30 Years Later
For whatever reasons,
I got the nudge to digitize the magazine in 2024. Why then and not any earlier, I don't know.
Digitizing was not that difficult given my over two decades of graphic design experience, though it was somewhat time consuming.
Doing one issue at a time, I scanned each individual page using the app “Genius Scan” on my phone (only after splicing off the binding so each page could lay flat). I then brought each scan into Photoshop, cleaned, straightened, and sized it for consistency. (This was the time-consuming part.)
I saved each file in jpg format and placed it into a Word document. (My younger graphic design self would be horrified that I'm using Word for "desktop publishing"!)
I wanted to view the magazine as a “flipbook” online, where each page acts and sounds like a magazine when flipping between pages. I tried several free platforms (heyzine.com was my favorite) until a friend mentioned Archive.org, the non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more. That’s where RATW needs to belong for posterity. See archive.org/details/@sweez_pdx to view all six issues.
I then starting writing down memories from that time.
ME AND LIVE MUSIC TODAY
I may have mentioned I lost interest in live music while doing RATW (See Issue 5). For a while I also lost interest in new music in general for most of the 90s. It all sounded the same to me or was way too commercial slick for my tastes. And frankly all kinda boring.
It’s not that I wasn’t listening to music – it was on a lot, especially living with a record-store-owning husband – but I wasn’t actively seeking new sounds like my obsessive younger self did.
Some songs, mostly those on the radio during my commutes or playing in the background at work, seeped into my consciousness (such as Elliott Smith and Stereolab). But very little interested me.
Little did I know there were whole worlds of music happening during the 1990s that were underground to “my underground”, music that I wouldn’t discover until visiting dear friends in Barcelona in 2001. My music universe exploded again from that visit.
No more grunge. Now electronica, trip hop, synth-pop, chamber pop, drone, dub, trance, house, techno, chillwave, shoegaze, downtempo, big beat, jungle, drum and bass… and so much more! Not to mention all the variations of folk (folktronica; indie folk; neofolk, etc)
Some of my favorites became Aphex Twin, Massive Attack, Orbital, Boards of Canada, Air, Fatboy Slim, Moby, Radiohead, as well as Magnetic Fields, Beth Orton, Beta Band, Cibo Matto. So much to discover!
I have been happily listening to and expanding my tastes ever since. Though not in the same way as when I was younger. I’m still not actively seeking. It has to come to me. And boy, does it – with streaming services!
The means of listening to music kept changing through the decades after closing down RATW – from records to CDs to mini-disks to mp3s to iTunes to Pandora to finally settling down with Spotify. I love Spotify. I love its ability to make playlists. I love the new sounds I learn about from Spotify’s “Discovery Weekly” – still fresh and new and interesting. It all makes me very happy.
But live music? I never really regained an interest. That doesn’t mean I haven’t seen any live music. It just means that live music has to really really call me to make me want to go.
I even have a few regrets about live shows I missed, post-RATW.
- I regret not seeing the Screaming Trees even one more time.
- I regret not seeing the Dandy Warhols at any time in their first two decades.
- I also regret not seeing Stereolab. Quick story: when they came to Portland in the mid 90s, I wanted to see them at the Crystal Ballroom, but I heard they were sold out. I found out later that they had left free tickets for my then-husband and guests because they had spent the day at his record store, fell in love with it, and gifted him tickets! Dang!!
The few shows I’ve seen over the last three decades (which I can count on just a few fingers) have been completely worthwhile.
- Kristin Hirsh (formally of Throwing Muses) in 1994, doing an “in store” performance at Music Millenium record store, supporting her “Hips & Makers” album. I remember bringing my then two-year-old, who kind of played with her two-year-old son on the side of the room.
- Everything But the Girl in 1996 to support their “Walking Wounded” album. So happy to see them live. One of my favorite bands ever. But such a weird venue: Champoeg State Park, in the middle of nowhere.
- Neil Finn in 1999 for his “Try Whistling This” album. Fantastic and fun. Such a cutie patootie.
- Pink Martini a handful of times. Always marvelous.
- Rodrigo y Gabriela in 2010, per my son’s recommendation. Pretty darn cool.
- And for me, the crème de la crème, the peak live experience that makes me so satisfied that if I never saw a live show again, I'd be good: Elbow in 2015. THAT show was the best. They are an English band that few Americans have heard of and happen to be one of my favorites.. They were marvelous. And I was with my people. The show reminded me of what I used to love about going to see live alternative music: not only are you with "your people", but there's that moment where something shifts and the room becomes energetically one. It’s almost tribal or shamanistic or something like that. So satisfying and soul-filling.
And I think that’s it!
LAST THOUGHTS
I originally thought about monetizing these old RATWs – charging something for the privilege of viewing each old issue – but then I thought, “Fuck that!” I’m tired of the commercialization of everything. This is my gift to whomever might enjoy it.
That said, if anyone is inclined to buy me a coffee and a biscuit, I won’t turn that down!
It truly was a labor of love, from a fan to other fans.
Looking back, I realize I was part of a time and a scene that was “a thing”. I was one of the many who made up the tapestry of alternative music that was just this weird little subgenre that few people knew about. It was as much a creative time as 1920s Paris or late 1960s San Francisco… I had no idea, while in the midst of it, that we were part of something specific and special.
A big thanks again goes to Dave, without whose idea, encouragement and assistance RATW wouldn’t have happened. He supported us financially while I attempted to make a go at it. Thank you, Dave! Much appreciated.
And of course a big thank you again to my folks, especially my Dad (or maybe especially to my Mom who probably took the time to convince my Dad) for providing me with capital in the form of a loan. I appreciate your faith in me.
I miss you, Dad, and wish you could see Rock Around the World online! That’s where it was meant to be all along. If only the internet existed for us regular folk back then.
And as I wrote in my “going out of business” letter: Thanks to everyone who helped support us in this venture, especially the booking agents, the many weird and wonderful labels, and the bands themselves.
Cheers to music fans everywhere.
I miss you, Dad, and wish you could see Rock Around the World online! That’s where it was meant to be all along. If only the internet existed for us regular folk back then.
And as I wrote in my “going out of business” letter: Thanks to everyone who helped support us in this venture, especially the booking agents, the many weird and wonderful labels, and the bands themselves.
Cheers to music fans everywhere.
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