Arthur Magazine R.I.P.?

Over the weekend, I heard via one of the music crit listserves I'm on that San Francisco's Arthur Magazine was calling it quits. The rumor was, that after four years of print excellence, they'd simply run out of funds.

I love Arthur, and not just for its coverage of freaky music. The rag seemed to recognize a gestalt in today's fringe culture, with cross-pollinated coverage of psychedelics, modern shamanism, magick, media and activism. Plus Thurston Moore did CD reviews.

This morning, PitchforkMedia corroborated the news of the paper's demise.

However, I now find out that the obituary may have been premature. The ever-knowledgeable blog Idolator reports on a rift between editor Jay Babcock and publisher Larry Kreslins over financing, which has put Arthur on "indefinite hiatus."

No word on whether or not Babcock will continue with the organization once they return. And in what form, I wonder?

In case you missed it, Here's Babcock taking the frontman for Godsmack to task over the band's ties to military recruitment efforts.

And an L.A. Times article about the shutdown kerfluffle.

Better rush down to Pure Pop and scoop up those last copies, if there are any...

   

Comments

[jay]

Hmmm....interesting. I first heard this last Friday on the Brooklyn Vegan blog, and it quickly made its way around the internet. Although I'd like to be optimistic about the reassurance letter on their website, nine times out of ten the phrase "indefinite hiatus" means "finished".

I'll keep my fingers crossed though; it's one of the few music magazines out there that are worth reading in the internet age.

[ben]

i doubt theres any there, that Jo issue went faster than any of 'em yet.

I was also wondering if it was true, cause other than the celebrity coffin link on Jay's Magpie blog - http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie , there has been no formal mailing list announcement and I seem to get one about every other day aboout Dev making out with Lindsay Lohan or whatever.

I guess we'll see...pitchfork's been known to jump on things quickly before. there was that time they reported that Jeff Mangum was coming out of retirement that turned out to be a hoax and all those poor kid's hearts had already expoloded.
Ben

[g-lo]

That's Kerfuffle.

Rags like this run out of money. THen they publicize their demise, and the bump in subs/sales/ads keeps them on for another year. Either they get a publisher that can keep it running or they marry a Russian oil barron.

[casey]

Kerfuffle. Got it.

"I Married a Russian Oil Baron." Sounds like a great reality TV show.

[Thirtyseven]

That's a serious bummer -- that means their huge interview with Alan Moore will never get digitized. I was really looking forward to that.

[casey]

Thats, like, my favorite article they ever published.

There was a digital archive at one point. Check the website....

[jay]

You can download the "last" issue of Arthur (in three .pdf files) or, even better, buy every issue of the magazine at:

http://www.arthurmag.com/store/

[Thirtyseven]

Yeah, no luck there or anywhere else online so far. Bummer.