Updated: July 15, 2025
For the nerds and nostalgians, I’ve assembled a gallery of all the Arthur Magazine covers, with links to PDFs. Every page of every issue is here, either scanned or from the original digital files.
Note: some issues’ PDFs are displayed as two-page spreads — the way you would see the magazine if it were held in front of you. You will need to scroll left and right, as well as zoom in, to read.
This pay-what-you-can Arthur Magazine archive has no paywall and takes no ads, but it does cost money to maintain and upgrade. The original print publication, archived here, was a labor of love that survived on donated, bartered and low-pay labor. It left me broke and in significant personal debt. (Note: I survived!)
If you find any value in what you find here, please pay what you can via buy me a coffee or paypal or venmo.
Academics, students and other scholars who are interested in using Arthur in their research can find the complete run of the magazine at Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM). As part of RILM’s recently launched, subscription-based “Archive of Popular Music Magazines” (RAPMM) collection, every page of every issue of Arthur has been scanned, OCR’ed, indexed and made searchable. Go here: rapmm.rilm.org/en/pages/collection/354836
Thank you kindly, and happy reading!
—Jay Babcock, editor and co-founder
Feedback, comments, inquiries: babcock.jay@gmail.com
p.s. These days I do a free email newsletter called Landline. Have a gander: jaybabcock.substack.com
Download: Arthur No. 1 (Oct. 2002)
Contents: An exclusive chapter-length excerpt from The Ride of My Life, BMX madman MAT HOFFMAN‘s new autobiography written with Mark Lewman. Photos by Spike Jonze, Steve Giberson and Mike Castillo // PEACHES interviewed by indie-rock godstar IAN SVENONIUS. Portrait photos by Pat Graham and Shawn Mortensen. // An interview with shamanic psychonaut/journalist DANIEL PINCHBECK, author of the just-released Breaking Open the Head. Artwork by Alan Moore. // A rendezvous with ARTHUR C. CLARKE in his Sri Lankan technoasis, by Paul Moody. Illustration by Geoff McFetridge. // A frightful fairtytale in prose by DAME DARCY. Illustrated by the Dame herself. // Writer EDDIE DEAN remembers driving an ICE CREAM TRUCK route in mid-’80s summers through the Blue Ridge Mountains. With stunning photos by Dave Brooks. // An essay by the legendary JOE CARDUCCI (author, Rock and the Pop Narcotic) against the sorry state of contemporary culture. With a painting by Camille Rose Garcia. // One-panel comics by DAVID BERMAN (Silver Jews, poet), including the now-legendary series “Scenes From the First Yes Tour.” // A profile of LIFT TO EXPERIENCE, by Jay Babcock with photos by Jason Amos. // An appreciation of EAGLE PENNELL, the late Texan filmmaking maverick whose work inspired the Sundance Festival. By Paul Cullum. // ASK NEIL HAMBURGER: America’s funnyman offers his considered counsel. // Underground culture, as surveyed at length by the dynamic duo of Byron Coley & Thurston Moore
Download: Arthur No. 2 (Jan 2003)
Contents: The West Coast premiere of the Velvet Underground and the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, in 1966? Lenny Bruce and Anita O’Day waiting to score? James Baldwin, Marlon Brando, the Black Panther Party and other good-souled political activists doing what needed to be done? CHARLES BRITTIN was there, and these are his never-before-published photographs, as curated for Arthur’s readers by Kristine McKenna. // He plays guitar and he writes/sings songs like you’ve never heard. He’s also 21 and has got a certain elfish charm. Ladies and germs, DEVENDRA BANHART, as witnessed by scribe Gabe Soria and shutterbug Shawn Mortensen. // Depressed? Hair falling out at age 23? Having sex with your cousin? “I know all about that stuff!” says Arthur’s new advice columnist, 78-year-old bluesperson T-MODEL FORD. // Language as incantation, the art of the cut-up, larval culture, neural re-wiring and what does it feel like to live in a post-authorship world: all in a Sunday afternoon’s teatime with visionary artist-provocateur-human GENESIS P-ORRIDGE and hotshit media theorist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF. Photos by Shawn Mortensen. // In an exclusive excerpt from his new autobiography, legendary Brazilian musician CAETANO VELOSO takes us to the political, cultural and hallucinogenic frontlines of authoritarian Brazil, 1968. It’s all here: tanks, ayahuasca, street protests, witchcraft cults, and of course, Veloso’s fellow Tropicalistas, the musicians Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa and Os Mutantes. // Self-described desk-bound journalist SUE CARPENTER finds out firsthand and feet-first how women are transforming the 21st-century circus. With photographs by Lauren Klain. // Comics by Kevin Huizenga, Jordan Crane, Anders Nilsen and James Kochalka, and a drawing by Sammy Harkham // Britwit novelist STEVE AYLETT revisits the legend of pulp fictionist/”rogue maniac” Jeff Lint, author of One Less Bastard and creator of The Caterer // Byron Coley & Thurston Moore sort the pepper from the bugpoop in underground recordings, performance, poetry and text // Peter “Piper” Relic remembers JAM MASTER JAY
Download: Arthur No. 3 (March 2003)
Contents: JOE STRUMMER, 1952-2002 — Arthur holds a wake in print for a man who mattered. In addition to stunning photographs by Ann Summa and excerpts of back-in-the-day Clash coverage from Slash magazine, we present reflections on Joe by Kristine McKenna; a lengthy, poignant interview with Joe from 2001 by McKenna; a consideration by Carter Van Pelt of the Clash’s embrace of reggae, featuring insights from Clash collaborator Mikey Dread; and a brief on Joe’s legacy—a forest in the Isle of Skye. // The intrepid Gabe Soria connects with every single member of THE POLYPHONIC SPREE, the cheeriest 24-person pop symphony on the planet, in addition to chatting at length with Spree leader Tim DeLaughter about the “c” word, the Spree’s next move, and the sadness that remains. Portrait by Paul Pope. // At the height of both his popularity and his artistic powers, JOHN COLTRANE went for something deeper. An exclusive, chapter-length excerpt from A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album by Ashley Kahn. // ASK JOHN LURIE—he may be in self-described “hermit mode” but this longtime Lounge Lizard is eager to lend a helping hand to his fellow man. And woman too. // In the work of artist SHIRLEY TSE, plastic aspires to more than Pop. Mimi Zeiger reports. // COMICS by Sammy Harkham, Jordan Crane, Johnny Ryan, Sam Henderson, Marc Bell and Ron Rege Jr. // Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review underground music, film and texts.
Download: Arthur No. 4 (May 2003)
Contents: ALAN MOORE gives Arthur a historical-theoretical-autobiographical earful on the subject of magic and art. Extra-long feature convo with Jay Babcock, with a portrait by John Coulthart and photos by Jose Villarrubia. Check out that finger armor! // Peter Relic rolls out for a week on tour with Akron, Ohio heavy blues superduo THE BLACK KEYS as they open a string of West Coast dates for thee mighty SLEATER-KINNEY. Photographs by Melanie Pullen and Pete; jokes by the Black Keys; chuckles by you the reader. // In an exclusive, chapter-length excerpt from her new book Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers, author ALISSA QUART examines how corporations and marketers scheme to take advantage of six-year-olds. // JOHN COULTHART updates the US dollar bill to reflect the current climate. // 79-year-old bluesfella T-MODEL FORD has got all the answers. This issue he lets us know where Bin Laden is probably hiding, what to do about a bad temper, how old you should be when you get married and why some women have mustaches. // Karin Bolender remembers the late Othar Turner and Bernice Pratcher, the risen stars of the Mississippi fife-and-drum tradition. With photographs by Christian Patterson and Yancey Allison // Comics by Martin Cendreda, Renee French, Luster Kaboom, Steven Weissman, Johnny Ryan, Jordan Crane and Sammy Harkham // And, in their regular “Bull Tongue” column, Byron Coley & Thurston Moore once again sift through the voids of all known undergrounds to bring you the good stuff in recordings, text and card decks (!).
Download: Arthur No. 5 (July 2003)
Contents: ARTHUR AGAINST EMPIRE! Photographer Lauren Klain captures DAVID CROSS on his way to a Clear Channel war rally… Jonathan Shainin speaks with CHRIS HEDGES about the truths not being told about war…ALAN MOORE comments on what the US and UK governments have been up to lately….The fabulous GLAMericans are spotlit by Steffie Nelson… DAVID BYRNE writes about his life during wartime… Kristine McKenna on the Tower of Protest, a Vietnam-era action on Sunset Blvd by celebrated artists. With photos by Charles Brittin… Righteous poetry by MICHAEL BROWNSTEIN, CHARLES POTTS and AMY TRUSSELL… Art and comics by Steve Andersen, Tauno Blisted & Mac McGill, Robbie Conal, John Coulthart, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Bill Griffith, Megan Kelso with Ron Rege, Peter Kuper, David Lasky, Sharon Rudahl, Patti Smith & Jem Cohen, art spiegelman, and Carol Swain… MICHAEL MOORCOCK on the fate of empires… DANIEL PINCHBECK on why he’s glad George Bush is president; and new Arthur film columnist Paul Cullum asks “Is George Bush addicted to cocaine?” // Advice column by DICK VALENTINE of the Electric Six // “Keeping Two: Part Four” by Jordan Crane // Jeff Brown, Martin Cendreda and Johnny Ryan gift us with comics throughout the mag // Byron Coley & Thurston Moore do their review column bit // Paige La Grone Babcock remembers June Carter Cash
Download: Arthur No. 6 (Sept. 2003)
Contents: The Return of Iggy & the Stooges — Photographs by Peter Whitfield from their stunning live comeback at Coachella….Kristine McKenna talks with IGGY POP…RON & SCOTT ASHETON discuss their past, present and future with Jay Babcock…. How bassist MIKE WATT ended up onstage with Iggy & the Stooges, in his own words…. Don Fleming on the lost Wylde Ratttz sessions that have led to so much more… // For years, the L.A. Cacophony Society was a haven for creative misfits with a sense of humor. Then tragedy struck, and everything changed. By Christopher Noxon, with photography by Jack Gould and Michael Perrin // This fall, American national treasure JOHN SINCLAIR says farewell to the USA for good. Jay Babcock conducts an exit interview with the poet, scholar and former manager of the MC5. Introduction by Byron Coley // Full-page comics by JORDAN CRANE, MEGAN KELSO and SOUTHER SALAZAR // Matt Luem interviews documentary filmmaker SAM GREEN about his new film on the Weather Underground, ’60s student radicals who wanted to take down The Man by bringing the Vietnam War home. // They were young would-be terrorists in love. Or were they? (In love, that is.) An exclusive excerpt from artist ERIN COSGROVE‘s new romance novel The Baader-Meinhof Affair //
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY cheerfully answers questions about pathetic aspects of your lives // T-MODEL FORD talks about disciplining troublesome children in his new column, ‘T-Model Ford Knows Better’ and, in the margins, the debut of ‘Astrology by Arthur’ as written by IAN SVENONIUS (Gemini), lead vocalist for the Scene Creamers. // JAMES PARKER on Shemane Nugent‘s Married To A Rock Star // PAUL CULLUM on film and DVDs in his ‘Camera Obscura’ column // Reviewage of recently released subcultural musical/textual/visual artifacts by BYRON COLEY & THURSTON MOORE in their ‘Bull Tongue’ column // Reviews in the margins by the C & D team.
Download: Arthur No. 7 (Nov. 2003)
Contents: Cover by John Coulthart with W.T. Nelson. // MY BLOOD VALENTINE‘s fluff-on-the-needle sound changed rock music forever. Then they disappeared. Ten years later, MBV’s Kevin Shields explains almost everything. Text and photos by Hua Hsu. // Paul Cullum considers jazz genius/Afro-futurist SUN RA‘s landmark feature film Space Is the Place on the occasion of its Director’s Cut DVD release. // This summer, underground psych bands Sunburned Hand of the Man, Comets On Fire and Six Organs of Admittance ventured across the continent in a traveling caravan of mindblowers. Tony Rettman reports live from the scene. Photos by Don Harney, Mike Galinsky and others. // In an exclusive excerpt from Chapel of Extreme Experience: A Short History of Stroboscopic Light, Flicker and the Dream Machine, author John Geiger explains the role of the legendary Dream Machine in the consciousness exploration of the ’60s by folks like Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs, Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley and Allen Ginsberg. // Never Mind SARS: Two entries from the just-published The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases, by authors Steve Aylett and Brian Evenson. // Infamous 78-year-old Mississippi bluesman T-MODEL FORD weighs in on the home schooling debate. // Controversial provocatuerix Peaches (wo)manhandles the problems that Arthur readers find themselves saddled with. // Photography and text from turn-of-the-century Los Angeles by Susannah Breslin. “Sex was everywhere, every time I turned my head. Nobody else appeared to notice.” // Comics by Sammy Harkham (“The Golem Will Never Die”), Gary Panter (“Smoke Wagon”) and Jordan Crane (“Keeping Two, Part 6”) // Reviewage of recently released subcultural musical/textual/visual artifacts by Byron Coley & Thurston Moore // A horoscope by Ian Svenonius (Make-Up, Scene Creamers/Weird War) // Cantankerous duo C & D comment on new records. // “Charles Bronson, Dark Buddha”: An appreciation of a life, by Joe Carducci
Download: Arthur No. 8 (Jan. 2004)
Contents: Karin Bolender on the secret truths that DOLLYWOOD reveals. Plus, an extensive review of DOLLY PARTON‘s music by Paige La Grone Babcock. Illustrations by Emily Wilson. // THE FIERY FURNACES profiled by Margaret Wappler // “ENCOUNTER WITH MAXIMON“: While investigating Guatemala’s folk-magic patron saint of thieves and whores, James Marriott made a serious mistake… (With an illustration by John Coulthart) // Hallucinogens, Ukrainian Catholicism, Nascar town alienation, the Tao De Ching and the Beatles helped make BROTHER JT the homegrown musical genius he is. Jay Babcock interviews America’s least-known national treasure. Plus, David Katznelson guides us thru JT’s vast and beguiling career // Arthur regular T-MODEL FORD talks about crack, in-town cars and underage sex // HOLLY GOLIGHTLY invites us into her kitchen. //”R.I.P. SUV”: a poem by Charles Potts // Comics by Gary Panter and Lauren R. Weinstein // Steve Aylett on the whole Matrix bollocks // Paul Cullum considers new DVDs // Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review the De Stijl/Freedom From Festival in their “Bull Tongue” column, with wonderful photos by Seth Tisue // Cantankerous duo C & D check out new releases // Art by Evah Fan and a photograph by David Ellis // A horoscope by Weird War singer Ian Svenonius (Gemini) // Oodles of doodles by Ed Ruscha, Jr.
Download: Arthur No. 9 (March 2004)
Contents: Legendary doom metal/stoner rock lifer WINO (St. Vitus, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan,The Hidden Hand, Probot) isn’t finished yet—not with these new war pigs in the White House to dispose of. Text by Joshua Sindell, with photos by Brian Liu // Detroit’s visionary MC5 played like gods, lived like pigs and freed everyone they touched. Steffie Nelson interviews the filmmakers of the astonishing forthcoming MC5 A True Testimonial documentary; James Parker, Ian Svenonius and The Seth Man walk us through the 5’s recordings; and Wayne Kramer, John Sinclair and Ted Nugent talk about the 5’s raw volume. With artwork by Plastic Crimewave, archival photos by Leni Sinclair and vintage posters by Gary Grimshaw // Sue Carpenter ran pirate radio station KBLT out of her Silver Lake apartment for three years. Now she’s written a book about the experience: 40 Watts From Nowhere. Here’s six things she learned. // Hippies with too much time on their hands, or people who have their priorities straight? Journalist/photographer Daniel Chamberlin investigates the Great Arcata-to-Ferndale Kinetic Sculpture Race. // New Arthur columnist Daniel Pinchbeck on the accelerated evolution of human consciousness now underway. // LIARS‘ Angus Andrews talks about misguided angst and paranoia through the ages with Jay Babcock. // How to help keep kids from joining the military: a public service announcement from Arthur and the American Friends Service Committee. // Arthur regular T-Model Ford talks about what to do when someone’s dragging your name through mud. // DAVE CATCHING (guitarist with Desert Sessions, Mondo Generator, earthlings?, Yellow Number Five) invites us into his kitchen and shows us how to make New Orleans Soul Red Beans, Rice and Corn Bread. // Artwork by Seldon Hunt, Leif Goldberg, Ivan Brunetti, John Hankiewicz, Tom Hart, Ben Katchor and Eddie Ruscha, Jr. // Byron Coley and Thurston Moore review tons of stuff in their regular “Bull Tongue” column // C & D bicker about loads of new music, much of it shockingly good. // Horoscope by Weird War vocalist/Gemini Ian Svenonius.
Download: Arthur No. 10 (May 2004)
Contents: DEVENDRA BANHART is here and he plays folk music. Trinie Dalton finds out where he’s coming from. Photos by Melanie Pullen. // Harp-playing folksinger JOANNA NEWSOM talks history, theory and inspiration with Jay Babcock. Visions of Joanna by Melanie Pullen. // The two sisters who are COCOROSIE have made an astonishing, haunting debut album. Trinie Dalton finds out how they did it. Photos by Melanie Pullen. // Oliver Hall raps with radical traditionalists FAUN FABLES. Photos by Melanie Pullen. // Director GUY MADDIN is highly resentful, terribly romantic and prone to melancholy. He also makes wondrous, utterly unique films. Kristine McKenna asks him some leading questions. // A slightly testy GODZILLA reflects on his long career in an exclusive interview with Dave Tompkins. Illustration by Brian Ralph. // Merrick explains how cel phones, Playstations and PCs are connected to ecological, human and animal destruction in Africa. Illustration by Ben Jones. // Comics by Marc Bell (a two-page spread!), Ben Katchor, Amy Lockhart and John Porcellino // New doodleisms by Eddie Ruscha, Jr. // Words of advice from T-MODEL FORD // Correspondence from our readers // Commentary by SHARON RUDAHL // WILL OLDHAM on pie and God, as told to Gabe Soria // Arthur columnist DANIEL PINCHBECK talks about the real passion of Christ // James Parker on the autobiography of LEMMY. Illustration by Dustin Amery Hostetler // “Camera Obscura” columnist PAUL CULLUM on Richard Nixon and Robert Altman // The “Bull Tongue” review column by BYRON COLEY & THURSTON MOORE // C & D bicker and enthuse about new records // A new horoscope by IAN SVENONIUS
Download: Arthur No. 11 (July 2004)
Contents: Oliver Hall conducts a wide-ranging and comprehensive conversation with Sonic Youth’s KIM GORDON, one of our era’s great iconoclasts. Photography by Emily Wilson with additional photos by Susan Moore Erdman, Kevin Estrada and Richard Kern. // Mark Pilkington reports from London on the Thelema convention coinciding with the centenary of the transmission of the Book of the Law to infamous occultist and ‘Great Beast’ ALEISTER CROWLEY. With an illustration by John Coulthart and photos by Pilkington. // Late-blooming artist NOAH PURIFOY built massive sculptures from garbage on the desert floor of Joshua Tree, California. Arthur pays tribute to Noah, who died recently, with an appreciation/vintage interview by Kristine McKenna and new photos of Noah’s work by Bill Nelson. //Notes on the strange pleasures and pains of being a closet GRATEFUL DEAD fan by Daniel Chamberlin. With comics by D. C. Berman. // Are we in the midst of the Kali Yuga? And what is that anyway? Arthur columnist DANIEL PINCHBECK explains. // New artwork by Lounge Lizards founder JOHN LURIE. // Words of advice from T-MODEL FORD // A recipe from THE REIGNING SOUND’s Greg Cartwright // a poetry-comic by KENNETH KOCH // a full-page comic by KEVIN HUIZINGA, comics by BEN JONES and BEN KATCHOR // New drawings by EVAH FAN and BRENDAN MONROE // Paul Cullum on LARS VON TRIER’s more obscure work from the last six years // James Parker on the new documentary, RISE: THE STORY OF RAVE OUTLAW DONNIE DISCO // “Bull Tongue” by Byron Coley & Thurston Moore // C & D bicker and enthuse about new records // plus other secret surprises
Download: Arthur No. 12 (Sept. 2004)
Contents: Magic works, says comics author GRANT MORRISON, and he would know—he’s been exploring it for 25 years. He talks with Jay Babcock about what he’s experienced, and What It (Maybe) All Means. Cover portrait by Seaguy artist Cameron Stewart. // In an exclusive, extensive excerpt from his forthcoming book, Michael Streissguth explains why JOHNNY CASH went to Folsom Prison to make a live record. With stunning photography by Jim Marshall // Royal Trux are gone, but RTX lives on. JENNIFER HERREMA talks with Trinie Dalton about chasing that airtight classic rock sound. // “Camera Obscura” columnist Paul Cullum goes in search of Bush’s brain—and finds it, in a new documentary. // Answerman T-Model Ford on breastfeeding, the ‘sugar tittie,’ what to eat on a first date and how come there aren’t more women playing the blues. // JOSEPHINE FOSTER of Born Heller and the Children’s Hour talks about her new acid-rock project The Supposed with Margaret Wappler. With a portrait by Plastic Crimewave. // Flaming Lips’ WAYNE COYNE discusses the virtues of decaf. // Columnist Daniel Pinchbeck on why crop circles have something to teach us with an illustration by Arik Roper // Never mind Metallica’s therapy film: James Parker reviews the new, strangely good Brian Jonestown Massacre Vs. Dandy Warhols documentary, Dig! // Britgenius author Steve Aylett provides a horoscope, with zodiac designs by Arik Roper // New comics by Ben Katchor, Gabrielle Bell, Tom Hart and Kurt Wolfgang // “Bull Tongue” columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review stuff // Bickering mysterions C & D comment on new recordings
Download: Arthur No. 13 (Nov. 2004)
Contents: A MEGA oral history of the 1967 exorcism/levitation of the Pentagon and the birth of Yippie! painstakingly compiled by Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman, Michael Simmons and Jay Babcock from old and new interviews with Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg, Ed Sanders, Kenneth Anger, Paul Krassner, Bob Fass, Norman Mailer, Tuli Kupferberg, Anita Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and many many others. Also: stunning photographs by Robert Altman and Roz Payne, Ed Sanders‘ original magical rite program, a page from The Oracle (San Francisco’s mid-’60s psychedelic newspaper), event buttons and cover artwork by John Coulthart // “If Little Bush Wins…”: DAVID CROSS and EUGENE MIRMAN smash their funny bones on the bully pulpit // A recipe for Matzoh Ball soup from THE BLACK KEYS‘ Dan Auerbach // GENESIS P-ORRIDGE‘s ten favorite psychedelic folk songs // Oliver Hall talks utopian pop and practical politics with feminist electro-dance bullhorn radicals LE TIGRE // Erik R. Bluhm investigates California’s nascent New Energy Movement and the communal folkish leanings of LITTLE WINGS. Get the scoop on the movement’s collaboration with noted New York minimalist Ferg DeWitt, their taste in abstract paper clothing, and the current state of West Coast Naturmenschen. Illustrated with beautiful color photos by Jamison Carter // Comics by Jason Miles, David Lasky, Vanessa Davis, Tom Gauld, Ben Katchor and Howard Cruse // Why Daniel Pinchbeck went to Burning Man again. Illustrated by Arik Roper // “Bull Tongue” columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore on new work from many of the known undergrounds // “Camera Obscura” columnist Paul Cullum on the inspiration of Haskell Wexler‘s Medium Cool // C & D wax polemic about new stuff
Download: Arthur No. 14 (Jan. 2005)
Contents: Sorina Diaconescu talks with JELLO BIAFRA in the direct aftermath of the Nov. 2 election about freedom, surveillance, pranks and selling out. Photography by W. T. Nelson // Through a curious legal twist, MAGIC MUSHROOMS are openly available for sale in Great Britain. Mark Pilkington reports back from a trip to the shops. With illustrations by Matthew Greene // Photographer Ryan Beshara has been visiting THE BINGO HALLS OF AMERICA. Here are some of the people she has encountered there. // The daring Danish art collective/company SUPERFLEX is changing the world by challenging multinational corporations at their own game. Text by Jay Babcock, photography by W.T. Nelson // MOVING TO CANADA: One year ago, Mdme X exited New York City for the cooler climes of Quebec. “So, how’s it going?” asked Arthur. Here’s what she told us, with an illustration by Tom Devlin // Daniel Pinchbeck travels to Hopiland and finds a way of life threatened with extinction. Illustrated by Arik Roper // Comics by David Lasky, Dan Zettwoch and Ben Katchor // Artwork by Seldon Hunt // T-Model Ford tells us what he wants for Christmas // MF Doom gives us his recipe for “Villainous Mac & Cheese” // James Parker on Mike Watt and Richard Meltzer‘s autumnal works // “Camera Obscura” columnist Paul Cullum on satirist Bill Hicks and an unreleased Woody Allen film // “Bull Tongue” columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore on underground music, poetry, prose, film and art
Download: Arthur 15 (March 2005)
Contents: A close encounter with the enigmatic psychedelic folk adventurer BEN CHASNY of Six Organs of Admittance and Comets On Fire // Controversial novelist and visionary J.G. BALLARD wonders if something fundamental has gone awry in America. Interview by RE/Search’s V. Vale, with an introduction by author Michael Moorcock // MEDITATION as a subversive activity, by Michael Brownstein. Illustrated by John Coulthart // Filmmaker Jessica Yu talks with Trinie Dalton about exploring the life and work of the mysterious artist HENRY DARGER in her new documentary // Columnists Byron Coley and Thurston Moore reflect on ’80 Goddamn Good Things of 2004′ // James Parker on heavier metal by High on Fire, Dead Meadow, Jesu and Om // Comics by Ben Katchor, artwork by John Lurie and “Peace Comics” by Becky Stark & Ron Rege Jr // BRENDAN BENSON explains how a proper cup of tea is brewed // A special feature edited by Tom Devlin on making art in troubled times, featuring new comics by Chris Wright, Brian Ralph, Dan Zettwoch, Megan Kelso, Ben Jones, Paul Lyons, David Lasky, Tom Hart, Vanessa Davis, Greg Cook, Marc Bell, Amy Lockhart and John Hankiewicz // New Arthur columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF on re-inventing the collective for the 21st century. Illustration by Jack Pollock // Weird War vocalist IAN SVENONIUS has a conversation with the Secret Service // Answerman T-MODEL FORD // A horoscope by BECKY STARK // Review crew C & D continue bickering
Download: Arthur No. 16 (May 2005)
Contents: Raised in Sri Lanka and London, rising star M.I.A.‘s pop instincts, radical consciousness and proudly pan-ghetto sound have no easy origin. Piotr Orlov interviews the defiant singer/MC at length. With photography by W.T. Nelson // Peter Lamborn Wilson on something better than political activism and other forms of contemporary ‘futilitarianism’: U.S. seccessionist movements // Erik Davis investigates spiritual hedonism, artistic communion and shared bohemian poverty in two of Northern California’s legendary Marin County enclaves. With photography by Michael Rauner and Stephen Frisch. Plus, a look at Zen teacher/poet/Druid Heights resident ALAN WATTS‘ recently reissued recordings // A visit with today’s Scandinavian black metalists by Stacy Kranitz, with an introduction by Ian Christe. Featuring King ov Hell and Gaal of Gorgoroth, Satyr and Frost of Satyricon, Fenriz of Darkthrone, Frode Glesnes of Einherjer, Nattefrost of Carpathian Forest, Hymr and Lindheim of Helheim, Jyri Vahvanen of Battlelore, Nebelhexe of Hagalaz Runedance, Mortiis, and Blasphemer of Mayhem // John Payne on the season’s prog by MAGMA and THE MARS VOLTA // ‘Sigil Logo’ artwork by Sam Ott // Comics by Ben Katchor, David Lasky, Vanessa Davis, Josh Miles, Chris Wright and Becky Stark & Ron Rege // Columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF// Columnist DANIEL PINCHBECK // Answerman T-MODEL FORD // In the kitchen, guest chef MIKE PATTON // Columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore appreciate the latest mindzaps from the deep underground // C & D get their faces melted by the new SLEATER-KINNEY album and check out other new stuff
Download: Arthur No. 17 (July 2005)
Contents: Kristine McKenna interviews BRIAN ENO on the eve of the release of his first solo album featuring vocals in decades. Illustration by John Coulthart. Plus, a celebration of the great domed one by Alan Moore // Dave Reeves explains how to siphon gasoline out of an S.U.V., with an illustration by Greg Cook // Columnist Douglas Rushkoff on gurus, illustration by Jeff Garcia // Columnist Daniel Pinchbeck on the approaching end of day-to-day life as we know it, iIllustration by Arik Roper // Paul Smart journeys to a squatters’ village on the wild side of Maui, with photography by Fawn Potash // Two pages from one of the strangest comic books ever published, courtesy of Jeff Lint biographer Steve Aylett // Photographs by Jamel Shabazz from his new book, A Time Before Crack // New comics by Marc Bell and Jason Miles // Master of Reality/Goon Moonie CHRIS GOSS reveals the history of his garlic-less Italian pork sauce recipe // C & D on new stuff // Peter Relic on Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail by Christopher Dawes // “Bull Tongue” columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore on new underground work, plus a Top 10 from Michael Bernstein (Double Leopards, Workbench, White Rock).
Download: Arthur No. 18 (Sept. 2005)
Contents: Cover illustration and lettering by PAUL POPE // John Payne visits with a true master: JON HASSELL, composer, trumpeter and visionary theorist-enacter of a sensual new kind of music. Plus, a beginner’s guide to Hassell by John Adamian, and a provocative new essay by Hassell himself. Photography by W. T. Nelson // Stricken by skin cancer, David Reeves journeyed to IQUITOS, PERU. There, he found witchdoctors, ayahuasca, deluded gringos, fears of American ‘facepeelers,’ the legacy of the CIA, the boat from Fitzcarraldo, a shantytown built on water and more. Photography by Simon Lund // Could it be that SERIAL MONOGAMY is at the root of all of our civilization’s problems? Columnist Daniel Pinchbeck is on the case // Swedish psych-pop wunderperson DUNGEN and Earth’s finest living crooner RICHARD HAWLEY get to work in their respective kitchens // Arthur assembles its knights for a Round Table discussion on the gems worth checking out in THE GRATEFUL DEAD‘s vast catalog. Up for the task are members of Animal Collective, Comets On Fire, Brightblack Morning Light and the Duna Records braintrust as well as Barry Smolin, Erik Davis, Michael Simmons, The Seth Man and Daniel Chamberlin // ALAN BISHOP of Sun City Girls speaks with Brandon Stosuy about terrorism, travel, clueless Americans and curating the cut-up world music collages of his Sublime Frequencies label // Oliver Hall encounters AFRIRAMPO, Osaka’s number one freedom paradise rock duo in downtown Los Angeles. Photography by W.T. Nelson // New full-page comics by Keith Jones (“Bacter-Area”), Vanessa Davis (“Preparation Information”), Chris Wright (“Letter to Rachel”) and David Lasky (“Diary of a Bread Delivery Man”) // New artwork by John Lurie, Able Brown and Dennis Culver // After a controversial sabbatical, 85-year-old bluesman T-MODEL FORD returns to the counselor’s desk // Columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF wonders if some techniques of persuasion are so inherently wrong that they should never be used, no matter how noble the purpose // “Bull Tongue” columnists BYRON COLEY & THURSTON MOORE review the latest emanations from the underground // C & D come to important understandings about new audio and video recordings
Download: Arthur No. 19 (Nov. 2005)
Contents: Trinie Dalton finds out how blurry psych-art-rock ANIMAL COLLECTIVE make such beautiful, beguiling sounds. Photography by Susanna Howe. Plus: Deakin and Geologist on the “best drug ever”: scuba diving // Journalist/photographer Daniel Chamberlin spent three weeks traveling through EGYPT, LEBANON and SYRIA this summer. Here’s what happened, from the Cities of the Dead to Hezbollah’s gift shop // Reviewer Gabe Soria says SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS feels more like an epic-length stoner rock record than a video game // Eddie Dean remembers R.L. BURNSIDE // What our reaction to SUICIDE BOMBINGS tells us about ourselves, by columnist Douglas Rushkoff, illustration by Dylan Martorell // Faced with death and destruction, there was only one choice: life. A complete story from cartoonist JAMES KOCHALKA‘s new collection, The Cute Manifesto // “There are a lot of ghosts and good avocado trees in Echo Park…”: A short story by Trinie Dalton from her new book Wide Eyed, with an illustration by Ian Holman // David Reeves on the secret powers of GINSENG // New comics by Greg Cook, Kiersh and PShaw // New artwork by Able Brown, Ernest Eugene Gibson, Nathaniel Russell and K-Fai Steele // “Bull Tongue” columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore check out underground stuff // C & D comment on new recordings
Download: Arthur No. 20 (Jan. 2006)
Contents: How do the drone-metal bands EARTH and SUNN O))) get something out of nothingness? By Brian Evenson, with photography by W. T. Nelson // DAVID LYNCH talks about Transcendental Meditation with Kristine McKenna // Somewhere amidst the music-box plinkings, plangent strings and percolating drones of COLLEEN‘s music is the Parisian Cecele Schott. John Adamian finds her // Daniel Chamberlin concludes his travels in the Middle East with a journey through SYRIA and a return visit to EGYPT // NEW ORLEANS filmmaker Henry Griffin returns to the Ninth Ward. Illustrated by Arik Roper // Musician Alan Bishop listens to THE BUDDHA MACHINE // Making money should really just be a happy result of contributing to the world what you do best, says columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF // Comics by Tom Hart, Jason Miles and David Lasky // Bull Tongue columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review the latest emanations from the deep underground // C & D reason together about a bounty of new audio and video recordings
Download: Arthur No. 21 (March 2006)
Contents: Author Trinie Dalton catches up with the glamourous new age/punk artist/musician duo DELIA GONZALEZ & GAVIN RUSSOM in Berlin. Photography by Hadley Hudson // Belief in RELIGION is a public health crisis, says columnist Douglas Rushkoff // David Reeves says it’s not late to JOIN THE MILITARY before we come in for the big win in the end in Iraq. With an illustration by The Pizz // Twenty years ago, a German enthusiast traveled with rock ‘n’ roll legend TAV FALCO and his Unapproachable Panther Burns through an American South on the verge of vanishing. Text and photography by Richard A. Pleuger // How blues rock thunder chooglers PEARLS & BRASS found their sound in rural Nazareth, Pennsylvania. By Brian J. Barr, with photography by Maria Tessa Sciarrino // The Center for Tactical Magic inaugurates a new column on APPLIED MAGIC with easy-to-do exercises in magical thinking, activating hidden forces and making presidents disappear // A new poem by Michael Brownstein // A new poem by Charles Potts // Four pages of new comics by BEN JONES // “Rendition” by Sharon Rudahl // Comics by PShaw // “Bull Tongue” columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review 80 plus one significant emanations from the deep underground in 2005 // C & D riff on new music
Download: Arthur No. 22 (May 2006)
Contents: How nature droners GROWING found their flow. By Peter Relic, with photography by Eden Batki // Swiss anthropologist-author JEREMY NARBY talks with Jay Babcock about what hallucinogens like LSD and the Amazonian drink ayahuasca have to teach us in the 21st century. Introduction by author Erik Davis, with an illustration by Arik Roper // How columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF learned to stop worrying about current events // Why power duo Al Cisneros and Chris Haikus reunited to make the meditation-suitable heavy metal sound of OM // Columnist David Reeves on the main reason why the USA should seal its border with Mexico // Peter Lavezzoli on the life, work and astounding impact of North Indian vocalist PANDIT PRAN NATH, guru to Western minimalists La Monte Young and Terry Riley // “New Herbalist” columnist Molly Frances on Lord Byron’s secret elixir and the Prophet Muhammed’s top condiment: VINEGAR // How to recognize—and use—OCCULT FORCES, by the Center for Tactical Magic // Notes from Mardi Gras in New Orleans, 2006 by the intrepid Gabe Soria // Comics by Vanessa Davis, Chris Wright and PShaw // Scenes from ArthurBall 2006, featuring Joanna Newsom, The 5:15ers (Joshua Homme & Chris Goss) and Moris Tepper and Polly Harvey // Bull Tongue columnists BYRON COLEY & THURSTON MOORE review new releases // C & D riff into the dawn // Peter Relic’s Book Corner spotlights new poetry collections by Alex Mitchell and John Tottenham
Download: Arthur No. 23 (July 2006)
Contents: Who are BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT and how did they make one of the most beautiful albums of our time? Daniel Chamberlin catches up with the nomadic quiet-souls under a full moon in Joshua Tree. Photography by Eden Batki // Arthur asked GODSMACK singer Sully Erna to explain his pro-war statements and his No. 1 million-selling pop-rock band’s involvement in military recruiting campaigns. Then things got stupid // New earfuzz tones and drones from New Orleans: Gabe Soria interviews the BELONG dudes. Arik Roper paints a picture // Good riddance to bad rubbish: why DERRICK JENSEN wants civilization to end—now. Interview by Jay Babcock, with photography by Shayla Hason // Author Ed Halter on protesting inside online video games; plus a brief history of the heavy crossover between video game makers and the Pentagon. With illustrations by Geoff McFetridge // ‘New Herbalist’ columnist Molly Frances on the wonders of MINT // DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF on why he’s not moving to Canada // John Patterson on the little-seen, oft-suppressed work of dissident filmmaker PETER WATKINS // / Survivalism for Hipsters 101 by Dave Reeves // SIGILS, LOGOS & LUCKY CHARMS: the Center for Tactical Magic on how to recognize them and use them /Comics by J.T. MILES // ‘Bull Tongue’ columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review the latest emanations from the deep underground // C & D take multiple infusions of new culture
Download: Arthur No. 24 (October 2006)
Contents: How Comets on Fire and Howlin’ Rain singer-guitarist ETHAN MILLER got his cosmic California yawp. By Trinie Dalton, with photography by Eden Batki // Chris Ziegler meets Los Angeles’ fabulous liberation rockers SHARP EASE, with photography by Molly Frances // Scenes from a 1967 LOVE-IN AT LOS ANGELES’ GRIFFITH PARK, photographed by Seymour Rosen. Text by Kristine McKenna // A History of ALL-AGES, Part 1: a chat with MC5 manager John Sinclair. By Jay Babcock, with artwork by Geoff McFetridge // Columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF says the propaganda state attempted in 1930s Europe has finally reached fruition here in the US.A. Now what do we do? // Making clothes for fall from new BUILT BY WENDY patterns. Photography by Glynnis McDaris, modeling by Nicole Lombardi // Columnist DAVE REEVES says getting into it with Iran will be twice as fun as the party in Iraq! Just ask the British // The Center for Tactical Magic on CELL PHONES, BLUETOOTHS AND MAGIC SPELLS // New Herbalist Molly Frances goes cuckoo for the ultimate natural brain food: NUTS // Comics by John Hankiewicz and Pshaw // Byron Coley & Thurston Moore on dozens of new excitements from the planetary underground // C & D think as hard as they can about new records and Ed Rosenthal’s Big Buds Calendar
Download: Arthur No. 25 (Winter 2006)
Contents: An epic-length profile of California harper JOANNA NEWSOM by Erik Davis, with photos by Eden Batki // Kyp Malone of TV ON THE RADIO talks with Jay Babcock about directly confronting USA militarism // “Bog Venus vs. Nazi Cock-Ring: Some Thoughts Concerning Pornography” by Alan Moore: a landmark eight-page essay/manifesto, with illustrations // Chuck Dukowski (ex-Black Flag, SST) on the deeper, civilizational issues surrounding ALL-AGES SHOWS, illustrated by Geoff McFetridge // Columnist Molly Frances on the roots of Christmas // Columnist Dave Reeves on guns // Douglas Rushkoff on visionary thinker Robert Anton Wilson // Lisa Anne Auerbach‘s knitted sweaters photographed by Justine Kurland // Nabob Shineywater (Brightblack Morning Light) on musicians Sandy Bull and Hamza al-Din // Chris Ziegler on new albums by White Magic and Sunn O))) & Boris // Byron Coley & Thurston Moore on oodles of underground culture forms; a full-color full-page of “Strings” comics by PShaw
Download: Arthur No. 26 (Sept. 2007)
Contents: Old folks cry, young lovers smile and cynical hipsters get confused when she’s onstage. What is Lavender Diamond’s peace-love-and-ecology frontlady BECKY STARK up to? Interview by Jay Babcock // Thurston Moore & Byron Coley have an audience with YOKO ONO. Discussed: the Peace industry, Fluxus, Sarah Lawrence and her life/art before Lennon. Plus: “Yoko Tanka,” a review of Ono’s recordings in tanka form. With photography by Eden Batki and a selection of vintage Ono photos // Ever been harassed by a cop? Then you know how suicide bombers get made, says columnist Dave Reeves // Columnist Douglas Rushkoff says 9/11 CONSPIRACY THEORISTS are distracting many of our brightest minds from the ongoing horror show in plain view // Journalist Joel Rose visits 80-year-old Zen humorist/media innovator HENRY JACOBS. Plus, an appreciation of Jacobs’ radio and TV work by filmmaker Mike Mills // DEERHOOF dude Greg Saunier spiels on the joy of all-ages gigs // Photos of DC’s early punk scene, from by photographer Susie J. Horgan‘s Punk Love book // Fringe knitter TINA MARRIN works off the grid in her cozy, color wonderland // Byron Coley remembers SUN CITY GIRLS // Columnist Molly Frances hops on Miranda July‘s time machine to visit a land of seeded fruit // Soon the State will have Hummers with cannons that can heat up people’s skin half a kilometer away. The Center for Tactical Magic has some more evolved ideas about mobilizing vehicles for change. Plus: what to do when cops really want to search your car // New “People Are Talking” columnist Brian J. Davis on what SIMON COWELL, Secretary of Defense ROBERT GATES and KELLY CLARKSON have (respectively) been up to this summer // PShaw’s “Strings”: full-page comics in full color // “Bull Tongue” columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review the latest emanations from the deep underground // C &D drink beers and check out new records and books
Download: Arthur No. 27 (Dec. 2007)
Contents: I.F. “Ian” Svenonius files a field report on Baltimore psychedelic soul rock ‘n’ roll band CELEBRATION. Photography by Stacy Kranitz // Ben can truly call him Al: Six Organs of Admittance‘s BEN CHASNY and Om‘s AL CISNEROS manifest music, vibration and camaraderie in a conversation between the two. Visual interpretations by Arik Moonhawk Roper. // Erik Davis catches up with SIR RICHARD BISHOP—gypsy picatrix, ex-Sun City Girl and guitarist extraordinaire. Illustration by John Coulthart // The Sodfather, the Compost King, the Guru of Doo-Doo: Daniel Chamberlin talks shit with California’s rhyming sultan of sod, TIM DUNDON. Photography by Eden Batki // Photographer Abby Banks drove across America, visiting spaces occupied by groups of youngish refuseniks who’ve left behind America’s grey gridlife // Columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF wonders if an unplugged parenthood is still possible. Illustrated by Jack Pollock. // RED SCARE! A glance back at early 20th century radicals Louise Bryant and John Reed—an essay with clothes. Styling by Jaclyn Hodes, photography by Annabel Mehrain // Columnist MOLLY FRANCES on cleaning house, clothes and body–without toxic chemicals // If you’re going to PROTEST something, do it right. The Center for Tactical Magic lights the way in their “Applied Magic(k)” column // SONNY HOPSON (“The Mighty Burner”) (!) tells Peter Relic about JAMES BROWN // Nurse Periwinkle takes health questions from the crowd // An update on what people are really talking about by columnist Brian J. Davis // A new poem by MICHAEL BROWNSTEIN PShaw‘s “Strings” // PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE on Eye Mind: The Saga of the 13th Floor Elevators, the Pioneers of Psychedelic Sound by Paul Drummond, Moondog: The Viking of 6th Avenue by Robert Scotto and The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13 and The Source Family by Isis Aquarian // “Bull Tongue” columnists BYRON COLEY & THURSTON MOORE review the latest emanations from the deep underground // C &D drink kratom smoothies and beer, run the fog machine and check out new records and dvds. With artwork by Beth Hoeckel.
Download: Arthur No. 28 (March 2008)
Contents: “The Woman Who Knows Too Much”: For over two decades, she has terrified and enraptured audiences with plague masses, homicidal love songs and sensational vocal and piano acrobatics. Meet DIAMANDA GALAS: avenging queen of the damned, obvious musical genius and the only person alive who’s a fan of both Doris Day and Vlad the Impaler. By John Payne, with photography by Susanna Howe // What happens when bands play live where they’re not supposed to? Paul Moody dissects the London GUERRILLA GIG scene of the early ’00s spawned by the Libertines. Plus: NO AGE‘s recent daylight guerrilla gig by the L.A. River, with photos by Joshua Pressman // Erik Morse tells the amazing-but-true, blood-drenched story of how fictional pulp criminal FANTOMAS begat numerous classics of early cinema and inspired the most revolutionary art movements of the 20th Century // “The Girls Who Fell To Earth”: Clothes make the alien. Photography and styling by Molly Frances and Mark Frohman // When the Man went after columnist Dave Reeves, Dave took notes // How to use a magic wand, by The Center for Tactical Magic // Zodiac by Molly Frances: 2008 is a ‘1 year’ in numerology. Time to draw up those blueprints for the future of you // “The Analog Life”: The debut of a new column by ERIK DAVIS exploring cultural life outside the ascendant empire of the digital // “21 Recently Discovered Delights”: Farmer Dave Scher waxes enthusiastic about aging, elliptical machines, using your left hand and more // “Where’d You Get That Name ‘Arthur’ From?”: If you don’t know, now you do. Art by Joseph Remnant // Plastic Crimewave salutes the late CHARLIE NOTHING // “Strings” by PShaw // “People Are Talking About” by Brian J. Davis // Columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review the latest burps and gurgles from the deep underground // Columnists C & D, Arthur’s two pseudonymous know-it-alls, get their comeuppance while still having the last word on new records. Stephen Malkmus makes a cameo, discussing the meaning of golf
Download: Arthur No. 29 (May 2008)
Contents: Chris Ziegler and Kevin Ferguson visit veteran sui generis pop duo SPARKS in L.A. as they prepare to perform their entire 20-album, 240-song ouevre in a single three-wek London engagement in May. “We’re actually better than we thought,” reveal the brothers Mael. Plus: an appropriately outsized ‘Listener’s guide to Sparks’ by Ned Raggett. With photography by Jeaneen Lund // Artist Arik Roper on the art and inspiration of animator RALPH BAKSHI // ENDARKENMENT MANIFESTO: Peter Lamborn Wilson (aka Hakim Bey)’s half-serious proposal for a “coherent spiritual movement that constitutes the only imaginable alternative to unending degradation of Earth and humanity” // Joe O’Brien has a drink with RUDY WURLITZER, the legendary author (Nog, Quake, Flats), screenwriter (Two Lane Blacktop, Walker) and aimless wanderer // The debut of “Advanced Standing,” a new column by Greg Shewchuk which asks, What if we thought of SKATEBOARDING as a mind-body practice? Illustration by Joseph Remnant // New columnist NANCE KLEHM explains how to make dandelion wine and what to do with human pee. Illustration by Aiyana Udessen // Columnist DAVE REEVES on why we can’t let the President kill himself, with an illustration by Sharon Rudahl // TWO PAGES OF FULL-COLOR COMICS, edited by Buenaventura Press, featuring new comics by Anna Sommer, Matt Furie, Kevin Huizenga, Jeffrey Brown, Anders Nilsen, Al Columbia, Tim Hensley, C.F., Ted May, Souther Salazar, Tom Gauld, Jonathan Bennett, Helge Reumann, Lisa Hanawalt, Dan Zettwoch, P.W.E. and Simon Evans // “The Day Is Long”: SPRING FASHION on a Los Angeles afternoon, with photography and styling by Molly Frances and Mark Frohman // Why you’ve always wanted to TALK TO PLANTS, and some of the best ways to do it, according to the Center for Tactical Magic // “Bull Tongue” columnists BYRON COLEY & THURSTON MOORE review choice finds from the deep underground // Magik Markers’ ELISA AMBROGIO waxes enthusiastic about cultural items // The fake economy’s parasitical relationship with the real economy isn’t going to last much longer, says columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF. Illustration by M. Wartella //The government is obsoleting analog television in February, 2009—ERIK DAVIS examines what we are losing. Illustration by Chris Rubino // Noisician/author Gabe Soria reports from New Orleans, singer-songwriter-bandleader Stephen Malkmus updates us on OLIGARCHY ‘08 // Plastic Crimewave memorializes the late great KLAUS DINGER
Download: Arthur No. 30 (July 2008)
How a brush with death, a haunted guitar and filmmaker Harmony Korine helped SPIRITUALIZED’s JASON (SPACEMAN) PIERCE wrestle a new album of narcotic gospel music into being. By Jay Babcock, with photography by Stacy Kranitz // In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, legendary film director/author ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY (El Topo, Holy Mountain) reflects on his encounters with Zen teacher Ejo Takata and Surrealist master Leonora Carrington in late-1960s Mexico City // The Center for Tactical Magic tells us HOW TO THROW A HEX—and why // JULIAN COPE on an extraordinary art statement of cavernous Detroit Psychedelic soul // Columnist Nance Klehm salutes weeds—in particular, Artemesia vulgaris, aka mugwort // Columnist Greg Shewchuk on how the continuous prospect of eating shit on a skateboard can keep you humble—and awake // Columnist Erik Davis takes a stand against Cory Doctorow-style iPodiphilia and other data processing-marketed-as-pleasure // A howl for America’s long-gone liberal media, by columnist Dave Reeves // A new poem by Michael Brownstein // THE ENTRANCE BAND, salubriously styled by the singular ALIA PENNER // EDDIE DEAN waxes lovingly about what’s been rubbing him right lately // Comics artist Joseph Remnant on author Patrick Rosenkrantz’s gorgeous book of underground comix history // Bull Tongue columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore review choice finds from the deep underground // Melvins’ BUZZ “KING BUZZO” OSBORNE joins C & D as they examine hot new culture items // HEY BO DIDDLEY!: In Memorium by Plastic Crimewave.
Download: Arthur No. 31 (Oct. 2008)
Contents: Cover photography by Lisa Law, design by Alia Penner. Author Trinie Dalton traveled into the wilds of New Mexico to live with psychedelic earthers BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT for two days. Sublimity ensued. With photography by Lisa Law // On May 10, 1968 SLY & THE FAMILY STONE opened two shows for THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE at the Fillmore East in New York City. Artist/scholar Plastic Crimewave reports on this extraordinary, little-known moment in American countercultural history // Columnist Erik Davis wonders if the “planetary consciousness” of neotribal psytrance gatherings like Portugal’s Boom festival just window dressing for the same old hedonism and escapism—or could it actually be what it says it is? // Columnist Dave Reeves: Having doubts about Iraq? America’s Victory Is Infinite. Just look at Vietnam… // Columnist Douglas Rushkoff: The mortgage and credit crisis wasn’t merely predictable; it was predicted. And not by a market bear or conspiracy theorist, but by the people and institutions responsible. Illustration by Arik Roper // Molly Frances on all sorts of delights in, from, or about Los Angeles—from Wallace Berman, Velaslavasay Panorama and Lily Tomlin in The Late Show to Show Cave, Nite Jewel and the new Flying Lotus album // Greg Shewchuk: What is it about skateboarding that makes kids willing to break laws in order to do it? Illustration by Joseph Remnant // Nance Klehm: What to do with the nuts, seeds and berries you can find while foraging in the urban jungle. Illustration by Makeswell // The Center for Tactical Magic: Do the ends ever justify the magic(k)? Illustration by Cassandra Chae // A centerfold of new ARTHUR COMICS edited by Buenaventura Press featuring Jeffrey Brown, Charles Burns, Al Columbia, P.W.E., Simon Evans, Matt Furie, Tom Gauld, Lisa Hanawalt, Joseph Hanks, Tim Hensley, Ted May, Anders Nilsen, Laura Park, Helge Reumann, Souther Salazar, Julia Wertz and Dan Zettwoch // STYLE: Annakim Violette, glampire vamp, tells an arachnid tale from a rainbow’s underbelly. Styled by Miss KK, with photography and design by Alia Penner // BYRON COLEY & THURSTON MOORE review choice finds from the deep underground // C and D let it rip about the Fela! musical plus countless new music albums
Download: Arthur 32 (Dec. 2008) – online only, never printed due to the economic contraction
Contents: 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. Eddie Dean tells Leon’s story and shares some of his extraordinary photographs in this expanded excerpt from the new book, Pure Country // Oliver Hall takes an epic tea with The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and James Walbourne // “Trigger Hippies and Trimmer Girls”: A special report by columnist Dave Reeves on life during harvest on a Humboldt cannabis farm, with an illustration by Arik Roper and photos by Daniel Chamberlin // Twenty-sided die? Library card? 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 // Ian Nagoski reports on American record labels and blogs recovering musical jewels in international waters: Dust-to-Digital, Mississippi Records, Yaala Yaala, Sublime Frequencies, Excavated Shellac and more // Columnist Nance Klehm on bacteria, digestion and old-time kitchen folk magic // Columnist Erik Davis on the pleasures of slowing down financially, gastronomically and metaphysically // The Center for Tactical Magic on death and resurrection, vanishing and banishing, Bush and Obama… with a helpful “EXORCISE DAILY” worksheet! // Columnist Greg Shewchuk asks “Why do we skate?” // A centerfold of new comics edited by Buenaventura Press featuring 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 // A four-page style pictorial photographed by Jeaneen Lund and designed by Alia Penner // John Adamian reviews the dvd release of the documentary film, “The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose” // Byron Coley and Thurston Moore review choice finds from the deep underground in their Bull Tongue column // Plastic Crimewave salutes the late Jimmy Carl Black // 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. We know it’s not very satisfying.
Download: Arthur No. 33 (Jan. 2013)
Contents: How (and why) to lucid dream — a conversation with cartoonist RICK VEITCH by Jay Babcock. Plus “Cartographer of the American Dreamtime,” an appreciation of Rick Veitch and his work by Alan Moore // JACK ROSE: the definitive, career-spanning interview with this late great America guitarist, conducted by Brian Rademaekers just months before his death three years ago. Plus: Jack Rose discography compiled by Byron Coley, and an illustration of a classic Jack pose by Plastic Crimewave // An illuminating/endarkening conversation with sparkling Luciferian artist FRANK HAINES by Eliza Swann // Stewart Voegtlin on WAYLON JENNINGS‘ dark dream, with an illustration by Beaver // Columnist Dave Reeves on Burroughs, bath salts and border guards, with an illustration by Arik Roper // Columnist Nance Klehm on new modes of exchange—and homemade smokes, with an illustration by Kira Mardikes // Cartoonist GABBY SCHULZ explores our interstate nightmare // The Center for Tactical Magic on “The Magic(k) of Money”—and how YOU can win $1,000 for planning a BANK ROBBERY // “Bull Tongue” columnists Byron Coley & Thurston Moore survey happenings in underground culture, with a special report on The Ex 33 festival at Cafe Oto in East London
Download: Arthur No. 34 (April 2013)
Contents: After 20-plus years navigating strange, inspiring trips across myriad underground psychedelic terrains with a host of fellow free folk, righteous musician/head MATT VALENTINE (MV & EE, Tower Recordings, etc) finally spills all possible beans in an unprecedented, career-summarizing, ridiculously footnoted epic interview by Byron Coley. Plus: Deep archival photo finds from the MV vaults, a sidebar wander through some important MV listening experiences with your guide Dan Ireton, and a gorgeous cover painting by Arik Roper of MV & EE at peace in the cosmic wild // Orange County, California psych rockers FEEDING PEOPLE left the church, entered the void, lost band members and returned to our reality to sing their tale in glorious reverb. Chris Ziegler investigates, with photography by Ward Robinson // Is there a way to examine the nature of existence at its very foundation? Esoteric mapmaker DAVID CHAIM SMITH says yes—but there’s a price. Interview by Jay Babcock // Everyone needs someone to love, and AROMATIC APHRODISIACS are here to help that lovin’ along (sans wack pharma side effects). From truffles to borrachero, author-scholars Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Ebeling get in on the action. Illustrations by Kira Mardikes // Columnist Nance Klehm on BETTER HOME BREWING // Gabe Soria chats with novelist AUSTIN GROSSMAN (Soon I Will Be Invincible) about the basic weirdness of playing (and making) video games, with art by Ron Rege, Jr. // All-new full-color comics by Lale Westvind, Will Sweeney, Vanessa Davis and Jonny Negron // Stewart Voegtlin on what (or: who) made MELVINS’ 1992 beercrusher Lysol the most unlikely religious record ever built, with art by Stewart’s Chips N Beer mag comrade Beaver // The Center for Tactical Magic on ANARCHO-OCCULTISM // Byron Coley and Thurston Moore‘s essential underground review column, Bull Tongue, now expanded to two giant pages
Download: Arthur No. 35 (Aug. 2013)
Contents: Cover by Kevin Hooyman // Guitarist, composer and analog synthesizer pioneer BERNIE KRAUSE left the recording studio to find that really wild sound. What he discovered was far more profound. Interview by Jay Babcock. Illustrations by Kevin Hooyman // Wily folkplayer MICHAEL HURLEY has charmed hip audiences for over 50 years with his timeless surrealist tunes and sweetly weird comics, all the while maintaining a certain ornery, outsider mystique. Longtime Snockhead/Arthur Senior Writer Byron Coley investigates this Wild American treasure in an enormous feature replete with rare photos, artwork, comics… and a giant color portrait by Liz Devine // Inside Baltimore’s T HILL, new kinds of experiments with salvia divinorum and flotation tanks are going on. Journalist/photographer Rjyan Kidwell visits Twig Harper, Carly Ptak…and the Wild Shepherdess // BURIED ALIVE BY THE SUFIS: Swap-O-Rama Rama founder and author WENDY TREMAYNE wanted to understand what motivated her life-long anti-consumerism. She found the answer underground. Illustration by Kira Mardikes // DAVE REEVES on the price motorcyclists pay for being better than you. Illustration by Lale Westvind // Stewart Voegtlin on JOHN COLTRANE’s startling 1960s ascension from space bebop to universe symphonies. Dual astral/material plane illustration by Beaver // FLOWERS, LEAVES, ANARCHISM: Matthew Erickson on the J.L. Hudson Ethnobotanical Catalog of Seeds // Camilla Padgitt-Coles visits Enumclaw‘s Norm Fetter at his family’s Pennsylvania mushroom farm // The Center for Tactical Magic on demons and drones // New full-page full-color comics: “Forgiveness” by Julia Gfrörer and Part 2 of Will Sweeney’s “Inspector Homunculus” serial // The “Bull Tongue” exhaustive survey of underground cultural output by your intrepid guides Byron Coley and Thurston Moore
Arthur Magazine 