Ugly Planet is still sporting the clean, crisp format and covering their self-proclaimed “diverse” subjects. Winston Smith (of Dead Kennedys album cover art fame) shows up again, and pieces on white girl hip hop (Northern State), multi-cultural muzak (Ozomatli) and “radical” Noam Chomsky stifle this promising publication: it’s only the second issue and they’ve already sunk into predictable zine topics (yet still aspiring to be the next Might or something). I had high hopes reviewing their debut: “Very promising first effort,” I wrote. “Can’t wait to see this publication kicking ass a year from now.” Well, it’s been almost a year and my hopes aren’t as high anymore—what once was free is now sports a $4 cover price. A slap on the back is deserved for having more pages and more ads. I hope they finally got the free-beer-at-a-Brooklyn-bar cred they were looking for by now. –Greg Barbera (Ugly Planet, PO Box 205, New York, NY 10012, www.uglyplanet.com)