This thread about WIRED magazine once being a seminal trend setter and must have in the 90s made me ponder what today’s must read periodicals are.
I realize with the internet and blogs and news sites that the magazine isn’t quite what it was as a medium back in the 60’s and 70’s when TIME and Rolling Stone could make and break careers and fads. But I still wonder what is out there that every well read and cultured person should be checking in on.
I currently only subscribe to Playboy, and while it’s not quite the titillating treat it was as a teen, especially with the availability of serious online porn, I still really appreciate the fashion, interviews and political commentary. Nonetheless, I wonder if it qualifies as a lifestyle magazine that it was at it’s height.
Mind you, I don’t presuppose that the “important” magazines of today have to be about weighty issues. Certainly Us Magazine probably deserves mention with the amount of pop culture attention being paid to paparazzi and various celeb gossip.
What do you think, is there any magazines that you think should be on everyone’s coffee table these days?
I read about 30 magazines a month and there are none I’d place in that category. The age of the magazine is over. They may be enjoyable but none are important culturally.
I also get National Geographic, although all their recent “War on Terror” articles are making me rethink that one. I want exotic locales, people & animals not geopolitics.
I have let my **Time **subscription lapse, as it has turned to shit and there’s better stuff online.
The subscription list at Casa Silenus look something like this: The Economist
Playboy
Guns & Ammo
Cook’s Illustrated
Bon Appetit
Food & Wine
Mother Earth News
Renaissance
Sports Illustrated
American Handgunner
Westways
Entertainment Weekly
Experience Life and Runner’s World for their health and fitness-
Nutrition Action newsletter for health and diet-
Eating Well for inspiring me to try to cook-
And a future selection might be Cook’s Illustrated- I received a sample copy recently
and it looks very interesting.
I’d nominate the New Yorker as well. Seems like it reaches into the broader cultural sphere much more than any other magazine that comes to mind. Think of Seymour Hersch’s articles, for example, or the recent reporting in the fate of interpreters in Iraq. Or last month’s article on Manny Ramirez, if you like.
Plus you need something to counterbalance Playboy on your coffee table. It’ll lend credence to the “I just read it for the articles!” line.
Geopolitics sits comfortably in the larger demesne of “geography.” You might object to the content of the piece (I dunno. Haven’t read it.) but the topic is definitely fair game.
I subscribe to two magazines, New Republic and National Review. I don’t consider them crucial for me or anyone else, but I continue to enjoy reading them in print format. I am fairly sure that neither magazine has ever been profitable, so I consider my subscription a small contribution toward maintaining well-informed political voices.
I don’t want to cut anyone off at the knees or anything, but can we please refrain from just listing what several mags you are subscribed to. If you believe that everything sitting next to your john is a cultural icon of periodicals, then feel free to have a laundry list, but I’d also ask that you take a moment to argue why it is you believe these mags qualify as “important” and valuable to be acquainted with.
So, I guess I should restate the OP to say “what magazine should be on everyones coffee table and WHY?” Thanks!
You mean you didn’t want to hear about my subscriptions to Vintage Guitar, the Tonequest Report, Vanity Fair, etc…?
With this post in mind, I stand by my nominees. **The New Yorker ** is thoughtful, well-written, catholic (meaning: “universal”) in its array of fascinating topics. The length of most articles make reading at a PC difficult - and having it in magazine form increases the likelihood that, while carrying it around, I may actually read some of the stuff I would skip if I had the chance - and be better off for reading it. Pound for pound, the magazine I get the consistently highest hit-rate on, in terms of thoughtful articles I want to read…
And EW, well - my statement above stands. It is a quick n’ easy way to get a sense of what is out there mass-culture-wise, and it’s basic angle appeals a bit more to the geek and a bit less to the gossip/People magazine crowd, so I feel like I can read it without feeling skeevy (sorry - I know lots of folks like People; I feel it is just-this-side-of too tabloidy for my tastes…)
As far as my own (Southern) culture goes, The Oxford American is an excellent touchstone. Its tagline is “The Southern Magazine of Good Writing,” and it is exactly that. It addresses wide-ranging issues and topics from a decidedly literary standpoint, and puts out ass-kicking Southern Music Compilations and DVD Compilations every year.
I’d argue that, in fact, it represents American culture as well, since so much of American popular culture (especially music) derives directly from Southern roots.
