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Whenever I look at or even hear the word Yeti I think of the movie
American Pie. You see, during one of the party scenes, if you listen
really closely you can hear two guys talking. Their conversation is
something along the lines of "man, my farts fucking stink", to which his
friend replies "dude you gotta take a shit, you smell like a yeti".
Then as the scene fades out you hear a distant voice chant "yeti, I am
the yeti!" Thus, whenever I hear or see the word yeti, I chuckle.
Bad jokes aside, the inaugural issue of Yeti is chock full o’ literary
and musical goodness. Now admittedly, I originally bought the magazine
because of the free CD that comes with it. I simply cannot pass up
anything that boasts unreleased tracks by Elliott Smith, Stereolab and
Califone, be it a set of patio furniture, flyswatter or, in this case, a
magazine. But getting beyond the freebies, the magazine features a
delightful L’interview with Chicago lo-fi jazz boffins L’Altra in which
the band talks about the current state of the Chi-town music scene and hypes
other notable Aesthetics-related bands like The Eternals and Daniel
Givins. There is also a revealing interview with abstract/pseudo porn
painter Alex Brown, as well as several examples of his intriguing work.
But by far the two most interesting/entertaining facets of this issue
are their expose on the new lo-fi metal scene and their interviews with
James Brown’s "Original funky divas." Entitled "The Depths of Dankness",
the lo-fi metal feature takes you through every aspect of the genre
you’d need/want to know, and then some you don’t. It even gives band
synopses and mailing addresses! Their interviews with all seven of
Brown’s "Original Funky Divas" help to shed some new light on the
Godfather of Soul and the scene the Divas helped to create. Also worth
checking out are the short story "My First Rehab" by Buddy Kold, and Felix
Vallotron’s "Sampler of Graphic Works".
The final verdict: Yeti #1 buy for the music, stay for the content.
-- Jason Jackowiak
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