SPY In The House of Love

I am a lover of magazines, having published small 'zines (Sign O' The Times, Slack) in the 90s. Once, I was a sort of 'magazine junkie'- with simultaneous running subscriptions to about 6-7 magazines which included Playboy, Spin, Details, Entertainment Weekly, Metropolis, etc. Now I lean more towards the design mags (Print, How, etc) but I have recently been re-introduced to Rolling Stone and have been enjoying it. Though the new smaller format isn't as cool as the larger size it used to be.

They say that print is dead, and maybe I am a dinosaur but I love a good magazine- big photos, hot news, informative reporting, satire, satire, satire-- plus you can't read your computer in the bathroom (well, I guess you could use your laptop....). I think graphic design is better on the printed page, than the internet.

The good folks at Good Magazine have compiled an awesome list of the 51 Best Magazines Ever which is compiled as the Smartest, Prettiest, Coolest, Funniest, Most Influential, Most Necessary, Most Important, Most Essential, etc. The list includes the classics: Esquire, Playboy, New Yorker, Life, Interview but also includes some of the cool mags such as Ray Gun, Eros and even Mad!

From the Good Magazine article:

"The essential strength of a magazine is its ability to amplify. An idea, or an image, or a story, set within the pages of a magazine and assembled by the right hands, can become the grist of breakfast chatter, dinner-party conversation, or elective body debate around the world."

Here is the list with full details on each,The 51 Best* Magazines Ever
*Smartest, Prettiest, Coolest, Funniest, Most Influential, Most Necessary, Most Important, Most Essential, etc. Words By Graydon Carter, GOOD magazine

Stoned and Dethroned

Not lively; sluggish.
Not busy or active.
Not taut or firm; loose.
A period of little activity; lull.
Trousers or casual wear.

He who possess slack, shall rule the world.

Slack issue #12- The (1 year) Anniversary Issue
Sept. 1994 (published 09.01.94)

I just saw the Steam Donkeys for probably the 300th time, man those guys are good. As I sat amongst the neighborhood folk in the grassy knoll of Bidwell Parkway enjoying the band I felt a sense of calm. Though the kids were running rampant, dancing, spinning and laughing and the music was really loud in the front- I was at peace. What a better way to spend a Summer August night- truly a slack experience. This was sure different than seeing them at the Club Utica circa 1994, that is for sure.

Slack no. 12 was the theme-less Anniversary Issue. One Year Strong as the cover proclaimed! This issue attempts to once again explain the theory of slack by outlining the history of slack and touching on the church of the sub-genius- purveyors of 'slack.' A no-theme issue found writer Eric Morse explaining "Fine Things I Appreciate in Life (no theme)" which included:

• Comedy Central
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show
• James Ellroy
• Elmwood Strip Post-Bar Food
• CFNY

There are some 1994 nuggets for ya, huh?

This issue featured the second column by newcomer Raisin BlowMe, reviews of a Bootzilla record and Prince's Come ('his best release in years...' or so it says), an extended Dre's After Dark (which gives you a great snapshot of the Buffalo club and music scene circa Sept. 94), record review by 'The Scotster', a great Strick article called So Called Democracy in America & Why the Local Media Sucks Up, a tasteless DasBoot ad, and a piece about a band I don't remember at all, but I do remember it was an article by someone 'not in the Slack circle' so I published it to make the mag seem not so 'cliquey'... and it was written by a girl. Slack girl writers were scares in those days.

To really give you a look at 1994 music in Buffalo, here is Lance's (Tuesday, 3rd Room) Top Five DJ List. Ah Tuesday night in a bar, not a care in the world.

1. Blast of the Universe- Bootsy Collins
2. Classic- 1/2 Pint
3. Whip Smart - Liz Phair
4. File Under Easy Listening- Sugar
5. Natural Ingredients- Luscious Jackson

Scanning, adjusting, layouting and PDF'ing 3 issues of Slack in 7 days (man...!) is not Slack, though I guess I always worked too hard to be a true slacker.
Ask Oprah!

Dre, where have you been. Please cease the media silence, eh?

Download PDF here: Slack Magazine n. 12, the Anniversary Issue (3.3 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (8 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

Skyscraper.... I Love You

New York's Metropolis Magazine has always been an interesting mix of design and architecture. The masthead describes the mag as:

"Metropolis examines contemporary life through design—architecture, interior design, product design, graphic design, crafts, planning, and preservation. Subjects range from the sprawling urban environment to intimate living spaces to small objects of everyday use."

Online they posted a neat feature to celebrate last year's 25 years in print (25 YEARS OF ARCHITECTURE DESIGN) which is a slide show retrospect of 25 memorable covers from the past and moments associated with them.

It is interesting to see how the older covers had a cutting edge feel (for the time) but still had a pasted togetherness about them. We had a subscription back in the late 90s and I remember the cover possessing a strange, modern, old fashioned vibe. I was always inspired by the masthead getting lopped off the page-- too close to the edge? Metropolis is always a great intersection of design-life-building things.

METROPOLIS- Covering Design for 25 Years (link launches a Flash page)