#alt weekly

[humanoidhistory]

Public News, Houston, August 17, 1982.

[indieephemera]

Advertising insert from alternative newspaper The Boston Phoenix, promoting their concert showcase of local bands playing at the Coop bookstore in Harvard Square on September 25, 1988.

This was actually the second Boston Phoenix/WFNX-sponsored concert event I attended. The first one had happened the previous weekend, at the MIT location of The Coop. The presence of three local bands on that bill was completely overshadowed for me by the incongruous presence of Marty Willson-Piper of The Church, there to play a solo set in support of his latest album on Rykodisc. But I got there early enough to catch the local acts, opening my eyes ever-so-slightly to the presence of a local music scene.

So when I learned of another free outdoor concert the following weekend, I was all in, even minus any star power. I had never heard of any of these local bands before, either. But maybe some of them would good?

Turns out, I was right. The set by Galaxie 500, just a few weeks before the release of their debut album, Today, was revelatory. This is... jangly? Kind of like, uh... R.E.M.? (It would be a few years yet before I heard The Velvet Underground for the first time.) I ended up reviewing their set, along with the rest of the acts performing that day, for my high school newspaper.

In fact, I also fell pretty hard for local rockers Heretix, whose dramatic, slightly goth sound would fit right in on local radio. Heck, I enjoyed everyone that played that day, from the bluesy, garage-rock of The Titanics to just-shy-of-metal The Unattached to, yes, even the ska bands (Plate O’ Shrimp and Bim Skala Bim). I even captured songs from a couple of the band’s sets on my shitty tape recorded though, alas, not the one by Galaxie 500.

So even though I felt a little out of place hanging out by myself at an event filled with older people (the event was  clearly meant for college students), it was good training for my rock club-going future self.

[stuffaboutminneapolis]

The Star Tribune is shutting down City Pages

The free newspaper was bought by the Star Tribune in 2015.

The news was broken by Star Tribune reporters, who said it had been confirmed in an internal memo that City Pages' print and online publications would cease publication effective Wednesday.

[thoughtportal]

As Local Media Dies, Community Meme Pages Keep the Spirits of Cities Alive

Online spaces embody Aldo Rossi's view of the city as "the collective memory of its people."

In her 2019 book How to Do Nothing, Jenny Odell, wonders, “What does it mean to construct digital worlds while the actual world is crumbling before our eyes?” At least for now, the digital city spaces exist as a gateway to the physical city, showcasing them as they are, rather than what people imagine them to be. It allows people to hold on to a small piece of reality, if only fleetingly.

[indieephemera]

Advertising insert from a late 1989 issue of alternative newspaper The Boston Phoenix, promoting the six-year anniversary of alternative rock radio station WFNX.

Real "Holy shit! We made it to another year!" energy with this supplement. Given the paper printed a big spread to celebrate their 5th anniversary the previous year, it’s a bit odd they’d choose to commemorate their 6th. Though this insert is a lot smaller, just a single piece of broadsheet printed on both sides.

Here WFNX is testing a new slogan: “Rock the Boat Radio.” Not sure why an alternative rock station decided to use a phrase that only serves to make me think of this classic soul jam. Buy hey, there is a long tradition of basic alt-rock stations appealing to the egos of their listeners by adopting a cooler-than-thou slogan.

Again we get mini-profiles of some of the DJs and station personnel. What surprised me in comparing this to the previous year’s insert was that some names that seemed almost synonymous with WFNX for me are missing. Juanita the Scene Queen hasn’t yet started hosting Boston Rocks? And DJ Bill Abbate is already gone? Plus ça change...

[imaginebetterfutures]

AWOOOOOOOOO!!!

I'm so excited to share that I'm helping a stacked team of journalists start a new, worker-owned alt-weekly style publication in the Bay Area! We're fundraising now and would love your support.

Launch Coyote Media Collective

A new alt-weekly-style publication is hitting the Bay Area

[dinosaurgiantpenny]

[dinosaurgiantpenny]

Migraine Boy