Rag Mag 30
What's up rag mag? We here at rag mag headquarters have been slammed with shows, art openings, holiday markets, and work. Balls to the wall as coco likes to say, haha. Keeping the intro short and sweet, just wanted to announce that Rag Mag is throwing an anniversary party at Myrtle in East Providence on January 3, 2026 with Tigers on Vaseline, Whyte Lipstick and Gossip Collar. It's going to be a fundraiser for the Rhode island food bank, so bring some donations. We will have a physical zine, records, posters, and maybe even some mix tapes to give away for a cash or food donation. More info and a flyer in the next issue. Up this week, a new painting inspired by Splinters by Leela Corman, and Creature's Double Feature. Also psyched to see my buds in Intensive Care Unit are headed back to the Newscafe on the 14th, ready for some sick hardcore.
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.
Splinters by Leela Corman
The world is insane, so we gotta support our community and I was stoked to be able to get out to a few events in the past couple weeks. First up, I made it out in time to the Lilypad in Cambridge, MA to catch the Whyte Lipstick record release with Puke Pistols and Lithophones. Fun, late night show (10pm start and I am getting old) for Whyte Lipstick's new album Deadbeat tape release. Puke Pistols is a newer band featuring Andy MacBain from tunnel of love, Hilken Mancini from fuzzy, and Simon Simard from pledge pins/adult learners. Opened the night strong by playing their best song as the sound check and then again later in the set, starting a nice trend for the evening. Classic 70s punk/ hard rock vibes and they played a killer set. Whyte Lipstick (featuring Coco from electric street queens and Mary and Francesca from Loretta (who had a really good single on saccharine tryst a couple years back) went on next and after some technical difficulties, killed it. Moody, leather jacket punk with all three members singing. Continuing the trend, Hilken made them play my baby's a deadbeat twice, cuz the song is too fucking good. Lithophones featured a couple tampoffs and a guy from Tokyo electron/the wongs. They played last and played a high energy garage punk set and always blown away at how good Joe is at drumming for this music. Super fun and loved watching the singer/guitarists daughter stand up front rocking out to her dads band. Wholesome and punk, haha.
Lithophones Puke Pistols Whyte Lipstick
Of course I picked up a copy of the Whyte Lipstick album, and have been jamming it all week. 10 song album on a bubblegum pink tape. I need to spend some time with this one this has a few moodier numbers than I've picked up on seeing them live and I'm digging vibe. Also, as a 45s guy, please have an enterprising label put out (My Baby's a) Deadbeat b/w Girl Go Home so I can spin these two bangers the next time I DJ.
Since Whyte Lipstick made me pull out my tape player, I've been listening to tapes all week (and let's be honest, still jamming that new radioactivity lp). Before we get to records of the week, I wanted to shout out that Black Editions label (who are putting out fantastic -(if maybe a little over the top in packaging/price)- reissues of the legendary PSF records) just announced their next line up and it is six albums from the mythical (at least to me) La Musica tape label, run by Asahito Nanjo from high rise. I am beyond excited and this includes the absolutely legendary Rotting Telepathies Rotting Tapes 2 tape. Fuck. They've pulled off great sounding reissues from these tape recording before, including a rare tape of home recorded demos by a Japanese band Shizuka called No. 4. Shizuka was an amazing dollmaker and she led the band along with Jun Kosugi and her husband, Maki Miura, who happened to also play in bands fushitsusha, les rallizes denudes, ohkami no jikan, among others. Unlike their usual haunting ,sad folky music mixed with rallizes/fushitsusha butting heads with fuzzed out guitar noise, this is just skeletal guitar, piano, and the occasional sound of someone coming home and setting their keys down or coughing. This isn't where I'd start with shizuka, but once you are in the cult it is amazing to hear the power of her voice in the rawest form.
I also made it out to the opening of Fervere at World's Fair Gallery in Providence (right next to the Columbus Theater). The show features ceramics by Anywho studio as well as quilts by Jacob Berendes. The opening was packed, so I didn't get a great look at the ceramics, so apologies no pictures. Will hope to rectify that with another visit later this month. Jacob's quilts are a favorite of mine and I love the yellow/gold colored one so much. Check it out as the exhibit is up all month.
Rag Mag friend and contributor Dan Wars has been booking a monthly horror movie night at Myrtle in East Providence and this month is showing Gremlins on December 16th. The highlight of these is always the sizzle reel or trailers Dan puts together. Plus if you show up you usually get a free button inspired by the movie. Check out the trailer for gremlins here, so sick.
Records of the Week
First up for records of the week is a tape demo by Swedish band Shitcontrol - hungriga, frusna, och lamslagna. 8 song tape, and it has a suitably blasted out 4 track recording. Raw punk like we love here at Creature's house, with a definite Skitslickers obsession. Raw punk fucking rules. Always need more tapes like this in my life.
Next up is a reissue of the 2018 demo by Massachusetts' Proglottid - bodies changed to dust. I never caught this band live, but I wish I did. Blown out, noisy raw punk with shredding guitar and vocals that just sound like even more layers of distortion. For the hog punks in your life. Also, I can never resist a swankys inspired noise cat. Hog punks never die!
Soul Song of the Day
Soul song of the day is a Detroit classic version of Chains of Love by J.J. Barnes. If you remember when The Dirtbombs Ultraglide in Black ruled the turntables in garage punk households in the early 2000s, this is definitely the version that Mick Collins was inspired by. So fucking killer.
That's it for this week Rag Mag. Here's some flyers and keep sending stuff in (ragmagclub@proton.me)
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