Anthem Magazine, c'est la vie

The dark days of print-publishing awaits us magazine fanatics at the gates of digital hell and all we can do is pray that our favorites don't succumb. Luckily, only a handful of mine has (weep-sob-Punk Planet RIP).

I recently received an email from ANTHEM magazine, advertising their latest "fashion" issue, with a short but sweet announcement that the magazine is going quarterly. And in these words:

"It seems like we can't spend a full day without stumbling on someone's premature obituary of print media. Anthem wants to prove that what seems impossible can be answered with what's least expected: bigger, bolder, brasher. We'd like to think we're running full throttle into the future with oversized ambition—critics and so-called common sense be damned."

So basically, I'm thinking Anthem is the west coast's answer to V Magazine. Might be too early to speculate, but we'll see. If that's the direction it's heading in, Anthem's got some work ahead of itself. And while I was never a huge fan of the writing, I respect the magazine's design work. Anthem also threw some pretty dope parties at Coachella.

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The July/August 08 edition of Believer Magazine (also known as their "Music Issue")

PROS: I kind of love that hipster-worship-worthy Haruki Murakami breaks down some of his Jazz favz in the only way he knows how- by drawing out surreal visuals and metaphors in the music and (briefly) the lives of artists Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, and Theloniuous Monk. At one point, Murakami says, "Getz's life may have been, the sweet magic that filled his music like the beating of angel wings never wavered." Woah.

CONS: The "Bite Me: A Brief History of Dentistry and Music" article = YAWN. And the interview with Ian Mackaye from which I expected fireworks, was lackluster and contrived. The whole thing felt like a boring documentary about no-name bands that might have been good if it wasn't transcribed into 5-pages worth of text. But that also leads me to...

PROS: Within the interview, there's a pretty awesome list titled "Songs About Gender Confusion". While the immediate response to certain listed bands/songs is "duh, I knew that", I was also in denial that one of my favorite Beatles' tracks,"Get Back", was a discussion on transgenderism. Then I read the lyrics. Got it.

CONS: Annoying write-up called the "Grizzind" in which author Davy Rothbart praises street-peddled rap cds. I initially found it amusing and then found myself irritated that another hipster music geek thinks that badly produced hip hop is genius because it's ironic to think this way.

FINALLY, PROS: A free CD! Well, it's not free because the cost is covered in the steep price of this issue.

TRACKLISTING
CD enclosed with the July/August 2008 print issue

1. Tartit, “Ansari”
2. Animal Collective, “Winters Love”
3. Sholi, “Hejrat”
4. Googoosh, “Makhloogh”
5. Gang Gang Dance, “Nicoman”
6. Beat Konducta, “Dancing Girls Theme”
7. Think Of One, “Antwaarpse Shaâbi”
8. Aceyalone, “Sound Gun”
9. Busy Signal, “Knocking At Your Door”
10. Dirty Projectors, “Finches’ Song At Oceanic Parking Lot”
11. Ensemble Pirin, “Di-Li-Do”
12. Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities, “What They Said (Barnburner Mix)”
13. Mahmoud Ahmed, “Abbay Mado”
14. High Places, “Golden”
15. Ya Bounma, “Jing Riang Me Lun”
16. Lucky Dragons, “Complement Song”

Overall, this magazine was good, somewhat ho-hum, but good.