Re: Good music mags

Digging out my old copies of Nerve has got me thinking about the real lack of good music magazines out there.

My current favorite is Mojo, which never fails to impress me with its insight and musical taste. Too bad it's so friggen expensive over here.

Other than that, though, I can't think of a single consistently good (current) music magazine. Uncut tries to be like Mojo but usually winds up sounding like your kid brother who's just discovered the Ramones or the Kinks or whoever, whereas Mojo's writers usually sound like they've actually listened to the artist in question for more than one weekend before writing their article.

Can anyone recommend any good mags that I'm missing out on?

As always, I'll give The Big Takeover a shout out.

I also like Under the Radar quite a bit. Magnet also has a lot to recommend it, but it's been drowning in its own attitude for the last couple of years, and that's annoying.

I second The Big Takeover. Jack's tastes are a bit predictable, but I love the passion in the writing, and he's often the only person covering certain acts.

I'm also becoming more and more impressed with Harp. They're starting to expand their coverage beyond the triple-A set.

I used to love No Depression, but I haven't actually read an issue in years.

I also have to give shout-outs to my old Alma Maters Pop Culture Press and Amplifier.

I find Mojo very informative and entertaining, but it's not where I'd look for coverage of new music.

mojo
big takeover
harp
no depression
uncut

Big Boobs
Barely Legal
Hustler
Cheeks
Mojo

Well, Barely Legal is edited by the great Lisa Jenio of Candypants and the Negro Problem, so it at least does have a music connection.

Uncut - Though I'm not totally convinced with the new layout. The CDs have led me to discover some great bands, especially the stupendous Richmond Fontaine.

Had a look at a copy of The Word the other day, noted quite a few old heads from NME and the like and was pretty underwhelmed and a little irritated by various inaccuracies.

Great Mother o' God! I have a legit reason to buy Barely Legal!
Is there a connection with Ass Masters too?

Magnet is my favorite. Paste is not bad but pricey at the newstand

Mojo: worth picking up if there's an article(s) on bands I'm interested in, otherwise I skip over it (especially considering the price for US folk). Plus how many times can read about the Beatles (or people talking about the Beatles) and the White Stripes? Liked the John Peel memorial issue though.

Uncut: used to be very readable in its old format, but now it seems more like a "mini-Mojo". Still some flashes of goodness, but not as many as before. And, like Mojo, not too much coverage of new music.

Magnet: Not as Mersh/attitude-over-substance as Option became in its final days, but you can't help but get the similar feeling of "Not what it could be/was"

Mags I give shout-outs to:

Record Collector. Has gone from being an excuse for record auction ads to being a worthwhile informative read in its own right. Pretty underrated.

Wire. More on the "experimental" side but still quite good.

Razorcake. Imagine what Flipside could have become if it hadn't gotten too topheavy and you'll get the idea.

Other mags worth checking out would include Ptolematic Terrascope (RIP?), Tape Op, and probably a dozen fanzines that I won't remember until 15 minutes after I hit "Post".

my 13 year old likes filter.

HELLO AND GOODBYE: Diskojoe and Mojo Magazine

HELLO/April 1995: I went to a Borders bookstore that just opened up in the area & I was browsing the magazine section when I saw a magazine called MOJO that had Rod Stewart on its cover. What really attracted me to this magazine was a story on Vivian Stanshall, who had just recently & tragically passed away. Seeing this story, as well as going through the rest of the issue, I realized that this was the half-decent first music magazine that I had seen since a certain magazine that was named after a Bonzo Dog song. Soon, and in the coming years, I would breatlessly await approximately the 15th of every month to get the latest issue. I even had a brief penpal correspondence w/a resident of a commune who advertised in the classified ad section.

GOODBYE/April 2005: There were various reasons why I became tired of purchasing MOJO, the fact that I'm a packrat & refused to throw away my old copies, the somewhat decreasing quality of the articles, the CD's which now came w/every issue & which added to my pile of stuff to be heard and that I attempted to connect w/someone who used to write for it & failed. Anyway, I decided to stop buying MOJO exactly 10 yrs. after I started, w/the May 2005 issue w/Marc Bolan on the cover. I was surprised to discover Neil Innis on the last page of this issue, which for me closed the circle. I still read MOJO, as well as UNCUT, every month while visiting the local Borders or Barnes & Noble, while sipping a cold coffee drink. I don't miss purchasing MOJO, despite several good stories I read over the past year or so.

No. They all suck.

P
and that's that

PS: you mean Nerve, the post Punk Mag vehicle that came out briefly in the 90s? It was good. scratchie wrote:

> Digging out my old copies of Nerve has got me thinking about
> the real lack of good music magazines out there.
>
> My current favorite is Mojo, which never fails to impress me
> with its insight and musical taste. Too bad it's so friggen
> expensive over here.
>
> Other than that, though, I can't think of a single consistently
> good (current) music magazine. Uncut tries to be like Mojo but
> usually winds up sounding like your kid brother who's just
> discovered the Ramones or the Kinks or whoever, whereas Mojo's
> writers usually sound like they've actually listened to the
> artist in question for more than one weekend before writing
> their article.
>
> Can anyone recommend any good mags that I'm missing out on?