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R.I.P. Arthur Magazine: 2002-2007

Hippies, stoners, and folk freaks the world over wept today as it was announced that Arthur magazine will close its doors after five glorious years of delivering discourse and pretty pictures on art, music, and more to our marijuana-stained hands. As confirmed by editor Jay Babcock, Arthur will cease operations effective immediately.

Arthur, printed bi-monthly in oversize format and available free at the savvier venues, bookstores, and record shops near you, set up shop in October 2002. In addition to publishing articles, interviews, artwork, and more on/by Thurston Moore, Arthur C. Clarke, Spike Jonze, Devendra Banhart, Will Oldham, Joanna Newsom, Joe Strummer, and others-- and playing a vital role in the freak folk boom of a few years back-- Arthur also hosted/curated a number of festivals, including Arthur Nights in the magazine's home city of Los Angeles.

Additionally, Arthur founded Bastet as its publishing imprint, which went on to release discs from Sunn O))) and Arthur's own Million Tongues Festival, as well as what's arguably the definitive freak-folk compilation, the Devendra Banhart-curated Golden Apples of the Sun. No word yet whether Arthur will continue hosting events or publishing via Bastet...

ARTHUR NO. 25

An epic-length profile of California harper JOANNA NEWSOM by author Erik Davis, with exclusive photos of her geniushood by Eden Batki. (The first paragraph of the feature got mangled in production; read the complete, corrected text here.)

"Bog Venus vs. Nazi Cock-Ring: Some Thoughts Concerning Pornography" by author ALAN MOORE (Watchmen, From Hell, V for Vendetta, Lost Girls). This is a brand-new, eight-page, 12,000-word essay/manifesto from Mr. Moore (cover star of Arthur No. 4 back in 2003!), profusely illustrated with appropriately bawdy imagery, surveying 25,000 YEARS OF PORNOGRAPHY in the Western world--a hairy-palmed story of the sexual imagination that ranges from the Venus of Willendorf to Anal Virgins IV, with appearances by Greek sculptors, Roman muralists, Dark Age Christians, Chaucer, Shakespeare, de Sade, William Blake, Victorian pornographic playlets and periodicals, Swinburne, J.K. Huysmans, Annie Besant, Ernest Dowson, Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, early 20th-century German devices to keep pubescent boys from having wet dreams, "Tijuana Bibles," Maurice Girodias's Olympia Press, D.H. Lawrence, W.S. Burroughs, Harvey Kurtzman, City Light Books, Allen Ginsberg, Ed Sanders, Lenore Kandel, David Meltzer, Charles Bukowski, Barney Rossett's Grove Press, Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Sharon Rudahl (aka Mary Sativa), Spain, Traci Lords, "Deep Throat," "Off Our Backs," Britneyh Spears, Simone de Beauvoir, Andrea Dworkin, Russ Meyer and Kitten Natividad, Kathy Acker, Angela Carter and Felicien Rops. Amongst others. We think this is a landmark piece, and are, again, grateful to be able to publish it in this time of relentless lame sexvertising and galloping militarism.

Kyp Malone of the courageous NYC rock band TV ON THE RADIO talks candidly with Arthur editor Jay Babcock about directly confronting USA malign negligence (Katrina) and rampant militarism--on record, on a recent tour with Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus (military recruiting booths!?!), and most notoriously, onstage in public this past August in front of 12,000 people at Boston's City Hall. If you were there, you know what we're talking about. If you weren't, please read this account of speaking truth to power. (Read it online here.)

Chuck Dukowski (Black Flag, Chuck Dukowski Sextet) on the deeper, civilizational issues surrounding all-ages shows, illustrated by Geoff McFetridge. This is part 2 of our continuing series on ALL-AGES SHOWS.

"New Herbalist" columnist MOLLY FRANCES on the pagan roots (and herbs) of Christmas

"Do the Math" columnist DAVE REEVES on THE BLASTER OF FREEDOM, or Why AK-47s Beat M-16s (Read it online here.)

The problem with GHOSTS is not that they won’t shut up, but rather that it took death to get them to speak up in the first place, says The Cneter for Tactical Magic in this issue's "Applied Magic(k) column. (Read it online here.)

Columnist DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF on visionary thinker Robert Anton Wilson. (Read it online here.)

LISA ANNE AUERBACH's Abbie Hoffman-inspired knitted sweaters photographed by Justine Kurland on the occasion of her show at White Columns

Nabob Shineywater (of Brightblack Morning Light) on musicians SANDY BULL and HAMZA AL-DIN

Chris Ziegler on brand new albums by WHITE MAGIC and SUNN O))) & BORIS...

"Bull Tongue" columnists BYRON COLEY & THURSTON MOORE on oodles of underground culture forms from Kommissar Hjuler & Mama Bar, Silvester Anfang, R.O.T., Sammy Harkham's Kramers Ergot, Private Stash, Comic Art, Arf Museum, Drawing Hand, Alex Nielson, Alastair Gabraith & Richard Youngs, Oren Ambarchi, Scott Horscroft, Hado Ho, Henry Kaiser, Noxagt, Ultralyd, S. Clay Wilson, Crown Now, Bone Rattle, Dreamhouse, the Halflings, M.O.A.C., Coco & Fiend Friend Mononoke, Hello Trudi, Dave Newman, Shuffleboil edited by David Meltzer and Steve Dickinson, Ong Ong, Macronympha, C. Spencer Yeh, Jim O'Rourke, Two Dead Sluts One Good Fuck, Helios Creed, Outtakes, Sub City Girls, Trockeneis, Harrius, WZT Hearts, Michael Layne Heath, Wesley Eisold & Charles Rowland, Carol Lewis & Regine Polenz, Haunted George, Demon's Claws, The Golden Boys, Evil, Enema Syringe, Commando Laarz, Drap En Hund, Ports Bishop, Hurray, Timo van Luyk & Kris Vanderstraeten, Sarah Becan, Jerusalem and the Starbaskets, Skarekraouradio, Child Pornography, Quem Quaeritis, Copper/Yellow, Mudsuckers, and Paul Flaherty/Chris Corsano/C. Spencer Yeh.

A full-color full-page of "Strings" comics by PSHAW

And so much more, etc etc.

(Corrections to Arthur 25 here.)