zine review:
Urinal Gum
urinal Gum is a dirty, filthy little zine and sometimes it’s funny. The zine is a collection of a few different types of written works of crude, dark, and obscene humour. It starts off with a few prank letters–at least, I hope they’re prank letters–sent to places like Penthouse Letters and a swingers club. These letters are simply just long, drawn out sex jokes which are more weird and awkward than funny, and more likely to incite nervous laughter instead of actual genuine chuckles of amusement. However, what’s really funny is how the zine doesn’t take itself seriously and is a mixed up pile of messages. For example, “Dear in Headlights” parodies advice columns by giving out really, really bad advice on drug use and sexual relationships. A few pages later, contributor Krysti Cellulose provides a special report on the “Top 5 Topics that Will Bore the Hell Outta Anyone!” Sure enough, relationships and drug use fill in spots one and three respectively.
I found the reviews toward the end of the zine to be the most amusing parts. They are written with the same humour as the earlier works, but they do some actual reviewing and critiquing, providing interesting thoughts on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and the movie adaptation of Chuck Palahnuik’s Choke. Then again, maybe I enjoyed these reviews the most because I can better relate to reading books and watching movies than I can to visiting a swingers club. (Terry Harjanto)
zine, PO Box 1243, Eugene, OR, 97440, uSA, [email protected] urinalgum.com, $2 N.A., $3 everywhere else