The do-it-yourself culture of the ’90s is not dead. The Barnard Zine Club and Barnard’s radio station, WBAR, are reaching back to the time of jewel cases and ripped denim, when zines were crafted by cutting and pasting, not by computers.
The organizations are collaborating to make a music-related zine celebrating college radio, zine culture, and music in the city and beyond.
The zine, which is still unnamed, will be distributed in March in conjunction with a release party and showcase of campus bands. After that, WBAR hopes to keep producing zines on an annual or biannual basis.
The idea for the collaboration began with WBAR College Rock Music Director Nathan Albert, CC ’12, and Zine Club member Vanessa Thill, BC ’13. “We discovered that back in the ’90s and early ’00s, WBAR published a zine [called Static] and an in-studio compilation regularly, and we were inspired to bring those things back,” Albert said.
“When WBAR staff came across some old WBAR zines during an office cleaning session it just seemed like a great idea—I think everyone at WBAR is really excited to be bringing this tradition back to life,” Mira de Jong, BC ’12, said.
The zine is publishing all submissions, which will be accepted through Jan. 29.
“We’d love for the body of the zine to be made up of submissions from the Columbia community, but we really encourage anyone with an interest in music/DIY/zine culture to get creative and send in your ideas,” de Jong said. They’re even accepting submissions from abroad—including from a WBAR member’s friend in Indonesia.
Jaclyn Horowitz, BC ’12, explained that the collaboration between the clubs is a good fit on both sides.
“The structure of WBAR is similar to that of zines. Because WBAR is a free-form radio station, the DJ is basically the sole authority of his or her show. Similar to one’s space in a zine, the WBAR radio shows are completely autonomous and uncensored,” Horowitz said.
“Like a blank space in a zine, the DJ’s radio station is their own platform to express themselves in a completely unfiltered way. The only real difference is the mode and means through which you communicate: on air in the studio, orally, and on a zine, visually.”
To help produce the publication, WBAR applied for a grant from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation through CUarts, and called on Barnard zine librarian Jenna Freedman for her advice and guidance.
Joe Bucciero, CC’15 and Spectator staff writer, said that he is excited to get his hands dirty with the project.
“Zine culture is really intriguing because it’s so passion driven. You don’t have to cut and glue and copy and stuff to make a blog, after all,” he said. There’s the “whole ’90s-nostalgia-everywhere thing going on, and maybe the whole thing’s a little cliché or whatever, but I want to be a part of it.”
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy