If you have never read a zine by Jess Morrow you are truly missing out on one of the best voices offered in
the world of Perzines. I love how genuine Jess comes across- she really brings you into her world and makes
you want to hear everything she has to say. Lila #5 begins with “I am on a train somewhere in California;it’s the middle of the night and I suddenly knew that I needed to write. Maybe I’ll tell you everything this time, or maybe I’ll tell you nothing. It’s so easy to fill a page with pretty words but really say nothing.” Jess, in fact, says a lot! She goes on to write about the prevalence of mental illness issues in Perzines and the role privilege plays in her treatment. “…a single mother in China who works in a factory twelve hours a day assembling toys for Disney, earning slave wages, does not have time to stop and process her feelings and realize that she’s been depressed for months and maybe she should get some help…I realize a lot of people in the United States are in comparable situations, that this isn’t just a problem of poorer nations. I am so lucky to be able to go to therapy and see my doctor and take medications and my therapy.” It is so refreshing to read about issues of privilege and how some people benefit from it without ever stopping to think about what that means. This whole zine is just fantastic and written in such utterly beautiful language. Read about jess’ struggles with the roller coaster that is depression, being on & off medication, and oh so much more. Lila#5 is not a zine to miss!

“I grew up in a family-filled suburb of Los Angeles, where huge identical two story homes and upscale shopping centers are aplenty. About thirty minutes from Hollywood, you know when you’ve arrived when you start to notice that every available foot of open land is being paved over by massive tractors to build more McDonalds’s and Starbucks…” That is how the first issue of Suburban Waste begins. Jenn writes a heartfelt and genuine zine about being a teenage girl living in the suburbs outside Hollywood, CA. “I wonder if we are living each day to go to school, get married, get a job, and fucking die.” She talks about how apathetic kids are these days to real social issues and how she is itching to build on the small punk community inside a world of huge gas guzzling cars, cell phone abusers, and boring clones with neatly trimmed lawns. She has a strong voice and her writing skills are most definitely worth noting. This zine has a really nice tone to it and Jenn welcomes you into her life openly and honestly. This issue of Suburban Waste (of which currently their are three) is mixed with comics that take a humorous look at suburban culture and a look at which washed up stars are living in her neighborhood (such as Cindy Brady and Carol Seaver!). It is very apparent that Jenn takes a lot of time and puts a lot of thought into the design of her cut n’ paste publication. You can’t help but be impressed with this visually pleasing, humorous, serious, and well written piece of zine art!!!!

The cover of Media Whore #5 reads, "Passionate & Intelligent Feminist zine about the media seeks smart, progressive, culturally aware readers and contributors for mutually satisfying long-term relationship." The words are cleverly formatted to look like a mock up personals ad someone tore out of the newspaper. Along with the clever cover, the zine as a whole is held together with two large safety pins giving it a punky DIY aesthetic.

This zine is quite a fun read. It is neatly formatted and appears to have been created in a publishing program as opposed to the common cut n’ paste style. (Neither one of these is better then the other of course!)

The contents of this zine range from news tidbits on the sad shut down of Mr. Lady Records, a blurb about organizing your own Ladyfest, and the dismal truth that women’s publications are loosing money fast.

The first full-length article in Media Whore #5 takes a look at the Riot Grrrl Movement and poses the question "is riot grrrl really dead?" GirlPunk.Net friends should take note that this article features an interview with site creator Jessica Ocasio who says, "Women are continuing to make their mark in the punk and hardcore scene. As long as women never stop taking an active part, Riot Grrrl will never truly be dead." Other features in this issue include: "Taking Back the News: Reclaiming Rape from the Mainstream Media," "Games That Give Girls a Fighting Change," an interview with the graffiti artist Fafi, a few pages of zine reviews, and two larger reviews of the books Check it While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere, and The F Word: Feminism in Jeopardy. The zine ends with a review of Ladyfest East which raises the question: is an event like Ladyfest better in a specific venue or spread out in the city at many different venues?

Overall this is definitely a zine to check out. However, I would not be an honest reviewer if I did not note that I disagreed rather strongly with some of the views presented in the issues introduction. I e-mailed zine creator Randie and ended up corresponding a bit about our disagreement. When you pick up your copy of Media Whore #5 drop me a note and let me know your opinion on the issues of race presented in this issue. I think it would be a great place to get some dialogue going on racism within the punk movement and confronting some of our own privilege.