RESearch Reviewed

Real Conversations #1:

Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Billy Childish

Interviews by V. Vale

Re/Search, 240pp., $12.95 (paper)

Leave it to V. Vale to put out a book that consists of little more than transcripts of people arguing over why people don't read anymore! Luckily, the Re/Search maven, who's brought you classic tomes covering alternative celebrities' views on body modification, pranks, weird movies, even weirder music, etc., has learned over the years that putting a volume number on his books helps. Designed smaller (and cheaper) than the typical Re/Search volume, Real Conversations #1 feels more than ever like a periodical, making it okay to buy and thumb through as a throwaway item, though like the previous Vale books, you know you're gonna keep it on your shelf until someone walks out of your pad with it. The focus of this volume is independence in an increasingly corporate world, and just for attempting to raise awareness by publishing the book, Vale deserves applause. The series in general basically comes down to: Here are people that we think have something to say -- do you want to hear what they're saying? If your response is "yes," you pays your money, and you takes your chances. Having both Jello Biafra and Henry Rollins in one volume raises the risk that you're already sick unto death of both of these guys, but on the other hand, when's the last time you read an interview with punk-legend Billy Childish or Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti? Besides, since most current interview magazines now feature little or no actual content between the full-page ads, and television talk programs have been reduced to meaningless chatter or lightning-quick sound bites, Vale's series may soon be your only option for encountering lengthy discussion. And it fits in your backpack.