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Post Info TOPIC: More than just flamebait


Punk rocker

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More than just flamebait


As indie rock folk heading an indie-heavy mag, can you give me your opinion (honestly) of Spin and Rolling Stone, et al? Are they screwing up?

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http://www.last.fm/user/pattymcg


Punk rocker

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Oohhh, an interesting question.
To be honest, I enjoy some of the features that Spin and Rolling Stone do. They have access to some of the bigger bands that we have no hope of contacting at smaller publications like this one. And some of their features have an interesting human perspective -- they like to get the scoop on the artists and not just the scoop on the music.
That being said, the bands that the more major magazines report on tend to be of a very specific type and they ignore a lot of really amazing bands in favor of covering what's popular. That definitely has its place, but if you want to get the latest news on breaking bands, Rolling Stone is not the place to find it. Some writers like David Frick have good taste and are quality writers who know their music background. But a lot of the writers don't seem to be particularly impressive either linguistically or in terms of their musical educations.
Still, some super-pretentious smaller publications (like Pitchfork, for example) are no better. While they cover the less celebrated bands, it's almost as if Pitchfork refuses to acknowledge that some mainstream bands actually have skill. Queens of the Stone Age, The Black Crowes, and Pearl Jam are amazing bands that are adamantly ignored by the indie-publication world. Yes, I love Spoon and Sufjan Stevens, and I'm ecstatic that there is ONE place where they will get their due. But it shouldn't always come at the expense of legitimate recognition for quality bands with large followings.

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The 5th Beatle

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I can tell you when Rolling Stone lost me. I subscribed for about 4 or 5 years, and about halfway through the second to last year, they got a new editor, whom I heard previously worked for People and such.

Through the last 18 months of the magazine, up till I cancelled my subscription (about 3 or 4 years ago now), there were 50 and 100 "best of" lists in every issue, the size and scope of the journalistic band profiles were slashed, the political investigations were cut back to about once every 5 issues, and Justin Timberlake appeared on the cover in that span about 5 times; Britney Spears 3 times; and every other week was a TV or movie star. When they added star rankings to Peter Travers' movie reviews (along with Fricke, a great writer there), it was clear. They didn't want readers, they want spenders with disposable incomes.

I see this less with Spin, they really do seem to try harder, but its obvious neither is the magazine they were 10 years ago. But its not just them; Everything in print and entertainment is far more driven by advertising and the bottom line than it was. Is it the general dumbing down of America? Probably.

What makes that so sad is that there are still a lot of people who don't want to be pandered to, they want to be challeneged. Rolling Stone used to be the best at that, and now they really don't seem to want to mean anything. They're perfectly happy with reporting on the bands that make TRL's top 10 and the top draws at the box office. Once a year they throw their last remaining music fans a bone with a 10 new artists issue, but once a year is not enough. But I guess they're still making the rent, so it won't stop anytime soon.

Wow... That came out a lot longer and angrier than I thought it would. Yikes.

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Punk rocker

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Nick wrote:


Wow... That came out a lot longer and angrier than I thought it would. Yikes.




It's the whiskey. My bad.


If ya ask me, Rolling Stone has gone and cultivated a sensible, edgeless pop feel that probably holds their aging reader base rather well. Boomers who first saw a Rolling Stone in the '80s and want to stay "hip" seem to be the target market. Problem with that is, there's nobody in today's world of rock (who ain't sold out) yelling, "somebody, won't somebody, please think of the rich-ass baby-boomers!" Who the hell is playing to that audience? Read Rolling Stone and you'll find out.
No wonder they're coming out with all the lists. It's like they're done really caring about any sort of cutting edge anymore. Game's over, kids, here's the score. Who? Sufjan Stevens, eh? Can you spell that? Right. Of course, he's very inventive. Could be big. Too late, though, poor guy. There's room in the ass third of this 900-greatest-ever list somewhere... Next page, check out what U2 and the Stones are up to now!

I likes Spin a little more (more ADHD, fun to read) but I haven't picked up an issue in half a year.

Meanwhile, I'm in Chapel Hill, best Indie scene (so I hear) between New York and New Orleans, and I don't know SHIT. 75% of the bands coming through Cat's Cradle, I've never heard of. And what about Local 506!!? The Cave!?!? When I look at their schedules, it's as disconnecting as absently panning down a long list of Holocaust victims. Like I am supposed to be feeling something as I'm reading it. Excited, disgusted, anything but nothing, that's the last thing an artist wants you to feel when you read their name... who's got the remedy for this, guys? No one out here is really offering up any answers so far as I can hear.

-- Edited by Ol Death Whisper at 04:12, 2006-04-21

__________________
I love music.
...
I'm on drugs!!!

http://www.last.fm/user/pattymcg
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