Apocalypse? Not Now.

Adam Parfrey's newest collection is a little late getting to the table.

To have read the original Apocalypse Culture when it first surfaced in 1987 was, in hindsight, a little like looking into the future. Renegade publisher Adam Parfrey's collection of essays, artwork, and general rantings from the underground and the insane told of such things as the degradation of art, the shock-rock of G.G. Allin, obsession with Charles Manson, the Republican-Christian Right alliance, the scariness of Michael Jackson, bizarre bondage fetishes, and endless conspiracy theories. Some 13 years later, we've seen a New York mayor try to close down a gallery for its envelope-pushing artwork; the death of G.G. Allin, and the rise, in his place, of a superpopular shock rocker named after Manson; a Republican party trying to purge itself of the Christian Coalition's odor; child-abuse charges against Michael Jackson; bondage available for the masses courtesy of the likes of Jim Rose, whose body-piercing, bile-drinking, razor-swallowing sideshow act toured with Lollapalooza; the CIA linked to the rise of crack cocaine; and of course endless weirdos on reality TV shows. Hard to believe that people used to accuse Twisted Sister of being satanic simply because band members wore makeup and sang about kids rebelling against teachers.

With society at large having caught up to the underground, what can the underground do for an encore? Film provocateur John Waters, for one, responded by going more mainstream. Rebellious thrash rockers Metallica got a haircut and went bluesy. David Lynch made a movie for Disney. And Adam Parfrey? He's still doing what he's always done. Only he's probably not going to shock very many people this time out.

Oh, the newest collection from Parfrey's Feral House publishing, Apocalypse Culture II, certainly has the power to offend some, especially with the testimonies of unrepentant pedophiles, and essays that attempt to paint sympathetic portraits of the likes of Jim Jones (suicide was the only way out for him and his "family"), Ted Kaczynski (he's innocent! The "Unabomber" is actually a satanic cult!), and Charles Manson associate Bobby Beausoleil (guilty by association). It's just not that shocking to those of us who lived through Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, and Monica Lewinsky. JonBenét Ramsey was appealing to child molesters? You don't say!

And even given the changing trends, some of this stuff is dated. To cite one example, is anyone really interested any more in John Hinckley's letters to Jodie Foster? They should have been in the first book, not this one. Real Doll sex toys and seduction guru Ross Jeffries have already been thoroughly covered by many outlets already, including this very paper. And no Y2K paranoia pieces? Perhaps it's hard to trump the mainstream on that issue, when even a reputable magazine like The Nation ran a cover story about how the Y2K glitch would cause a Russian nuclear attack. But it's not as though there are no good new conspiracies (rather than the tired satanism, Freemasonry, and race war references): How about a reminder that nuclear war is still a danger? Or the latest conspiracy that a pothead friend of mine wholeheartedly endorses -- that the Onstar satellite system is part of a government plot to control our vehicles?

Parfrey also seems to have mellowed out in the intervening decade. While the first Apocalypse Culture opened with a defensive statement about the bravery of the writers, his introduction in the sequel is more of a disclaimer than anything else, stressing that he doesn't endorse all the beliefs contained within. Along those lines, he provides more detailed notes, and contact information where available, about the writer of each piece, which is a definite improvement.

If you're into stuff that's on the edge, Apocalypse Culture II is still a good read, even if some of the targets -- such as children's books and religious antisex pamphlets -- are too easy. Crispin Glover's attack on Steven Spielberg, for one, is certainly worth a look. Is it too much to expect a sequel to have the impact of its predecessor? For the most part, the answer is "yes," and Apocalypse Culture II doesn't buck the trend.