In 2022 there are so many top notch podcasts, mixes and streaming radio options that trying to consume them all is a recipe for madness or, at the very least, chronic sleep deprivation. With so much choice, I suspect that we may already be living in the era of Momus's Famous For Fifteen People. Over the last year or so, Canadian Armen Svadjian's excellent "podcast exploring rock criticism and old-school fanzine culture", Rock Writ, has become an essential listen here at Not Unloved. Over its 20 episodes (and counting!), Armen has interviewed luminaries such as Mike Stax of legendary 60s garage/psych zine Ugly Things, Jay Hinman of D.I.Y./punk bibles Superdope and Dynamite Hemorrhage (new issue out now!), not to mention Scotland's very own early fanzine heavyweights, Lindsay Hutton (The Next Big Thing) and Brian Hogg (Bam Balam/Strange Things Are Happening). The conversations always prove illuminating and Armen - a former zine writer himself - is a friendly and knowledgeable host who enables his guests to tell their stories via a series of astute questions and observations. There hasn't been an episode so far that hasn't had me scurrying to ebay on the hunt for back issues of whichever publication is being discussed. It really makes you yearn for a return to the days when Tower Records or Borders Books had shelves devoted to small run zines and, of course, makes you kick yourself for not picking up more of them when they were freely available.
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Listen to Rock Writ here
