The current(?) issue of Bitch has a nicely positive review of Wig in a Box: The Songs from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which I mentioned here back in October. And promptly forgot about, because I suck. The link has some mp3 samples and links to other reviews; don't think the one from Bitch is up at their site.
They do, however, have Annie Tomlin's article, Sex, Dreads, and Rock 'n' Roll:
The eventual result of these trends is a variety of subculture-specific porn sites. In the mood for Day-Glo hair? Check out Raverporn. How about a straight-edge girl? Try Friction USA. Mods playing with Star Wars dolls? Head to Supercult. Most of these sites go beyond the standard naked-picture fare, offering not just erotic writing but also scene reports and record reviews. Others offer even more, with member profiles or—in the case of Burning Angel—interviews with punk bands, exotic-dancer union organizers, and pro-porn documentary filmmakers. There’s no question that these “indie” porn sites stand out from the thousands of other salacious sites out there. Generally speaking, they’re designed better and they avoid sleazy pornspeak. Instead of showcasing peroxide, stilettos, and silicone, their main features are piercings, tattoos, and dyed hair. You’re more likely to find a self-described feminist anarchist gardener at these sites than a hot ’n’ horny, barely legal teen. But are they really challenging the old guard, or is it just the same old boobs in a punk-rock bra?
There are a few not-so-positive references to Playboy, which should be viewed with the benefit of hindsight and recent events:
Playboy.com strikes unusual alliance with SuicideGirlsPlayboy.com, the Web site for adult entertainment company Playboy Enterprises Inc, on Thursday unveiled an unusual deal to pair photos and other content of Playboy's sleek models with the tattooed and pierced women of SuicideGirls.com.
Under the arrangement, fast growing Playboy.com will weekly feature pictures and merchandise from SuicideGirls in a cross promotion aimed at driving users to each site and boosting subscribers, e-commerce sales and other revenues.
"SuicideGirls is cool, and Playboy has a history of doing things that are cool. They (SuicideGirls) might be pierced and tattooed, but these girls are also natural," said John D. Thomas, editor of Playboy.com.
Saw this mentioned at. . . somewhere yesterday, but can't for the life of me remember where.
Oh, and for the Chicago types in the audience, Ms. Tomlin sez:
I will be participating in a reading on February 13 in Chicago. The topic is love. The place is MoJoe's Cafe in Roscoe Village. The other readers include Al Burian of Burn Collector and formerly of Hellbender, a band that I liked in high school. See you there.
Only without the link to Mojoe's site.
Not sure if I'm going or not. Anyone else out there planning on attending?
Dammit, you're just trying to make me guilty for going to see punk girls doing burlesque!
Meanie!
Playboy in bed with SuicideGirls?
j, you could have phrased that differently.
I'm glad you didn't, but really, you could have.
Neo, like I said in email, I'm in favor of punk girls doing burlesque.