Plan B Magazine...

I'm gonna get it.

And Gravy Train!!!! And Ramellzee. I think I shall enjoy this

The whole thing looks fucking stunning.

Thee was a good SunO))) interview in terrorizer a few years ago.

Plan B has a new issue coming out in mid-September. It will quite possibly feature - among many other fine names - Kelis, The 5678s, Detroit Cobras, Shystie, Comets On Fire, Jack Rose, Marine Girls, Nick Cave, M Ward, Bill Callahan, Ian Svenonius, Dizzee Rascal, The Residents, The Bug, the Trachtenburgs, a spread on fashion, graffiti hip-hop, Marc Baines on comics, caustic US comedian David Cross, GbV, Numbers, Red Krayola, The Faint, Le Tigre, lego bricks, Piney Gir, Susanna And The Magical Orchestra, Joanne Newsom, Devandra Banhart, Har Mar Superstar, Neil Kulkarni on himself, David McNamee on evidence, Miss AMP on computer games, Fiery Furnaces, Jon Spencer, The Thermals, Gravenhurst, Trencher, VHF, LCD Soundsystem, David Thomas, Don Letts, Planet Mu, Est'elle. Doubtless, that list will change and mutate as time passes, but....brrrr. It's exciting.

It looks like I designed it, too.

Mojo (Not as fuddy duddy these days as you'd imagine)
The Wire (Never read most of it, but makes you feel swanky walking around with it)
Kings (On the basis of issue two this has great potential, if only beacause they gave the great Devin The Dude a four page interview)
DJ (For Neil Kulkarni's crackpot reviews page)

Not saying it is beautifully designed, but it is better than many. Actually, on raising the question you remind me of one article I read in it which I couldn't follow because the text was all positioned counter-intuitively.

So - Plan B. it is on nice paper.

A bit of a generalisation surely? Granted, some of it's like that, but at least they're encouraging different approaches to music writing. And that produces some killer stuff that wouldn't be printed elsewhere. There's a Neil Kulkarni rant in there about pop and rock that cuts through all the interminable rockism/popism debates in one fell swoop. He argues that the ephemerality of pop is exactly what makes it immortal, while rock's striving for immortality often renders it obsolete. But he also sticks up for extreme and avant garde music. The villains are those in the middle ground he says, using that wonderful adjective "cunting" twice in one paragraph (in reference to Robbie Williams and U2) The guy is a champ.
Plenty of other great stuff in there - Shane Moritz on Crooked Rain, JD Beauvallet on French rock, Alistair Fitchett on Magnetic Fields, not to mention all the gorgeous photos and illustrations. Gotta shamelessly big up my friend Mark's Park Attack double exposure. One of these happy accidents, it looks cool.

I also have to question whoever said, "it doesn't have anything I didn't know about before". Well, lucky you. Like many mags, they cover established acts (albeit far more obscure and interesting ones that yer average mag), but they feature more new bands than anything else out there, Loose Lips excepted.

Devin The Dude is a genius - all magazines should be forced to cover him. By law.

Kate - because we are INSATIABLE and will drink everybody's everything

Stew - Brennifer are Plan B Mag's secret backers!!!

thats not really salient is it

I do sort of know what you mean. Acts/DJ's with a current buzz profile and indie/crossover appeal? Optimo DJ's, Vitalic (not a diss btw).

There should be room for a publication inbetween Plan B and DJ Mag put right now who's interested? Dance music (in the mainstream) in England is I think seen as tired, 'over' or at the least incredibly conservative and uncreative recently. Where's the hunger, or the need for De-bug UK outside of London?

Part of me is pissed that Plan B didn't put Ellen Allien on the cover before instead of f*cking Arcade Fire, when they did take a big chance with Afrirampo the next month. But that might just have been a logistical thing (It was just an e-mail interview, no original press photos) that made it unsuitable this time.

but yeah . a more groove orientated magazine would be great - as mentioned on the Kittin mix thread, there really isn't any dance mag that has come along and picked up the batton that Muzik dropped. which is a real shame.

"dance not dance" wasnt a diss, btw, and you hit the nail on the head. i was thinking, mia, dfa, kinda indiecentric stuff

the current issue is indier than usual but even then there's stuff on Kevin Blechdom, Teedra Moses (MY piece!), Princess Superstar, T Raumschmiere, Optimo. And really, Arcade Fire and Sonic Youth have been the only conventionally indie bands on the cover out of 7 issues.

No doubt when I finally get around to buying kevy b's record there will be a fawning post (or even thread!) about it from me as per.

what the hell are you lot on about?

nb you're either just batshit insane or confusing us with the rapper plan b, signed to 679/warners. or the american contraceptive pill, the brixton bar, the light & fittings shop in brighton, etc, but i don't think any of them have got time warner connections.

i bought a copy of the wire too. at least something worthwhile came out of the trip.

what, did you pick up a cool dvd too or something?

HAHAHAHA

the Wire and Plan B??

http://corporatedump.com/photo/data/503/1laughing_dog2.jpg

it's enough to make a dog laugh.

::ducks::

Exactly the same as in English.

good old, wishy-washy LLSS...

Yay Plan B going monthly indeed! Yay writing for them! As I do in a quiet way.

you know how it is... you keep wanting to be Linus, but you end up being Charlie Brown instead. but its not that bad. i just wish i had a normal dog, like everybody else.

Monthly = now twice as often I can see this thread and think "Already? I haven't finished reading the last one." Though I always mean to. Maybe I'm waiting for a month of unemployment and no internet access to go back to them all. But that's not the magazine's fault (I'm terrible at finishing books too) and it's a nice change from magazines you can read in two minutes without leaving the shop.

http://www.newstatesman.com/200611200058

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_B_(magazine)#Credits

aw bless

http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/music/archives/2007/07/column_hugs_and.php

"... the preening prats over at Pitchfork, where an entire generation of Simon Reynolds fans have been allowed to grow unchecked, reveling in their own pitiful self-importance."

if it were up to the ILX electorate to decide between TRUBOY and ol' Grimey S, I have a feeling TRUBOY would be the one getting voted off the island.

seriously though, wtf? you don't get much more self-important, subjective wank than you get in plan b.

my anchorman piece was godhead, but since then, phew, whadawaydago.

the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress
the way columnists such as Jessica Hopper would write, unencumbered by the desire to impress

Can Everett True please just fuck a 13-year-old and get it out of his system already?

Also: Status Ain't Hood says goodbye to Punk Planet.

Breihan + True =

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/Best_of_Both_Worlds.jpg

He doesn't help his stance by saying that Punk Planet was never really about punk bands! That's total arse

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/sevenxviii/PlanBforChristmas.jpg

Kudos.

i love their album reviews

via email changes at plan b magazine

Hi everyone.

Everett True here.

Some changes are happening at Plan B Magazine, and I want to let you
know about them.

First, I’m emigrating to Australia early June with my wife Charlotte
Thackray and son Isaac, and this means I’m no longer able to oversee the
title on a day-to-day basis. So I’m stepping down as publisher – to
concentrate on finalising my travel plans, getting in copious amount of
sunscreen and dealing with those thousand and one things that always need
to be dealt with before undertakings of this magnitude. Into my shoes
steps Plan B Editor Frances Morgan, who will be ably assisted by our
continuing Assistant Publisher Richard Stacey. Into her shoes steps Plan
B Albums Editor Louis Pattison – and into his shoes (for three months
only) steps The Stevie Chick, Stevie Chick. In the meantime, I’ll be
taking on some form of roving ambassadorial role, and will continue to
contribute on both the editorial and publishing sides.

The new line-up looks like this.

Publisher: Frances Morgan
Assistant Publisher: Richard Stacey
Advertising Manager: Nick Taylor

Editor: Louis Pattison
Albums Editor/Live Preview: Stevie Chick
The Void/Lives Editor: kicking_k

Designer: Andrew Clare
Photography Editors: Sarah Bowles, Cat Stevens

Publisher-at-large: Everett True

And may I take this opportunity to thank everyone – readers,
contributors, PRs, advertisers, festival organisers, record companies – who’ve
supported Plan B Magazine over the years and helped make it into such an
unlikely success. Thank you. We totally appreciate your support. In
future months, look for more far-reaching cover stories featuring the
likes of May's No Age and April’s Italians Do It Better features, and
established artists such as The Breeders (March) and Billy Childish
(January), plus plenty of top quality cover-mounted CDs from festivals like End
Of The Road and SWN; also a new line of CD giveaways available only to
our loyal subscribers. So if you’ve been thinking of taking out a
subscription for a while and haven’t quite got round to it, now would be a
great time.

With every ending comes a new beginning – and everyone here is very
excited to be moving into the next phase of Plan B, four years in and
counting.

This is almost definitely my favorite music magazine around right now. The Italians/Simonetti cover story in the most recent one is great.

An e-mail's just been sent around to freelancers announcing that the issue out on June 1, No. 46, will be the final one of Plan B.

wow

NO! That sucks! I really love that magazine. I've been turned onto some amazing stuff from their CDs as well. What a drag :(

aw man. Halfway through my subscription too. Boooooo-urns.

It just hit me that this is the end of a cycle of sorts that actually began here, when Everett True posted on this board in the early part of the decade and mentioned in one thread he was starting up a new magazine. I dropped him a line and that's how I ended up as a regular columnist for Careless Talk Costs Lives and eventually a contributor for both Loose Lips Sink Ships and Plan B. It's been fun being part of it all.

Aw, no! That's a shame. Been reading since the start of CTCL, always looking forward to each new issue, always impressed to find that whatever twists and turns my musical tastes took there was someone at Plan B already a few steps ahead of me digging that stuff out.

A world with no Frances Morgan reviews of obscure krauty synth-drone, no kicking_k vs Louis Pattison singles club banter, and no glossy pictures of books and fanzines I'll never manage to track down is not one I want to have to get used to this summer.

(And just when I was excited to see the first Andrew Clare illustration for ages, too. And I'm only, oh, 3 months into my current subscription myself. Bah)

This sucks. Haven't bought it for a while, but I always enjoyed reading it.

i haven't read it for years but it was good to know it was around.

still, that remark along with neil's probably indicates why plan b's gone to the wall...

Yeah I often thought about buying it when in e.g. Borders, flicked through it, then decided there probably wasn't enough I would actually read to make it worthwhile.

I've got every issue of CTCL, Plan B, Loose Lips Sinks Ships.

shame. its a good mag. some good writing too. kinda different to what else is out there. i didnt really buy it too often though, it was too indie rock focused for me. did like their reviews though.

More thoughts via the blog.

I used to like that Comes With a Smile magazine, too (or at least the CDs that came with it, full of exclusive tracks - where am I going to get my fix of cover-mounted indie rock?).

This sucks, especially as my gf is only halfway through her subscription. The writing was a mixed bag, but it definitely got me to check out some stuff I would have overlooked otherwise. Plus we won the Arthur Russell DVD in some subscriber comp, which was nice. RIP.

i haven't read it for years but it was good to know it was around.

still, that remark along with neil's probably indicates why plan b's gone to the wall...

― Dingbod Kesterson, Thursday, May 21, 2009 3:31 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I don't think this would constitute an official line or whatever but one of the staffers basically said that it was because they couldn't generate enough ad revenue because not enough people were buying ads because the people that would buy ads (indie labels) didn't have enough money because no-one is buying music. So yeah, good times

oh and (xp) I understand that subscribers get back whatever they're owed

wish the plan b staff could start a more metal orientated mag to take on Kerrang.

but still cover other music

music that isnt mainstream enough to get covered by kerrang but doesnt limit itself to extreme metal like Terrorizer and Zero Tolerance.

Kinda like Kerrang in about 1993/94 when it was really open minded with what it covered(ie some more indie/alternative acts) but still covered extreme metal bands too

yeah that'll fly off the newstands

cuz i thought plan b was really good at covering this stuff.

yeah that'll fly off the newstands

― mastotmdom (Whiney G. Weingarten),

but lots of ilxors would read it in the shop!

What, coz Terroriser didn't already poach half the Plan B staff?

This is... this is just... weird. I didn't realise how much of my life had been so interthreaded with that magazine and its staff until faced with the prospect of its actually being gone.

Very surprised and sad to hear of Plan B's passing. It will be missed here, nothing else covers quite that niche.

I feel really bad about this. Excluding HHC, who's print version also died recently, this magazine has pretty much been the main force in turning me onto great music and great music writing. Ok it was very hit and miss but I was always excited to read it and although I've been pretty skint in the past year and a half, bought many a record just because of a recommendation.

Really sad news. It will be greatly missed. The staff deserve massive respect for their heroic hard work and righteousness. They might have been able to keep it going, but this would have meant cutting staff, pages, print quality etc. Nobody wants to see something as special as Plan B fall into decline like Melody Maker, so they made the right decision, sad as it is.
Plan B and CTLC been a big part of my life over the past few years, introducing me not only to all kinds of amazing music and art, but also to some wonderful people. I'm also really proud to have contributed, albeit in a minor way, to recent issues.
I'm sure this won't be the last we hear of its staff, however, and I keenly anticipate future writings and projects from them.

its fair to say that when i first heard this news a few weeks back it broke my heart. now its out in the open, still pretty heartbroken. here's hoping the energies behind it find new outlets somewhere and somehow, that this ending can become a series of new beginnings too. i've freelanced for Plan B since day 1, and worked in the office for a few months last summer, and every single person working on that magazine is a glorious and talented MF...

What a bummer to read about this! I bought nearly all of the issues, it was the last regular music monthly I actually read at all. Always worth reading, even when the music they covered wasn't to my taste.

Considering that a pretty big chunk of my social life just would not exist without people who met on that magazine, I should really have bought it more often. As it was I never really had much use for it but I'm sad it's gone.

Plan B, freely downloadable. Every issue.

When I was going through my 2006 receipts I realized I bought every issue at newsstand price that year.

ah, awesome. not of enormous use to me since I'

lost control of my apostrophes

shit, what happened there? what I meant to say was:

ah, awesome. not of enormous use to me since I'm only missing four or five issues (I'm determined to find some way to own them eventually), but there's an awful lot of writing throughout these that deserves to be available.

very insensitive of you to make a joke of my apparent mid-post death, Ned.

Death be not proud. Because I'm not.

I got Vuze to download the torrent and it's not working for me at all. (I'm on a Mac.) Does anyone have any advice they could offer?

I use a program called utorrent that works really well. I would try that one instead.

Just tried d/l'ing that and it doesn't do anything either.

I'm on a Mac and Utorrent is for PCs.

Good Mac client:

http://www.transmissionbt.com/

I can't use that version of Transmission with Mac OS X.

I guess I won't be getting this at all. Bummer.

Dude, Matos, if you don't get the torrent running, I'd be into sending this to you piecemeal in some way.

Merdeyeux, I assume most clients will do this, but BitComet lets you choose which issues you want to download (not that I'm actually getting anywhere with it atm, seemingly no seeds about).

I got Vuze to download the torrent and it's not working for me at all. (I'm on a Mac.) Does anyone have any advice they could offer?

I'm on a Mac and I use Vuze. I haven't tried this yet, will do so when I get home, but what exact problem are you having?

wait plan b folded?

Yeah, right down the middle where the staples were.

How big's the download?

673MB

Yeah, right down the middle where the staples were.

it were perfect bound, actually

my joke is broke :(

he, some of my early writing in these. i have most of them in a cupboard somewhere.

Matos I'm using Vuze and not having any problem. I downloaded Vuze, installed it, and downloaded the torrent to my desktop, double-clicked it and voila it started doing it's thing immediately.

Transmission on a Mac here, just downloaded the whole thing in a matter of minutes, currently seeding to all and sundry.

Matos, what version of Mac OS X are you using? Though I'm not sure that would make a difference - I think blocked ports is the more likely culprit.

Ned's first reply here reminds me, is Loose Lips Sink Ships decisively dead? No new edition for four years now, as far as I can tell...

Stevie Chick to thread!

Thank you Plan B! Looking forward to this enormously but also sadly as it will hammer home just how out of touch I've felt since Plan B folded (plus I'm expecting to read a whole lot about bands I didn't pick up on at the time and only later went "why did nobody tell me?" etc)

ahem. expect some action this year. not sure what form it'll take yet, but rest assured steve and i intend to wreak a little havoc before 2010 is out...

eeexcellent.

and very much thanks for your interest, merdeyeux!

Now about this user name.

New pie recipe for discerning cannibals.

Oh dear.

did plan b cover rap beyond UK stuff with any regularity at all?

i did pieces on quasimoto and stones throw for them, and i'm sure i remember other pieces by other writers too...

thx