It’s somewhat odd to think that something so commonplace, something that was once so integral to the subcultures in which we grew up and migrated between, would become worthy of its own exhibition. As the recent swell of interest in zines (artistic, academic and otherwise) has revealed, however, these products are often indispensable cultural artefacts. Few other media formats, especially from the pre-digital era, capture so concisely and directly a distilled subcultural moment. As we were assembling this soundtrack, we tried to take stock of the various zines that we had ever collected or contributed to. On the contribution side, the themes range from ska music to horror movies to skateboarding. As far as collecting goes, the diversity is even more radically expansive.
We’ve tried to reflect some of that diversity in this playlist, while making sure that the punk and DIY scenes of the late 70s and early 80s get the prominence that they deserve. This exhibition will surely challenge us to think more expansively about what zines are and can be. Hopefully its musical accompaniment will encourage some similar exploration into the independent, underground and DIY music scenes that are so closely entwined with zine culture.
Tracklist:
Catholic Discipline - Underground Babylon
Crass - Banned from the Roxy
Bad Brains - Pay to Cum
Zounds - War
Stretching Journey - 080*
The Cramps - Let’s Get Fucked Up
The Homosexuals - Soft South Africans
Dancing Cigarettes - Burn in Heaven
Mydolls - Imposter
Snatch - Joey
Inflatable Boy Clams - Marin
The Raincoats - Fairytale in the Supermarket
Boss Eye - Chalky Aderall
Butthole Surfers - Mexican Caravan
Savage Republic - Viva le Rock and Roll
Red Cross - S&M Party
Shorty Cat - I Hate Her*
Crawler - It’s Not For You*
Minutemen - This Ain’t No Picnic
Violent Femmes - Add it Up
Maximum Joy - Building Bridges
Vivien Goldman - Launderette
Blah Blah Blah - Central Park
Rosa Yemen - Larousse Baron Bic
Cardboards - On the R to TZ
Crash Course in Science - Mechanical Breakdown
Bewitched - Chuck’s Got a Big One
Screamers - Matar Dolores
Microfilm - Centrefold
Pylon - Cool
Kuang Program - Gangs Are Blue*
Chrome - Caroline
Danielle Dax - Fortune Cheats
Puredigitalsilence - Seeweed*
Seth Martin - 새야 새야 파랑새야 (Bird, Bird, Blue Bird)*
Kuunatic - Roho Ulio Toweka
Khana Bierbood - Rustic Song
The Goat that Went Om - The Pirate Song
Bow Wow Wow - Why Are Babies So Wise?
Au Pairs - Come Again
Cabaret Voltaire - Sluggin’ Fer Jesus
Suicide - Shadazz
Alan Vega - Jukebox Babe
GENIUS - Shit City*
Avengers - Paint it Black
*Artists based in South Korea