Strangelove is a full colour, high-grade paper stock magazine focusing on music, books and film, under editor Toby Creswell [Rolling Stone, Juice]. It will be distributed nationally with an initial print run of 20,000 in outlets Australia wide, such as quality music retailers, bookshops, restaurants, veterinary offices, cafes, cinemas, specialty stores, museums, radio stations, live venues, desig
n outlets… plus the TITLE stores. Strangelove exists on a staple diet of words, thoughts, images and ideas. With our features long, our angles fresh and our editorial philosophy strong yet playful, Strangelove is a surprising take on culture and vision. Classic in feel, contemporary in inclination. Highlighting the past, emphasising the future. The first edition is 84 pages, with a feature essay from US music guru Greil Marcus, photo essays, exclusive interviews with artists and record labels and a breed of high-calibre journalism. Edition #1 features: Gaz’ Rockin’ Blues, Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, Jean Luc Godard, The Art of ECM, Two Lane Blacktop, Rat Vs Possum, The Unthanks, Bobby Long, Arbouretum, Soundway Records, Esperanza Spalding, Ace Records, J.Rocc, Lance Ferguson, Lanfranchi’s Memorial Discotheque, Adalita, Mary Lou Williams, Dave Graney. EDITOR’S NOTE
One afternoon a couple of years ago I was in the Crown Street TITLE store shooting the breeze with Steve Kulak. “Where are the great magazines?” he said. And I could not but agree. So we started talking about doing a magazine. Frankly, I didn’t think anyone would be crazy enough to publish something with this remit. But, have you met Steve? There have been a few false starts but here it is. These days the press is locked into an unvirtuous circle where stories are determined by the PR cycle of new record/film/ DVD/book tour, do the interview with the hapless artist, run the same promo pic, run the ad and move on. We’re not going to be doing that. Strangelove is not about what’s new, it’s about what’s good. Personally, I never want to hear that something’s “hot” or “five stars” ever again. We’re aiming to publish the singular, the original, the definitive and the classic. Were looking for language and pictures that sing like Nina Simone – passionate, assured, trained, confident and intelligent. This is not a consumer guide. It has no lists and no star ratings. You can get that elsewhere. The pop culture narrative is now bound up in making hierarchies and sticking art into boxes. We’re looking for the art and artists that run free, the ones that don’t fit into boxes. Robert Forster once sang, “Some people are excited by their cars/ I want surprises/ Just like spring rain.” Get wet. TOBY CRESWELL
EDITOR IN CHIEF



