hot out here

Do you remember music zines?  I remember music zines.  I published them for a decade and a half, and have boxes and boxes of them in my basement.  I used to read zines constantly.  Then the Internet came along – blogs in particular – and pretty much killed print zines as a category.  I don’t really blame today’s music fans for spurning print – the web is simply cheaper and more accessible.  Nonetheless, on the rare occasion that a ’90s-style music zine comes my way, I feel compelled to write about it.

Awhile back, a woman in England named Amy ordered some back issues of CIF.  She was one of three or four people who placed orders in the spring.  It took me months to fulfill these orders, in large part because I was consumed with the bar exam and did virtually nothing besides study my BAR/BRI books.  When I finally sent Amy her late back issues, not only was she not offended by the lateness of my reply, but responded with copies of Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams, the zine she’d recently started.  I’ve read issues #1 and #2, and can heartily recommend it to anyone who misses the days of getting manila envelopes containing the likes of For Paper Airplane Pilots, Kickstand and Incite! Issue #1 includes interviews with Mike Schulman/Slumberland, 555 Records, Lung Leg, The Haircuts and Comet Gain, while #2 includes Bunnygrunt, Katrina House (ex-B&S manager) and The Pristines.  I’d be certain Amy actually concocted this zine in the mid-90s if it wasn’t for the MySpace references.  Both issues include Polish lessons (word to Ruined Music) as well, and there’s a pleasingly personal tone to the whole affair.  You can order it through the MySpace page listed above.

*  if this reference makes sense to you, you’re probably old like me

The blog has pretty much taken shape now.  I’ve imported most of the links and made it look pretty much how I wanted it to look.  Now all I need is some inspiration to write something.  Sadly, I have very little at the moment.  It’s been more than two weeks since the bar exam, but I’m still wiped out from preparing, plus I’ve now got this document-review project filling my days and (thankfully) keeping me away from the Internet.  Honestly, what am I missing?  Olympic news?  I’ve got my document review colleagues to keep me apprised on that.

I do have plans for this blog, though.  I have at least two MP3 posts that I will hopefully be writing soon, as well as a number of story ideas that have fermented in the small part of my brain not used for bar prep.  Best to let them ooze online at their own pace, I think.

Still trying to figure out how to transfer this blog to the main site.  And Blogger won’t let me import my old posts.  Frustrating.

OK.  So this is my first attempt at blogging to my own site.  I’ve decided to keep the original blog title but take out the extraneous “r.”  Nelly’s “Hot In Herre” is practically an oldie now, but it still does get very, very hot in the Midwest every summer.  I think it works regardless of obsolete pop-cultural reference.

Once I’ve ironed out the kinks, I will make this the appelstein.com homepage.  Join me on the adventure, won’t you?