Flipside – #111 – Review

Flipside

(#111 $3 PO Box 60790 Pasadena, CA 91116)
by Scott Hefflon

A mammoth issue, as always, filled with interviews and columns, record reviews, print reviews, poetry, letters, and ads. Not to mention more crazy-ass photos than any other ‘zine I can think of. Sure, the layout (especially the color) gets a little tiresome on the eye (that’s a polite way of saying you sometimes can’t read the fuckin’ thing), but I only say that so I’ll have some kinda criticism. Flipside rocks, and if you don’t get it regularly, there’s something wrong with you. I’m not saying you have to read it cover to cover every month, I’m saying you have to get it. You can skim it on the can, swat flies or a roommate with it (it’s fat, baby – the mag, moron, not yer roommate) look for titty pictures (oh,now, I have your attention) or just carry it around with you and look all kinds of punk. Aside from the nudie pix (the photo of the dick on Rev. Tin Ear’s column was rather ironic), and the balls-out columns (let’s bypass the mandatory, photo-less reviews shoved in the back like the bastards they are), I’d like to say that the best thing about Flipside is the fact that it makes punk rock look fun. Sometimes we forget that. Most of us (from fold & staple ‘zines to corporate, glossy monthlies to daily newspapers) print promo shots (with a few original photos and illustrations) that’re about as satisfying as a dry-hump. But Flipside, either ’cause they have the resources or standards or both, prints almost entirely original photos of people having a blast. Oh yeah, and it’s a good read, too. If you have a spare week.