CREATOR SPOTLIGHT #1 | CLUMSYKISSES PART 1 | DERRY GIRLS/BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN/LONDON CALLING

"clumsykisses" is Rebecca McCormick, who is steadily producing highly personal and insightful zines on various subjects including her favourite songs, bands and television programmes, as well as perzines about her own life. The zines are stapled photocopies, usually in mini-zine format but occasionally A5, and full of content which is always interesting. I am highlighting three titles here while I wait for the others I have ordered to arrive. The clumsykisses Etsy store can be found here, with all three titles currently available. 

TITLE - LONDON CALLING - A 40TH ANNIVERSARY ZINE 

6" X 4" MINI-ZINE/38 PAGES/BLACK & WHITE/STAPLED PHOTOCOPY

PRICE - £1.00 + SHIPPING/LINK

This mini-zine is a perzine about the classic double album, "London Calling" by The Clash. Citing it as one of her favourite albums, Rebecca goes through the LP track by track offering her personal insight on her favourite (and not so favourite songs). The zine also features opinions from her friends and mother. Rebecca is an excellent writer and her love for the music comes over strongly. These are her personal views, and she invites us to disagree with her on her twitter, but you will rarely see such perceptive and enjoyable music criticism. The zine is written as if Rebecca is listening to the album while jotting down notes and this is probably the best way to experience it. The style is warm, funny and easy-going and we get to know Rebecca as well as "London Calling" while reading - her favourite song of all time is "Lost in the Supermarket", so kudos there. She's also not afraid to drop in a bit of politics. Highly recommended for Clash fans. 

TITLE - YOU AIN'T A BEAUTY BUT HEY YOU'RE ALRIGHT | A ZINE ABOUT BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 

6" X 4" MINI-ZINE/27 PAGES/BLACK & WHITE/STAPLED PHOTOCOPY 

PRICE - £1.50 + SHIPPING/LINK

Possibly even more personal than "London Calling", this mini-zine is a very affecting read as it opens with Rebecca relating the circumstances of her renewed interest in Bruce Springsteen following the death of her father. Rebecca lists her favourite songs, albums, documentaries and Bruce-moments in her usual warm and personal style. The text touches on queer identity (of which Bruce has always been something of a pioneer) and the feelings of small-town isolation which Springsteen has always highlighted in his music. A very inspiring and moving read. 

TITLE - DERRY GIRLS | A ZINE ABOUT THE GIRLS (AND THE WEE ENGLISH FELLA)

A5/44 PAGES/COLOUR, BLACK & WHITE/STAPLED PHOTOCOPY

PRICE - £2.00 + SHIPPING/LINK 

I've grown to love Rebecca McCormick's take on the world and freely admit to becoming slightly addicted to her zines, wonky formatting and hand-numbered pages and all, so I had to get this, a zine all about one of the best British comedy shows ever - "Derry Girls". Rebecca covers the series in some depth, through character sketches, sections on the families, an episode guide to the first two series, the music and a wealth of behind the scenes information. Her off-the-cuff impressions are original and captivating throughout and made me look at certain aspects of the show in a different way. Even at five times the price this zine would offer much better value than some official books do. If you love the girls (and the wee English fella), go buy this zine (and binge on the other titles) now - it's absolutely cracker!

Coming in Part 2 - "Just Cheap Tarnished Glitter -  A Zine About the Manic Street Preachers", "Shy Punk 2", "Opinionated Nobody #15" and "The Tracks of My Years - A zine about some songs I love".