Paste
This past summer, I made a wonderful discovery in the magazine rack of my local bookstore: Paste magazine.
Signs of Life In Music and Culture
Paste is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to music, movies, books and various other forms of entertainment. I started to use the phrase 'pop-culture' in that description but I think that has a bad connotation that would disappoint the creators of Paste.
I don't think you will ever find any articles about Britney Spears in Paste. The August/September 2004 issue featured Wilco and included articles about Loretta Lynn, The Polyphonic Spree, Kasey Chambers, Drive-By Truckers, Marah, Old 97's and Tift Merritt. Each issue contains a sampler CD. This past issue's sampler CD had 22 songs from artist such as The Polyphonic Spree, Old 97's, Chris Robinson, They Might Be Giants, The Bodeans, Coldplay, and J.J. Cale plus numerous artists that I had previously not heard.
A lengthy CD Review section covers many artists you likely know such as Morrissey, Guided By Voices, Juliana Hatfield, Diana Krall, David Garza and Todd Snider. Plus, reviews of bands you likely wouldn't know about otherwise unless you keep a keen eye on the music scene. The Secret Machines, Patrick Wolf, Phosphorescent and Ken Stringfellow make up a partial list of some of the more interesting reviews in the Aug/Sept issue.
I even found the back page enlightening. Instead of the billboard top 20 or something like that, you'll find the "Non-Commercial Adult Rock" top 20 and the "Americana Roots" top 20. Huh? Did you even know those lists existed? The Non-Commercial list is full of great artists that don't get much attention in the mainstream media. Los Lobos, Patti Smith, Patty Griffin, Cowboy Junkies, J.J. Cale, The Subdudes, Toots & The Maytals and Jem make up several of the artists you'll find in this list.
But what really impresses me about Paste is the writing. This magazine is just beautiful to read. I'm often reminded of the zany and pointed writings of Lester Bangs while reading Paste. The writers simply make me want to listen to the music they are describing. They make it all sound so interesting and fun. They make you feel the fire and angst of the rockers and the emotion and poetry of the song writers. A great example can be found early in their review of the latest CD from Marah.
"It's in places like these where rock 'n' roll still burns desperate and bright, a fireball of pent-up love and hope in decibel form, ready to wake the soul of the yearning and, as yet, unjaded. ... Like so much in life, the reality of music is that the mundane is typical, with true moments of myth and magic occurring fleetingly and often with little fanfare. So sometimes you have to dig -- and dig deep -- in these, the stinking basement clubs and unheralded garages, if you want your dose of magic."
Quite simply, I like these guys behind Paste. I just saw that the next issue is available now, so I'm off to the bookstore this week to pick up my copy.
For more about Paste magazine, I recommend that you check out their website here. Also, their online store for purchasing music is located here.
Posted by on 10/11 at 09:48 PM