Paste Magazine Needs Help

The New York Times Travel section may have scooped Paste magazine on the growing national presence and supposed visitor-friendly Texas charm of Denton's music scene, but Paste got straight to the point in November when it named Denton the Best Music Scene of 2008.

Dallas Observer ex-pat Dave Sims contributed an easily traversable Top 10 list of important bands and solo artists thriving in our two-sided college town/mid-sized city, with names you've heard and lesser-known groups like Dust Congress (whose new record we've just ordered online -- Recycled Books is all sold out).

And more recently, the March/April edition of Paste magazine's music sampler that accompanies each issue featured Matthew and the Arrogant Sea's "Mock Origami" alongside songs by national artists like Jason Isbell.

When Paste isn't pouring out love for Denton, the magazine's thoughtful and informal style of covering national indie music and film fills a void in the almost-'zine genre of music journalism. But the independently published magazine is in trouble -- so much so that Paste has resorted to asking for donations from readers.

As ad revenue has fallen drastically for print media all over, special interest music mags are not immune. The good news is that Paste is more widely-stocked than many of its alt/indie peers. You can even find copies at Albertson's.

And there's a healthy amount of mutual respect in Paste's relationship with readers and artists: Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers joined a long list of musicians in praising Paste during this rough stretch, asserting that Paste "may be the last great American music magazine left."

Donate now and get access to "rare & exclusive tracks" by Paste favorites like Neko Case and Josh Ritter. You'll also be up for prizes like an oceanfront cabin on next year's Cayamo music cruise.