Different Times!

Yeah, and one other thing. Wyman's article in New City (see 2 previous posts), reminded me just how much I used to love the Chicago Reader. As Wyman tells it: "Back then, the Reader was a huge institution. The paper came out on Thursday, stacked like bricks in walls three-feet high in stores and cafes. “Hitsville” was on the front page of Section Three." 

Sign of the times. So yeah the music biz in 1994 was still a powerhouse, and so was the publishing biz. As they say, the internet changed it all. The old business model that worked so well, doesn't quite work so well any more.

But, yes, it's true, back then The Chicago Reader, in it's peak years, was a totally must-read phenomenon. A thing of beauty. Big, fold-out format. 4 hefty sections. An impressive, tangible thing. Chock-full of great writing. 

Today the printed version of The Chicago Reader is a pale copy, of a copy, of a copy, of a shadow. A little, flimsy thing. The on-line version just emphasizes how much the thing is no longer the glorious thing it used to be. I mean there's still some good writing - Ben Joravsky on Chicago politics and Mike Sula on Chicago food, but they seem to be residing on shrinking icebergs.

Probably no one's fault. Different times, different worlds.