Ray Gun (magazine)
Categories | Music magazine |
---|---|
Founder | Marvin Scott Jarrett |
First issue | 1992 |
Final issue | 2000 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
ISSN | 1533-4732 |
Ray Gun was an American alternative rock-and-roll magazine, first published in 1992 in Santa Monica, California. Led by founding art director David Carson, Ray Gun explored experimental magazine typographic design. The result was a chaotic, abstract style, not always readable (it once published an interview entirely in the symbol font Zapf Dingbats), but distinctive in appearance.[1] That tradition for compelling visuals continued even after Carson left the magazine after three years; he was followed by a series of art directors, including Robert Hales, Chris Ashworth, Jason Saunby, Scott Denton-Cardew, and Jerome Curchod.
In terms of content, Ray Gun was also notable for its choices of subject matter. The cutting-edge advertising, musical artists and pop culture icons spotlighted were typically ahead of the curve, putting such artists as Radiohead, Björk, Beck, Flaming Lips, PJ Harvey and Eminem on its cover long before its better-known competitors. Those choices were guided by Executive Editor Randy Bookasta and an editorial staff that included Dean Kuipers, Nina Malkin, Mark Blackwell, Joe Donnelly, Grant Alden, Mark Woodlief, and Eric Gladstone.
Ray Gun produced over 70 issues from 1992 through 2000. Owner-founder-publisher Marvin Scott Jarrett (one-time publisher of a late-1980s incarnation of Creem) also created the magazines Bikini, Stick and huH. Jarrett is currently editor-in-chief of Nylon, a New York–based fashion magazine.[2] The most notable common thread among all of Jarrett's magazines (from his latter-day Creem through Nylon) has been an attraction to dynamic next-generation graphic design.
Partial list of issues
- Ray Gun #1, November 1992. Henry Rollins cover.
- Ray Gun #2, December 1992/January 1993. R.E.M. cover.
- Ray Gun #3, February 1993. Dinosaur Jr. cover.
- Ray Gun #4, March 1993. Frank Black cover.
- Ray Gun #5, April 1993. Porno for Pyros cover.
- Ray Gun #6, May 1993. PJ Harvey cover.
- Ray Gun #7, June/July 1993. Sonic Youth cover.
- Ray Gun #8, August 1993. Iggy Pop cover.
- Ray Gun #9, September 1993. Urge Overkill cover.
- Ray Gun #10, October 1993. Teenage Fanclub cover.
- Ray Gun #11, November 1993. Swervedriver cover.
- Ray Gun #12, December 1993/January 1994 L7 cover.
- Ray Gun #13, February 1994. Ministry cover.
- Ray Gun #14, March 1994. Morrissey cover.
- Ray Gun #15, April 1994. Elvis Costello cover.
- Ray Gun #16, May 1994. Alice in Chains cover.
- Ray Gun #17, June/July 1994. Perry Farrell cover.
- Ray Gun #18, August 1994. Lush cover.
- Ray Gun #19, September 1994. Jesus and Mary Chain cover.
- Ray Gun #20, October 1994. Kim Deal and J Mascis cover.
- Ray Gun #21, November 1994. Liz Phair cover.
- Ray Gun #22, December 1994/January 1995. Keith Richards cover.
- Ray Gun #23, February 1995. Pavement cover.
- Ray Gun #24, March 1995. Mudhoney cover.
- Ray Gun #25, April 1995. Belly cover.
- Ray Gun #26, May 1995. Beastie Boys cover.
- Ray Gun #27, June/July 1995. Björk cover.
- Ray Gun #28, August 1995. Neil Young cover.
- Ray Gun #29, September 1995. Flaming Lips cover.
- Ray Gun #30, October 1995. David Bowie cover. Last issue to be art directed by David Carson.
- Ray Gun #31, November 1995. My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult cover.
- Ray Gun #32, December/January 1996. Sonic Youth cover.
- Ray Gun #33, February 1996. Smashing Pumpkins cover.
- Ray Gun #34, march 1996. Cypress Hill cover.
- Ray Gun #35, april 1996. Iggy Pop and Perry Farrell cover.
- Ray Gun #36, May 1996. Rage Against the Machine cover.
- Ray Gun #37, June/July 1996. Soundgarden cover.
- Ray Gun #38, Yoko Ono cover.
- Ray Gun #39, Beck cover.
- Ray Gun #40, Tricky cover.
- Ray Gun #41, Mazzy Star cover.
- Ray Gun #42, December 1996/January 1997. Smashing Pumpkins cover.
- Ray Gun #43, February 1997. Nine Inch Nails cover.
- Ray Gun #44, March 1997. David Bowie cover.
- Ray Gun #46, Chemical Brothers cover.
- Ray Gun #47, June/July 1997. Blur cover.
- Ray Gun #48, August 1997. Wim Wenders and Michael Stipe cover.
- Ray Gun #49, September 1997. Björk cover.
- Ray Gun #50, October 1997. Oasis cover.
- Ray Gun #51, Jane's Addiction cover.
- Ray Gun #52, Marilyn Manson cover.
- Ray Gun #54, March 1998. Radiohead cover.
- Ray Gun #55, April 1998. Pulp cover.
- Ray Gun #56, May 1998. Pearl Jam cover.
- Ray Gun #57, Garbage cover.
- Ray Gun #59, Prodigy cover.
- Ray Gun #60, October 1998. Kiss cover.
- Ray Gun #61, November 1998. Marilyn Manson cover.
- Ray Gun #62, December 1998. R.E.M. cover.
- Ray Gun #63, January 1999. Beck cover.
- Ray Gun #65, March 1999. Underworld cover.
- Ray Gun #66, April 1999. Shirley Manson cover.
- Ray Gun #68, June 1999. Jamiroquai cover.
- Ray Gun #70, August 1999. Red Hot Chili Peppers cover.
- Ray Gun #71, September 1999. Chris Cornell cover.
- Ray Gun #72, October 1999. Missy Elliott cover.
- Ray Gun #73, November 1999.
- Ray Gun #74, December 1999/January 2000. Nine Inch Nails cover.
Books
- Ray Gun: Out of Control by Dean Kuipers and Marvin Scott Jarrett, Simon & Schuster (1997), ISBN 0-684-83980-6. Design and art direction by Neil Fletcher and Chris Ashworth.
Notes
- ↑ Shetty, Sharan. "The Rise & Fall of Grunge Typography". The Awl.
- ↑ http://www.nylonmag.com/?section=masthead
External links
- “Magical Mystery Tour”, by Neva Chonin, Ray Gun, May 1998.