Netpunk July 2000

Happy fucking July. Since you-know-what holiday falls within this month, I decided to start off the column with a bunch of links to anarchist sites on the web. As it happens, I'm not much of an anarchist, but there has been a lot of thought provoking and worthwhile material written on the subject, some of which is available online. And hey, it seems like a good way to celebrate the birth of Amerikkka.

We'll start off with the Anarchy Archives, at http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/ . This site includes sections on the history of anarchy, text from many anarchist pamphlets and tracts, and a section full of information (including bios, bibliographies, and more) on some of the major anarchist writers and politicos. It's a great jumping off point for delving into the subject.

Next up is Spunk Library (http://www.spunk.org/), which "collects and distributes literature in electronic format, with an emphasis on anarchism and related issues". This site is constantly updated, and along with the writing, you'll find addresses to anarchist organizations, resource guides, and more. This site is a great resource for anarchists, and a decent source for those merely interested in the ideas of anarchism.

Burn!, which is a project of students at the University of California, San Diego, is a web server dedicated to anarchist issues and the like. Also included is a section of Anarchist Art. The "L.A. Street Flyers" section has a bunch of classic punk flyers. Check it out! Burn is at http://burn.ucsd.edu/ .

A site that I think I've mentioned before, but is worth mentioning again, is the Anarchist Action Network at http://www.zpub.com/notes/aadl.html . The main point of this site is to fight the negative stereotypes of anarchists in the mainstream media. Of course, with the number of boneheads running around in the punk scene trashing stuff in the name of anarchy, they have an uphill battle.

The final site in our anarchy tour is the 1999 Anarchist Yellow pages (I don't know if they plan a 2000 edition) at http://www.tao.ca/lake/ayp.html . This is a large list of organizations, with addresses, phone numbers, websites, e-mail, and the like. Find out if there is an organization in your town.

One more political site to mention, and only because I found it interesting. The Pew Research center has created an online form where you answer some questions about your beliefs on government, god, etc and they pigeonhole you in one of 10 categories. See what slot you fit into, based on your answers. Actually, they got me pretty close. Check it out at http://www.people-press.org/psr/fit-survey.htm .

As you may have guessed from my website (diehippiedie.com), I am not exactly a fan of dirty, stinky hippies. Fortunately, there are others that feel the same. Someone mailed me the link to the Anti-Hippie Action League at http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~tft/hippie/ . This page is hilarious. They have Anti-hippie tactics, essays on hippie evils, and more. Beautiful, man… beautiful.

On the same subject, I originally mentioned the Bucket of Monkey website last June. It was decent, but not remarkable. Well, it has undergone a major upgrade, with a lot of multi-media content, the highlight of which is the "Shoot the Damn Hippy" game. In fact, they probably created this game just so I'd mention them again, but check it out anyway -- http://bucketofmonkey.tripod.com/ .

As long as I'm being negative, I might as well mention the website of the band Die Cheerleader Die. Actually, the site is really good. It's just their name that I dig as a negative statement. The standard stuff here, including pics, a bio, and a lyric and mp3 archive, of this all-female DC area based band. You can visit the site at http://members.aol.com/dichrdi/ . Check out the (extremely) lofi mp3 files on the lyrics page.

An interesting little personal zine called Libby Nerdass is online at http://www.pinkle.com/~libby/ . Kind of interesting from a web-design basis, though there isn't much else here. A few mp3 files, some pretty good band pictures, and some goofy artwork. Still, there is a charming quality about this little site that I dig.

If you're into listening to punk shit online, the Spirit of '77 archive at http://members.xoom.com/spiritof1977/ may be just what you need. My only problem with it is that it is hosted at xoom, whose servers are slower than molasses most of the time. Anyway, the music here is all in real audio format, and includes tunes from both classic punk and lesser-known bands from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, with a few cuts from the present thrown in. Worth a look and and a listen.

Well, that's about gonna go it for this month. Next month I'll be mentioning all of the bands sites you've sent me over the past few months and I've been ignoring, along with all the rest of the usual shit. Until then, you can e-mail me at netpunk@diehippiedie.com or visit http://www.diehippiedie.com/ . And, as always, write to me at PO Box 8059; Santa Cruz, CA 95061.