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Permission (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
magazines of the 1990s. Begun in 1992 in Chicago by Jayson Elliot, the first issue appeared as a newsprint 'zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
, with a mix of articles about bands (such as Alien Sex Fiend
Alien Sex Fiend
Alien Sex Fiend is a deathrock band from the UK, composed of the married couple Nik Fiend and Mrs. Fiend . Currently, the band is based in Cardiff, Wales.-History:...
and Young Gods), amateur poetry, disturbing comics (such as a Scott Warren piece on serial killer Ed Gein
Ed Gein
Edward Theodore "Ed" Gein - July 26, 1984) was an American murderer and body snatcher. His crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety after authorities discovered Gein had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned trophies and keepsakes...
), and fiction by local industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
musicians such as Jim Marcus (Die Warzaw).
As the industrial and gothic scenes peaked in the US during the early and mid-nineties, Permission grew rapidly, putting out ten issues at the rate of about two or three per year. Prior to Permission, the pre-eminent goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
magazine had been Propaganda; but its fan base began to stagnate just as Permissions began to grow. While Propaganda and its emulators (Ghastly, Carpe Noctem, Dark Angel, etc.) reflected a serious, almost dogmatic approach to goth, Permission took a more jumbled, even humorous approach. Though it was prone to slip into self-importance from time to time as well, regular features like "Why'd You Get Kicked Out of Denny's
Denny's
Denny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
?" or "Science Geek" kept things light. Every issue had comics in back, and readers were more likely to find a pin-up of professional wrestler The Undertaker than gothic makeup tips.
Publishing in the days before the Web, Permission was, along with related publication IndustrialnatioN
IndustrialnatioN
Industrialnation was an independent international underground music magazine based in Oakland, California. The magazine was founded in Iowa City, Iowa in 1991. Issue #1 was released as a half-sized black & white xerox fanzine with a press run of 100 copies. It quickly grew in size and depth to...
, a primary source for reviews of goth and industrial music. A typical issue would contain between one and two hundred album reviews. The writing quality was varied; though the features themselves could be insightful.
Permissions music coverage in the '90s reads like a guide to industrial/goth, from Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
and KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
to Human Drama
Human Drama
Human Drama was a gothic rock/dark wave band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Indovina. They are primarily known for playing a mixture of sad acoustic and gothic atmospheric melodies. Although they don't count themselves as being only a gothic band, they are often named so by music critics.-Human...
and Kommunity FK
Kommunity FK
Kommunity FK is a Deathrock band that helped establish what came to be known as the deathrock scene in Los Angeles. The band was formed in 1978 by American rock singer Patrick Mata influenced by Throbbing Gristle, David Bowie and Joy Division...
, and was known for its irreverent photography. Legendary Pink Dots wore giant toy hats in a photo booth. Sheep on Drugs
Sheep on Drugs
Sheep on Drugs are a British techno / dance-punk music group, formed by Duncan X [aka King Duncan] and Lee Fraser [aka Dead Lee] and currently composed of Fraser and Johnny Borden...
were given tiny birds and toy mushrooms. Thrill Kill Kult was splayed across the hood of a flaming '70s conversion van. Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
appeared as just an iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and a blender
Blender (device)
A blender is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, puree, or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender jar with blade at the bottom, rotated by a motor in the base...
.
A compilation album released by Permission was titled "TV Terror: Felching A Dead Horse" and featured covers of television theme songs played by some of the darkest, loudest bands of the time. The album had the distinction of being the catalyst for the first use of the word "felch
Felching
Felching is a sexual practice involving the act of sucking semen out of the vagina or anus of one's partner after sex.-Earliest appearance of the term:...
" on national television, when Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder is an American film critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at Rolling Stone, during a tenure that Reason later called "legendary". He has contributed to articles in Reason, Esquire, Details, New York, and Time. He has also made cameos on...
reported its release on MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
.
The magazine's creator Jayson Elliot was busy in the goth industrial scene, and often travelled to throw Permission parties or tour with bands. In 1994, he managed Procession, the "world gothic tour" featuring goth bands from four countries traveling around the United States. While turnout was heavy for the tour, a series of mishaps and conflicts left him soured on the scene. Moving the magazine to San Francisco in 1995, Permission continued to grow, though as its circulation increased, Jayson took the direction further and further from its punk/goth/industrial origins. By 1997, the magazine had reached its peak of popularity, with over forty thousand readers, but the strain of running the magazine and his own disaffection with the scene led Jayson to cease publication at the end of that year.
In 2004, Permission re-formed in New York City, again under Jayson Elliot's direction. The magazine re-launched with an entirely new direction and design, much like Details
Details (magazine)
Details is an American monthly men's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, founded in 1982. Though primarily a magazine devoted to fashion and lifestyle, Details also features reports on relevant social and political issues.-History:...
magazine in the 1980s did, without referencing the past. Now a fashion and lifestyle magazine, Permission bills itself as "life + style for emerging artists", and focuses on up-and-comers in all the creative fields.