It’s a dark moment for the printed word. I learned today that the always-inspiring Punk Planet magazine is ceasing publication. They’ve fought the good fight for 13 years, but distribution problems that began over a year ago have finally taken their toll. The website will continue, as will Punk Planet Books, home to Joe Meno’s recent output and other great reads. The magazine, however, will end after it’s next issue, #80.
Also in trouble is McSweeney’s, the publishing company started by literary hipster Dave Eggers. They’ve also been hurt by distributor woes, and in order to scrape up cash, they’re holding auctions of rare and interesting items, as well as putting everything in their store on sale. Go drop a few dollars in their hat - they deserve it, and the world will be a poorer place if they fail. (I would personally recommend Eggers’s You Shall Know Our Velocity and Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree.) Rise up, fellow members of the electronic music media, and help our print brethren!
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There’s actually a pretty good story about it’s founding, in response to the venerable Maximum Rock and Roll refusing to write about certain bands because they didn’t fit their very narrow view of “punk”. Punk has always been more about the DIY attitude than the actual style of music. (Just look at the Clash or Television.) 1994 was just about the time the world needed to be reminded of that.
PP is a hell of a lot more than a newspaper - it’s a chunky magazine, with musical, political and social coverage. Some of the best writing around was in its pages - thoughtful, well-researched, interesting stuff.
I LOVE the internet, but that doesn’t mean there’s not still room for the printed word. It’s kind of hard to read a website on the train, or in the crapper.
So, answer is, you should get very sad indeed.
sigh. thats depressing. i read it religiously when i was a teenager.
My friend Ryan got fired from reviewing records for PP years ago because they kept sending him atrocious screamo and his reviews had seriously devolved into 150-word blasts of “THIS SHIT IS SAPPING MY WILL TO LIVE!!! GAAAAHHHHLLLL!!! GAAAAAHHHHHLLL!!!” Ah, good times.
I used to read PP pretty religiously when i had just graduated college and was still into self-involved emo columnists. The last one i bought, though, was the one they reviewed our last record in, so i guess i kinda moved on. Still, it was nice knowing they were still there…i wonder how MRR keeps going if PP is on its deathbed?
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Comment by Commissar Startastic — June 19, 2007 @ 4:10 pm
13 years? Wasn’t 1994 a little late to be starting a punk newspaper?
But seriously how sad should I get about a print publication having physical world woes?