Well, the economic contraction has now officially claimed Arthur No. 32. The best we can do right now is make the entire magazine available online, for free, to everyone, in various formats. Digital is never a substitute for the real thing, but in this case, it's better than nothing. We hope.
Please note: the only difference between the online verz and what would have been printed as Arthur Magazine No. 32 is that our "reviewers" C & D are refusing to release their precious insights on the internet until they've been published in the real world. So, you get their sorry excuse for a review column in Part 2 of the PDF. We know it's not very satisfying. Tell them what you think by sending them actual mail to C & D c/o Arthur Magazine, 19 Clay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222. If you send some cash or a check (made out to "Arthur Publishing Corp") or trinkets and a self-addressed stamped envelope, C & D claim they will mail you a signed xerox copy of their Arthur 32 "manuscript." Remember: these yokels are self-proclaimed potheads, so buyer beware, etc.
Arthur remains free to all. Here's five ways of supporting Arthur:
Donations via PayPal
If you read Arthur No. 32 online, please consider making a pay-what-you-can donation (suggested is $5 but we will accept both less and more) to defray costs. Our preferred method of payment is Paypal. It is a free service to buyers, and enables you to pay directly By VISA, MASTERCARD, AMEX, DISCOVER or from your checking account or debit card. You can also convert foreign currency to U.S. dollars. Signing up only takes a few minutes. Please use PayPal to make a contribution to editor at arthurmag dot com
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Donating to Arthur is now 100% tax deductible, if you do it via our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas. http://www.arthurmag.com/donate/index.php
DOWNLOAD ARTHUR 32 - DEC 2008
ONLINE ISSUE - PART 2/2 Download PDF (9MB)
featuring
Leon Kagarise was a teetotaling amateur photographer who captured the bucolic vibes of the now-forgotten country music festivals that flourished along the Mason-Dixon line in the '50s and '60s. Award-winning journalist Eddie Dean tells Leon's story and shares some of his extraordinary photographs in this expanded excerpt from the new book, Pure Country. Read it here.
Oliver Hall takes an epic tea with The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde and James Walbourne. 'Nuff said. Read it here.
"Trigger Hippies and Trimmer Girls": A special 4,600-word report by “Do the Math” columnist Dave Reeves on life during harvest on a Humboldt cannabis farm. With an illustration by Arik Roper and photos by Daniel Chamberlin. Read it here.
Twenty-sided die? Check. Library card? Check. Frosty mug of homebrew? Check. You are now prepared to survive financial apocalypse. Joseph Remnant cartoonifies Gabe Soria's guide to the high life during the Great Bottoming Out. Check it out here.
A centerfold of new Arthur comics by Matt Furie, Jonathan Bennett, Lisa Hanawalt, Ted May, Anders Nilsen, Al Columbia, Tim Hensley, Joseph Hanks, Helge Reumann, Tom Gauld, Jeffrey Brown, Souther Salazar, Laura Park, Charles Burns, Dan Zettwoch, P. W. E. and M.P. Coats. Edited by Buenaventura Press.
Byron Coley and Thurston Moore review choice finds from the deep underground in their Bull Tongue column... Read it here.
"Weedeater" columnist Nance Klehm on bacteria, digestion and old-Time kitchen folk magic... Read it here.
The Center for Tactical Magic on death and resurrection, vanishing and banishing, Bush and Obama... with a helpful "EXORCISE DAILY" worksheet! Read it here.
"Advanced Standing" columnist Greg Shewchuk asks "Why do we skate?" Read the answer here.
"The Analog Life" columnist Erik Davis on the pleasures of slowing down financially, gastronomically and metaphysically... Read it here.
Plastic Crimewave salutes the late Jimmy Carl Black...
John Adamian reviews the dvd release of the documentary film, "The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose". Read it here...
Plus: C and D listen to new (and re-released) records by Allan Kaprow, THEUSAISAMONSTER, Chris Morris, Doug Paisley, Hush Arbors, AC/DC, RTX, Mythical Beast, Larkin Grimm, Funkadelic, Neil Hamburger, Ed Sanders, the Holy Modal Rounders, Those Darlins, Earthless, Sonic's Rendezvous Band and Julian Cope, watch vintage live performances by Ween ('91) and Parliament-Funkadelic ('76) on dvds, read "Pop Surf Culture" by Brian Chidester and Dominic Priore, and play the board game "Playing Gods: The Board Game of Divine Domination"...
12/20/2008
AVAILABLE AGAIN: THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED 2004 "GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN" COMPILATION CURATED AND DESIGNED BY DEVENDRA BANHART
"THE GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN"
curated and designed by DEVENDRA BANHART
(Arthur 0004)
AT LAST! Finally back in print: the acclaimed 2004 compilation of current underground folk music, as selected by Devendra Banhart. New edition of 1,000 copies.
This is more than a compilation--it's expertly sequenced and paced, like one long, slow flow of a particularly rich vibe. Liner notes are by the artists themselves, paying tribute to each other, all handlettered by Devendra, who also provides artwork on cover, back cover, sleeve, tray and the disk itself.
"Essential." -- Mojo, September 2004
"Sparkling." -- The Wire, July 2004
"8.6 (out of 10): [Its] sprawling landscape presents a persuasive case for the depth of a scene that seemingly sprung up (like mushrooms) overnight." -- Pitchfork, July 8, 2004
Track listing:
1. Vetiver (with Hope Sandoval) - "Angel's Share" (from the "Vetiver" LP)
2. Joanna Newsom - "Bridges and Balloons" (from "The Milk-Eyed Mender" LP)
3. Six Organs of Admittance - "Hazy SF" (previously unreleased)
4. Viking Moses - "Crosses" (from "Crosses")
5. Josephine Foster - "Little Life" (prev. unreleased home recording)
6. ESPers - "Byss & Abyss" (from "ESPers" LP)
7. Vashti Bunyan & Devendra Banhart - "Rejoicing in the Hands" (from the "Rejoicing in the Hands of the Golden Empress" LP)
8. Jana Hunter - "Farm, CA" (prev. unreleased)
9. Currituck Co. - "The Tropics of Cancer" (from "Ghost Man on First")
10. White Magic - "Don't Need" (from the Drag City EP)
11. Iron and Wine - "Fever Dream" (from "Our Endless Numbered Days" LP)
12. Diane Cluck - " Heat From Every Corner" (from "Macy's Day Bird")
13. Matt Valentine - "Mountains of Yaffa" (prev. unreleased)
14. Entrance - "You Must Turn" (prev. unreleased home recording)
15. Jack Rose - "White Mule" (from "Red Horse, White Mule")
16. Little Wings - "Look at What the Light Did Now" (from "Light Green Leaves")
17. Scout Niblett - "Wet Road" (from "Sweet Heart Fever")
18. Troll - "Mexicana" (from "Pathless Lord")
19. CocoRosie - "Good Friday" (from "La Maison de Mon Reve")
20. Antony - "The Lake" (from "Live at Saint Olaye's With Current 93")
Order a copy:
USA - $12 postpaid
Canada - $14 postpaid
World - $19 airmail
BULK ORDERS: Contact Arthur staff (editor at arthurmag dot com) for quote.
12/20/2008
"NO MINIMALISM HERE, BUT A MAXIMALIST ADVENTURE ..."
Now back in stock!! ONLY 75 COPIES LEFT!! IRA COHEN & ANGUS MACLISE: The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda DVD
Ira Cohen says: "It was in 1968, the year before Woodstock, between the giant bottle of liquid mercury Tony Conrad found in a doorway on 42nd St. and the Mylar chamber, we experienced a shared voyage conceived in three parts: The Opium Dream, Shaman and Heavenly Blue Mylar Pavilions, an alchemical journey born of out common consciousness -- culminating in the akashic bindu drop swirling in the sky's reflected azure. No minimalism here, but a maximalist adventure . . ."
Arthur Magazine is proud to be a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, an amazing non-profit arts service organization.
Contributions in behalf of Arthur Magazine may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Click here to go to the Arthur Magazine page on the Fractured Atlas website, where you can make an online donation by credit card in behalf of Arthur Magazine:
Do you run or work at a local co-op, coffeehouse, all-ages venue, bike kitchen, community garden, tattoo parlor, record emporium, head shop, microbrew tavern, arthouse cinema or some other kind of free-thinking, autonomous, non-corporate joint?
Would you like to have a nice warm pile (err...) of Arthur at your spot for the people?
Become a star in the Arthur Constellation, which is just like being one of the Thousand Points of Light, except you actually do stuff that helps people.
Here's how it works: We make Arthur; you pay for it to be shipped to yr spot. In summary, you will:
* Receive Arthur straight from the printer via the fast n efficient FedEx Ground
* Get your joint's name/location/description/website listed online as part of our Arthur Constellation distro list--sort of an open-source directory of forward-thinkin' autonomous spaces across the nation
* Get your name/location/description/website listed on the Arthur Constellation Page that runs in every issue of Arthur---again, sort of an open-source directory of forward-thinkin' autonomous spaces across the nation
This is what it costs:
1 box (100 copies) to USA: $20
2 boxes (200 copies) to USA: $35
1 box (100 Copies) to Canada: $45
"Arthur combines the good/old countculch with the good/new same more smoothly than any periodical I know about." Peter Stampfel (Holy Modal Rounders)
"Arthur re-awakens the vigilante in me." Miranda July
"There is no other periodical I look more forward to arriving than the new Arthur." Rick Rubin
"Arthur is really something singular and much-needed." Dave Eggers
"Arthur bears the blazing light of the psychedelic sun through the nightlands of the early 21st century. Great regular columns by Dave Reeves and Doug Rushkoff, new music, old dissent and cold, clear sanity. Although I don't get to see them often enough, these people are among my dearest friends and they make life worth living on the Planet of the Damned." Grant Morrison
"[Arthur has] its finger on America's eccentric and softly anarchic countercultural pulse." The Sunday Times, 2007
"The central voice of the new scene" The New York Times, 2006
"Arthur is free, colorful, patchouli-scented but whip-smart, unapologetically political, sometimes silly, often anarchist and always willing to listen to voices way, way outside the mainstream. Above all, it is prophetic, usually about two years ahead of the rest of the country in its loves and obsessions." The Village Voice, 2007
"[Arthur has] an allure unlike any other magazine I have seen in my lifetime. [L]ike picking up a true document of a time and place in American culture, yet also removed from the present, harkening back to the utopian visions championed by the hippie free press... In any given issue, you can read about music, drugs, protest, meditation, metaphysics, sex, herbs, nature, communes, art, socialism, siphoning gasoline from SUVs, and hypnotizing cops by eating doughnuts in front of them... Arthur seems to attract a readership numbed by the glut of too-slick music and culture mags, just waiting for something truly unique to emerge." Brian J. Barr, Seattle Weekly, 2007
"Arthur [is] the most eclectic, thoughtfully designed periodical I have encountered. Arthur [is] clearly drawn to psychedelic music and [is] always a good place to look for fresh acts but to say it [is] a music magazine would be a misnomer. This free publication presents contemporary artwork, photography, political essays and literary reviews with admirable disregard for categorisation. I [have] never picked up a copy of Arthur without finding something intriguing and informative and I believe that magazines of which this can be said are all too few and far between.... In drawing attention to what is being produced under the radar and discussing its merits, magazines like Arthur have a nurturing effect on great music and art. They connect artists with audiences and provide an outlet for intelligent discussion and detailed criticism. It would be great to see the example taken up [in Britain]." Alan McGee
"One of the best music magazines on the terrasphere is back... Now in full-color, Arthur remains all about...saving the parts of the planet worth saving. And: free. Life is short, art is long, Arthur isn't done." RJ Smith, Los Angeles Magazine, 2007
"(F)orceful and singular in its vision..." SFWeekly, 2007
"The American counterculture's answer to the New Yorker" The Guardian
"Back from the dead, this latest issue [No. 26] of the newly-resurrected American counter-cultural zine has gotta be their most solid read to date, with a real stand-out feature/interview/poetic appreciation of Yoko Ono by Byron Coley and Thurston Moore that focuses on the more obscure avant-garde activities normally eclipsed by endless Beatles wackery. Excellent. Great to have em back. David Keenan / Volcanic Tongue, 2007
"[Arthur] has been busy streaming the revelations and imperatives of the New New Age into pop culture, where the kids can get at it... Arthur has become the place where the ideas meet the music; where Derek Jensen's freefall apocalyptics can sit with total aptness beside a piece on nouveau hippie swooners Brightblack Morning Light. The same issue begins with a column about mint tea and ends with a list of 'sensitive weapons' (e.g., shotgun shells taped to the end of a BB-gun barrel) for use when the grid collapses and Devendra Banhart fans are called upon to defend their homes and woolly hats.... Arthur has saturated itself in the '60s, via features on the Weather Underground, the MC5, the 1967 March on the Pentagon, and also in the post-psychedelic slant of the music coverage. But there's nothing regressive here. From the freaky folkers to the acid rockers, Arthur bands have their eyes on the advancing historical horizon..." James Parker, The Boston Phoenix, 2006
"[Arthur's first 25 issues featured] an admirable chunk of visionary muckraking and alternative journalism... This was not Spin or Blender's flashy, tastemaking colleague. More like its anarchist brother."
Audra Schroeder, Austin Chronicle, 02007
Print Fetish interviews Arthur editor/owner Jay Babcock. (June 2007)
Arthur was featured in the 29 June 02007 edition of Spanish daily El Pais. (No link yet, sorry!)
"Tracks," a French-German TV program, is featuring a segment on Arthur in its 12 July 02007 broadcast. Arik Roper, Vashti Bunyan, Brightblack Morning Light and Priestbird are also featured.
11/10/2008
NEW ALBUM CURATED BY JOSEPHINE FOSTER COUNTERS U.S. MILITARY RECRUITING CAMPAIGNS
"So Much Fire to Roast Human Flesh"
Track listing:
1. THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS - "Dragonfly" (live)
2. FEATHERS - "Dust"
3. MICHAEL HURLEY - "A Little Bit of Love for You"
4. MEG BAIRD - "Western Red Lily (Nunavut Diamond Dream)"
5. ANDREW BAR - "Don't Trust That Man"
6. GOATGIRL - "President Combed His Hair"
7. DEVENDRA BANHART - "I Know Some Souls" (demo)
8. KATH BLOOM - "Baby Let It Come Down On Me"
9. CHARLIE NOTHING - "Fuck You and Your Stupid Wars"
10. DIANE CLUCK - "A Phoenix and Doves"
11. JOHN ALLINGHAM & ANN TILEY - "Big War"
12. JOSEPHINE FOSTER - "Would You Pave the Road?"
13. ANGELS OF LIGHT - "Destroyer"
14. RACHEL MASON - "The War Clerk's Lament"
15. PAJO - "War Is Dead"
16. MVEE - "Powderfinger" (Neil Young cover)
17. KATHLEEN BAIRD - "Prayer for Silence"
18. LAY ALL OVER IT - "A Place"
Curated by Josephine Foster
Cover artwork by Fred Tomaselli
Musician Josephine Foster has joined forces with Arthur Magazine to help give America's youth the tools they need to protect them from the depredations of the nation's many unscrupulous military recruiters.
"All of the musicians represented on So Much Fire to Roast Human Flesh are American citizens," says Josephine. "Our voices join with many others across this land that freely question and openly oppose war. Hopefully we will raise a good sum of money to help fund the educational pacifist tasks these organizations do. They are dedicated to creating a positive counter to the rising tides of the war being waged. We hope to assist them in their efforts promoting peace and non-militarism in the United States."
The album's title is taken from a line by the poet Apollinaire, who died from wounds he sustained while serving in World War I.
An eye-opening study issued in August 02006 by the Government Accountability Office reported that "allegations and service-identified incidents of recruiter wrongdoing" increased almost 50 percent between 02004 and 02005. Criminal violations more than doubled over the same period of time. Increasingly common tactics used by the nation's 20,000 military recruiters range from lying about the financial benefits of service to threatening high school students with arrest if they back out of an enlistment process already underway. Military recruiters have also been assisting recruits in the falsification of documents to cover up conditions like autism, mental illness and serious drug problems that would bar them from service if reported. [See Endnotes.]
Proceeds from sales since this album's release last year have already been distributed to
Arthur Magazine proudly presents PARADISE NOW: A Collective Creation of The Living Theatre DVD
"A riveting return to a revolutionary moment in art and life. Powerful and inspiring. A real gift to us all."
--GENE YOUNGBLOOD, author of Expanded Cinema and Los Angeles Free Press co-editor, 1967-70
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In lieu of a proper education system America has instituted a special school for people of color called prison. Students learn a lot in prison, but are propagandized solely by corporate media, whose rotten message grows even more virulent in the nightmare that is life inside. As a consequence, Arthur regularly receives pleas from these captives to provide them with an untainted diversion at least.
If you are one of our 120,000+ readers who enjoys Arthur for free, please consider giving a prisoner the same privilege. Over two million people - one out of every 142 Americans - is now in prison. Almost 500,000 Americans are in jail for drugs-only offenses, and if they try to go to a record store or coffeehouse or nightclub to pick up a copy of Arthur, they will be shot and bit by dogs. These starving minds have got to get Arthur sent to them in a warden-approved manner, which costs thirty dollars a year. With your kind donation, Arthur will be able to give a lucky prisoner and their cellblock a free one-year subscription.
Provide a beacon for a guy who got caught today.
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