Comes With A [Final] Smile

I have been privileged enough to contribute to what many people believe as the finest music magazine in existence, Comes With a Smile. A few days ago I found a not from the editor in my in-box. It read much like a scrawled epilogue from a dying friend. I’ve paraphrased it below:


Due for mid-January 2006 publication, Comes with a Smile's landmark twentieth issue looks likely to be our last.

Reluctant to be confined by genre and frankly oblivious to (and frequently appalled by) what constitutes "newsworthy" elsewhere in the media, Comes with a Smile's raison d'etre has always been to engage with our readership via conversations with and critiques of musicians and music that we deem 'important' (without the elitism that suggests), and the overriding impression from your response is that we have succeeded. 'So why stop now?' you ask. In short, we've become victims of our own success. Furthermore I'll admit it's been tough to sustain my various roles at the magazine without a salary and the Idea of entering a ninth year further in the red than at any time since our inception in 1997, seems a foolhardy 'career move' at best. To stop now feels less like turning my back on something and more like turning around to face the wolves who have sat patiently on my doorstep for too long.

I have truly never read a better publication. If there is only one issue left, then if for nothing else than posterity’s sake, I urge you to buy a copy. It’s available in Borders, but go to http://www.comeswithasmile.com email Matt the editor and ask him for a copy. If anyone has deep pockets perhaps we’ll see an issue #21 as well.