Is it vain or silly of me to post reviews of my own zines for all to see. Probably, but these reviews (albeit slightly dated) are some of the best I've received. They are found in the Flying Machine Zine Distro catalog and were written by Emma of Australia. To find out more about this awesome little Aussie distro you should contact Emma (Flying Machine) at PO Box 4, Enmore NSW 2042, Australia or fake_space_program@graffiti.net
Elephant Mess 15 - Dan describes Elephant Mess as the world's worst perzine, but I can't say that I agree with this self-depreciation. In this issue Dan imagines people all over the world being connected unknowingly through their mutual possession of Elephant Mess. Putting aside the tyrannical connotations of this fantasy, Dan's zine is infused with a sense of longing for another world, a world that is big and noble, while maintaining the sense that this nobility is built with small things - insects and secret obsessions, mix tapes and maps - the places we call home and the little things that keep us going. I like it a lot.
Elephant Mess 14 - Excuse my disregard for chronology, but I felt that #15 was perhaps a better means of introducing Elephant Mess than this, #14, as it's a somewhat darker, more introspective affair, right down to being photocopied in the negative. Subtitled 'the roman numerals issue,' it consists of a seven-part meditation on loneliness, or perhaps aloneness is a better way to describe it. Dan catches something of what it feels to have been alone for so long that upon entering into conversation with another human being you find you've forgotten how to project your voice, and the experience leaves you with a greater sense of significance than it actually bore.
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