues online in PDF format for downloading and reading.  For the most part, The Inner Swine is the ranting of one guy, Jeff Somers of Hoboken.

I might as well turn you onto this site before someone else does.  I'm sure that it will become popular pretty damn quick.  It's the PowerGoth Girls, a spoof cartoon featuring little goth superheroes.  They have a 5 minute cartoon you can download, as well as info about goth bands, etc.  Find them at http://www.powergothgirls.com/ .

Another great use of the net is allowing punks in the same area to network, get together, find out about shows, etc.  That's why I'm on the Santa Cruz Indie list (because there isn't a punk one) and the Northern California Punk List.  It keeps me up to date with what is happening, hooks me up with folks that I'd otherwise never meet, etc.  If you're interested in joining the Santa Cruz Indie list, email me and I'll tell you how.  If you want to join the Northern California Punk List, point your browser at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/northern_california_punklist/ .

Speaking of regional stuff, those of you that live in the Appalachians and are into punk should visit Appalcore at http://www.appalcore.org/ .  They seem to have quite the thriving community, with a couple hundred members, message boards, etc.  Take a look.

Another interesting community, of sorts, is DeadJournal (http://www.deadjournal.com/).  While this is a blog site, like LiveJournal, the folks at DeadJournal are WAY more depressed.  In addition, you can only get a DeadJournal by befriending a current journal holder and getting them to give you one of their (limited) sponsorships.  This is a good idea, as it means that most of the journals are more active that what you'll find at other blog sites.

One more community that those of you who are artistically minded might want to take a look at is DeviantArt (http://www.deviantart.com/).  DeviantArt gives you a place to upload and show your artwork, whether it be digital, drawings, photography, or whatever you want that fits within the digital medium.  You'll find everything from cartoons to erotica at DeviantArt.

Okay, so that is gonna wrap things up for this month.  Send submissions for stuff you think I should mention here to netpunk@diehippiedie.com, and visit all of my past, present, and future columns in the Netpunk section at the diehippiedie.com website.  I'm outta here.