First off, this zine tries to look like something that is way beyond its means. This is accomplished by trying to use the same formulas (picture on front with text detailing the pieces in the zine on the cover), but ending up with a really pixelated front cover. After the cover, the zine immediately goes into text on blank paper, broken up with more pixelated pictures. Getting to the content, the zine starts off with an interview that is squished considerably to fit in its appointed space, as the questions that are posed to Rachel Loshak, a singer, are cut down into unintelligible fragments. Urban Rag then hits onto something interesting in its’ coverage of the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Summit, which goes into extreme detail about the conference as well as the numerous performers at it. One of the key strengths to Urban Rag is the fact that they do show reviews of more than the local hardcore and pop-punk bands, as #36 reviews a blues act, pop-punk, and rap. Urban Rag’s reviews go over a gamut of larger-market magazines that most people probably havent oriented themselves with, such as Heckler, The Socket, and in motion Talent. “Milk Crate†is Urban Rag’s review section, and while they review a number of very major-label releases (Jerry Seinfeld, Natalie Merchant , and Sheryl Crow), the reviews are solid enough to make people buy or reject an album based purely on their claims.
Rating : 5.8/10
Urban Rag #36 (Free, P.O. Box 812, Tannersvile, NY 12485)