Hiroshima Yeah! # 100 (june 2013) (zine + The Sound Oh Hiroshima Yeah! (CD-R)

HY is a 8.5 by 11 inches black and white, cut and paste, seven pages zine. HY comes out every month, pretty amazing, eh. This time around it came out with an international compilation CD-R for celebrating it`s 100<sup>th</sup> issue. There`s lots of amazing reading material , starting out with Mark`s unique , raw, in da flesh short poems. My favorite one this time around is:

Hot And Sad

The `hot` girl

Wanting everyone to look at her,

Yet being ignored,

Is one of the saddest things

I have ever seen.

Let me take a swig from me beer so I can hide the small tear coming from me left eye. Next, there`s Gary Simmons `1.5 years behind bars` (I always enjoy is unique writing style),  a lot of music, concert, (the Fall & Julie Doiron),  DVD (Loui`s first season + i`m now the story of Mudhoney), and zine reviews. There`s a short (but weird) story (the brotherhood of the tree) and a small hand written Julie Doiron interview. Next the compilation. I consists of thirteen bands \ artists with different musical styles. There`s some weird experimental noise (Derelict mosquito Spontaneity, Bagman, Cold Boiled Dog), pissed-off garage rock \punk \ blues (Ceramic Hobs), drony \ throbbing ambient noise (Midwich), melancholic but dreamy pop (Paul Doucet, Shy Rights Movement, Valenstar), low-fi minimalism (Breadwinter), strange electronic experimentations (Minimal Frank), rock & roll (John Brown), synth pop \ electro pop i.e. we owe Kraftwerk everything department (Staline Plays Theremin), and a short (22 seconds) untitled spoken word piece.. Feel free to write HY! : 

Mark Ritchie, 

94 Main Street, 

Forth, 

Lanark, 

ML11 8AB, 

UK.   

Shy Rights Movement - only the lost can find their way & Timo - I must be right (seven inches)

 I got another package, courtesy of Mark Ritchie (Hiroshima Yeah! Zine).  I transferred both seven inches on my hardrive so I can listen to them on my portable mp3 player. That`s when my problems started, my record player is toast. I managed to do the transfer but the tempo is too slow (can`t make it faster).  Which makes this a difficult listen. I might as well make it short and sweet (my apologies Mark).  `Shy Rights Movedments` (Mark`s band) has two songs of emotionally brooding indie acoustic folk (good stuff). Recalls at times, in no particular order: The Cure, Johnny Cash and dare I say a stripped down, less gothic version of Sisters of Mercy. `Timo`s`next. 

There`s three songs in there, with basic instrumentations: guitar, bass and drums. The music is dark (schizophrenic at times), somber indie pop with punk undertones thrown in for good measure. The recording is low-fi,  you can sense a  feeling of delicate sensibility \ intimacy, more introspective than in your face. I urge you to contact Mark before this is sold out, yes it`s that damn good.

Mark Rithchie,

94 Main Sreet,

Forth,

Lanarkshire,

ML11 8AB,

UK.                          

Hiroshima Yeah! #99 (May 2013) (zine)

Another fine  8.5 by 11 inches black and white, cut and paste, four pager publication. We have on the front page Mark`s amazingly realistic, sarcastic and melancholic  poetry i.e observations of daily life indeed.  Then there`s Gary Simmons ongoing serial about life in jail (1.5 years behind bars…). He should write a book about it too. Yes it`s that good. Next there`s some music, concerts and DVD reviews. Mark seems to enjoy Vic  Chesnutt`s music. I never heard about him before, think I`ll do some serious music investigation here. We close this little zine with `holiday  season `a short story courtesy of Mark Ritchie himself. A kinda weird ditty but then again this is Hiroshima Yeah! Not the New-Yorker. So sit down in your favorite chair, have a cold beer \ cider and enjoy the ride folks!!!                          

Contact here:

Mark Rithchie, 

94 Main Sreet, 

Forth, 

Lanarkshire,

ML11 8AB, 

UK.                          

Hiroshima Yeah! #98 (April 2013) (zine)

HY is a 8.5 by 11 inches black and white, cut and paste, five pages zine. I just can`t believe that Mark Ritchie publishes his zine every month. His poems are short and sweet. My favorite one is `pricks`. I can sorth of relate to that because I worked for nearly two years for a telemarketing company. Here`s what it sounds like:

Pricks

Working in a call centre

Sometimes makes you feel

Like a jaded old prostitute

You just get sick of dealing with

An endless succession of pricks

Beautiful ain`t it? Then we have 1.5 years behind bars (Gary Simmons writes about life in the inside i.e. in jail = wry observations indeed), some concerts & music reviews (including Minimal Frank`s – wrecking havoc CD, and how cool is that). There`s some DVD and also a book review as well. I highly recommend this small lil zine, damn straight brothers and sisters. Contact here:

Mark Rithchie, 

94 Main Sreet, 

Forth, 

Lanarkshire, 

ML11 8AB, 

UK.                           

Librarian – Never Been To Basinstoke (CD-R)

 Listening to a lot of noise, experimental music and various kinds of assorted weirdness, can be a bit tedious at times. Once in awhile I need a break, you know what I`m mean.  And what a good break this is. Librarian operated from 1988 to 1992. It was a four piece band comprised of Mark Ritchie (Hiroshima Yeah!)  on vocals, Stephen boyd (guitar, harmonica, piano, recorder), David Tough (bass), Scott Sneddon (drums) and Gary Curran (drums). Librarian was an indie rock outfit with a low-fi pop (and I mean in a good way) sensibility. There`s fifteen songs on this here CD. I like them all. My favorite track is `the withering`. It recalls The Jesus And Mary Chain circa Psychocandy (if they could rock). Mark told me that this sounds shitty at times. I wouldn`t say that. It sounds low-fi and homemade at the same time (which is a human quality, it`s not perfect, not cold and digital dammit!).  I like this even more after my first six pack. But then again everything looks \ sounds better after my first six pack. If you send Mark a polite request he might send you a copy. Personally, I recommend sending him a trade (maybe he will review it in Hiroshima Yeah!). Contact:

 Mark Rithchie, 

94 Main Sreet, 

Forth, 

Lanarkshire,

ML11 8AB, 

UK.