Rag Mag 48
What's up rag mag? Creature is in vacation mode this week, so hope you are enjoying this summer. Wifi ain't so hot at the cabin so apologies to anything missed from our contributors. This week we have Medium Regular with Dottie, Stage Dive with Velvet Deluxxx, Wasteland Chick, and Creature's Double Feature.
Soundtrack to this week's issue: Tapes tapes tapes for the car and the cabin. Mix of newish punk tapes and a bunch of old mix tapes I had no clue what is on from circa 2004-2006ish. Mix tapes fucking rule.
Hit us up at ragmagclub@proton.me with flyers, art, feedback, column idea, or just to say hi and let's talk about PUNK!
Hey how are ya my cosmic freaks ? Its sizzling out and not just cause of global warming, its also LEO SEASON.
The other day I was taking a dip in my favorite public pool and my goggles were extra clear. Normally I'm dodging leaves and a band aid or two but something caught my eye. I swam closer to the bottom of the pool and low and behold I found six dollar bills!!! I took it as a sign from the cosmos so I semi dried off the bills and got myself a medium regular. What better way to splash into leo season then literally finding a fortune in the pool ??
Things have been getting me down , but this turned my day around . Not everything is gonna end up bad ya know? Yeah my coworker keeps telling me he got ring worm from that pool , but I found six bucks, things have potential to change for the better. Or thats how I'm looking at it.
Like I said its leo season baby. Being a leo myself I got my sunglasses on , hair down and I'm friggin feelin it hun . Its the walking down the street , ignoring phone calls , not caring my engine lights on kinda attitude right now. And ya know what? THATS OK. Us leo's are known to be a firery bunch and who doesn't like a little spice ? Honestly some people don't , I saw a coworker break a sweat eating a dorrito once - hun are you okay?) ANYWAYS sometimes a little flair and bright eye shadow go along way. So if you're a leo enjoy your season! Be the confident freak you are! If you're not and trying to be a little more confident take a page from the leo book. Do something out of your comfort zone to gain confidence.
Oh and if our big personalities are annoying you ? well not my problem hun.
scene report
Whats up party people. Last night Whyte Lipstick threw a show at the American Legion in Cambridge. It was sick. It was loud and really fun . KLYAM and Repeat Offenders played all our favorite girl group and punk songs all night. Lithophones tore it up and even made I think 18 special edition tapes. Cheap Heat came down from NY state and ripped it up with some punk fun. City kings closed out their night with some fucking pure ROCK N ROLL. they also have a new record out so make sure to check it out.
We had a lot of fun playing too but its weird to review your own band so I won't .
Thanks for everyone who came out and partied with us. Thank you Bob for holding down the bar and for Aldo for letting me pick what color lights would set the mood for the evening. ( I chose red).
I feel like a husk right now so I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. Below are where you can check out all these bands!
Go to local shows! Support your scene baby.
Wasteland Chick
Guess who just got back from seeing Brand New Day with one of her best friends? Spoiler, it was actually very (my favorite part being when the Punisher carried Spider Man bridal-style while screaming.) Greetings and salutations, fellow Wasteland Chicks. A happy August to you all, though out of it is birthed cracklin’ dust and fearsome times. But, a long-awaited and excited Marvel (technically) movie was actually good and fun to watch, though its effect on me was greatly aided by seeing it with one of my fellow gender neutral sisters in chaos, with my favorite example of this being during a sad scene of Spider Man at Aunt May’s grave and them saying “She’s been dead for 3 years, get over it.” This just goes to show that with a little humor and community, we can endure it all!
Anyway, let’s get straight to it and tackle with a ten pound metal door the song “World Burn” from Mean Girls the Musical, sung by our very own Regina George. Yup, we’re back to the musical songs! I will never get enough of them, especially since there’s going to be a Bill and Ted rock opera coming out in 2027 that people are saying sounds awful. What? Anyway, let’s start with the rhythm and melody, which I give a 9.4 out of ten. I like the consistent guitar beat that resurfaces throughout, and the escalation when the lyrics and vocals portray a dramatic or important moment within. It gives the song a very stable and musically interesting uniform feel that makes “World Burn” show that something is indeed happening within the play effectively and most excellently.
Next let’s set our sights on the lyrics, which I give a 7 out of ten. What?! Okay, I know, this is my absolute favorite Mean Girls song and there are definitely some lyrics I adore! Like, the bridge (?) of the song where everything kicks in: “My name is Regina George, and in case you’re keeping score; Cady may have won the battle, but I will win the war for!” is absolutely AMAZING! Plus, the ensemble chorus of “Who wrote this?” is so well done and blends in well with Regina’s vocals. But, the lyrics are very repetitive, with Regina repeating “I wanna watch the world burn, I’ve got the gasoline, I wanna watch the world burn and everyone get mean,” at least 10 times, framing it as the crux of what we learn in the song. Overall review time! “World Burn” is a solid 8 out of ten, with the rhythm and melody ringing well, but the lyrics fall short while also soaring high; Not teaching us anything much about Regina but moving the plot along in an interesting way. Stay cool as the world metaphorically burns from summer heat, fellow WC’s. Bye!
Sincerely, Wasteland Chick (I’m thinking of trying out a new name! Any ideas?)
Been a long two weeks for yr ol' pal Creature and family while dealing with personal issues (and vacation) and it meant a TON of hours driving on the highway. No better time for me to realize that the little tape player I have has an external speaker that makes it perfect for a crappy boombox scenario like I'm back in high school, the perfect way to listen to punk.
That brings us to the first part of this double feature, pulling out a ton of mystery (and some forever burned in your brain) mixtapes to play in the car as evidenced by the soundtrack to this issue. But this one "This is Rock and Roll" is a forever burned in your brain type. This is a tape I made for Mittens after we had been dating awhile for her to play at work and ended up living in the tape deck in any car we were in for awhile. Tons of classics and not so classics of the killed by death ilk and of course I had to put something from Mutha on there and a Japanese hardcore flexi or two. Playing this one in the car is bringing back so many memories. Fuck I love tapes.
Moon Jaguar Cheese - Jim Drain (Photos by Creature)
Jim Drain has this month's exhibit at the Fuller Speedshop entitled Moon Jaguar Cheese. Huge textile, mixed media sculpture that is just really cool to stare at in person. All the different textures and techniques with the varied fabrics feels overwhelming in weird, nice way. Highly recommend checking this one out.
Records of the Week
Brainwash Victims s/t Tape
First up is the Brainwash Victims s/t tape from earlier this year. I was lucky enough to be blown away when they played A1 back in April. Killer discharge styled noisy punk band with a cleaner than expected guitar tone that makes it stand out from the dis-crowd. Everyone I know had already heard the tape when I first saw them, so if you were a little late to the game like me, jump on this one its a total ripper. Repeat.
Next up is the second tape by Mexico City's Funerales Cristo Rey titled Soledad. Dark and gothy, but too punk to be death rock. Six tracks that generally keep a quicker tempo which keeps a punk's interest. I love all the horns and other instrumentation throughout. Keeping things energetic and weird. Cool art too. Killer tape and I highly recommend their first tape as well.
Soul Song of the Day
Soul song of the day is The Sandpebbles - You Turn Me On. Later single from a group that is best known for the minor hit Love Power. The lead vocalist really goes for it and I love that. Play this one for your crush.
That's it for this week's Rag Mag. Here's some flyers and keep sending stuff in (ragmagclub@proton.me).
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