music magazines

Subject: music magazines
From: Claire M
Date: 10 Aug 12 - 04:05 PM

Hiya,

Which do you subscribe to/buy (if any)?? I've got ents24 for gig notifications. I just don't find reading about bands interesting, no matter how much I like them.

I've been a Classic Rock subscriber since about '06, mainly for concert dates. I've spent less & less time reading it over the years, but I think I might miss it if it wasn't there. Any ideas ??

I do luv Properganda but that's free so it doesn't count.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Aug 12 - 07:58 PM

I bought a FRoots at Sidmouth this week, for the first time in years. It's even better than I remember and I'm going to subscribe now. Fantastic Nic Jones interview in this latest one, but if you don't like reading about artists then you probably won't like most music magazines, seems a strange question! Living Tradition is a bit dull, R2 is directionless and not very well written, Songlines is coffee table trivial, Mojo is for anoraks. Haven't checked a Q or NME for years now. As you say, Properganda is free, and that's because it is all paid for by the labels, somebody showed me a rate card where you can buy everything, reviews, cover, articles, the lot, and all favourable of course.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 10 Aug 12 - 08:22 PM

Had to force myself to give up buying magazines.
Not even tempted by cover mounted CDs any more.
Felt slight sad sense of loss, when I called a halt to "Sound on Sound" just over a year ago.

No longer even bother hanging out in WH Smiths for a crafty read of "Record Collector"...


I was an addict and a hoarder.

Needed to face up to recent financial realities
and too many boxes of musty deteriorating old magazines
no longer in any fit condition for me to read with my persistent sinus & skin allergies...

Hope the recycle van drivers found new homes
for my cultural archive of stacks of vintage "Mayfair", "Escort" & "Razzle"...

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 10 Aug 12 - 08:39 PM

I used to quite like acoustic. I often buy Guitarist.

They're all okay as long as you accept them for what they are. Basically they are the tools of the music industry. So - you tend to get reviews of the record companies, instrument companies etc who are advertising in them.

I like to read about new products, but you get to an age - and then you start wondering.....why am I doing this. Paying for my competitors to promote themselves. Let Bob dylan and his mates pay for their own publicity.....paying for the opinions of people who don't seem to know as much as I do.

Very disconcerting, was once reading the exact review of a guitar, I had written on a website - word for word - and seeing some journalist had set his name to it.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: Claire M
Date: 11 Aug 12 - 11:26 AM

Hiya,

True. Used to but like you said, wondered why I was bothering. I'm not very good with maths, never have been, & was shocked to find they were costing a daft amount.

That said I do like The Blues, which is by the same people that do Classic Rock (shortened to CR to save typing)

What was wrong with Sound On Sound, punkfolkrocker??

I had so many boxes of musty old magazines that if they fell on your head they'd probably kill you. I did find favourites (Stack Waddy, Joe Bonamassa,
Beefheart) via CR, which is probably why I can't quite let it go.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Aug 12 - 11:46 AM

Sound on Sound was £4.99 a month and for too many years I was buying it out of habit.
Reading reviews of gear I could not afford.
Keeping up to date with high end pro recording technology
that I had to accept, at my advancing age, I will never get the chance to use...


Plus these day's all the knowledge I need is one just quick google away..

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Aug 12 - 11:59 AM

... and thinking about it....

20 years ago I was still working in central London
and spent approx £30 per month on music & pop culture related magazines;
and I actually found time to read them all from cover to cover ????

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: Claire M
Date: 11 Aug 12 - 02:42 PM

Hiya,

That's how I feel about CR – mostly reading it out of habit (although Mojo's blues cd was/is amazing). Then there's the q of where you put the magazines once you've finished with them, who you pass them on to, who would want the cds (usually nobody does) etc.

£30 approx ??!! That's worse than me! We make a right pair, don't we – you won't have the chance to use said tech, & I can't!

It was depressing enough when I couldn't get to bigger gigs without reading about how great they were.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: erosconpollo
Date: 11 Aug 12 - 03:10 PM

The only paper magazine, music or otherwise, that still comes into my house is Tape Op. And that's mostly because it's free. Being free, of course, it's chock-full of advertising but, hey, that's often the most interesting part!

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: Claire M
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 10:39 AM

Hiya,

I read [i]The Sun,[/i] & various magazines about spirits & angels, etc. (we've all got one, apparently) but they're all quite cheap.

I was going to subscribe to [i]The Blues[/i] too but somebody who tried was told they don't know when/if there'll be a 3rd issue so not to bother. There is but I refuse to pay £7.99 for it – as soon as I found having that meant less cds the idea went out the window. If I want to hear the blues i'll put some on/make a song up

I thought I'd be sad to call a halt to CR but I don't miss it at all. I knew it was near the end of the month when it came, which was good if/when I had a big life change or concert coming up, but pretty pointless if I didn't.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 11:53 AM

BBC Music Magazine,read it regularly. Classic plus a couple of pages on jazz, but almost wholly classic.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: GUEST,matt milton
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 12:26 PM

used to read The Wire, and probably would start doing so again if my local WH Smiths stocked it. But I wouldn't want to subscribe: I find, generally, that when I read a magazine regularly, then the sort of "stock phrase" house style of the mag starts to mildly irritate me. The Wire is much better written than most music magazines, but even The Wire reached that point eventually. If Ben Watson still wrote for it, I might start buying it again, but that's highly unlikely to happen!

I order fRoots occasionally (direct by email) when it's got a piece on someone I want to read about. The recent Shirley Collins and Tom Paley issues being cases in point.

I've enjoyed reading the (pop) magazine Stool Pigeon where I've seen it.

Hmmmm, maybe I should start a music mag, seeing as I've just been made redundant...

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 12:37 PM

Sing Out! - people, history, what's on, songs, what's new, etc.

Old Time Herald - a great mix of history and current info

The Fretboard Journal - glossy pics for instrument porn and fun reading, too (this one's more the hubby's, though)

I also enjoy the CDSS News and EFDSS's English Dance & Song.

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: GloriaJ
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 05:58 AM

I like Stirrings and Tykes' News - both local folk mags (South and West Yorks respectively).The local mags can be a bit bland, but these two are well-written and not afraid of being critical.There was a hilarious review of the Folk Awards in Stirrings a while back - it was so refreshing to hear something thats not in hock to the business world of folk music, for a change.I saw Living Tradition a while back and I buy it occasionally - enjoyed it, I might subscribe - and fRoots is good too.I even enjoyed the last issue of Properganda - but it's obviously so well named.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: nboldock
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 06:33 AM

I read Record Collector because I am one (a record collector, not a magazine).

Used to read Uncut and Mojo at various points over the years. Mojo is still not bad but Uncut went down the toilet.

Back in my youth I was an NME reader but then it turned into Smash Hits and I've not been near it for years. Besides, I don't actually like any of the NME-friendly bands that are around these days!

I love RC though.

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: treewind
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 08:25 AM

As has been hinted at already, Properganda isn't a magazine, it's an advertising catalogue.

I don't think you'll find any mention in it of recordings or artists not distributed by Proper.

I used to read Sound On Sound regularly, but since I got most of the recording gear I need I don't buy it often now, and when I do I'm usually disappointed.

In the UK, there are many regional A5 format folk magazines which do a good job. I'm biased as I edit Mardles (East Anglia, especially Suffolk) but I also get copies of Folk London, Unicorn (Herts area) Shreds and Patches (Shropshire) and What's Afoot (Devon).

We also get Living Tradition and EDS. My fRoots subscription lapsed and I couldn't be bothered to renew it.

Anahata

Subject: RE: music magazines
From: Mary Humphreys
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 01:02 PM

Here are blue clickies for the above A5 folk magazines. All are a good read and cheap at the price.
Mardles
Folk London
Shreds and Patches
Unicorn
What's Afoot