THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, December 16, 1994              TAG: 9412160058
SECTION: DAILY BREAK              PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY VALERIE CARINO, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   83 lines

OTHER MAGAZINES ARE LOSERS IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO APPEAL TO XERS

XERS LOOKING FOR an alternative to alternative can check out bOING bOING, Project X, Ray Gun and Mondo 2000.

However, these magazines fail to treat 20-somethings like serious-minded adults. They assume the only way to communicate with us is through images of sex, losers and music.

bOING bOING, which started in , follows this alternative formula. Upon seeing the cover, my first guess was that it was some kind of underground magazine, because I had never heard of it before. Plus, there's a picture of a chic with a shaved head leaning against a guy wearing a hairstyle a la Hare Krishna (but maybe closer to Boy George in his Culture Club days) and heavy makeup.

But then again, the cover says bOING bOING is ``Media Culture Brainwash for Now People.'' This posed a real dilemma for me. Was I now, chic, happenin' enough to open this magazine? I wasn't convinced that I was.

I decided that magazines shouldn't have this kind of distancing effect on its readers. They should draw readers in, not make them feel ``uncool.'' And what a juvenile name for a magazine, too.

Boing.

Boing.

I picture Mario, the Nintendo game dude, jumping over those little critters - excuse my video game ignorance - to avoid death.

I did learn from bOING bOING that in California people actually pay to get themselves branded. They use vice grips, pieces of thin sheet metal and a propane torch. All for only 50 bucks. And it's done by a professional who has tried all the techniques on his own skin.

I thought at first that this was an underground magazine. That's where we should keep it - under the ground.

Mondo 2000, another magazine targeted at Generation X, started as a hacker magazine, said associate editor Beth Slatkin. Mondo 2000's major stint is the effect of ``high technology as it applies to arts and culture,'' she said. Indeed, it is a cyberspace lover's dream.

The layout of the magazine is loaded with cyberlike, almost surreal graphics, mainly in the ads. It has a cold quality about it, but I guess one of the major attractions of cybersurfing is that it allows for distance.

The magazine features an article about Kate Bornstein and her book ``Gender Outlaw.'' She thinks that cross-gender surfing on-line allows people the freedom to be whomever they want.

But I think Xers don't want to be bombarded with these fragmented, unnerving images in their magazines. They have the TV and computer to do that.

Ray Gun and Project X both try to sell themselves by using celebrities, music and sex - the same tired old formula found in magazines like Spin, Details and Rolling Stone.

In fact, Ray Gun looks very much like Rolling Stone. It's the same size and is filled with obnoxious ads. Like Rolling Stone, Ray Gun has uncensored interviews with music groups like Digable Planets and icon Keith Richards.

Ray Gun was first published in

The only thing notable about Project X is the numerous body parts (or hints of them) that are exposed in it. Project X, which started publication five years ago, features a bare-breasted model (her back is turned away from the viewer) wearing some short, short rubber shorts. For some reason, she's also wearing goggles. The cover reads, ``Yum! The Swimsuit Edition.'' This annoyed me right away, but not because I was offended. The fact that the magazine had to resort to sex to get my attention turned me off.

I think Xers want to see serious issues addressed. But first magazines need to treat us like people with brains. Sure, youth is about sex and music, but it's not primarily what our lives are about. Most of us are just worrying about exams, getting a job, finding someone to spend more than one night with.

``The '90s are about more simplicity and substance,'' David Lauren said of Swing in Marketing and Media magazine.

I think he's hit the target. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

Photo

The notable thing about Project X is the numerous body parts (or

hints of them) that are exposed in it, including the cover.

by CNB