The lifestyle magazine for people with no life.

Howard Hughes, UFOs, and Abandoned Airports

racketmagazine — Sun, 16 May 2010 02:39:38 GMT

Quick question. What do you think of when you look at the picture in front of you? Opulence? Prestige? Mystery? Romance? Adventure?

For over forty years, Hughes Airport in Culver City, CA embodied all of those things, and much more. Thanks in part to its namesake, the small (by modern standards) airport attracted a notoriety that is almost unthinkable to anyone today. But what most people don't realize is that the airport itself came close to joining the ranks of the over 1300 general and civil aviation airports like it that simply disappeared from the face of the Earth, never to be seen again.

Forty years later, Racket Magazine uncovers the truth behind the bizarre, strange and winding history of Hughes and others like it. Elvis Presley's visit to a North Carolina restaurant not a few feet away from a obscure yet controversial airport. Close encounters of the third kind. Conspiracy theories. It sounds like such fiction, but it is all true--or at least, that's what many claim.

Come along with us as we follow a tortured and complex history of small town America--one urban legend at a time.

Holiday Tidings

racketmagazine — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:33:26 GMT

Dear everyone,

So sorry we've been vacant on here for over a month now! Holiday craziness is no excuse for slacking, but now that the major parts of the years are over, we're getting cracking on some new and exciting stuff. The new year is going to bring great and wonderful things for Racket Magazine, and we can't wait to share it with you. Hope you all had a lovely holiday, and that you beckon in the new year with lots of well wishes, a little bit of (safe) partying, and some cheer to go around to those you love.

As a late (and great) holiday gift for our dear and faithful readers (and hopefully our faithful readers' friends, and friends of friends, and anyone we can get in on this business), Jonathan The Emperor! has diligently and dutifully handpicked another great FREE mp3 download! Killer Sharks 2 has now gone live, and is waiting for you to hop on over to Racketmag.com and give it a listen.

Enjoy, my friends! Hope the end of your holiday season and the beginning of your new year goes well.

Wishing you all the best,

Cait

P.S. Here's a track listing of the goodies on Killer Sharks 2!
1. Sinner Sinners – Cadavra
2. The Bomb – Not Christmas Night
3. Victor! Fix The Sun – My Friend The Guru
4. The Soft Pack – Answer To Yourself
5. Blind Nuns – Thrashin’ Session
6. Common Enemy – Never Enough
7. Friends of Friends – Enough Was Enough
8. Dear Landlord – I Live in Hell
9. Thee American Revolution – Power House
10. Espirit De Corps – On Conquering
11. Lipona – Hawks
12. White Rabbits – Percussion Gun
13. Balance and Composure – Only Boundaries
14. AM Taxi – The Mistake
15. Vulture Whale – The Pipe
16. The Whigs – In The Dark
17. Ha Ha Tonka – Walking on the Devil’s Backbone
18. Old Californio – Just Like Joseph Campbell
19. Hurricane Bells – The Winters in New York
20. Bellflur – Grey Sparkle Finnish Pig
21. Mr. Gnome – Slow Side
22. Ólöf Arnalds - Englar og dárar

Find it here: http://www.racketmag.com/?p=1452

Freebies for Everyone!

racketmagazine — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:10:39 GMT

For you, our faithful followers, we have put together something new and different for your listening pleasure! Jonathan Yost, with amazing remastering by Kateri Lirio and some fucking rad artwork by Christine Curry, has put together the first ever Racket Magazine download compilation. We call it Killer Sharks, and it's twenty tracks' worth of musical delights. Check it out: http://www.racketmag.com/?p=1341

Here's a peek at the track listing:

1. Twisted Thoughts / Kinetic Stereokids
Overdraft Recordings

2. Wax and Wire / Loch Lomond
Hush Records

3. That Look You Give That Guy / Eels
Vagrant Records

4. Ocean Floor / The Denouement
Self-Released

5. Dave, You Are Killing Me. / Vagina Panther
Self-Released

6. Good Friends, Bad Habits / Owen
Polyvinyl Records

7. I Got The Time / The Passports
Self-Released

8. Who’s Got Your Money / Entice
Self-Released

9. Bringing Down The Walls / The Fascination Movement
Aube Records

10. Magic Show / Electric Owls
Vagrant Records

11. Amphetamine / Old Wives Tale
The Creative Motel, Inc

12. I’m Bored, Let’s Fight / The Neighborhood Bullys
Ruf Mix Records

13. We’re Gonna Fight / Pennywise
BYO Records

14. Inveigh / The Bronx
Original Signal Recordings

15. The Finish Line / Nakatomi Plaza
Self-Released

16. Rush / Only For The Night
Self-Released

17. Some Kind of Fake / Friends of Friends
Self-Released

18. Fold Up Like A Piece Of Paper / ArpLine
Self-Released

19. Green Light / Jump Clubb
Self-Released

20. Order Another Round / Malkovich & Sum
Genoa Imports/Good Look

Have a listen and pass this shit around! Don't be selfish, free shit is too good to keep to yourself.

Business, As Usual

racketmagazine — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:33:16 GMT

Hey kids,

Hotness here, dropping a line before I head off to sleep.

I finally find myself competent enough in the world of HTML to post articles on Racketmag.com all by myself! Hooray for the triumphs of modern technology and for patient teachers. If you see any errors in the latest articles that have been posted, blame the teacher, not the student. ;)

Anyway...

Not much going on here. Our resident film guru Laura Gaddy made her way into AFI's Film Festival again this year. Jealous! At this very moment, you can scope her reviews of some short films, as well as a super early review of The Road, due out in theaters November 2th! Check it out here: http://www.racketmag.com/?p=1338#more-1338. I'm not sure, but I think we can expect at least one more movie review out of this thing before it's over. Don't quote me on that though.\

In bigger and better news, Racket Magazine is looking forward to the annual MEISA conference at Cal Poly Pomona on November 13-14th! I'll be there, complete with a plethora of buttons and stickers to hand out. Stop by, say hello! There's supposed to be some pretty amazing speakers coming down, so it's definitely something to check out. More info here: http://www.csupomona.edu/~meisa/conference.shtml

And as for me, I'm still on the look out for some new staff, and always keeping an eye out for new things to write about and new people to boss around. Any thoughts? Email me at caitlin@racketmag.com!

As always be good to each other, and keep on keeping on.

Peas out,

Cait

Wild Things and Wild Times

racketmagazine — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:44:46 GMT

Hey all,

The Hotness here, bringing you the latest from Racketmag.com.

Working on the latest post today, and we've got a few juicy goodies for you. I personally saw and reviewed Where the Wild Things Are- I didn't give it very high marks, in case you were wondering. Not the greatest thing I've ever seen. Lucero(who we will happily be checking out in San Diego in the next couple weeks!) just cracked out a new album, Yost reviewed it- it's fantastic, just so you know. There's a couple new book reviews (the latest Lenore book and a photo book about the 90's grunge wave) and two new Top Ten lists (metal hairstyles and celebrity plastic surgeries) for you to enjoy as well. Get on it! Post should be up by this evening, depending on the Emperor!'s schedule.

Speaking of the Emperor!, he just got back from an adventure in Chicago with fellow staffer Luke Toney. The two adventured their way through Riot Fest, boozing and schmoozing with the locals. Hopefully we should see some pictures and an article about that soon- I mean, the Twitter feed was pretty funny, so I expect that the article will be pretty good too. You know, once they get around to it.

We the good people of Racket Magazine are known for many things, but one of them isn't being organized. We're working on it though. Currently, one of the major set backs is the sheer amount of stuff going on and the lack of staff to deal it all out to. Don't get me wrong, our writers are all lovely and intelligent people, we just all have lives and businesses and school and whatnot. The point I'm really trying to make is that if you or someone you know is looking for blogging/writing experience, we're looking for writers. Keep in mind though, this is not a paid gig, just something you'd do for fun/experience/exposure (and in some cases, college credit, but that's to be negotiated).

So feel free to hit me up if you or someone you know is interested- caitlin@racketmag.com. Or you know, just drop a line, tell me what you'd like to see more of on the site. I'll get right on that (maybe). While you're at it, check us out on the aforementioned Twitter- www.twitter.com/racketmagazine. A myriad of our staff update on there, causing typical Racket mayhem and confusion. Fun times for all.

Until later, my good people. Peas out.

--Cait

We're Still Alive

racketmagazine — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:35:12 GMT

Hey Kids,

The Hotness here, bringing you tidings of good will from your favorite magazine.

I'd like to say that the reason we've neglected this blog and regular posting on Racketmag.com is that we've been busy as fuck, but then I'd be lying and liars go to hell (kidding, Mom). Really, the Emperor and I got laid off at the same time (well, he got fired, the sorry bastard), and we've been busy being lazy drains on the economy.

And thus, summer has come and gone with little to show for our immense amount of free time. But never fear, my friends, we are hard at work on some new developments, fun times, and free shit to keep you all interested. Here's the rundown of what we've got going on:

1)Yost is working closely with the MEISA (that's the Music and Entertainment Industry Student's Association) at Cal Poly Pomona on their annual conference. He's making lots of connections, scoring us some good marketing, and maybe we'll see some real results out of the deal. Stay tuned.

2)Staffer Luke Toney and Yost (he's a lazy bum, but sometimes he does get stuff done around here) are headed off to Chicago for this year's Riot Fest. If you're in the area at the time, Luke is short and scruffy, Yost is large and looking for ladies.

3)October seems to be the month of good shows- the Streets, Brand New, Get Up Kids, Our Lady Peace, the Treasure Island Music Fest in San Francisco, Spike TV's Scream Event, the previously mentioned Riot Fest... I make no promises that we'll be at all of them, but we'll try to transcend space and time to get that covered for you.

4)Kevin Smith's latest book "Shooting the Sh*t with Kevin Smith" has arrived at the Racket "office" (that's a room at Yost's house in San Dimas, folks). I have the pleasure of reading and reviewing that for you fine folks, as well as making contact with the lovely people at Titan Books and grabbing some of their latest titles for review as well- be on the look out for a review of Tank Girl's anniversary remastering and Roman Dirge's "Lenore: Noogies."

5)We're working on some more top ten lists- loads of bogus, shallow filler for the delights of readers everywhere. Check out the latest here: http://www.racketmag.com/?p=1223

Ok, so we don't really have any groundbreaking stuff for you at the moment. I'll get on that, as soon as I get Yost to get off his ass and make me some nachos.

Peas,

Cait

Harry Potter,$erial Killer$, and More Hipsters (Oh My!)

racketmagazine — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:16:00 GMT

Hi guys. Mid-August is a bit of a grab bag for us. We got a profile of a "wrock" festival by Kateri Lirio, a look a serial killer merchandise, and of course our second installment on the hipster lifestyle. Plus, a profile of Incubus and the Love Grenades! Don't forget to check us out on Twitter! www.twitter.com/RacketMagazine Until the next issue...something to tide you over: J.W. and The Emperor

Tigers in The Fire

racketmagazine — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:54:41 GMT

Check it...The Love Grenades have dropped a new one, and Racket's got the MP3 to prove it:

http://www.racketmag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/tigers-in-the-fire-original.mp3

And if you're lucky to be in the City of Angels anytime soon, mosey on down to the Henry Fonda Theatre and check out their show this Friday. It's bound to be Grenadarific.

Jack

Carnies, Jihadis...and Hipsters

racketmagazine — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:02:18 GMT

Hello again, y'all.

We got a lot of interesting stuff going on this issue. Laura Gaddy (is it too soon to call her Rocket Laura yet?) is giving us the 411 on carnies, and Jack has a triple threat--an interview with Rachel Taylor Brown, a review of Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and the first part of a five part series on...hipsters. I know, I know. Sounds scrumptious, doesn't it?

Just in case none of that gets your legs tingling, we also got CD reviews and Cortney's celebrity thing. Because, you know, we do music stuff too. As soon as you're done browsing/ getting a bad case of astigmatism from staring at the screen too long, mosey on down and drop us a line at music@racketmag.com. We like hearing from our peeps.

But just in case you can't get motivated, we're going to throw out some ice breakers of our own. Just like your 8th grade Social Studies class, but without the end of year book report.

A) Carnies have been keeping us all down for years. Not letting us win anything, and stealing stuff. Plus, that evil eye thing. So what's your carney experience?

B) Alternative Comix (or comics, take your pick) have been floating around since your daddy picked up his first Crumb. What's your fave? Which ones do you keep in that special acid resistant bag of yours, and which do you chuck as soon as you finish it? Better yet, which ones do you think deserve to disappear into the ash bin of history, never to be seen again?

C) The Emperor. Is he cool or the coolest?

Remember class, all reports should be typed on 8 1/2 by 11" paper, double-spaced, with in-text citations, or else we'll have to do something naughty to you (we kid about the 8 1/2 by 11" part).

P.S. http://www.racketmag.com/

We're back, bitches!

racketmagazine — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:43:07 GMT

After a year and a half hiatus working our tails off, getting plastered, interviewing bands and uh...interviewing bands, our LiveJournal page is back from the dead! In addition to being amongst the living once more, we've added a few personnel. Give a warm Racket welcome for Cortney, Austin, Damara, Sean, Sara, Roya, and John! Also, we got a Facebook page up and running (we hope). Check it out: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Racket-Magazine/108703599690?ref=nf.

Also, Nerds. We like Nerds.

Interview with Steven of Anberlin

racketmagazine — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 22:06:51 GMT

Find out who is Steven's fav comic book character, read as Dia (of Meg and Dia) embarrasses him and all kinds of weird garbage. Don't forget to tell your friends how totally cool we are!

Strike Anywhere interview

racketmagazine — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 22:10:11 GMT

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<a href='http://www.racketmag.com/interview_strikeanywhere.html">We discussed PETA, Selling Out and gay porn. Check it out.</a>

<a href="http://www.myspace.com/racketmagazine">Also, we're MySpace whores.</a>

New Cannibal Corpse interview!

racketmagazine — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 21:04:07 GMT

Fuck Yeah!

We're total MySpace whores.

x-posted like burning.

Once, Twice, Thrice an interview

racketmagazine — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 06:26:17 GMT

Yea, that's right, a Thrice interview, suckas

racketmagazine — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 21:43:38 GMT

Has a filthy mouth on him. Check out this interview.

Looking for writers!

racketmagazine — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:44:47 GMT

Hey there! We lowsome web-ziners at RacketMag.com are looking to up our staff of people to do show/CD reviews, band interviews, photoshoots, rants and ravings, crosswords and to cuddle with. Check us out, and if you're interested in helping out, shoot an email over to Music@racketmag.com! We're getting ready to go from super DIY Web zine to super DIY print zine, so help us fill those pages!

New shit...

racketmagazine — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 19:26:13 GMT

Go check it: HERE.

Interview with Wolfmother

racketmagazine — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 06:47:28 GMT

It's good shit.

Cross posted...a lot.

Gwar interview

racketmagazine — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:48:44 GMT

GWAR!

x-posted like crazy.

Less Than Jake Interview - W/ Nyquil

racketmagazine — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 05:38:31 GMT

Racketmag.com recently had a brief interview with Buddy of Less Than Jake. Short and to the point. Well, it's short anyways. Let us know what you think.

Super X-Posted
Shameless MySpace plug

Thursday interview...

racketmagazine — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 11:11:31 GMT

Racket's interview with Andrew is up now! Go check it out!

Xposted like a mofo.

Shameless MySpace Plug

Against Me! interview!

racketmagazine — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 07:46:35 GMT

Racketmag.com recently interviewed Against Me! and well, Tom from the Gainsville quartet totally owned RacketBoss Jonathan on his knowledge of world geography! Let us know what you think!

RacketMag's shameless MySpace plug

x-posted like a mofo!

racketmagazine — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 18:06:42 GMT

RacketMag.com had a little chat with Garrett from Senses Fail. It was good times, talked shit on Hawthorne Heights, and he gave me more insight into Buddy's fav hobby than I wanted.

Shameless MySpace plug

x-posted like a mo-fo.

racketmagazine — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 17:55:21 GMT

RacketMag.com's has recently had a chance to chat it up with Josh from Motion City Soundtrack. Let us know what you think of our little interview, and well, the other ones we've done, too.

Shameless MySpace plug

x-posted like a mo-fo.

Emanuel interview

racketmagazine — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 15:25:45 GMT

RacketMag.com's interviews have always been a little weird. But THIS is getting out of control.

Shameless MySpace plug

x-posted like a mo-fo.