Flipside punk fanzine Issue #40, November 1983
This zine is older than I am…and every bit of awesome. It’s a visceral, hilarious pastiche of stream-of-consciousness record and show reviews, band interviews, and a general rejection of the conventional. It is a perfect reflection of a genre of music that bears a purity that I can’t find anywhere else.
I mused on Twitter that I’m often nostalgic for times that I didn’t experience. The Los Angeles punk scene of the late 70′s and 80′s is definitely the one I “miss” most. Bands were honest, gutter, and subject to EXTREME scrutiny from their fans. The aim was not to get a major record deal or to revel in cash, named brands and fancy cars. The aim was to piss off the establishment and everyone who represented it. It was simply raw. Unapologetically raw. It was anarchy, party and bullshit, hand-drawn flyers, and spur of the moment shows in the backyard during someone’s house party. It was pogo and thrashing at some hole in the wall venue and ending the night at Oki-Dog with everyone else who was at the show (including the band). It was a big, fat “FUCK YOU” to mainstream, posers, and everything boring.
I was looking for a video to add here, but I think this quote under a video sums up the essence of punk rock (edited, because I love making red marks on other people’s papers):
The real punks understand that it’s not about fashion. Punk isn’t about styles, it is about adressing your opinions to those who think that it is immoral to have freedom of speech.
“It’s not really my problem if they think I’m weird. Undermine their pompous authority, reject their moral standards, make anarchy and disorder your trademarks. Cause as much chaos and disruption as possible but dont let them take you ALIVE.” - Sid Vicious 1978
-AntDil19
Yeah, bottle all of that up and inject it into the souls of people who existed on the fringes of poserific, self-important, cloyingly mainstream Los Angeles and you have THE SCENE.
I miss it. I miss it so much.
Wearing
Target cardigan
American Apparel dress
Refuge jeans
Docs
14 Responses to “…the flipside…”
ditto. i think we ‘suffer’ from the same malady.
longing for times i was never a part of seems to be something that’ll follow me about all my life! thought i’d be free of it when i was on my own and out of the parental kingdom, but alas, i crave motown, old hollywood glamour, big hair, the days of REAL FUCKING MUSIC where people didn’t care so much about what car you drove or what shoes you wore, but about the quality of your craft.
to me, it seems people FELT more back then, were more gritty, more human, and not the jerkoff posers we have as so-called ‘artists’ right now. it’s a shame that the previous conception of celebrity glory has fallen what it is now. i mean, really, what exactly does ‘video phone’ have to teach the world?
here’s to the good ol’ days. and real talk.
where on EARTH did you find this book again?
.-= pennerad´s last blog ..new year’s =-.
I ‘miss’ the Forties. Would love to been hanging out with Dinah Washington listening to Ella Fitzgerald, wearing a wiggle dress and kissing soldiers, **sigh**
.-= Lenya Jones´s last blog ..The Alice Affair – Super Secret Preview =-.
I love the pictures, and you look beautiful as always. You are very attractive, BTW. As if you didn’t know.
And damn, old zines are awesome.
Ahh, Sex Pistols..
I think I miss the 80s. Well, I don’t miss them, but I feel that was my past life right before I was born, and sometimes I can sing along to 80s songs I’ve never heard. o_o That’s.. just weird and different though, haha.
.-= sui´s last blog ..sandy eggo =-.
That zine is ass-mazin’.
I did one when I was a lot younger and this is making me retrolust for the days of sneaking out of math class to take advantage of the teacher’s lounge copier…
GOOD TIMES.
.-= Kristin´s last blog ..Xmas comes again =-.
l.a. punk at that time, especially the early 80s, was a number of different things — exhilirating, frustrating, brilliant, mind bogglingly stupid, violent, cathartic, dangerous and often very very scary. “normal” folk viewed you as something wholly alien, the t.v. portrayed you as ice-pick wielding serial killers impervious to pain or human emotion, and others simply wanted to wipe you off the face of the planet (if you’re male, put on your mom’s sluttiest dress and take a stroll through the mall during peak hours and you’ll get an approximation). inside the punk scene you could run into some of the stupidest, most violent morons you can imagine, but…some of the most creative minds, the most eccentric personalities, and the most screwed up people on the planet were able to congregate, interact and create what felt like a utopian oasis in the midst of reaganomics, rick springfield and a society insisting on conformity and pining for the good ol’ days when the suburbs were the future and everyone knew their place. punk in reality was far from utopia, especially by the early/mid-80s when factionalism and gangs started spoiling the fun, but it was real, it was angry and it wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power. the important thing, though, is to keep in mind that it isn’t a thing of the past. it has seen change, yes, and some of the same stupidity can still be found, but the scene still exists with no shortage of great, “real” bands pushing the envelope and challenging the status quo. bands like blink-182 and avenged sevenfold are no more representative of what’s out there than 50 cent and fergie are representative of the breadth of creative expression coming out of hip hop. and it remains rooted on the Do-It-Yourself attitude of “who says i can’t ____?” the key is to DO. as flipside so eloquently put it for more than two decades, “be more than a witness” — make a zine, start a band, paint, make a movie, take a stand, write a book, recreate yourself in your own image, don’t take “no” for an answer, question everything and blindly accept nothing, take an active part in your own life.
I’m with Pennerad, I “miss” the 60s/’70s Motown/Stax era. Tombout Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, The Supremes, Betty Davis, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, The Temptations…I’ve been watching Soul Train clips and the interviews the artists do at the end just reminds me of how…orchestrated and scripted everything is now.
Por ejemplo: In one episode, Marvin Gaye was answering fan questions. Someone asked him why he had been away from music for so long and he was just honest: he was really messed up after Tammi Terrell died and he needed time to himself. Bam. That level of openness and honesty is…it’s there but it’s not widespread. You have to dig deep and seek it out.
Le sigh.
.-= Danielle´s last blog ..On literary metaphors and photography =-.
Wish I could’ve experienced the scene, or even just check out that mag you pictured, lol! Love how it inspired your look here though, and I love your attitude in these pics!
.-= Ashley´s last blog ..Currently Craving: 1-8-10 =-.
You’re so gorgeous, Alicia!
I know how you feel; I got into punk about six months or a year before Joe Strummer died. I’m still crushed that I never got the chance to meet him, the Clash was definitely one of the best bands ever IMO. There’s some good punk bands around today, but there’s also a lot of bullshit posturing and crap like sexism/racism/homophobia/etc. that definitely doesn’t belong.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Tattoo Fashion =-.
“She’s just so real”
.-= The Queen of´s last blog ..Just say Unkle! Karl likes to eat his words with a side of Sriracha sauce =-.
I really miss the black people of the 60′s and 70′s. I mean, minus the man breathing down your neck, I feel like women were women and men were men or maybe I’m old fashioned. Style-wise, I like the 50′s bouffants and how everyone dressed up to go anywhere.
.-= Felicia´s last blog ..Swagg’s Accessory Lust List =-.
I love the way you’re rocking those boots in the pic! And, the FlipSide seems like a magazine I would have loved to read growing up…
.-= trE´s last blog ..15 things|funny how, don’t make me over… =-.
Wow- that was an awesome post.
“the souls of people who existed on the fringes of poserific, self-important, cloyingly mainstream Los Angeles”
Yeah, hipsters make me want to spit sometimes.
And re: Tommy’s response above– super awesome.
.-= dreamsequins´s last blog ..Beauty Beat: The Best Beauty Advice I Ever Received =-.
i love ur outfit and the way you lace your docs! also, i’m really digging the new header =)
xx
This outfit is the perfect blend of effortless cool, you wear it well! Love how it matches the post subject…