Burn Collector: Collected Stories from One Through Nine

By Al Burian

Book Overview

Burn Collector compiles the first nine issues of Al Burian's sporadically published and widely acclaimed personal zine. Beginning in the mid-nineties, Burian distributed his work through the tight-knit network of the DIY punk music scene. Burn Collector caught on because of its unusual content--in a scene rife with dogmatic political diatribes and bland record reviews, Burian presented his readers with humorous anecdotes, philosophical musings, and nuanced descriptions of odd locales and curious characters, taken mostly from outside of the punk milieu--and also because of the author's narrative voice, which reflected the literary influences of Celine, Henry Miller, or even David Sedaris more than the influence of his contemporaries in the zine world. The writing in Burn Collector blueprinted a post-punk persona that was smart, strange, political but not correct, attached to subculture, but striving also for a connection to the world at large, and to the greater themes of human existence.

The book went through six printings, along the way garnering acclaim from readers, inspiring a film (Matt McCormick's 2009, Some Days are Better than Others) and a major label album (Thrice's 2003, The Artist in the Ambulance). More importantly, the book inspired readers to write and self-publish: to do it themselves, in the true punk spirit.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1604862203
• ISBN13: 9781604862201
• Release Date: November 2010
• Publisher: PM Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Modern Jack Kerouac

A while ago, I had the opportunity to do a radio show for indie college station, KUOI FM 89.3. I had to choose a name for my show... and I ended up naming my first show "elaborate burn" partly in ode to the electronic group Future Sound of London and also as a nod to a brilliant modern writer, Al Burian. Follow our protagonist as he works for Kinko's copies, travels on a "hell bus" and personifies existential punk rock wanderer. This is, without a doubt, one of the BEST products to result from the "zine" fad of the 90's. Written on an ancient 1980's Macintosh and photocopied with punk rock skill this contains some of the best and most meaningful writing I've seen in years. This is, in my opinion, a modern classic, a "new classic" as they say. When I got my show approved, in a moment of stinging irony, I was given the burn in that the Media Director spelled my show wrong resulting in the name "Elaborate BARN!" I got a harsh Burn. I then had to yell at the Media Director to please change it. Another interesting fun fact: when I read from this book on the air, people were dumb enough to think I was reading MY STORY. Wow, profoundly stupid. No, I was reading from this book and please purchase it if you find it interesting. I even said I was reading from a book and people still didn't get it. College drunkards. Anyway, PLEASE pick this up for a read it's simply awesome. Al Burian also plays in the band Milemarker. And Hammerhead is a real rock group that actually does in fact have an album called "Into the Vortex." If you like this you might like: Jack Kerouac Douglas Adams Kurt Vonnegut

Trying harder, now.

The first nine Burn Collector issues, in bound, book-type format by the implacable Al Burian. This collection affected me as much as anything I can think of, at the time I was reading it. The great themes, they're all there, in less conventional formating than you may be used to. But therein lies the fractured beauty of it, too. Overall, it's almost impossible to reach the end of this book, to read the line, "we're going to have to try harder now," and not be really affected by what that means. I definitely recommend this to anyone.

Interesting

Let's just say the Burian uses very unconventional methods to express things novelists have been saying for years: from the desolation of suburbanized America, to lousy jobs, to near death experiences. He even goes as far as submitting some interesting, yet funny, comics part way through which I found encouraged me to continue reading. Also, check out Burian's band, "Milemarker".