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urban75 e-zine
 snappy soundbite the rant who are we? |
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note: this is the original intro to the site, penned in a fit of anger waaaaay back in 1995. A few things have changed in the years that have followed, but we like to think we've kept our core values intact! THE SOUNDBITE This is an online magazine that aims to reflect the true underground scene in the UK. There's some crazy shit going down and we want to be there in the thick of it all. We'll be reporting on the hardcore environmentalists, underground ravers, road campaigners and all sorts of stuff that takes our interest - and hopefully having a bit of a laugh too. We'll be posting up our thoughts, words and pictures, and we're going to be brutally honest about what we see... We'll be giving you a chance to hit back at the bullshitters, to read about the slippery customers, the con merchants and the dodgy corporates. We'll be providing you with the latest news from the underground, solid drug information, great articles and graphics, and, of course, the opportunity to deliver a firm - but fair - slap to worthy slapees! urban75 is entirely non-profit based, and is one of the busiest independent sites on the Net, notching up nearly three million visitors a year.  THE RANT (takes deep breath....!) Yea, we know what you're thinking..... "...yet another funny fanzine with a dumb ass name. So what? What have they got to offer?" I'll tell you what. Long before he sold his ass down the line, Johnny Lydon sang, "Anger is an energy" and right now our tank's on full. We're fuelled up. We're fed up and fucked off with seeing an endless succession of vacuous swanky new magazines purporting to tell us what's happening and where 'the scene' is at. Flick open the glossy cover and what do you get? A few half baked Grade 'C' celebs blathering away with arse-dull anecdotes, fifth-hand reports of something that they're pretending to be concerned about, back slapping articles about their coked up mates, and a whole load of toadying up to their precious advertisers. Get past the trendy 'distressed' graphics, the supposed 'underground' message, and what's left? The same old fat cat corporate publishing houses, the same old recycled shite, the same old dumb clothes, the same safe, bland writing by seasoned old hacks and rich kid dabblers all trying to make a few bucks out of a scene that's got fuck all to do with them. Nothing but a whole load of vacuous posturing without commitment, conviction or honesty. Urban75 has got something to say. We haven't got any 'moral' advertisers to upset. No committee of corporate sponsors breathing down our neck. Like anyone we need cash to survive, but we won't sell ourselves short for the quick buck. By refusing to carry those hideous banner adverts, we're losing thousands every week. But we don't like 'em, they're ugly, they're corporate, they slow things down for you guys and we don't want a McDonalds advert destroying our credibility or cheapening our stand. That's not to say we don't want cash or sponsorship - we'll take money off anyone - absolutely anyone - just so long as they don't expect us to say nice things about them, or endorse whatever it is they're trying to flog. Any takers? We're offering a platform for those who've got something to say. We don't want to hear about what Tarquin and Camilla are wearing. We don't want to hear about the latest manufactured band. We don't want leery, beery 'New Lads', yuppified football or pagefuls of 'designer' drinks and 'street wear'. We want the heart, the soul, the energy direct from the source, not from the storyboard of some trendy ad agency. We don't want to hear about the latest big budget 60 quid a head rave with shite glossy flyers in some field stuffed full of gorilla security men, neither do we want to queue up to watch some fucking 'Superstar DJs' flout their inflated egos at the Enormo-Dome. We're going to take the piss whenever we smell new age bullshit and phoney philosophy. We've no problem with people taking pills, dancing all night and having a laugh - it's only when they start blathering on about discovering a new 'latent spiritualism' that costs them a small fortune every night that we start to get worried. We wanna hear about the places we want to go to - the underground happenings, the audacious actions, and the illegal parties with DJ's who are doing it for love and not for the wage cheque. You won't catch us at queuing up nightly for the Ministry of $ound. Ever since the rich kid owner was heard to delightedly squeal, "Clubbing is the new rock'n'roll!" as he unfurled his designer range of T-shirts, bags, and other shit, he was knocked off our list. There's people out there doing it for real. That's the people we want to talk to. That's the people we'll write about. In this issue there's stories from the direct action front-line, the underground rave scene, football, cartoons, poems, sound drugs advice and a whole load of stuff you won't get elsewhere. If you like it, or think we're talking bollocks and know you can do better - then show us. We don't want to hear talk of 'maybe' or 'someday' - only action cuts it over here. If you've got something to say, let's hear it. We're not about technical excellence, we're about commitment - it's passion over perfection everytime. There's something stirring out there, and it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. The time is NOW. Let's have some fun.
........are you ready?
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