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Paul Lukas is the author of Inconspicuous Consumption: An Obsessive Look at the Stuff We Take for Granted, from the Everyday to the Obscure. The book is a collection of material from his zine, Beer Frame. Tripod: How did you start doing Beer Frame? Can you explain the title? Paul Lukas: Around Labor Day 1993 I found myself with some excess time on my hands for a variety of reasons, and decided to give myself a busy-work project to keep myself occupied. I had previously published another zine, which was a typical music zine with tons of record reviews, but it had been five years since the last issue of that zine, and I was eager to start a new publication. In the older zine, I had occasionally sprinkled product reviews amongst the record reviews, mainly as a joke, but I decided that this new zine would be based around the product reviews. I came up with the concept of "inconspicuous consumption" and went from there. As for the title, I love bowling, and a "beer frame" is a bowling term — basically, it's an excuse to drink more while bowling. If I'd realized that almost nobody knows what it means (something that still puzzles me, since the term "beer frame" is routinely used in Budweiser commercials, porno movies, etc.), I might have chosen a different title. Tripod: Was it your idea to do the book, or were you approached by a publisher? PL: After the second issue, it became clear to me that the product reviews would work well if they were anthologized into a book, so I figured I'd get around to doing that eventually. I assumed, however, that such a book would be published by a small press, and that no mainstream publisher would be interested. But later on, around the time of issue #4, a few of my product reviews were reprinted in the New York Times, and suddenly a bunch of mainstream publishers came sniffing around. The deal with Crown was completed shortly thereafter. Tripod: How has the response been so far to your book? Have you had any accusations of "selling out" or any similar criticism? PL: I've been very lucky in one respect: Most people either totally love what I do or else they just don't get it. Very few people actively dislike it. So most of the media reaction to the book has been positive, and I guess the people who "just don't get it" haven't bothered to write about it. As for reaction from zine people and other peers, I don't think anyone has had anything to say about "selling out" (not to my face, anyway) — most people seem genuinely happy for me, which of course is very nice of them. I think most people can see that I haven't changed what I'm doing — the material is the same, the voice I'm using is the same, so there's no real basis for saying I've "sold out," since I haven't compromised my work. I've just been lucky enough to bring it to a larger audience. Tripod: Do you think companies and marketing people are aware of how goofy some of their products and packaging are? Have you gotten any reaction to your work from those people? (I'd love to imagine a roomful of marketers poring over their copies of Beer Frame for insights!) PL: Most companies with weird products are aware that they occupy, shall we say, a unique market niche, although a few of them have tunnel vision that basically prevents them from realizing how silly they are. Most of these companies have been amused by what I've written about them, even when I'm poking fun at them (the people who make kraut juice, which I basically described as the most loathsome product ever made, were thrilled — they realized that there's no such thing as bad publicity), although a few manufacturers have been very annoyed, and have told me so. I'll live. Tripod: Does your constant examination of consumer culture ever interfere with day-to-day tasks like running to the store for a carton of milk? PL: It doesn't interfere with such tasks — it enhances them. Tripod: Are there any other projects you're working on? Do you plan to keep doing Beer Frame indefinitely? PL: I have no plans to stop doing Beer Frame, although my publishing schedule has slowed down (I used to do a new issue every six months; now I'm down to every ten months or so). As for other projects, I'm doing a travel column these days called "There in Spirit," which is about where I did *not* go each week — it's sort of like "inconspicuous travel." It's on the Web, at travel.epicurious.com. Tripod: Finally, what zines do you read? PL: Crap Hound, Wind-Up Toy, Anti-Zine, Surrender, Shark Fear, Poodle, The Burning Outhouse (or the Blabbering Optimist, or the Barlow Onanist, or whatever she's calling it this week), Thrift Score, Mystery Date, Murder Can Be Fun, Other People's Mail, and probably a few more I'm forgetting... Jenny Boe grew up in Berkeley and now lives in Seattle, where she writes, temps, and maintains a Tripod homepage. She has recently rediscovered the joys of the International House of Pancakes. © 1997 Tripod, Inc. All Rights Reserved.