zine review:
Baby Beef Heart Volume Two
While the nice tossed salad of contributors is a fun and interesting change, much can be improved upon in this eclectic and well-presented zine. While I can understand and even relate to the desire to go for a nice, natural feel, the basics of grammar should not be ignored, which I found was often the case within this zine.
That being said, this zine still has much to offer. It contains artwork and art-inspired writing, combined in such a way that makes it tasteful rather than overwhelming. From what I got while reading it, the underlying message of this zine is to beat the 9to 5and get back to basics with Mother Nature. This is a great message to convey, but only if you can offer realistic alternatives to the 9to 5rather than just bash it. Ditching the commercial world and hopping into the wilderness to live off of the land may have been doable in the ’70s, but today it seems like a very large and unattainable dream.
This zine gives off a distinctly naturalistic vibe, one that urges the reader to read the labels of the things we buy and to grow our own food. It also talks about finding joy in the simple things, and that sometimes a mental detox is the best medicine.
It’s also a collection of beautiful drawings and delicately mastered digital paintings made of nothing but pixels. I think the artwork is the best part of this zine (although I wish I had skipped the doctor-pizza comic and kept that minute of my life to myself). This zine could be great if the art was more of the focus, as well as if it offered realistic solutions to everyday problems instead of moaning about it. Or, better yet, do the angst and moan part, and then offer realistic solutions hand-in-hand. (Tara Blackmore)
Zine, Various Contributors, myspace.com/babybeefheart, Free