Angstmonster Special Release 07

eZine lover (@eZine)

Published in 

Angstmonster

 · 5 years ago

  

        __,   _  _    __,  , _|_  _  _  _    __   _  _    , _|_  _   ,_    
       /  |  / |/ |  /  | / \_|  / |/ |/ |  /  \_/ |/ |  / \_|  |/  /  |   
       \_/|_/  |  |_/\_/|/ \/ |_/  |  |  |_/\__/   |  |_/ \/ |_/|__/   |_/ 
                       /| 
     	      	       \|                                                  
		 
                         ANGSTMONSTER SPECIAL RELEASE 

                                  NUMBER 7 
				      
                         ___________________________   
                        |                           | 
                        |     Zines Make Me Cry     | 
                        |            or             | 
                        |   Real Expression Isn't   | 
                        |       Premeditated        | 
                        |                           | 
                        |   A rant by Mr. Jay       | 
                        +---------------------------+ 

Ok, here's the drill. I want you to come in here every day at 4:30pm and cry  
about your childhood. Yes, every day. No calling in sick.  I don't CARE if you  
happen to be happy on a given day, you'll be here at 4:30 every day and cry,  
damnit! 

Does that make sense? No. Neither does saying "I will be insightful for my  
readers every other Wednesday at noon." Neither does, "I will write something  
witty and fun and worth reading every day." Folks, it just doesn't work that  
way. Sorry. 

If I,  as a photographer, decided  that I'd take shots every day at noon and 
four, I'd never  take any  good pictures.  Why?  Good subjects come  and go at 
random, beautifully  unpredictable  intervals. Some days we're gripped with  
passion and we write something truly great. Some days we'd be better off  
watching TV. 

Forced  expression is the cause of most of the bullshit in  every medium and  
genre of art today. 

Sure, some people are just shitty artists.  That's a given. Most garage bands  
will never  write a good song.  I should know,  I had lots  of friends  in them 
in high school. I suffered  through many a  practice session. Beyond that, there 
have been plenty of talented artists who felt the need to express themselves  
without waiting for something worth expressing. 

Quick  example:  Elton John.  He started his career brilliantly.  Elton John was 
a musical  force  in  the 70s, but  his  work  ethic slowly  whittled  away  at  
his considerable  talent. He  thought he had  to release an album every year,  
and it's ruined  him. The man who wrote "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" and "Levon" 
has become a trite old  man whining about  love, like  a back street boy who ate 
too  many  cheeseburgers. 

Let's compare songs, shall we? 

        *Elton John - Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters, 1972* 

	And now I know 
	Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say 
	I thought I knew 
	But now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City 

	Until you've seen this trash can dream come true 
	You stand at the edge while people run you through 
	And I thank the Lord there's people out there like you 
	I thank the Lord there's people out there like you 

	While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters 
	Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers 
	Turn around and say good morning to the night 
	For unless they see the sky 
	But they can't and that is why 
	They know not if it's dark outside or light 

 

 
	*Elton John - The Way You Look Tonight, 2000* 
	 
	And I can't explain 
	But it's something about the way you look tonight 
	Takes my breath away 
	It's that feeling I get about you, deep inside 
	And I can't describe 
	But it's something about the way you look tonight 
	Takes my breath away 
	The way you look tonight 
	 
	With a smile 
	You pull the deepest secrets from my heart 
	In all honesty 
	I'm speechless and I don't know where to start 
	 

See  what I mean?  The first song is  powerful, poignant... the  second one  
sounds like a poem ripped from someone's live journal. He might as well be  
rhyming "fire" and "desire." 

How  does this relate to Zines,  livejournals, Tfiles and whatnot?  Simple. 
Stop talking just to talk.  Stop babbling just because you think you  need to  
express something.  Or write it, but for fuck's sake, don't put it up just  
because you wrote it.  Learn to shut up, listen, read, and speak only when you  
have something meaningful to say. We all have a hundred thousand experiences  
haunting us through habits and fears and memories that make our fists clench in  
the middle of the night. When  those parts  of you  want to  speak, they will.  
Your fingers will fly over the keyboard and you'll hardly breathe until it's all 
out of your system. 

Never  write  just to  write.  If  you' re staring at  your computer screen,  at 
a loss for words, do the world a favor. Turn off the monitor and go watch cable. 

            *++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++* 
	    + Are you down with fame and all sorts of riches?    + 
	    + Then Angstmonster Special Release is not where to  + 
	    + submit your tfile goodness to.  But if you have    + 
	    + something you'd like to see published all on it's  + 
	    + own?  Email us <gir@angstmonster.org> and it'll be + 
	    + released under the Angstmonster name.  Maybe if we + 
	    + attract talented people, the fame and riches will  + 
	    + follow.  But don't count on it.  We're just out to +	 
	    + entertain ourselves and others with all sorts of   + 
	    + ASCII madness the likes of which no one has seen!  +	 
	    *++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++* 

                   ANGSTMONSTER SPECIAL RELEASE NUMBER SEVEN 

		                   10.07.02 
				   
        Brought to you by angstmonster.org / Angstmonster Publishing. 

      "We have a lot more xp to earn before we start healing the sick." 

                        http://www.angstmonster.org/txt/