AVANT/CHICAGO

October, The Journal: art criticism and theory for the intelligentsia

October, The Journal

This art and theory journal from MIT champions itself at the vanguard of modern creativity. Their summer issue focused on themes of film and video.  Some articles available free, other through JStor.

New Mag Throws Party - Older Mags Sigh

The Secret History of Chicago Music is a great Reader feature.  Cool article design and great info about sort of unknown local acts, the articles always leave us saying, "no way."   Southern rock started right here in the Windy?  The vanishing of one of the most well known jazz bassists and how Michael and the Messengers lost a number one hit "In the Midnight Hour" to another band named Michael and the Messengers are two of many great stories.

Today At DePaul - Zine Fest

Some Rags We've Been Diggin' Lately (who says print is dead?)

Radar - Pop, Politics, Scandal, Style

Mean - Question Culture

Missbehave - For The Fashion Rebel

Juxtaspose - Art and Culture

Between ordering books and figuring out what we need to sell in the store, down time comes in short doses.  During that time we like to do some quick, easy reading and we often turn to magazines.  We've been magazine freaks ever since our early days eating up Rolling Stone and SI, but now we tend to be more selective with Paste, Nylon and Arthur on top.  We pick up others too and today we thumbed the latest TimeOut.  The cover story is 20 People to Watch in '07.  Hoping that more folks continue to catch on to the city's Hip-hop scene the mag goes with local rapper Vi in it's top spot. Good choice. Other notables include DJ Billy Dalessandro, eclectic band Mahjongg and artist Sabrina Raaf.  Barack Obama comes in at low #17 which is a real laugher and the inclusion of DePaul writing professor Michele Morano whose essay's pale in comparison to her department associate Bayo Ojikutu's work. (his 2nd novel Free Burning has got sweet reviews)  Many local bands could have made the list in our mind, this was a pretty average list in all estimations.

Machine Media begins the new year with a new issue.  Before just an on-line venture, The Machine was like a zine, so we guess it's was an E-zine.  Now they've put it in a newspaper form for the 1st time. Another project of the hustlin' Brandon Weatherbee, (with Kelsey Snell) Machine offers some pretty unique insights into Chicago culture. This issue has free downloads from Eric Ziegenhagen, a critique on the biz of music shows in Chicago and some music reviews.   Writers Eric Lab Rat and Emerson Dameron chime in on their lives. Read through it, it's a quality way to kill some time.

This just came in. The 1000th issue of Rolling Stone. I am not a fan of Rolling Stone, but the 3-D cover (front and back) is sweet.   Great looks at all the covers of past and the people who helped make them.  And all this still at the normal cover price. 

Music Is The Medium

Come to the Hideout for a night of rock and progressive politics with In These Times. Featuring the music of local bands Palliard, The 1900s and Children Vs. Children of Doom, tickets are $10 and include a complimentary issue of the magazine. (thanks)

Flaming Book

This month, Jim DeRogatis, releases his biography of a legendary orchestral-pop, indie-psychedelic band: "Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips," published by Broadway Books. It's his fourth book about rock.