Reviews of Urinal Gum
Urinal Gum #8:
“I don’t really get this zine. It’s a bunch of random stories that aren’t interesting and never drew me in, even though I actually gave them a chance (which I’m surprised I did, as normally I don’t have the patience). The tales include a trip to the roller derby, a homeless guy who gave the author $100, a list of things that should go away forever, and so on. There was also one restaurant review, a book review, music review, and a film review. As Lauren Trout said in Razorcake #50 about Urinal Gum’s last issue, ‘I wouldn’t have reviewed this zine if I didn’t have to.’ Although her concern was giving the author negative attention that he was desperate for, my concern is just that it’s boring and a waste of your time.” -Razorcake #51
“Amusing potty-humor zine with news-like essays on random topics. Highlight is a ‘Field Trip to the Roller Derby Bout.’ By Bjorn Stevens. Gives an excellent history and synopsis of the game, its rules and culture. Zine contains lots of foul language and adult topics. Includes book reviews and a film review of the ancient Bond flick, Thunderball. Why? I don’t know, but the review is great.” -Xerography Debt
“This is probably the most varied issue of UG that I’ve read thus far and I think that helps it quite a bit. Of course there are the obligatory fake letters to random companies (this time it’s Gold Bond Powder – and they actually got a response!), but there are also stories about visiting the Roller Derby, a hallucination (or was it real?) about having a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese at the age of twenty-eight, and other assorted nonsense. Like a glass of mayonnaise, Urinal Gum seems to get better with age. It isn’t consistently hilarious, but it’s on its way.” -Zineocracy
Urinal Gum #7:
“This pocket zine may be small and compact in size, but it’s content packs a might punch of humorous and possibly (if you’re a PC wussy) offensive content. In today’s overly sensitive world, reading a zine with a little slap was a definite whiff of fresh air as too many choose to coddle their cliques rather than provoke. No, jagoff, the ‘offensive’ stuff isn’t out of hatred, but instead humor. Someday, everyone will know the difference. Urinal Gum 7 consists of a few letters, few pieces, and a few reviews that had me sporting an ear to ear grin and left me wanting more. Hey, I enjoyed this zine so much, it made my Track Wreckard IV!” -Askew Reviews
“Urinal Gum is a dirty, filthy little zine and sometimes it’s funny. The zine is a collection of a few different types of written works of crude, dark, and obscene humour. It starts off with a few prank letters–at least, I hope they’re prank letters–sent to places like Penthouse Letters and a swingers club. These letters are simply just long, drawn out sex jokes which are more weird and awkward than funny, and more likely to incite nervous laughter instead of actual genuine chuckles of amusement. However, what’s really funny is how the zine doesn’t take itself seriously and is a mixed up pile of messages. For example, “Dear in Headlights” parodies advice columns by giving out really, really bad advice on drug use and sexual relationships. A few pages later, contributor Krysti Cellulose provides a special report on the ‘Top 5 Topics that Will Bore the Hell Outta Anyone!’ Sure enough, relationships and drug use fill in spots one and three respectively. I found the reviews toward the end of the zine to be the most amusing parts. They are written with the same humour as the earlier works, but they do some actual reviewing and critiquing, providing interesting thoughts on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and the movie adaptation of Chuck Palahnuik’s Choke. Then again, maybe I enjoyed these reviews the most because I can better relate to reading books and watching movies than I can to visiting a swingers club.” -Broken Pencil #44
“A collection of ridiculous yet often quotable faux advice and grievance letters written by and to the author (from readers?) and a couple of random stories, almost all of which have to do with some bizarre sex-related situation or at least throw in mention of a porn collection, though the tone is much more irreverent than offensive. In addition, there’s a funny ‘Top 5 Topics That Will Bore The Hell Outta Anyone!’ piece, some reviews, and random, funny quotes in the margins of each page. I’m curious to see what other issues are like.” -Maximum RockNRoll #311
“Come up with your own reasons why someone would publish a zine like this—stories and fake advice columns written in the voice of pathetic and clueless people on topics like rape, adultery, and herpes. I still wouldn’t think this was funny or even be able to appreciate the tongue-in-cheek irony if I was twelve. I wouldn’t have reviewed this zine if I didn’t have to. It’s not worth giving the author the negative attention that he is apparently desperate for.” -Razorcake #50
“‘News flash: we have all had that ‘weird’ dream where we’re having our asshole eaten out by some stranger in exchange for DXM.’ Taken from the article ‘Top 5 Topics that Will Bore the Hell Outta Anyone!’ those comforting words of wisdom sum up the seventh issue of Urinal Gum quite nicely, or at least accurately. I wasn’t exactly bowled over by the last issue, but I have to say, this one made me laugh. It begins with a couple of manic, rambling confessions sent to Penthouse Magazine and a local swinger’s club, followed by reader mail, an advice column, and fake craigslist ads. The editors have a knack for writing funny letters to unwitting recipients; that’s probably UG’s strongest attribute, certainly the most compelling. Happily, such letters comprise the entire first half of the issue, followed by a couple of stories written in a similar style. Towards the end there is, inexplicably, a review of the 1960 novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ which I found to be the highpoint of the issue. Hostile and totally uninformative, it made me laugh out loud more than once, no small feat considering the article took me less than a minute to read. The issue ends with the words: ‘Urinal Gum is meant to offend. All writing is to be interpreted as cruelly as possible.’ Call me jaded, but I didn’t find anything too cruel or offensive within the pages of the seventh issue. Nonetheless, their mission statement certainly gives me hope for the future! I look forward to number eight.” -Zineocracy
Urinal Gum #6:
“We here at NeuFutur have had this issue of Urinal Gum floating around the office for a damn long time, and we have to first apologize to the editors of UG . This issue is from around July of 2008, so there are a few dated things here. This means that there is a fake letter written o then-senator Hillary Rodham Clinton about being the front-runner of the Democratic party, while ‘Every Count Votes’ is a somewhat disturbing bit of review coverage for the HBO film Recount. While the poem ‘State of the Union’ manages to rhyme nicely, it seems to drag on for a tad too long, while a second goofy letter, written this time to Representative Peter DeFazio (Oregon) about allowing GLBT people into space will elicit a few chuckles. ‘A Field Trip to the Oregon Country Fair’ is a very hit or miss piece, discussing ‘Jack Turklesson’’s experience using LSD at an alternative dimension’s county fair. The strongest piece in this issue of Urinal Gum would have to be ‘Dear In Headlights’, an advise article that tells listeners exactly what they wish to hear. The issue finishes up with a listing detailing what readers should do since the world is ending, and it is truly a microcosm of the issues that are present in this issue. While there are funny bits and pieces placed throughout, it just seems as if the writers here are missing more often than hitting with their jokes. Keep an eye out for reviews of future issues and pick up #6 if you see it around. Rating: 6.5/10″ -NeuFutur
“This is the ‘Political Issue’ of Urinal Gum. In it are some reviews of political documentaries and letters to politicians like Hillary Clinton that aren’t replied to. There are ways to prepare for the end of the world and some other stuff of that nature. It’s trying to be funny, but it’s really not. I don’t know, maybe you’ll think it is.” -Razorcake #49
“I’ve never read Urinal Gum before and I found this issue to be a bit of an enigma. See, UG is apparently meant to be funny, but this one is all about politics and since I have no clue what the writers actually believe in I had a hard time differentiating between what they meant sincerely and what was intended to be firmly tongue-in-cheek. For instance, the funniest part of the issue is a god-awful poem called ‘State of the Union’ chock full of forced, meandering rhymes (…the inception of this mammoth ass deception…); however, after reading it carefully several times, I’m pretty sure it’s NOT supposed to be a joke! There are a couple of bits that are almost inspired, such as bizarre letters which the editors sent to politicians, but overall this issue comes off as an eclectic mix of opinionated material featuring a handful of jokes rather than being an honestly funny publication. And that’s too bad because I was really looking forward to having a few cheap laughs. Oh well, perhaps next time.” -Zineocracy
“The obtuse, collegiate intro ( ‘Politics is the way in which we deal with living with other people. It is the way of making rules to decide who is in the right when the freedoms of at least two entities clash ‘) didn’t prepare me for the unfiltered know-nothing anger of the zine’s balance. UG is a rage grenade that explodes with pink confetti. Sometimes the anger (the last-second Bush-bashing) seems petty, dumb and beside whatever point there might be. Sometimes (the crank letter to Hillary Clinton), the anger seems petty, dumb, and high-larious. The nicest thing I can say about UG is that it seems to know that it doesn’t know what the fuck it’s talking about.” -ZineThug #12
Urinal Gum #5:
“A scrappy zine, pissed off with life and American Apparel, Urinal Gum offers some much-needed satire on the ultra-cool, yet totally self-conscious, V-neck-wearing, male, indie scenester. An open letter to Vice best sums up the clichés and contradictions in this netherworld: the writer thanks the mag for informing him on how to keep his cool well into his 20s and getting to bang the odd teenager. Some reviews of books and music, including Miranda July’s No One Belongs Here More Than You, and vulgar short stories balance out the rest of the zine. At times, Urinal Gum sounds strikingly similar to Vice’s own haughty wit and acerbic sass. A faux help-and-advice column, where the writer dishes out ways to deal with an annoying sister-in-law, offers this: ‘With a little luck and some sleeping pills, you’ll be eating potato salad at her funeral in no time!’ Funny, sure, but somehow Urinal Gum’s satire begins to eat itself as soon as it sounds too similar to its target. But this is all forgivable. From some self-mythologizing stories throughout, I gather that the writers have worked at American Apparel themselves and so inhabit the world they parody. Perhaps this is why the criticisms are so spot on. Plus, this devil-may-care writing style has become so wildly popular anyway that it’s impossible to eliminate its influence or appeal entirely.” -Broken Pencil #41
“These dudes are trying to be funny, and they seem to thrive along the border of poor taste. They’re not particularly offensive, not particularly funny, but they get kind of close to both. But it’s like offensive-on-purpose, and they just didn’t have the skills to succeed. There are fake stories, fake letters to real businesses, reviews (the Miranda July book review is the highlight), stories about their friend who would get all the girls, etc. I would not pay two dollars for this issue.” -Maximum RockNRoll #305
Urinal Gum #4:
“I’ve seen the other three issues come in for review and have been curious, mostly because of the handwritten notes on the envelope that have read; ‘not drugs,’ ‘not anthrax’ and for this issue ‘not nuclear.’ This issue of Urinal Gum contains a random smattering of stories about why bicyclists suck – if they had there way according to the author, ‘we’d all be speaking Chinese,’ strip clubs, queer artists, beer pong, and a great letter written to Red Bull. It’s some strange stuff in this zine, but it’s funny and not so obtuse as to be pretentious.” -Maximum RockNRoll #303
“Haw! This reminds me of a clown car: it’s really small, but packs an endless stream of yuks. I don’t know how much of it is lies and how much isn’t, but it claims to discuss Red Bull, strip clubs, some restaurant in Eugene, and other essential topics. All the authors have funny in their blood, and they just can’t stop. It’s fun, inspired silliness, and reasonably pretty. Get a copy already.” -Zine World #26
Urinal Gum #3:
“This issue of Urinal Gum, much like the issue that I reviewed last month, is a nice semi-short and entertaining read. I finished this in about two craps. Also much like the previous issue this is mostly made up of opinion pieces on a various array of topics: there is a restaurant review, one book review, one record review, and one poem. There’s also a piece about welfare moms and a letter to the makers of Guitar Hero amongst many other things. All in all, I find reading this zine to be time well spent.” -Maximum RockNRoll #301
Urinal Gum #2:
“This is exactly the way a non-music zine should be – short, at times, funny, and zero filler. The content is mostly just brief recollections with funny (Mackin-esque) letters to companies and a bit of non-offensive poetry. Awesome zine!” -Maximum RockNRoll #300