Mea Culpa: In a roundup of various books, movies, and magazines that the staff reccomended to readers as holiday gifts, my entry on Paste Magazine reported, in error, that it was a Canadian operation.
Reader Tom Monk, a lawyer out of Atlanta, was quick to point out that: “Au contrare, it is based in Decatur, GA. With our country in the middle of a cycle where many of our jobs and services are being transferred overseas, we should make a point to note something good within our borders, don’t you think?”
Fair enough, Tom. I’m not quite sure why I thought Paste was a product of the Great White North. Canada, while a great exporter of comedians, TV anchors, and magazine writers and editors, has (at least since the heydey of Jonnie Mitchell, Neil Young, and The Band) never really been known for producing a lot of great pop/indie music. [Care to argue? For a geographical breakdown of Candian bands, most of whom you’ve never heard of, go here. I still have a soft spot for Chilliwack.]
Georgia on the other hand, well now. You got R.E.M., of course, and all the Athens spin-offs (Remember Guadalcanal Diary?) And Ray Charles, who’s genius should be enough for several states, territories, or provinces.
But maybe, to make up for my error, I should tell you why I not only reccomended Paste to readers, but I bought gift subcriptions for more than a dozen of my friends. Why? For starters, there’s the CD that comes with each issue, a 20+ song sampler of bands the editors like. Mostly (but not soley) alt/indie rock tracks with a singer/songwriter slant (but not in a we’re-all-vegans-here way). And how much do you love that their FAQ notes “Paste is about the artists, not about the artists’ bodies.” (Translation: No Britney!) It’s a thinking person’s (mostly) music and (some other) culture magazine.
Supporting good independent magazines is important. Back of the napkin calculations indicate that if I guaranteed the editors of Paste a dozen subscriptions at $34.95, they need to sign up 42 of their friends for a Mother Jones subscription, which you can get for only $10, in order for us to be even. En garde!
Meanwhile, if you’re in the Atlanta area, best get some legal advice from Tom, instead of exporting litigation to say…Florida.
