Dispatches From the Fringe

Dispatches From the Fringe

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"They Hate Babies and Old People": The Story of 9353, Evil Clowns of the D.C. Punk Scene
Rock is full of “shoulda made it” stories, but this isn’t one of them. In the D.C. punk scene, 9353 were the bad guys. They were also eerily gripping…
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Seth Lorinczi
17
Heartbreak, Scandal & Soul: How Ed Cobb Brought Angst and Grit to Pop
If you were a music-obsessed kid scanning the airwaves for signs of life, songs like “Tainted Love,” “Every Little Bit Hurts” & “Dirty Water” gave you…
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Seth Lorinczi
10
Sonics Boom: My Afternoon with the Greatest Garage Band of All Time
A new documentary on The Sonics sheds some light—but not quite enough of it—on Tacoma’s favorite sons. Better still, it reignites memories of my own…
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Seth Lorinczi
7
Philadelphia Story: Kendrick, SZA, and The Human Flag
Stuck in Philly, I gave in and watched the halftime show. As I did, I felt something breaking inside: The humbling power of grief. We can resist it all…
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Seth Lorinczi
7
The Great Dismantling
In Washington, D.C. the mood is grim. The administration is ripping the copper from the walls, and we’re all about to lose our heat. Maybe punk offers a…
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Seth Lorinczi
15
The Tree No One Could See: How My Friend's Sexual Assault Changed Everything
I tried to put my prep school years behind me, but the Kavanaugh report brought it all back: My favorite teacher, the girl from my neighborhood, and the…
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Seth Lorinczi
20
Sheep Farmers, Bo Diddley, and Stanley Kubrick: The Improbable Story Behind “I Want Candy”
Released in the summer of 1982, Bow Wow Wow’s breakthrough single was a breath of fresh air. But unlikely a hit as it was, the song’s backstory is even…
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Seth Lorinczi
8
Exit Naomi: Saga of a Punk Photographer
After landing at LA’s most notorious punk label, Naomi Petersen became one of the scene's hottest photographers, shooting Sonic Youth, Gn’R, Nirvana and…
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Seth Lorinczi
32
Growing Up Punk: On The Jam, Finding Meaning in Music, and More
Before he was a best-selling author and journalist, Tony Fletcher was a wide-eyed 13-year-old music fanatic. In this interview, he shares the thrills…
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Seth Lorinczi
 and 
Tony Fletcher
4
Turned Japanese: Beyond The Vapors' Lone Hit Record
The Vapors’ 1980 ear worm regularly makes it onto “Where are they now?” lists, but that hardly does the band justice. In an age of nuclear dread they…
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Seth Lorinczi
9
The Tender Brutality of Arthur Lee and Love
When I crossed paths with the mercurial bandleader, his star was barely flickering. Two decades after his death, he’s revered as an avatar of…
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Seth Lorinczi
4
Third Time the Charm: The Story of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”
When “Tainted Love” hit the U.S. charts in 1982, the moody production sounded shockingly new. But the song? It’d waited patiently in the wings for over…
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Seth Lorinczi
15
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