Hole in The Bucket

When Buffalo's Ani Difranco sings "I'm gonna take the money I made and go away" (playing the part of the escaping stripper) on "Letter to a John," I feel sad. I'm gonna miss her and I feel as I'm to blame for her sadness. But when she returns as the ghost lover from my past asking if I'd meet her for coffee (on "The Diner"); I don't return her phone call and I don't meet her out. I am ashamed.
-- review of Ani Difranco's Out of Range CD

Slack issue #13- The Food & Beverage Issue*
Oct. 1994 (published 10.11.94)
* Not to be confused with the beer issue

I just burned my new vinyl copy of 100 Days 100 Nights by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings to CD and it made me remember why I like music so much. To drop the needle on the fresh vinyl- it just sinks in and warms the room. The soulful sounds of Sharon Jones and her great band should really be heard on a record. They make music not meant for the digital age, but alas, here we are, eh?

I thought I best get back into this massive unearthing of the past and try and finish getting the rest of the Slacks up before the year's out. Not that I don't have enough other things to do. There is something therapeutic to look back on 1994 for some reason.

The Slack had surpassed a surprising full year at this point with 12 issues, could we really be on to something, we thought?... Tight graphics, Photoshop trickery on the cover and some text in french-- this issue has it all, baby! The F&B issue has a lot of great pieces including Eric Morse's The Slack Cookbook Recipes which include:

• Minimal-Muss Spaghetti
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Tuna Salad
• Grilled Cheese and Stuff
• Skillet Lasagna
• layered Taco Dip (advanced slackers only)

There is some good record reviews (note my pen on Out of Range, which I still think is the best Sunny D franco LP, evah), a great Bitter Boy ("Well Mr. and Mrs. Demographic- Thanks a lot! Your taste sucks!!"), Strick's theory about "altered consciousness," and an article on why author Toni Billoni wants to live at Tops. Editor's Note: I bet he's a Wegman's convert these days. Anne Rice as Slacker of The Month- you can't lose.

Ah, good old 1994 when Liz Phair, Hey Seus and The Mary Chain and Dino Jr. taught us all a little bit about slack. As DJ Scotty says in his review of Bakesale by Sebadoh: No happy or depressing idealism here, just the truth.

Download PDF here: Slack Magazine n. 13, the Food & Beverage Issue (3.9 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (7 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack no. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

BONUS BEATS: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings "100 Days, 100 Night" Video - click me!