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Have we had a thread on decent music magazines recently?

djodell [Edit] [Delete] 71 replies 15:48 January 26th, 2013

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After Word expired, there are very few...

funkycow | 26 Jan '13, 16:26 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Although Word was a decent magazine that had music in it
  
  It wasn't a decent music magazine
  
  The music stuff was usually the weakest part of it.
  
  bornin69 @funkycow | 26 Jan '13, 16:45 | X | ^ This | Reply
  
  Starmixer this'd this
  - You're right
    
    It was trapped in the Uncut mistake of focussing on older artists in its features. Oh for a modern version of Select...
    
    funkycow @bornin69 | 26 Jan '13, 16:49 | X | ^ This | Reply
    
    chris_81 and kolombia this'd this
arthur is back

not just music but is great regardless
al cisneros has done a comp cd for them
http://arthurmag.com/

ethricdouble | 26 Jan '13, 16:50 | X | ^ This | Reply
Rock A Rolla is the best one.

benfyffemusic | 26 Jan '13, 18:59 | X | ^ This | Reply

Comaboy this'd this
- Sort of this
  
  They rate far too much middle of the road stoner rock far too highly for my liking though.
  
  Steved @benfyffemusic | 26 Jan '13, 22:38 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Nah, as much as I admire their ethic and mission
  
  the writing is second rate (occasionally just fucking awful) and they basically scroll through the same bands over and over again.
  
  lemonbrickcombo @benfyffemusic | 26 Jan '13, 23:15 | X | ^ This | Reply
  
  WhiteLightWhiteCity and Cementimental this'd this
- I couldn't get past the crap design/layout when it first came out
  
  I imagine it's probably better now BUT STILL
  
  mug_mug_mug @benfyffemusic | 26 Jan '13, 23:21 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - This also
    
    I had a subscription for two years and I just stopped sadly. The articles were either way too short or way too long, and yes it is hideously designed. The photos are especially bad, half of them were blurred or out of focus.
    
    lemonbrickcombo @mug_mug_mug | 26 Jan '13, 23:30 | X | ^ This | Reply
    - But I wish they could make it work, because they have a great idea and there's a market for that type of magazine
      
      I think they need to get weirder.
      
      lemonbrickcombo @lemonbrickcombo | 26 Jan '13, 23:31 | X | ^ This | Reply
      
      mug_mug_mug this'd this
      - again I ain't seen a recent one
        
        but if they got someone to lay everything out properly that would make a huuuuge difference. It was tough to read just cos of the layout. Some of the people writing for it were excellent.
        
        mug_mug_mug @lemonbrickcombo | 27 Jan '13, 11:42 | X | ^ This | Reply
whatever happened to loose lips sinks ships?

Did they ever publish anything after number 6 or announce that they weren't doing any more

fin_ | 26 Jan '13, 20:09 | X | ^ This | Reply
clash

yuggy | 26 Jan '13, 21:24 | X | ^ This | Reply

_TheBeautifulOnes_ this'd this
Under the Radar

US but you can find it in many London newsagents.

jack_on_fire | 26 Jan '13, 22:16 | X | ^ This | Reply

cocodaLOL this'd this
- This. Stunner of a magazine
  
  cocodaLOL @jack_on_fire | 27 Jan '13, 10:41 | X | ^ This | Reply
- It's hard to find it now that Borders has closed.
  I sometimes goto the WH Smiths in the back of Selfridges to get US mags now. Big fan of New York magazine, which used to be much easier to track down.
  
  sean @jack_on_fire | 27 Jan '13, 11:52 | X | ^ This | Reply
Loud and Quiet

best freebie ever

orangejuice | 26 Jan '13, 22:54 | X | ^ This | Reply

niallKP this'd this
- ...if you’ve never read the Stool Pigeon.
  
  whatisthewhat @orangejuice | 27 Jan '13, 03:53 | X | ^ This | Reply
  
  crashingthrough, andyvine, and chadders this'd this
  - aye the Stool Pigeon is good
    
    mug_mug_mug @whatisthewhat | 27 Jan '13, 11:43 | X | ^ This | Reply
    
    anal_schwarzenegger, SarahIsPi, and joeymahone this'd this
    - :( :(
      
      whatisthewhat @mug_mug_mug | 6 Feb '13, 17:39 | X | ^ This | Reply
Wire is the daddy for me

but it depends what you want. Wire is perfect for me because I want to read about stuff I've never even heard of, and I like the tastes of certain columnists and critics there. Plus, Byron Coley's column usually has me in hysterics at least once per issue.

Arthur is a great magazine, but I can't find it for sale anywhere in France. Used to love it, so glad they've come back.

lemonbrickcombo | 26 Jan '13, 23:17 | X | ^ This | Reply

_TheBeautifulOnes_, stanstubbs, crashingthrough, pentargo, and calumlynn this'd this
- I am a bit uneasy at how electronic heavy Wire is going though
  
  lemonbrickcombo @lemonbrickcombo | 27 Jan '13, 12:08 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - something about the wording of this sentence made me smile
    
    anal_schwarzenegger @lemonbrickcombo | 27 Jan '13, 14:01 | X | ^ This | Reply
    
    p_a_u_l this'd this
- Wire has easily the best writing/analysis of any music magazine I've read
  
  WhiteLightWhiteCity @lemonbrickcombo | 27 Jan '13, 22:16 | X | ^ This | Reply
- yeah, Wire is the Sight and Sound of music magazines
  
  Mature, accessible and aimed at an intelligent, inquisitive audience rather than one loaded with cultural capital.
  
  It's actually pretty fucking hilarious when you look at other, fashion-inspired music magazines and read shit, pretentious, hyper self-aware articles attempting to intellectualise fucking Grimes or something with the help of a thesaurus, and then you read 10 pages in Wire about an actual artist such as Peter Brötzmann, written so articulately yet also accessible enough to effectively introduce his music to someone who had never heard of him before.
  
  Absolutely wonderful.
  
  calumlynn @lemonbrickcombo | 31 Jan '13, 13:15 | X | ^ This | Reply
Songlines

huge, informative, covers a diverse range of music and some extra-musical things, like politics and film, well written, which seems quite rare in music journalism nowadays... but basically I find more worthwhile music in Songlines than anywhere else. Also there's normally a very good compilation that comes free with it.

OvertakenByTractors | 27 Jan '13, 01:47 | X | ^ This | Reply
Ugly Things

Poprivet | 27 Jan '13, 02:19 | X | ^ This | Reply
Wire for my beard-stroking serious days

Stool Pigeon for fun (although some minor beard stroking still involved)

crashingthrough | 27 Jan '13, 02:54 | X | ^ This | Reply

mug_mug_mug, anal_schwarzenegger, and Matt_was_taken this'd this
The NME really isn't that bad

If you can get past the fact that Liam Gallagher WILL be on the cover every three weeks.

in_limbo | 27 Jan '13, 06:39 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Well, yes and no.
  
  They still have some great writers on board - the reviews section still has content from people like Louis Pattison & John Doran -although it's been a while since I looked tbh. Thing is, the magazines not really for you unless you're about 16 years-old. And ever since sales started to nose-dive over 10 years ago they've been going through a bit of an identity crisis, thanks, in no small part, to a series of desperately unsuitable editors.
  
  Phantom_Heart @in_limbo | 27 Jan '13, 11:06 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - I agree it went through a pretty grim phase a few years ago
    
    I think Hamish McBain was editor at the time, where they were trying to coin new genres every other week and the whole thing just seemed like Skins: The Magazine. It has improved though, and I don't like the implication that's it's for teenagers, as though teenagers have invariably shit taste in music and as soon as you hit twenty you should just grow up and get a subscription to Q or Mojo.
    
    I still think it's got the best mix of articles on up-and-coming bands and retrospectives on the most important British bands of the last few decades, and there's plenty of bands people rave about on here that I first encountered through the NME.
    
    in_limbo @Phantom_Heart | 27 Jan '13, 22:45 | X | ^ This | Reply
    - I wrote a review for NME in 2012.
      
      And then wasn't allowed to anymore.
      
      And if I told you why it'd be upsetting for everyone.
      
      Mike_Diver @in_limbo | 31 Jan '13, 11:36 | X | ^ This | Reply
      - (I should add that I had written for them previous to this...)
        
        (...did a Lovvers feature back in, errr, 2008 maybe? And one on Calories that a sub-editor utterly torpedoed so that it read more provocatively than it should have. Splendid work there, from the Making-Stuff-Up-For-Dramatic-Effect department.)
        
        Mike_Diver @Mike_Diver | 31 Jan '13, 11:37 | X | ^ This | Reply
      - You unbelievable tease.
        
        Can we at least have a hint?
        
        joeymahone @Mike_Diver | 31 Jan '13, 12:02 | X | ^ This | Reply
        
        Never mind, I've found the review
        
        and shall proceed to guess the reasons for your blacklisting
        
        joeymahone @joeymahone | 31 Jan '13, 12:05 | X | ^ This | Reply
        
        Nothing to do with anything I wrote in the review.
        
        Which was a Perfectly Good Critique of a Perfectly Decent LP.
        
        Mike_Diver @joeymahone | 31 Jan '13, 12:18 | X | ^ This | Reply
        
        I thought maybe they took exception to your high-falutin' Stockhausen references
        
        joeymahone @Mike_Diver | 31 Jan '13, 14:59 | X | ^ This | Reply
      - Unless you're going to discuss the reasons why
        
        who gives a shit?
        
        WhiteLightWhiteCity @Mike_Diver | 31 Jan '13, 15:56 | X | ^ This | Reply
        
        shadyadie this'd this
        
        Harsh but fair.
        
        Mike_Diver @WhiteLightWhiteCity | 31 Jan '13, 21:45 | X | ^ This | Reply
Stool Pidgeon, innit.

It's free too. The only problem is finding it.

Phantom_Heart | 27 Jan '13, 10:55 | X | ^ This | Reply
- I only ever seem to find it in Beyond Retro or The Social. Surprised they don't have little boxes at major train stations.
  If they sold it for 50p/£1 in newsagents, I'd probably pay for it, instead of trying to hunt a copy down.
  I rarely see Timeout since its gone free either (I guess they're all gone when commuters pick them up first thing)
  
  sean @Phantom_Heart | 27 Jan '13, 11:51 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - it's in quite a few record shops I think
    
    that's the only place I ever really notice it
    
    anal_schwarzenegger @sean | 27 Jan '13, 14:03 | X | ^ This | Reply
    
    crashingthrough this'd this
Keep an eye on Kickstarter

I'm talking to someone about doing a one-off thing.

Always a few good things in Notion magazine.

NME is back on form at the moment, well worth a look. Mike who edited Kruger is at the helm and Eve Barlow has taken over as deputy, so a lot of good stuff in there again. Foals on the cover this week.

sean | 27 Jan '13, 11:38 | X | ^ This | Reply
- interesting,
  
  might have a look. They still need to sort their website out, mind. Its just shameless tittle-tattle and Liam Gallagher quotes.
  
  Phantom_Heart @sean | 27 Jan '13, 12:07 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - The website is a big mess
    
    It's like Jackson Pollock designed it using widgets and ticket affiliation links instead of paint
    
    djodell @Phantom_Heart | 27 Jan '13, 12:25 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - DiS' Kevin Perry is doing a fair bit more for the mag and website too
    
    And Al Horner.
    And Lucy Jones who did a lot of good stuff for the Telegraph is now involved with the website (Luke Lewis the recent editor of NME.com is about to join Buzzfeed)
    
    sean @Phantom_Heart | 27 Jan '13, 13:09 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - it makes me sad
    
    I use it as a news aggregator cos all they do is just take 'news' from TMZ, The Sun etc. I wish they'd go back to finding their own news as well.
    
    shadyadie @Phantom_Heart | 31 Jan '13, 13:19 | X | ^ This | Reply
- The latest issue
  
  is excellent
  
  seedler @sean | 31 Jan '13, 16:05 | X | ^ This | Reply
While I'm here, I think a bit of a JAG may be in order

There's gonna be a new magazine called DRAFTED which, as far as I'm aware, is going to be given away free at train stations around London. I've been given responsibility for the music section which will in it's first edition include Holy Esque, Indians, Dominic Lord, Haiku Salut, Chvrches, AlunaGeorge & Mo Kolours.

Phantom_Heart | 27 Jan '13, 12:23 | X | ^ This | Reply
Artrocker have just announced they are going 100% digital

http://www.artrocker.tv/news/article/artrocker-magazine-goes-100-digital

djodell | 31 Jan '13, 09:07 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Is it any good?
  
  bornin69 @djodell | 31 Jan '13, 09:50 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Artrocker can 100% fuck off.
  
  The absolute worst music magazine in the history of music magazines.
  
  LOLpop @djodell | 31 Jan '13, 11:26 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - Used to read it religiously when I was 14
    
    Appalling magazine now. It's definitely got worse, but I'm pretty sure it was bad back then too and I just couldn't see it. At least they used to have stuff like XX Teens on the cover. Now it's all Arctic Monkeys and Reverend and the Makers. My uncle still gets me a subscription for xmas.
    
    orangejuice @LOLpop | 6 Feb '13, 18:31 | X | ^ This | Reply
Metal Hammer is still a decent magazine if you like that sort of thing.

I still read WIRE from time to time and Loud & Quiet when I can find it.

Ichor | 31 Jan '13, 10:03 | X | ^ This | Reply
The Big Takeover

is a long established US mag run by Jack Rabid that only comes out twice a year. Amazingly in depth interviews and features and tonnes of reviews. Main focus is on punk / post punk / shoegaze / dreampop etc. It's a really great read and a two year subscription is well worth it.

Have a look here http://www.bigtakeover.com/ see his top records of 2012 for the type of music covered.

bigmitch | 31 Jan '13, 10:03 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Used to buy that in Tower & then Borders
  
  Now just when I'm in the US. Can be a bit much enthusiasm to take in one chunk, but still a great mag. This week's horrendous price hikes in US -> UK postage might make subbing a problem though.
  
  Poprivet @bigmitch | 31 Jan '13, 12:25 | X | ^ This | Reply
No one has mentioned The Fly

is that because no one rates it? The last one I read had a massive gushing cover piece on the Vaccines which put me off a bit.

Stuzza | 31 Jan '13, 10:04 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Haven't got a copy of The Fly for a while, but it was always
  
  consistantly good, imo.
  
  LOLpop @Stuzza | 31 Jan '13, 11:27 | X | ^ This | Reply
- It mini interviews and features make for handy toilet reading
  
  djodell @Stuzza | 31 Jan '13, 13:29 | X | ^ This | Reply
- i like The Fly
  
  but it makes me feel old.
  
  shadyadie @Stuzza | 31 Jan '13, 16:15 | X | ^ This | Reply
I don't read music magazines anymore.

If there's a great feature, also available online, which is recommended to me I'll seek it out (or scan over it in WH Smith while waiting for my train outta Victoria - I swear you could read all day in that store and nobody would boot you out). But... nah. I subscribe to Edge. Not sure when the transition from music mags to gaming ones happened - I subscribed to Empire in between - but it's bedded in.

Mike_Diver | 31 Jan '13, 11:40 | X | ^ This | Reply
- Actually, that's not technically true.
  
  I do read Kerrang!, as it is sent to me, as I contribute occasional reviews to it.
  
  Can't say I understand all of it.
  
  But it's put together with evident passion. Something that does not come through in Certain Other Magazines.
  
  Mike_Diver @Mike_Diver | 31 Jan '13, 11:44 | X | ^ This | Reply
Terrorizor and Zero Tolerance are both really good

for less specialised stuff i haven't seen anything interesting in ages even though i'll still have a flick through in Smiths most weeks

soapy | 31 Jan '13, 12:56 | X | ^ This | Reply
- yeh Terrorizer is good
  
  I haven't bought it for a while though
  
  for metal magazine's, Decibel was ok as well, though a little annoying
  
  anal_schwarzenegger @soapy | 31 Jan '13, 15:39 | X | ^ This | Reply
  - Bought Terrorizer recently for the Electric Wizard tape
    
    & it wasn't as good as it had been a year or 2 ago when I was still buying it every month.
    
    New mag "Iron Fist" has been quite good, despite most of the bands covered not being as much to my taste as those covered in, say, "Zero Tolerance".
    
    Poprivet @anal_schwarzenegger | 1 Feb '13, 12:27 | X | ^ This | Reply
i kinda though Clash looked good

but then they had a bit where they took photos of the artists they were interviewing in certain clothes, using them as models for a fashion page...i'm probably a bit old fashioned. I'll stick with Wire.

calumlynn | 31 Jan '13, 13:19 | X | ^ This | Reply
- *thought
  
  calumlynn @calumlynn | 31 Jan '13, 13:21 | X | ^ This | Reply
I'll buy Mojo or Uncut for a decent feature or cover cd

This months Mojo has a good 'new psychedelia' cd on the cover featuring the likes of Moon Duo, Psychic Ills, Tame Impala, Toy, Wooden Shjips.
I normally hate Q Mag but was in Smiths at lunch so picked it up to see what featured in their 10 Greatest Gigs piece. Well bugger me! Page 67. There's a pic of me in the crowd at Oasis, 100 Club 1995. I very nearly showed the guy next to me in Smiths "look, look, it's me!", but didn't. I took a photo of it and walked out wondering where the last 18 years went.
Stool Pigeon, Loud & Quiet are great freebies. Fly is read on the toilet just like someone else mentions up there ^^

Albert-Swearengen | 31 Jan '13, 14:30 | X | ^ This | Reply
AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE

Only been one issue so far, but it's incredible.

GayGuevara | 31 Jan '13, 15:45 | X | ^ This | Reply
No more Stool Pigeon now either!

http://www.thestoolpigeon.co.uk/features/news-the-stool-pigeon-closing-down-see-you-later.html

:(

djodell | 6 Feb '13, 15:23 | X | ^ This | Reply
Songlines is good.

OvertakenByTractors | 6 Feb '13, 18:32 | X | ^ This | Reply

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