Prelude to a Lick – The Editor’s Rant – Column

Prelude to a Lick

by Scott Hefflon
Editor/Publisher/and much, much more!
illustration by Jef Taylor

It seems last month’s prelude pricked a few ears… That lovely allusion to pussies and assholes got some folks’ panties in a bunch. Some of the success stories include having the piece framed, being read aloud at a board meeting, and numerous instances of, “Yeah man, that’s exactly how I feel about the people I work with who don’t seem to give a shit.” Evidently I struck a nerve, too. I got more than the usual number of “You are such an asshole” looks this month. I was just pissed (such a novelty) and let it be known that I think most people are lackadaisical about their commitment to their work. Truthfully, the “original” of the rant was four pages long. And no, it will not be printed.

So we’re doing a few new things for your reading pleasure (and to keep ourselves from getting bored). Our home page should be up now, and much of our review archives are on The Boston Globe’s alternaculture site. Both are accessible at the following address:
http://www.boston.com/thefix/lollipop

We’ll be doing interviews with some of the kick-ass organizers of web pages in the area, seeing as how Boston went online in one fell swoop. I haven’t rolled enough pennies to get Lollipop a modem yet, but it’s on page three of my list of things to do.

We also began reviewing ‘zines this month. We’re still deciding exactly what standpoint to take, because different staffers like/hate different ‘zines. If you do a ‘zine, put us on your mailing list and we’ll do the same. Perhaps we can work together and share stuff, and maybe we can just dislike each other for more specific reasons. We’ll (hopefully) send tear sheets if/when we review you, as we do for labels and bands. That’s considered professionalism, and we’d appreciate the same in return. Speaking of reviews, I feel the need to quote out of context a review that recently appeared in Spun:
Lollipop is the ‘zine the earth revolves around, that encompasses everything worth reading…”
Spun Magazine

Another thing I’d like to address in this incredibly boring Prelude is the Sounds from Underground section. We’re expanding the coverage to include unsigned bands from anywhere in the country. We’ll be breaking it down into region and all that, but the genres and editorial standards with which we currently review should stay roughly the same. That’s one subject of last month’s rant that I edited out. For some reason, the catch-phrase “Support your local music scene” has become synonymous with “Lie through your teeth and say supportive, nurturing things about bands that have little to no identity, jump on a bandwagon that is already teetering beneath its own weight, and don’t even have their shit together enough to make an interesting showing of it.” I am not of the opinion that close proximity to my house makes you a better band. We’ll be covering the best bands from different areas, as opposed to all the bands from one. This will make the reviews more positive, and the coverage more diverse.

So bands across the country, send us your stuff! Let us know if/when you’re coming to New England. And if you want to book bands from this area elsewhere, or from other areas here, give us a call.

The final topic for today is openings. By expanding (and expanding and expanding) the magazine, there is always a need to bring in new experts. If you have an area of expertise and a way with words, why not put it to some good use? Sometimes students get college credit for interning, some want free stuff. Some people would just rather hang out with us and file stuff than watch TV all day.

We’re always looking for new writers, artists, photographers, designers, people to take out the trash, open the mail, and so forth. The possibilities are endless. Send in something kinda like a resume and some samples. Tell us where you’re from and what you’re into. What’ve you got to say?

Lick me.