I subscribed to Rolling Stone for years. I just love the large format, funky design and pictures of rock stars hanging out and being…human. And while Rolling Stone has been around since the ‘60s, it’s reputation is quickly being undermined by the 5-year young Paste Magazine.
There are 3 things that turned me off about Rolling Stone. It arrived too frequently to be meaningful and seemed to be a sub-corporation for the totally over-rated White Stripes. Also, Rolling Stone has featured too many hysterically-written articles about why the Bush administration sucks so bad. (Look, we know he is perhaps the worst President in the history of the United States. I don’t care. I used to get Rolling Stone for the alleged music news, not to have them preach to the choir about how the USA is going to hell in a hand basket.) And last, and perhaps worst, Rolling Stone featured reviews of music and musicians that I had already heard of. As a music junkie and geek I am interested in music I have never heard of, but need to.
Which brings me to Paste Magazine. It’s lovely matte-varnish cover comes every other month and not only brings me news of new music that I have never heard of (but will love) it carries within it’s well-designed pages an actual CD with perhaps 20 tracks of new music. Never hear of Architecture in Helsinki or the Weakerthans? Paste Magazine has. In one of their issues earlier this year, I wrote to the editor to complain that they had an article about Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson where they mention the fathers of these musical boys (Loudon Wainwright III and Richard Thompson, respectively) but failed to mention the moms, Kate McGarrigle and Linda Thompson. The editor Josh Jackson wrote me back almost immediately to apologize and then went on to publish my letter in the next issue. He also went one better and had Rufus Wainwright interview Linda Thompson. Was it all because of me? I’d like to think so.
So long Rolling Stone, hello Paste.
