The music press ain't totally dead, as Careless Talk and Organ both attest. But launched this week - at a party where members of DiS broke the excess barriers and got battered on bottle after bottle from the free bar - is a new mag to add to your rag rack. It's called BANG! and some of the folks from DiS are involved in it (the DiS editor is doing a regular column called Transit and contributing news).
The first issue includes a big interview with Flaming Lips, The Warlocks, Ladytron, and The Darkness. Plus loads of record reviews, everyone from Aphex Twin to White Stripes and back again via Evan Dando and Steven Wells Attacking Sonic Youth.
Pretty good read, first issue's only £1, next month's issue has a free cd. It's available everywhere, even WHSmith. Check out bangmagazine.co.uk for more info.
DiScuss: What do you think of the mag? Why on earth have they let the editor of DiS loose in its pages?
BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
looks like a cross between vox and uncut which i guess is not a bad thing as such
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
I say it's like Select trying to be Creem - but not really being Creem like it set out to be. Too many commerical compromises?
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
Where's the rock? Instead just loads of bands who LOOK like they rock because they dress like bands that were so rocking back in the day - Interpol being one.
Just refer back to Creem magazine - they focussed on the bands that rocked the most at the time - It's now 2003, so why do we have to cover the same old-style retro-garage-rock bands? It is fucking boring!!!! Especially when you have bands like OKGO, like Instruction, like, From Autumn To Ashes, like Cult of Luna - bands with an edge - bands creating something NEW, something with BITE, bands who're most importantly willing to take RISKS in creating something new rather than re-hashing a tired sound!!
How long have the Flaming Lips been around? Yet, they're on the cover of a brand new magazine priding itself on having it's finger on the Pulse of new music!! What??? Go figure!
At least Careless Talk do cover bands, now and again, which take risks - Dillinger Escape Plan nestled next to Jon Spencer, next to Dinosaur Jr. And no mention of tATu in sight. Or did i just miss it?
ok rant over
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
Flaming Lips? Garage?
And I wouldn't have said Polyphonic Spree were garage, or good for that matter.
Re: Flaming Lips? Garage?
Great illustrations
Inoffesnsive logo (they should've used the one featured later in the mag instead)
Also not a good idea to alienate your audience by slagging of Sonic Youth, the new Stephen Malkmus record and then highlighting how great the new Evan Dando rec is.
COME ON SORT IT OUT
we need it a few notches up and more innovative writers (tone down the wacky writing style which is just embarassing in parts)
Am so glad I found this forum cos I needed to get this off my chest badly.
Now I can relieve myself
Re: Flaming Lips? Garage?
Re: Flaming Lips? Garage?
Re: Flaming Lips? Garage?
Re: Flaming Lips? Garage?
Re: Flaming Lips? Garage?
BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
they were good when they wrote for circuit so i bought the mag to check them out here as well
its not bad - kind of like a 'cool' select - could do with bringing the look in back eh
good but get rid of the virgin megastore adverts and look after the indies please - theyre in enough mags at it is and nobody shops with them anyway *toot*
BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
FYI: Didnt tell everyone else cus I didnt have any spare tickets. Peter and Ollie Russian came of their own accord.
Geez.
BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
I paid my £1 for it, but when the next issue costs £3.30? probably not...
And the only other thing is that it seems to be a home largely for old hacks - see Andrew Mueller, Steven Wells and someone else who's name I forget... Its hardly the future.
Not bad, but not different. Which is possibly the most damning thing I could say about it.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
but still, he gave me a good review a few years ago, i can't complain
ollie.
BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
It promised yet never delivered. The reviews are short and dull like every other paper, and I can read about these bands everywhere else. They offered no alternative whatsoever.
The website has that dull 'music biz' joke "hallways of pimps and thieves, but there's a negative side etc..." attributed to Hunter S. Thompson, who never once uttered those words in his entire life.
Can somebody please be pedantic about this shit, it's getting boring...
BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
only swells kept me going throughout
only swells had any identity in the mag
shame
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
yeah, next time i hit town to but fighting and fashion mags, i'll grab a copy
ollie.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
Promising, I'd say.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
what?
ollie.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
ollie.
Well, when
Also, Kulkani&Swells' invective and disgust are regularly the only things worth reading in metal hammer these days, so frankly long may they continue. If NME and some of the comedy writing on DiS comprise the future of New Music Journalism then frankly may it rest in peace.
Bang! talk leads to this....!!!!
1 Charles Shaar Murray (the daddy, knowledgable, exciting & great taste in music - turned me on to Patti Smith & John Lee Hooker and made me re-apprecaite hendrix)
2 Johnny Rogan (the definitive Smiths biog, a great Neil Yound book and the ONLY man you'll ever need for the Byrds)
3 Nick Kent (amazing, but loses top place for worshipping Iggy, who's not really that great)
4 Simon Price (excellent in Bang! this month, and we've all read his outstanding Manics book)
5 Keith Cameron - oooh how much better did Mojo get when he got on board, I still remember a review of Shellac he did for the NME which was just outstanding.
6 Kitty Empire - the last great NME journalist, was listening to Rival Schools, Fugazi and Boards Of Canada when all the losers were sucking up to Julian C.
7 Ian McDonald - Revolution In The Head, need I say more?
8 Lester Bangs - often awful but his Clash article, his "review" of Astral weeks and his stuff on the Troggs is outrageous
9 Patrick Humphries - great Nick Drake biog. a good read!
10 jon savage - supposedly he wasn't great at the NME but his book on Punk is great
TOP 5 WORST
1 Steven Wells (not only does he talk rubbish, but he slaggs all the obvious stuff - anyone can lay into sonic Youth, c'mon slay some real dragons, isn't it time for a Nirvana backlash?
2 Mark Beaumont - the shittest, awfulest crappest writer the NME have ever had. He's so bad he doesn't deserve to be at Number One
3 Tony Parsons - love "Man And Boy", despite its over-sentimentality, hate his music writing
4 Julie Burchill - oh dear
5 Greil Marcus - you are trying TOO hard
Re: Bang! talk leads to this....!!!!
i mean, shouldn't it be that way?
ollie.
Re: Bang! talk leads to this....!!!!
of course the real number one best writer of all time is me!!!!
Re: Well, when
swells is good when he breaks out of his own cliches. read something by him recently, blood brothers/winnebago deal review, which was excellent, but half the time he's a parody of himself.
x
gen
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
That says everything.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.
now, I'm going to raid town to get me a copy of this thing.. for reasons of science only you understand
(no, really)
ollie.
Re: BANG!: S'only a Rock'n'Roll Rag. Out Now.