zine, #4 , $4, Kevin Reynolds, PO Box 473, Buffalo, NY 14201 or 49 Dundonald St., Box #10 , Toronto, ON, M4Y 1K3
I’m a big admirer of this zine, which is intelligently written, and provides fascinating insights into the nature of Toronto’s nearest US neighbour, the oft maligned Buffalo. In Basta! Buffalo sticks up for itself, painting a picture of a struggling city fighting against physical and moral rot with healthy doses of skepticism, semiotic analysis and skronk jazz. Features like A Crisis of Representation, about the Vincent Gallo film Buffalo 66, show the cogent possibilities of the Buffalo perspective. True, 66 was a great movie, but I can certainly see how those residing in the city might feel used by Gallo’s portrayal of a low class white trash universe obsessed with the losing Bills. On the other side of the spectrum is the film and composition work by Tony Conrad, founder of Media-Study Buffalo and an acclaimed filmmaker. Kevin takes great pride in the fact that Buffalo has produced and retained such a talent even while losing the more exploitative but not untalented Gallo. Anyway, it isn’t all Buffalo. There’s also a fine editorial on the history of anti-linear thought and expression – “To lock my eyes only on nothing”. Kevin’s a great writer, cultural historian and zine publisher. He does the decaying burg of Buffalo proud. (HN)