Obsessions No.1 - The first in a new series

I love magazines. I love their versatility, ease of transport, the smell, the gloss (or matte) of the pages and the way they make public transport bearable. I love the sense of pleasure and pain that comes from devouring a great mag, amd the bittersweet feeling that comes once you have read every article, editorial, letters column, picture caption that there is to read - and so you read it all over again.
Magazines are a guilty pleasure because they are all pretty much an expensive purchase; except, of course several great free mags (more on those later). My love for magazines started when i was very young and went hand in hand with getting into music and film. I remember the joys of the TV Week posters featuring my obsession at the age of 10 - KISS - and later the biting satire and social commentry of MAD magazine (and to a lesser extent, CRACKED) a lot of which I only half understood. However, the sexual undertones and the general nose-thumbing of the media and the world at large displayed in MAD was a huge excitement to a very adolescent mind. It displayed an almost radical way of thinking that fell in with the hippy/yippy cultures of the 60's (even though this subculture was viciously and regularly sniggered at within the MAD pages) and made me see the world in a whole new light.
I remember the first magazine that appeared in our house with a regular thump was my Mum's then fave, the good old Women's Weekly, spearheaded by Ita Buttrose in the late 70's and then by Maggie Tabberer in the 80's. I would have read them, just as I would always perouse the Reader's Digest in the Dentist's waiting room. My passion for magazines was well and truly cemented. Ask any guy you know about waiting for a seat in the barber's chair and he will instantly recall the smell of disenfectant, brylcreem and The Australia Post magazine. A pretty raw and rural affair, it was one place you could sit and read a magazine that contained pretty innocent photos of topless lasses without fear of feminist retribution or your parent's dissaproval. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating the depiction of women in hard-hats with their "ahem" top floor construction on display, but at 12 years old, you certainly aren't attempting in any way shape or form to uphold a sense of the moral fibre now, are you?
Magazines are a way of staying in touch with the latest and greatest. They are a great source of dinner conversation starters, heresay and general hipness to what's going on in a global sense. The writers of these sometimes shallow tomes want you to feel how much their hipness is hurting them, and in turn, they want you to feel it too. That's essentially why we buy magazines. They allow us to feel like we are the first to find out, that it's our private little insight into privvy popular culture and that nobody else knows this amazing new trivial piece of whatever.
Of course, not all magazines have a coolness factor as their foundation. New Scientist, Time etc are informative periodicals that are hoping to shed a light on certain topics that may or may not improve on how we as individuals see/treat the world at large. However, it is still an opinion, therefore they share a commonality with the glossies and the pop mags in so much as they want you to feel something personal and intimate when you have read their articles. Otherwise, why buy the product? Hey, I'm digresseing a bit here, aren't I? Getting back to the mags that mean something to me, I will now give you my Top Nine Magazines (in no particular order) and hopefully you can discover something new and exciting to spend even more consumer dollars on for yourself. (See, I'm part of the big magazine conspiracy I mentioned earlier and I didn't even mean to be. Sneaky sods!)

09. MONSTER CHILDREN (AUSTRALIA)This local design/skate/surf/oz culture 'zine is well layed out, beautifully printed and it has a great portrait styled format. I discovered it in my local newsagents by chance one day and I've since collected every issue. It's a really nice coffee table piece of eye candy featuring some excellent local and overseas graphics and photo essays, rants, interviews, cool collectables and street fashion etc. I also discovered that the editor's parents were good friends with my Mum & Dad in the 70's - small world, eh? $10 at your local yokel - grab one today!
08. THE BIG TAKEOVER (USA) Indie rock, punk, 60's, leftfield electronics, post rock, jazz, soundtrack, re-issue heaven! This is one big heavy read with a no-nonsense approach to printing and production, but with a big ol' chunk of amazing articles/interviews and reviews up the wahoo....this baby'll keep you company in the dunny for at least a month (maybe two if you're a long sitter).
07. WAX POETICS (USA) - Or "Waxy Po" as my mate Sinclair refers to it. This is what is known as a "periodical" ie: it comes out roughly 4-5 times a year, and usually when you least expect it. This is one for the beat heads, jazzers, hip hop fiends, and vinyl junkies. It contains in-depth looks at musicians and producers as well as thoughtful essays on culture, music and society. The artwork and layout is done with a cool sophisticated street vibe, drawing obvious parallels to the culture from whence it was spawned. I love this mag - it's one to keep for years to come. There's no way I'd throw an issue of this away, nor would I lend it out to anyone as it would be coveted (read: stolen) for sure. A true work of 'zine art. Love it.
06. MOJO (UK) - The music nerd's bible and the only mag I have an actual subscription to (a birthday present from my beautiful wife, Angelina). Ange reckons that every issue has Brian Wilson or the Beatles on the cover, and she's only half wrong. This mag is a great resource for music both new and old, largely written/reviewed by guys old enough to be your Dad. But don't let that put you off. Sure, there is the odd sycophantic rant over something as obnoxious as the entire Genesis back catalogue being re-issued on 29 kg sensurround, scented vinyl, but for the most, it's a great read from cover to cover with at least 2 killer in depth articles in every issue that make you wanna go out and buy that artist's entire catalogue. Available evrywhere.
05. CYCLIC DEFROST (AUS) - Anyone who knows their arse from their elbow in Australia (and now globally) will have already picked up this countries' best free 'zine at their nearest discerning record store/cafe/clothes store. Put together by Seb Chan (of Sub Bass Snarl) and Dale Harrison (bass lord of the sith) Cyclic is well designed, chock-full o'goodness in it's interview and review content and always has the best cover art of any free mag you care to put it up against. They have their own cd club you can subscibe to and recieve great new sounds in your mailbox and they were seemingly obsessed by the Indian cricket team for some time. They probably still are. Online version available here if you miss it in the stores.
04. EMPTY (AUS) - Put together by the oh-so-cool kids at Design Is Kinky, this is a local graphics/photography/Illustration showcase that is as equally inspiring as it is well crafted and put together. It not only features the best in modern overseas giants of the design world, but allows equal if not, greater, page space to local young Aussies with an itchy mouse finger and a head full of ideas. Second only to Refill in this country for quality eye-candy.
03. REFILL (AUS) - OK, so $40 ain't a cheap mag, but when it only comes out a couple of times a year and it looks this good - it's a no brainer when handing over the hard fought readies. I know that in my office, we are constantly referencing this mag (no, not stealing from it!) each time a new brief with any scope for grooviness crosses the desk. Hands down, a world class design book - usually in some unique packaging with limited edition blah to accompany it (postcards, mousepads, posters etc). Get it in Sydney at Stereo in the Galleries Victoria or at Published Art. Other states, please check their website.
02. UGLY THINGS (UK) - Seek this only if you like the sounds of the dirty old 60's garage bands and the pre/post psychedelic movements in music. As thick as a brick with so many reviews and articles, you'll be glad this mag only comes out a few times a year. UT started out as a small fanzine style read, and even now with it's vastly expanded volume and readership, it maintains the look and feel of a true fan's legacy to all that is great about this period in music. Focusing on the cultish and obscure acts of the day, this excellent mag can be found at Redeye in the city from time to time, or wherever discerning throwbacks and mushroom headz are lurking these days.
01. MESS + NOISE (AUS) - The new kid on the block dressed in purple Cons and thick glasses for the most part is this wonderful free indie mag that has appeared of late. Now into it's second (by my count) issue, this is an indie mag for grown ups who love good music, but don't nessesarily feel the need to be on the scene 24/7 (disclaimer: if you are young, hip, happening and beautiful, feel free to scoff and enjoy your superior status for as long as you can). Great layout, beautiful rose tinted dusky photography akin to a Sebadoh album cover - you get the picture. Online version available also.
A great read - and it's friggin' free!

All hail the consumer trap that is the magazine - hoorayyy!