Rag Mag 28

What's up rag mag? Creature here writing this on the train to NYC on my way to the WFMU record fair. What a couple of weeks. It feels almost celebratory going to the city right after Mamdani won the mayoral race. This really does feel like people are starting to have enough. Seeing anyone aligned with socialist policies winning a major election is just needed. Tell them we've had enough. And congrats to the sub thrower for prevailing against the ridiculous charges and for the endless zingers in the court transcripts ("could smell the onions and mustard" ). They always whitewash these war criminals, but the news cycle on Dick Cheney is mind-blowing. Rest in Piss. The wins just keep on coming.

Have a great week everyone and let's dive right into brand new columns from Wasteland Chick, Splinters by Leela Corman, Film Freak with Coco A Go-Go, and Creature's Double Feature.

Hit us up at ragmagclub @ proton.me with flyers, art, feedback, column ideas, or just to say hi. We archived columns and music reviews on the new site (rag-mag.ghost.io), so check it out.

Whats Up Freaks?

I hope everyone out there is having a good fall. I just played out in western mass last night with the lipsticks , so this is a short film freak today. In this addition we’re bouncing a little all over the place much like my brain right now. Hope everyone can get outside and see how beautiful the leaves look. Stay cool. - Coco

Casey at Mass Art, Boston, MA, 2003/4 , 35mm

This was taken either 2003 / 2004 in the fall in front of Mass Art on Huntington Ave. This little courtyard was where everyone chain smoked and locked up their bikes. Mass Art doesn’t really have a campus except for an exaggerate sidewalk so this is where we’d congregate between classes. The smell of clove cigarettes was heavy in the air , gotta breathe in that angst am I right? 

Salty and Scram , Halloween show , 2017? Cambridge, Fuji Instamax wide

I can’t remember what year this was but I remember the show was so packed all the street queens got stuck outside and we had to keep telling the door guy he had to let us in because we were playing next. The queens were “ the Motorways” motorhead / runaways and we all were clad in denim and leather with moles on our faces. Salty sculpted a crazy chest burster pictured above. I love this photo cause it was such a fun night and I caught them both mid laughing or yelling at me ha.

Cigarette Camp, Obriens, Allston, MA , 2025 , 35mm

This was from this summer when my buds in Cigarette Camp were putting out a 7inch. So many people were taking flash photos I didn’t want to add to the mayhem so I just snapped this. I use a small point and shoot so sometimes its really hard to see the viewfinder in the dark, but sometimes it lends me to have weirdly framed pics like this which I actually like. Frank looks serious , jeff is looking away and well just imagine you can see Jamie. Also go listen to Cigarette Camp already!

Sarah on drums, Providence, RI, 2025, 35mm

This photo reminds me of something you might find stuck in a record sleeve or in a book from the library. Its of my friend Sarah playing drums in her first band - she sounded so good and I love her voice! I like how the colors make her look like a golden goddess.

A bunch of my friends started a new band “ Tigers on Vaseline.” its really cool so keep your eyes peeled for their next show. This is from their first show at “ Lost Bag” which was this really wonderful DIY space.

Splinters by Leela Corman

I've loved WFMU radio since my friend Scot hipped me to The Best Show with Tom Scharpling (not to mention indie rock darling and funniest man alive Jon Wurster) in the early 2000s and was around the time I started going to the WFMU record fair. While it isn't at the heights it once was, this annual trip is always a highlight of the year for me where i get to see lots of dear friends and oddball acquaintances from going to these things for 20 years. Always worth the trip and I always come away with something if never find anywhere else (hello unreleased Edward Colver early 80s photo print of Flipper from the legendary Mike Vague).

Anyway, more on that in a future issue. I finally finished reading the expanded edition of Clinton Walker's Stranded, Australian Independent Music, 1976-1992 originally published in 1996. A love letter to a scene he was a part of and memoir of his own writing and music and drug use. The writing is a little self indulgent, but he can spin a good tale and there are lots of great stories within. If you love Australian punk and underground music, this book is a great resource. Tons of info and stories on the saints, scientists, birthday party, go-betweens, hard-ons, laughing clowns, radio birdman and more. Since this is more of a personal book than a true history, it is focused more on the author's taste, which is more in line with bands like the moodists and tex perkins than victims or xl capris (ed. note Creature thinks all this shit rules). Even with that, and way too many stories that are just old punks bitching about not getting paid/not charting or whatever and tales of heroin abuse by seemingly every band, I enjoyed the book, if my interest started waning about halfway through with the repetitive nature of his assessment of bands.

The only real beef I have with the book is the complete dismissal of spiky punk and hardcore shit, and a one paragraph mention of Aberrant Records and the almighty feedtime as a sidenote of bands that existed when he was losing interest in punk and not as popular as some other label. What a shame.

Look at these blokes, they play the music you wanna hear. Primitive, raw, and loud. Feedtime is the fucking best.

Records of the week

First up this week is two brand new No Fucker 45s. S/T and Annihilate Your Desperation have 4 songs on each and the packaging looks great. Onto the tunes, it's the dbeat raw punk madness expected and it sounds fucking great blasting loud. They even went so far this time as to credit discharge with the music! No online for new records, so just watch this live discharge video instead. It's what no fucker probably did.

Next up is a nice quality reissue of the Canadian punk classic Screaming Fist by the Viletones on Artifix records. Probably more prudent to buy the LP reissue from a few years ago on the same label with these tracks and more, but this just sounds so good on 45. Legendary band and nice to have an affordable way to hear it as intended. Check it out.

Soul song of the day

My buddy Lance sold me this semi-obscure r&b/soul single out of Los Angeles on the Titan record label by Eddie Jones with a great tune called My Friend. I couldn't find out much info about this artist or record and couldn't find it anywhere online. Check out the video below. A real solid soulful r&b tune with a nice arrangement and a good voice.

Wasteland Chick

Whoops! Committed a murder again! Happens all the time. Salutations, fellow Wasteland Chicks. Welcome back to Heathers reference- I MEAN a different song this time! WOW! Anyway, today we’ll be reviewing the song “Ice Water” by one of my favorite multi-media artists Rebecca Sugar. Let’s tackle with a ten pound metal door the rhythm and melody, which I give a 9 out of ten. I like the soft violin graybles (is that a word?) throughout the overall song, and I adore the upbeat piano tunes throughout as well. It’s just beautiful and so happy at the same time. The song really just embodies the feeling of extreme joy, like you’re literally walking on sunshine, as Phillip Fry would say. Next, let’s take on the lyrics, which I give a ten out of ten! I love how the lyrics perfectly describe both finding your people, feeling happy in your creativity, and just purely feeling the essence of hope. The chorus of “I don’t care what happens to me, I just want art and music and you,” is an amazing representation of that walking on sunshine feeling. Perfect. Overall review time!: I give this song a ten out of ten. The rhythm and melody are sunshine-y, beautiful, and almost woeful at the ending. The lyrics are upbeat, and perfectly walking on sunshine. This song never fails to put a smile on my face and lift my spirits like the art angels in the music video. If you want to freeze your brain, use this song, fellow Wasteland Chicks. Bye!

Sincerely, Wasteland Chick 🦝

That's it for this week Rag Mag. Here's some flyers and keep sending stuff in (ragmagclub @ proton.me)