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This politically-charged, Los Angeles-based quarterly covers a broad swath of the cultural spectrum, with an emphasis on hip-hop and electronic music, yet encompasses bands as disparate as Ozomatli and Evil Beaver, Michael Franti and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Music, too, is just a point of focus and not the whole story here. WAV's second issue includes interviews with Congressman Henry Waxman and an article on solar power, as well as artist interviews and music news. Although published on newsprint, the magazine is laid out with care and an eye toward graphic impact. There are some obvious promo-shots sprinkled here and there, but also decent live shots and interesting graphics.
The writing tends to be a little fannish. The writers are clearly featuring people they like and respect, but some of these profiles -- MC Tali, DJ Michelle Mai, for instance -- read like press releases. Still, there are some really solid interviews here. Dillinger Escape Plan comes off as smart and funny and abrasive in its brief Q&A -- the best moment comes when interviewer Yolanda asks lead singer Puciato what he says to people who dismiss the band because all they hear is a bunch of noise. "Don't listen," he says. It's just that simple.
Michael Franti's account of his recent trip to Iraq and Israel is thoughtful and interesting, particularly when he speaks of his conversations with soldiers. Franti says that only about 10 percent of the armed forces he spoke to in Iraq felt that they were doing the right thing, another 40 percent felt that the war had started well, but that they now felt they were fighting a losing battle, and 50 percent felt that it was bullshit to begin with. That's something you're not going to hear in a government-run press conference, and it makes the whole effort that much more depressing.
Another highlight is the interview with Congressman Waxman, in which he makes a fairly devastating case against the Republican Congress, the Bush administration, and Halliburton. It is hard to imagine, say, the Clinton administration surviving the level of scandal and conflicts of interest that he delineates, yet for the most part, the current administration has remained untouched.
There's not a lot of concern about balance here, which is okay by me, but more conservative readers will not be able to make it through a single article. Even the crossword, included on the back page, has a liberal slant. In order to find the clues, you have to know a good deal about the Florida recount debacle and that state's purge of black voters. If you're a devotee of Fox News, you're not going to be able to fill in a single square -- and most likely you'll die of apoplexy before you can even try.
-- Jennifer Kelly
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