BOOK REVIEW: Simba by Vique Martin

Simba by Vique Martin

      I must admit two things before reviewing this book.   First off, a lot of my interest in this book came based on the name and my son’s love for the character from The Lion King.  Second, I do believe at one point in time I had contacted Vique Martin about something when she worked at Revelation but since I don’t remember what and I didn’t have a long relationship with her as I do some press people, I can neither remember whether or not it was pleasant nor ugly but since I don’t recall I will have to say that it was pleasant. 

      In short, Simba is the book that as a writer you strive to make.   Martin herself seemed to be a bit hesitant to go through all of her old memories, but at the same time this does make a nice compilation of writings from over the years.  I truly feel like anyone who has ever had a ‘zine would welcome the idea of creating a book such as this.   I know I for certain would love to see something come out of NCA in print form such as this, but since I’m not 100% certain where all of those writings are and have a hard enough time living in the present and future tenses I think it might be too hard to go back to the past right now.  (How can I justify spending my time going back and searching for old reviews when there are still new reviews left to write?)

      That is one of the amazing things about this book though.   It has the feel of a seasoned writer to it and you expect the author to be older than Hemingway lived, yet she is still somewhat youthful.  

      This book also is on my bedside table constantly because as the author herself will tell you in the introduction, there is no real order or sense of continuity to this book so you could really just pick it up and read any essay or any interview at any given time.  I do like that about the book as well because, well, random I am.

      The only bad thing (and this is a minor flaw) about this book is that some of the text is printed on pages with images that make it hard to read.   It’s like having grey text on a slightly darker grey background.   The words are readable, yes, but you have to really focus your eyes to read them.   (Not that I’d know anything about putting white text on a grey background here at RBG or anything)

      Overall though, this book sells for $10 and is not only fun to read but is a piece of musical history.  I feel that as a self-claimed music journalist, this should be on your bookshelf.   As a fan of music, this should be on your bookshelf as well.

Simba can be ordered at this link:

http://vitriolrecords.bigcartel.com/product/vique-martin-simba-a-collection-of-personal-and-political-writings-from-the-90s-hardcore-scene