Rag Mag 11

Hey punks, what a rainy and cold week here in the Northeast. Hope everyone is hanging in there with all the chaos. Keep sending in flyers, comics, art, reviews, and columns. This week we have a new “Splinters” from Leela Corman, Wasteland Chick reviews Claudia Kishi by The Linda Lindas, art by Lindsay, Film Freak volume 3 with Coco A Go-Go, and Creature’s Double Feature.

Work from “Gilded Desires” by Alex Perkins and Michelle Peterson - Photo By Creature

Drawings by Lindsay

Yr ol’ pal Creature has been having a busy week and ended up working all weekend. I took the chance on Sunday to go to the Speed Shop to see the latest exhibit “Gilded Desires” featuring work by Alex Perkins and Michelle Peterson. I love the placement of the ceramics and flowers in the window. Really feels so American to me, the beauty of people trying to grow and survive in this land of industrial decay and neglect.

More work from Gilded Desires - Photo by Creature

As I was waiting for my coffee, I was listening to some of the regulars chat and checking out the exhibit. Peter put on the absolutely gorgeous Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Such serene, meditative music felt perfect for the ceramics and textile works in the gallery. Check out the link below if you haven’t heard it. This record definitely helped get me through the pandemic.

For a total opposite vibe, from outta nowhere I heard someone say “that pointers sisters song I was telling you about, it’s wang dang doodle. just a great song.” Damn, totally opposite of the present vibe, but I hadn’t heard the Pointers Sister version of that Willie Dixon blues classic in a long time. What can I say, this version does go pretty hard.

Records of the week. First up, Zadkiel - s/t LP reissue that I picked up from General Speech’s distro this week. Great raw proto-thrash metal. I’m not super into metal, my tastes mainly lie in the rawer Hellhammer/Celtic Frost/Venom/Bathory vein, but this is right up my alley. Despite some obvious rips (Motorhead anyone?) this is fucking sick! Suitably raw studio and blown out live recordings on this compilation including the classic Hell’s Bomber ep. Can’t stop spinning this one!

Up next, some Australian powerpop/punk from Romero with their album Turn It On! Super catchy, great guitar leads and a hell of a singer. Supposedly the singer was found by other band members singing in a Blues Brothers cover band in some bar, which I am glad they rescued her from. Blues Brothers is the worst ( it sucks, fight me - ed.). Lotta bangers on this album. I think Petals is my favorite on this one right now.

Soul song of the week is Hey Lonely by Helen Jones. Another obscure singer with just a few credits that I can find. I love how this one keeps escalating and pushing more and more. That final break is so fucking good.

Splinters by Leela Corman

Wasteland Chick

Yeah, I can’t stop watching it! It’s too good! Salutations, fellow Wasteland Chicks. Welcome back. Start your Tesla counters and prepare yourself for references you’ll be confused and amused by. Today seems like a day of hyperfixations, as not only am I now obsessively watching Daria, I can’t stop reading the original Baby-Sitters Club books, and most of them aren’t even that good! It’s just fun to read. Speaking of the BSC, today’s song is “Claudia Kishi” by Linda-Linda's, and for those who don’t know, Claudia Kishi is the vice-president of the BSC, and would definitely make a better VP than J.D. Vance. She’s also my favorite baby-sitter in the series, and if you’ve ever heard the song, you’ll know why. Let’s start with the melody and rhythm, which I give a 9 out of ten. They’re perfectly vibe-able and cool, providing an upbeat and pop-punk tune to the song, a style which this Wasteland Chick greatly enjoys. Now the lyrics: These lyrics RULE! They perfectly encapsulate Claudia’s entire character, from her funky and fun style to her artistic side and love of mystery. They literally say what Claudia’s deal is, giving it a punk, feminist feel, as well as a deep passion for someone’s favorite character. My favorite lyric from this song is the lyric “Hollowed out books to hide her treats, they stay in time, she goes off beat”, which perfectly says Claudia’s personality, which is the exact reason why she’s this Wasteland Chick’s favorite character. I kind of identify with her, as she is a liberating, funky, sassy, junk-food loving, artistic, stylish girl. Compared to my personality as a tween who likes liberation, feminism, art, weird style, and junk-food, I think we could be good friends. For the overall review, I give this song a ten out of ten, the melody and rhythm are vibe-able and perfectly pop-punk, and the lyrics perfectly say and show who Claudia Kishi is. It’s nice to find simple pleasures such as a song about your favorite BSC character, despite the ever-maddening world we live in. Out here everything hurts, but pick up what’s good in life and run, fellow Wasteland Chicks. See you in the next issue if I’m not obsessively watching Daria or reading Claudia Kishi-focused Baby-Sitters Club books. Bye!

Sincerely, WASTELAND CHICK (This song’s gonna be in my head for weeks)

What's up Rag mag , lifes a DRAG am I right ? This week I actually have a theme. If theres one thing I love its a good fucking wig. Going through all my photos I grabbed some pics of some of my favorite drag performers . I love drag and think its such an amazing art form with so much potential to move people, whether its laughing, crying or just being outrageous. So get out and support your local drag community!!! And bring those dollar bills! — xxx Coco

Hole , Crystal Ballroom , Somerville, MA , 2024 , 35mm

If you haven’t been to HOLE , I urge you to go. One of the most fun nights you can go to. It's a big queer dance party with out of this world , drag and video performances . Really great energy in the crowd, my face hurt from smiling so much. This particular one I was shooting video for them , but I also brought my 35mm camera to get some shots in between acts. The theme for this one I believe was Television. This was at the end of the show when all the performers all gathered on stage. I couldn’t fit everyone in the frame , but also my film got fucked up somehow. Even though half is blurry I really like how much joy is crammed into this picture. GO TO HOLE.

Sherman , Myrtle , East Providence , RI , 2023 , 35mm

This is from the first Mad Monster Party I threw at Myrtle. I think this was Sherman’s first act they did to kick off the night. I love how you can see all the different textures in their outfit. Sherman’s costume never ceases to amaze me. So much talent!!

Toby’s last show , Pieces Bar , New York , NY , 2011, 35 mm

I love black and white but sometimes I wish this was in color so I could see the beautiful chaos that is the Pieces decorations. From left to right we got Vodka Stinger , Tallulah Debayous and Michael Musto . Vodka and Tallulah used to host a monthly show called “ Too Ugly for TV” which was a mix of them talking shit , songs, weird videos and then always some type of game Tallulah would somehow convince me to participate in ( I once got roped into twister and won toilet paper as a prize which was actually pretty cool) . Tallulah aka Miss Toby was moving away so it was her last Pieces show so we all came out in full force to support . Michael Musto joined them on stage and I feel like he was reading something from a Susan Summers book but maybe that was from another time? I love this photo because of Talluha’s pose and because I can hearrrrrr her. Miss Toby is hands down one of my favorite storytellers. Some of my favorite New York memories are me , Casey and Toby just cracking each other up late into the night.

Casey in my kitchen , Jamaica Plain, MA , 2005 , 35mm

Whatever we were doing in this picture I’m sure it was stupid ha. If you’re a regular Rag Mag reader you’ve definitely seen Casey in this column before. I always tell him he’s my forever muse but its true. We were living across the street from each other at this time and it felt like an old sitcom where people are just popping in and out of each other's apartments. We’d come up with video ideas and have to shoot immediately. I remember making so many videos in this apartment and it be so fucking hot and we’d be baking in our wigs. I painted the kitchen that mint green to make it feel more like “ my place” but I always loved how it popped with my roomates poster and Casey’s pink shirt. I love this picture because I know whatever he’s saying I’m definitely laughing on the other end.

That’s it for Rag Mag this week punks. Check out the events below and hope to see you there.