Ponytail//Love Magazine// Teal Triggs

Here's a clunky screen grab from when Ponytail was featured as one of Teal Triggs' top ten new zines on Love Magazine (I was realllllyyyy excited)
I've been secretly coveting Teal's book 'Fanzines' since the Zineview event at LCC, reading it sneaky page glance by sneaky page glance in bookshops across London, waiting for Christmas.

5 Good Things To Look At

Back by vaguely popular demand, is the most irregular and most effusive feature to ever grace the internet: "5 Good Things To Look At"

1. Mild Fantasy Violence

Legs 11- Emma Hammond

Emma Hammond contributed an amazing piece for issue #1 of Ponytail. She's pretty brilliant and so is her new podcast Mild Fantasy Violence. Listen to it here.

2. Strange Powers



My brain almost exploded with joy when I saw this trailer - a documentary about Stephin Merritt and Magnetic Fields!
Magnetic Fields are one of my favourite bands and I listen to 69 Love Songs when I'm writing, hoping a touch of narrative genius might rub off on me!

3. Fever Zine Sandwich

I recently bought a Fever Zine Sandwich at the Camberwell Zine Fair. It's a slice of zine heaven full of deliciously illustrated ingredients, now I've exhausted my cheesy (one more) food allusions that's that.

4. Mermaids

My talented friend Gus has an encyclopedic knowledge of excellent films from the 80s, it was on her recommendation that I watched Mermaids starring Cher, Bob Hoskins and Winona Ryder. Who knew Cher could act?! She can. This film is brilliant,just the right kind of eccentric, the characters are more Zooey Glass than Zooey Deschanel. The soundtrack is pretty swish too.

5. Roylex

In what is fast becoming my quest to document all my life on the internet (aka blatent self promotion), I've started a photo blog with a friend to document our christmas card making project from sketches to screen printing to (hopefully) world domination. At the moment this involves drinking tea and listening to Mariah Carey christmas songs. This may or may not be a good thing to look at... decide here

5 Good Things To Look At

Thanks so much to everyone who has bought a copy of issue #1 so far.
The critics are raving:
"such a clever bubbeleh! It should be in WHSmiths" My Nana
One day Nana, one day.

Anyway, while I'm here cutting zines as fast as [insert a witty reference to someone who can cut something really fast here], here are 5 Good Things you should check out:

Emily Reo

1. Emily Reo of Florida very kindly donated a song to the Ponytail Mix CD. I met her this summer and we drank beer on the street and talked about Star Wars, oh and she was there when THIS happened. Her music is a feast of hazy synths, crashing drum machines and melancholic vocals- casiotones for the painfully AWESOME. Check it out on her myspace
I also found this quote on Google "Her name is Reo...and she dances on the sand". Totally wish I'd thought of that.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

2.It's Philip Seymour Hoffman, but not as you know him (although maybe they ARE the same person- "he looks so different off screen"). I met Philip Seymour Hoffman at exactly the same time that I met Emily and he too kindly donated a song to the Ponytail Mix #1. His music is right up my street- experimental pop musicians who occasionally wear masks? Yes please!
Instead of trying to write an eloquent review- here's a list of words I wrote whilst listening to PSH's music:
As you can see the main idea is "good". If anyone who puts gigs on in the UK is reading this, for example...I don't know... Upset The Rhythm (hopefully they google themselves) you should contact them on myspaces- the UK needs Emily Reo and Philip Seymour Hoffman in their ears and on their stages!

3. Ever one to support a cottage (or East London equivalent- converted warehouse maybe?) industry, the 3rd of my "Good Things To Look At" are my friend Suze's limited edition, screen-printed, pretty fucking swish t-shirts starring Shabba Ranks. Even with my limited knowledge of Dancehall, I know that these t-shirts are boss. Check them (and some exquisite colour descriptions) out at her blog- Shimmy Shimmy.

4. Fever Zine is like the jedi master of the zine world. Both interesting and aesthetically pleasing (but enough about me...arf arf) this UK-based zine covers art, music and DIY culture amongst other things and I've been a fan for aggggesssss. Plus they've totally been helping Ponytail out with shout-outs and understanding technologies:

Thanks guys!

5. I've been obsessed with Freaks and Geeks since I watched all of them in a row and ate crisps with my friend Emmylou 3 years ago. Having been exactly half a freak (going twosies on joints behind the bike shed) and half a geek (founder of History club 2000-2003), this programme "spoke to me". Plus teen awkardness is the bread and butter of my cultural diet right now. All the episodes are available on youtube if you haven't seen it already (what do you live under a rock?) or want to just watch them again.
As you can see from the opening credits below, it is a) amazing and b) stars lots of people who went on to be more famous in less funny things: