I literally have to force myself to read them because they are so freaking bad. Yeah I know that wasnt what the magazine was intended for, but give me a break. I mean a Maxim magazine type approach to articles/stories/reviews would really be a nice change....
Playboy is well-known for attracting good writers who do fairly lengthy pieces. This served them well in their early years when they had to prove that they provided literary content as opposed to purely obscene material. However, times and tastes have changed and Playboy's "golf, scotch and William F. Buckley" approach is no longer cutting it in today's "X Games, hard lemonade and Jon Stewart" world. I think Playboy is seen as the girlie mag that dad or grandpa read. Rolling Stone is currently suffering from the same problem. Younger people think of them as the music magazine with really long articles about politics and an affinity for dinosaur acts like Bob Dylan and the Stones. I do enjoy the articles, but I'm an insatiable reader and magazine junkie. Most younger people aren't. Until Playboy recognizes this and changes their approach, they're going to lose people to newer competition like Stuff and FHM.
Steven King actually wrote for Playboy once...but then again, who in the hell could J/O to Steven King? Playboy=Naked Women.
The interview with Robert Plant this month is pretty good. (WARNING-- that link will open up playboy.com, so don't click on it if you're at work, etc). I used to have a subscription but cancelled it to appease my then-girlfriend. I should re-subscribe.
If you look hard, you may can get it for free. I have gotten FHM, Maxim and Playboy for free the past year.
Ha! Hell, I'll say how RIGHT HERE for FREE!!! Just go to a search engine and type in "Free Magazine Subscribtions". You will find a crap load of sites that offer free subscribtions. Most of them with no questions asked, just your address. Others you may have to submit a credit card then cancel the subscribtion after your year is up. Or you have to pay a processing fee, $5 at the most. As an example, here is a site to get a 2 year subscirbtion of a music magazine called (from the same publications that do Maxim and Stuff) Blender.
Many authors of considerable renown have written for Playboy, many of them with better artistic credentials than Steven King (not to knock him -- I think he's actually pulled himself up by his bootstraps and made himself a pretty good writer). It has been known as a forum for serious literature in the short story format. Of course, this may have changed in recent years for all I know since I haven't seen a Playboy since I've been old enough to buy one.
