Music Journalism - Death or Glory?

[TheWarmth]

I remember both Vox and Select. There was one bookstore where I could get them when I was in high school. Those two, along with NME and Melody Maker, were the only sources of information on the UK music scene. Select was my favorite. This was obviously pre-internet, mind you, and the only alternatives were Alternative Press, Spin and Rolling Stone.

[redcloud]

I once liked the Melody Maker. I lost interest when the whole Britpop fad hit and any band from Camden that had cool haircuts but no record deal were cover stars and called the "next Beatles".

Ptolemaic Terrascope was my favorite UK mag but it was more a fanzine than a proper mag. I quite like the writing in Mojo but they need to broaden their horizons. Seems that the same bands are always featured.

[spzretent]

we used to carry them all those magazines at my shop. It used to cost people a small fortune to buy all those mags. My best customers used to get NME & MM free. Double edged sword that was. More stuff for them to buy
I also remember being in London when Select came out w/the Creation tape attached to it. I remember buying 10 of them outside a Wimpys on Tottenham Court Rd./Oxford St for fear of not getting them at home.

[Minky]

The record store I used to work at years ago used to get the NME & Melody Maker every Friday with the import shipment. Select magazine too, I have that Creation tape...somewhere. That's how you kept up on stuff back then. The Volume CD's were pretty cool back then too.

[runcible]

I am old enough to remember a time when the NME was the indie music fan's bible and it was a superb read. I used to buy that and Sounds every week. Sounds was pretty good although the writing quality was less so - it did used to feature lots of music I liked though. This was the only way to see who was playing - a brief look at the news pages and then a close study of the live ads was the priority, then absorbing the articles. The NME has become a publication I totally despise. - truly appalling obsession with a few so called 'key' bands and vacuous smug journalism at a level that ought to be funny but isn't. Sounds went under many years ago. I always thought Melody Maker was the weakest of the 3 although in the era before I became a serious music fan it was regarded as the best read.

Learned friends, this forum and the web are my sources of information now. I hardly ever buy any music mags anymore. Very occasionally Mojo if it has stuff about someone I am genuinely interested in or a decent CD given away. I've glanced at the NME from time to time in a shop and am totally appalled at how bad it is.

Terrascope can be a decent magazine. Another late publication that was cool was Bucketful of Brains. That mag helped me in my discovery of great bands like Thin White Rope, Plasticland, Opal, Rain Parade...

[mkb]

I've glanced at the NME from time to time in a shop and am totally appalled at how bad it is.

I haven't read the NME in a long time, but I hear that it has improved a fair bit under the most recent editor. Bowie's on the cover this week though, so I don't know how well they're covering new music.

[redcloud]

Another late publication that was cool was Bucketful of Brains. That mag helped me in my discovery of great bands like Thin White Rope, Plasticland, Opal, Rain Parade...

Ahhh, yes....Bucketful of Brains was great but pricey over here! I still have a copy of BoB from late 80's/early 90's that came with a Flaming Lips/Plimsouls flexi. I was looking at the flexi just the other day!

I have been a faithful customer of Ugly Things for 20+ years. Although Stax and co. mainly feature older garage/psych bands it's a high quality 'zine with indepth interviews and articles. Contemporary psych/garage bands will often make the record reviews section of Uglies but to be a main feature I think they need more shelf life.

[sonic124]

Ugly Things is just a fantastic read never missed an issue since i first heard of it back in 97 amazing in depth articles which shindig sadly lacks for me and hundreds of reviews to absorb. There all stacked on my top shelf for reference! I knew Runcibles on a Masters Apprentice trip at the moment and Ugly Things are 2 issues into a fantastic feature!

[runcible]

Masters Apprentices 'Choice Cuts'... Yes indeed! Been enjoying this over the last few weeks (tip of the hat to Redcloud for that direction - others too actually).

[redcloud]

Ugly Things is just a fantastic read never missed an issue since i first heard of it back in 97 amazing in depth articles which shindig sadly lacks for me and hundreds of reviews to absorb. There all stacked on my top shelf for reference! I knew Runcibles on a Masters Apprentice trip at the moment and Ugly Things are 2 issues into a fantastic feature!

Right on, sonic124. The Uglies article on the MA has been thorough and extremely well researched. I look forward to pt. 3 as it will pick up with the story of 'Choice Cuts' and 'A Toast To Panama Red'. Both of which are my favorite MA albums.

Runcible, glad you are enjoying "Choice Cuts". What at first sounds more or less like straight ahead riff heavy rock begins to reveal itself upon further listens as a multifaceted LP of songs. "A Toast To Panama Red" is a required companion piece to "Choice Cuts" and essential listening for any fan of early 70's heavy acid rock.

[Laz69]

are these mentioned mags availbale for buying or only available online? I had a helluva time trying to find something for the flight over to Florida at the airport. Music mags nowadays are really crappy...

[redcloud]

Here in Portland, Ugly Things is sold in a couple record stores as well as a local independent book store in town called Powell's. But, one can also buy it online.

It costs me $8.95 but they only put out two a year...a fall/winter and a spring/summer issue and it is more like a book than a mag. So, it is well worth it! I would expect it to be fairly pricey in the UK.

[BzaInSpace]

Music mags...always buy them if i'm doing some travelling and often i'll have paper mache'd the issue out of pure disgust by the time I leave the bus.

NME - as MKB mentions has actually improved somewhat (although I think sales have plunged ever lower) as I've actually bought it a few times this year - the issue with Courtney Love on the cover was good, a lot of in-depth articles and features which I hadn't seen in that mag for fuckin' years - it had turned into a virtual mobile ad under the 'editor'-ship of the truly appalling Conor McNicolas - I think he was "promoted" to Top Gear magazine in the end - and when questioned about his favourite ever albums his Partridge-esque answer was alleged to have been "'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by Nirvana and The Best of The Beatles..." *

Still - when they feature The Libertines - or more shockingly "Carl Barat - His True Story" I'm giving it a wide berth...

Bojo - says everything about their readership when they still have frothing letters complaining about featuring 'black' artists and this 'new fangled thing hip-hop' and 'more articles on Genesis, Yes and ELP please'. In saying that can be a good read, but they assume their readership are the worst kind of conservative music fan, by having covers (and feautures) that quickly revolve between The Beatles, The Clash, The Stones...and Oasis.

I gave up buying it regularly when they insisted on 'celebrating' the 40th anniversary of every Beatles album ("...no, please, not the full, shocking story of the recording of Let It Be again...." plus a garbage 'free' cd of mostly shit Bojo-approved indie-schmindie acts destroying Beatles songs...

Plus the A&E review was shockingly bad. And then they go raving about Bon fuckin' Iver or....Noah & the Whale. Please...

Uncut - See above, although this used to have a few pages about books and movies but I think this has gone. Even more conservative than Mojo - but at least they've stopped fawning over Ryan Adams. It has a nice, smooth cover, but features the same artists as Mojo with occasional appearances by REM: "New Album Recording Hell Again!"

Funnily enough, the ones I most enjoy are probably the ones you can pick up in fairly nice venues for FREE! like The Skinny and The Stool Pigeon. The Stool Pigeon has some pretty harsh & cruel writers but the actual quality of writing is great - plus they have an editorial team that doesn't give a fuck, and are quite happy to spill the beans on any of the above paid-for mags...

The Skinny seems to cater mainly for Glasgow and Edinburgh, and while it does have a distinct scener-ish vibe it's usually a pretty good read and the reviews are sound although they could be bigger. Plus a bit of a shout for it this month as my mate's band are actually curating it, and they interview Nick Cave and Michael Gira...

I think Vox and Select were nowhere near as good as we may remember them being - Select just became a Britpop fanzine with Sleeper, Mens***r or fucking Cast every month. They had their moments I suppose...

Sorry. Was this about The Heads?


* I stole this joke from Is - if you're out there, cheers...!

[MODLAB]

For those in the UK check out Loud & Quiet mag.
Seems to be quite good.

http://www.loudandquiet.com/


M

[simonkeeping]

Mojo can be a good read but Like BZA says its love of coving 'The Beadles' is quite grating. Not that they aren't good or deserving of decent articles, but the constant unearthing of nothing stories which have all been seen before. How Revolver changed the world, the top 100 beadles songs of all time, The top ten best top ten lists of the last ten years featuring 'The Beadles' etc etc. Top 100 lists for me smack of lazy uninspired journalism. Get a few old faces on the phone rambling on about how they remember buying 'love me do' the day it came out and have never looked back since. It takes no time to put together and its so dull to read.

I see this months Q is jumping aboard the Beadles bandwagon too. 'John Lennon The inside story' blah blah blah....
Should keep Liam Gallagher happy anyway. 3 covers to collect too! exciting, no doubt limited to 100,000 each! that will be worth money in the future....

Select was great, then they did that redesign it pottered on for a year or so then shut up shop. Sad really, Ive still got copies that I take out and read occasionally. I think in that period when Oasis' stellar popularity was starting to fade (97 onwards) the music journo's we're a bit of loss as who and what they should focus on? new acts, try and push a well known acts (coldplay, sterophonics etc etc)? it was a strange time I guess. Who do you put on a cover to sell your mag?

Melody Maker was always a bit too negative for me, they seemed to hate everyone and everything (unless it was a white label limited to 4, unavailable in the shops or anywhere else in which case it was the best thing ever). NME was better I think. I remember working with a guy who used to work for the NME in that period. He said the rule was a new band was always given a good review and then they would do 2-3 more good reviews then they'd knock 'em down a peg or two. Which was farely obvious to anyone who read it during the mid nineties. I think Ive told this story before but its a beauty so I'll tell it again.

And so it came to pass...Johnny Cigarettes wrong a stinging review of the Verve, slating Ashcroft in particular. A little while after Dicky Ashcroft was at a football match (in holland if my memory serves me correctly) and mr cigarettes was also in attendance. Ashcroft and Cigarettes bump into each other by chance and get chatting, and are having a whale of a time. This goes on for some time, I think the whole of the first half of the game. Then Johnny excuses himself to go and meet his mate who he's with (in another part of the stadium) and Ashcrofts manager returns to sit with him. Ashcroft says "who was that guy, he's a really top bloke" or something to that effect. His Manager says "thats Johnny Cigarettes from the NME". To which Ashcroft leaps out of set and starts shouting to Johnny whos now some distance away. You F***ing ****, Im going to kill you for what you wrote" (or words to that effect). Johnny didn't hang around after the game to catch up with his new mate....

[Guessed]

There seems to be some cross-thread amalgamation going on here. I see some The Heads topic title but it's all about music journalism.

My tuppence worth is that on the whole the experience of reading and getting someone elses musical viewpoint is difficult. Even (and we've all tried on here) critique-ing music is difficult.

I read the odd NME, Melody Maker, Select, Q when I was younger but it even then seemed a bit tired. It didn't invigorate me.
Problem is my passion for electronic music is not covered (fully) in mainstream magazine form.
I've tried Mixmag and Dj but they are so "the scene" orientated and whilst some of the articles have got better I think that's down to more who the article is about.

I subscribe to the Wire. I have done for some time. It seems to offer me what I require however they do have a very laborious MO at the minute and I absolutely dread to think what will happen when Will Bevan' new album appears. They have an absolute hard-on for this anti-estab cut/paste/invert ideal that is everywhere. This is how I think of Lady Gaga and whilst it works in limited areas for me they should really balance this splicing edge electro with the purer forms.

Overall however the magazine does fascinate me; musical styles and events I'd otherwise never encounter are open to me. I thoroughly enjoy the Invisible Jukebox, Inner Sleeve & Epiphanies section. The latter had a great piece of writing about Arthur Russell recently that sent me spiralling on a new musical journey. The reviews are hit 'n' miss and I also think they could be doing with some of the more balanced contributors including pieces on more popular styles rather than the pull of private press casette only hand embroidered hauntological avant sludge composition. As you know sometimes descriptive words can tell you nothing at all.
Apart from that small gripe I have to say I think everyone should read at least one issue once. I'm sure they will find some avenue to stroll down and breathe in.
It is a silly ambition of mine to contribute at some point (a piece of text) to the magazine but I scratch my head at who to discuss (with myself). Most of my favourite artists have been interviewed or spoken of too a very high and informative standard. Other artists or areas may even be too niche for a magazine that strives on niche.
That said; it must really be a good magazine if I consider often who/what to contribute. I doubt any other publication could do that to me and therefore I offer the Wire 4.5/5.0

B,
S.

[JakeCardigan]

I agree with Guessed that The Wire is a standout magazine... it isn't perfect, in fact I rarely read the whole issue but I have subscribed to it for nearly three years and always look forward to the new issue.

I see it as a magazine which as Guessed points out leads you off on new musical experiences/thoughts which you would never expect... Guessed mentioned "Invisible Jukebox, Inner Sleeve & Epiphanies" but I would add Byron Coley's Size Matters section to this, and the reviews can have some great moments. The CDs that the magazine offer are similar, not perfect but often contain that nugget which sparks an interest and introduces you to new music

Beyond The Wire I predominantly read about music online now as the other magazines i struggle to read and enjoy, I find this forum one of my main sources for finding about new music and then I read a few blogs.

Do any forum members have any blogs/sites? I have tried to get my own blog going (http://adventuresinthesoundscape.wordpress.com/) but would be interested in seeing anyone elses...

Or do others have any online music magazines they read/recommend??

[Guessed]

@ JakeCardigan

The name's Stuart.

Any opinions on the recent Retro Activity issue? I thought it was decidedly average, meandering and very inward. Not what I expect. However I think this months Radio Art may be a saving grace.

B,
S.

[Shinesalight]

Do any forum members have any blogs/sites? I have tried to get my own blog going (http://adventuresinthesoundscape.wordpress.com/) but would be interested in seeing anyone elses...

Jake, I really enjoyed perusing your blog......a lot of interesting stuff on there and I love the layout and pics. I wouldn't even know how to start with something like that. have always toyed with the idea of starting one up, especially as I go to quite a few gigs and often thought it'd be quite nice to put some thoughts on these shows down. Any ideas/tips on where I would start?

[JakeCardigan]

The radio art piece was great and it got me intrigued about all the stations out there and i made a note of some of the blogs they mentioned but haven't checked them out yet... has anyone listened to Resonance FM and have any recommendations on shows to check out, the article highlights what the Wire is great at which is uncovering music which i would not ordinarily find

I found the Retro Activity issue a little pointless really, it didn't seem to achieve anything and I still don't really understand what they were trying to achieve with the whole piece.
I think a Spiritualized/Spacemen 3/Spectrum/Freelovebabies/E.A.R Primer needs to be written!!

[JakeCardigan]

Do any forum members have any blogs/sites? I have tried to get my own blog going (http://adventuresinthesoundscape.wordpress.com/) but would be interested in seeing anyone elses...

Jake, I really enjoyed perusing your blog......a lot of interesting stuff on there and I love the layout and pics. I wouldn't even know how to start with something like that. have always toyed with the idea of starting one up, especially as I go to quite a few gigs and often thought it'd be quite nice to put some thoughts on these shows down. Any ideas/tips on where I would start?

Thanks ads

I just jumped in, chose Wordpress as it seemed a popular choice and seemed to stumble my way through a few posts, as I have done more I have got used to adding videos and images, which with a bit of trial error is quite straightforward. It is all based around a control panel not too disimilar from the one you see as you type a post on this forum!

I think this blog has been mentioned before (?) but I love the reviews on here - http://braincrushingreverberations.blogspot.com/

and the Rocket Recordings blog is great too, they sometimes have some great mixes up - http://rocketrecordings.blogspot.com/

[BzaInSpace]

There seems to be some cross-thread amalgamation going on here. I see some The Heads topic title but it's all about music journalism...

EDITORS NOTE - hopefully the title confusion is sorted now. The previous posts on music mags here originally appeared in 'The Heads Amazing Reissue' thread, but I felt it a worthy topic on its own terms, and thus deployed some little-used powers to make it so!!!

anti-estab cut/paste/invert ideal...

Yep!

[Guessed]

anti-estab cut/paste/invert ideal...

Yep!

I've been trying to sum up my opinion on Stephanie Joanne for a while now and I can't seem to get my head out the washing machine of every image/sound/genre that's been created since the late 70's too present day to concisely write about her.
All I can offer through the barage of information that she conveys; is that I'm 50/50.
I can't listen to her music as it's simply too much for me; Gaultier Madonna meets Abba meets Elton (c."the high on cock years") meets Paul Hardcastle propganda stills meets "stuff the volume levelling" meets SAW meets Peter Gabriel videos. It's too much. Saying that have you heard the o0o00 version of Poker Face?

Apart from that she's a breath of fresh air.

B,
S.

[BzaInSpace]

The o0o00 version sounds intriguing...

I kinda agree, however I'd hate it if somewhere down the line she felt obliged to make some horrible 'worthy' indie-rock album with Dave Grohl or something. She's definitely got the songs buried under the horizon-wide production - I think she should take that music to the next level and just strip it right down. Just a big beat, voice and flashes of colour. Vocal house music essentially. Aye, that would be great!

The raw meat dress is a winner.

[Guessed]

I think she should go darker. But enough about her hair.

I was going to upload the o0o00 version entitled PKRFACE (i think?) but it's on the works laptop.
I'll surprise you with it one day.
I'd definitely check out o0o00 and B/\L/\M/\C/\B (Balam Acab) though...head too boomkat for full-length previews.

B,
S.

[mister sunshine]

the best music writing in the states in the 80s/90s for me was thrasher magazine ...i discovered billy childish,the scientists,janes addiction and sonic youth from it.

[simonkeeping]

talking of Mixmag and Dj, does anyone remember the period they did a drugs issue practically every issue. With a big image of a pill on the cover. Lazy.

I do like the Wire, I havent bought it for a while though. Its sometimes quite hard going. I do like the regular feature about the album art (sorry can't remember what its called?) which is always a joy to read, really passionate and human. I think thats really whats sometimes a bit lacking in the other features.They do tend to get a bit bogged down in who played on what album, in what year etc etc...

But, its nice to have a bit of thought provoking written content rather than the standard "This is U2's best album ever". Which for the life of me I will never understand? Why would you write that when its blatantly not true, or is it some kind of muso writers way of saying 'I understand music better than you. If you don't think its good you don't know what you're talking about'. Which is quite frankly a load of old bo**oks. As I always trust the opinions of the people on this board over a music mag as they are based on a very, very broad knowledge and understanding of music. And, I think all the purchases I have made from recommendations on here have been outstanding.

[Guessed]

I do like the Wire, I havent bought it for a while though. Its sometimes quite hard going. I do like the regular feature about the album art (sorry can't remember what its called?) which is always a joy to read, really passionate and human. I think thats really whats sometimes a bit lacking in the other features.

Inner Sleeve

[BzaInSpace]

Ancient bump of a thread here, due to getting a few words in about the NME.

Yes, the NME...

The crappy, disposable toilet-paper dressed as a magazine, in thrall to The Strokes (still) and The Libertines (ditto), written by the mentally deficient for the musical undernourished, who see tight t-shirts 'n' beards as a meaningful statement?

Right...?

Well, actually, no. I surprise myself, but in the last month or two I've bought it three times, and each time I've been nothing less than pleasantly entertained. Put it this way, I long stopped buying Mojo regularly, OK it might still get bought if there is something I really like being written about it, but there's only so much
"Which One's Pink?" The Insane True Story Of Roger Waters Secret Dungeon! or "Ringo Killed At Least Three Groupies" - Stuff You Never Knew About 'Rubber Soul!!! style nonsense I can actually take... plus, I'm on a heavy budget and the majority of their covermounted CDs are just landfill garbage.

Anyway, I digress. Three times within a few weeks? Unheard of for me, for at least a decade... But, seriously, some good shit here. Bought the issue about In Utero, which had a several page feature with an interview between Kurt and Jon Savage that I'd certainly never read before. Guess it was KC's last 'proper' chat to a journo, great stuff.

I also got the one with a big David Bowie feature, and if nothing else has encouraged me to check out The Next Day again and the bonus edition tracks sound interesting... again a pretty comprehensive bit of writing on Bowie.

This week it has an eyecatching photo of Lou Reed on the cover, rocking his scary dyed-blonde speed-freak mid-70s look.

And... it's... great! They reprint this big, famous interview with Reed and Lester Bangs for a start. Never read the whole thing - it's hilarious. And a last interview from September. Pretty great, as apart from the likes of on here and FB buddies I found the mainsteam media's appraisal of Lou's life throwaway and a fucking disgrace. Maybe I missed the mass of features and stuff... doubt it though.

A cursory glance elsewhere reveals that finally somebody must have clicked - people, music-fans, whatever, actually want to read stuff in a music mag. The album and live reviews are as comprehensive as I can ever remember, and there's genuinely a lot of interesting stuff. Sure, there's still loads of ads but there always was. It's certainly a different thing altogether from the Conor "Let's Get Morrissey!" McNicholas nadir. Elsewhere I spot stuff about the Wu-Tang, MGMT, Warpaint, Pixies... and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Not sure who's editing it now but they're doing something right.

And there's not one picture of that Babyshambles twat's horrible, puffy face.

Respect where it's due...

[angelsighs]

I do sometimes pick up the NME to see if it has improved, it never has. guess I should give it another go. interesting to note that two of the articles you site are reprints though, rather than new writing.

one thing I've noticed is that simply the amount of writing in the average magazine has decreased (I mean literally the number of words). what happened to the nice big one page reviews that you used to get? they simply seem full of more and more pictures and lists.I prefer something to get my teeth into rather than adverts and fluff filling the pages.