"I'm a teenage Art School Student"

Nutrition Fun / Ed Rooney - Seriously Don't Make Me Kill You
Unread #56

The first fanzine I wrote was called "Been Teen" after a Dolly Mixture song, and was put together in my bedroom using ballpoint pens and Prittstick by my friend Scott and I. It was all hand written, and the photos were cut from Smash Hits and Record Mirror. We could not afford to photocopy it and so just passed around the pasted together original at Jon's parties. People laughed at my writing (in a good way, I think), which was in the smart-arse, "I'm a teenage Art School Student" voice.

Alistair Fitchett

DIY culture is one of the more beautiful ideas to spawn from the artistic world. It's an attempt at Direct Democracy, compensating for lack of resources, empowerment for honest and organic ideas and creations. It's about artists/people getting a fair shake and pursuing personally meaningful ends. The "indie rock" scene has certainly seen itself in the context of that folk-garage-punk-DIY tradition. But the title, "Do-It-Yourself," is insufficient. It reflects the personal empowerment aspect while masking something just as critical: mutual support and empowerment of a community.

Chris Ruen

At one point, Ed Rooney introduces us to "the neatest noise in the world," which ends up sounding like a baby giraffe sneezing into a megaphone stuffed with cinnamon and brown sugar oatmeal. And after bearing witness to "the neatest noise in the world," a warm tingling spread through me and the hair on my arms stood on end and I began to see pure, vivid colors along the edge of my vision—and then came the realization that DIY is so intoxicating!