Magazines have long been a source of information for just about anything. Now, with the internet consuming all things informative, the magazine industry, much like the music industry, is suffering quite a bit. Magazines and newspapers are closing their doors at a quick pace and yet for some reason Rolling Stone magazine continues to be published.
I'll start with those useless assholes first. Rolling Stone magazine, like many other things, probably held a high standard for music journalism as it would eventually become iconic for the sheep. I'm sure there was some integrity to speak of back in the late 60's early 70's but as far as I'm concerned, they used up their usefulness long ago.
Rolling Stone is your in print equivalent to MTV. You will not find much music within the pages of Rolling Stone aside from the band or act featured on the cover and sometimes it's not even a musical act! Aside from the featured article, you'll be exposed to Rolling Stone's poor attempt at social commentary, political commentary, and a shitload of ads! We all know Magazines thrive on ad space and some do far more than others. Tell me how many pages of actual music commentary and interviews you get out of that stapled mess. I read an article in between all of the cigarette ads that focused on a man's 12 inch long penis and the trials and tribulations of his life with a penis of that magnitude. Glad I didn't miss that issue!
Rolling Stone does nothing but promote the rock star image that kids are drawn too, and even more so, they are drawn to the half naked shots of Christina Agulara on the cover. As the noble publication Ad Busters pointed out, people are most likely to buy a magazine because of the cover. It makes sense, a number of times I would fall for this when I saw a publication featuring my favorite band. I have stopped that awhile ago as disappointment was constant.
How many times have you read an article caption that read "Beatle Bailey talks about his rise from depression and how he overcame his struggle with addiction to make one the best albums of the year."? Then you read, and there's nothing indicating how this contributed to the musical process. The details are vague, unimportant and leave you with less respect for the artist, if you had any. Then the album that's praised just blows anyway as predicted because the hope is that controversy alone will conquer the Billboard.
Very few magazines really provoke the interviewee to actually open up in a way that's relevant to the music. There are variables of course, some people have more to say than others, I have experienced this. Most people don't like doing interviews and say what they need to in order to get it over with. Some are so preoccupied that the interview is considered an interruption. While others, like Barney Greenway of Napalm Death, are always very excited to discuss just about anything. (Best interview I ever did)
Other waste bin fillers like Spin, Metal Hammer, Revolver, AP, Blender, are merely a waste of resources and do nothing to really bring about a new perspective, instead they focus on the already known and played out, praising them to god like status. Blender is OOP now and not in the sought after fun way so I'll leave them be. Spin is basically Pitchforkmedia.com in print, although that particular publication does a tad more to be versatile, but their writing usually comes off eccentric and trite. Spin does well to hype the same crap time and time again, but never forgetting to stop and eat their young.
Metal Hammer and Revolver are doing a great job making sure that metal stays gimmicky and mundane. I used to buy Revolver from time to time, it didn't take long for me to stop. It should be called "The official guide to Ozzfest". They focus on all of the most popular acts currently in circulation and do very little, and I mean very little, to mention solid underground acts. The most you would get is an inserted text box amidst an article that says "Check out these!" they would list 3 bands and that is all, just band name and album title. Sex appeal is most important to Revolver, so much so that they made sure they had their Sexiest Women In Metal issue and from time to time you will get a porn star posing half naked and a quick profile where they proclaim their love for hair metal bands. Fantastic, that's what we need, less credibility in the world of metal, no wonder people say things like Metal is dead, Punk is dead, Hardcore is dead, with this type of shit, one can see where the dooming began and who perpetuated the end. But that's for another post not too far off from this one. Decibel rivaled Revolver's sexiest women issue by doing a feature of their own called "The cutest kitties in metal" and that's exactly what it was, pet owners displaying their cats.
Getting back to the send. Metal Hammer is the National Inquirer of 'metal' periodicals. This shit rag is all about the drama. They make sure they have plenty of space for every bullshit mud slinging idiot that opens his or her mouth. I have read more nonsense in the pages of Metal Hammer than a Sally Jessee episode can handle. In fact, it was Metal Hammer that made sure to skew and print the bad mouthing between Phil Anselmo and the rest of the members of Pantera. Phil Anselmo has gone on record stating that Metal Hammer was the reason he didn't do any press for about two years. Well, we all know Phil Anselmo is quite the asshole. Metal Hammer has done well to show that it appreciates that type of behavior because it's not like these people make music or anything, that's an afterthought. I'm not even going to go into to the Tool interview I read when 10,000 days came out. I wanted to get the direct contact for the jackal who wrote the piece.
When a publication loses its focus it's time to boycott people, when the format becomes this unrecognizable shit storm of sensationalism being shoved down your throat, it's time to boycott.
A perfect example of format shift is AP. What irony. Alternative Press has become the go to rag for the latest pop trends involving such genres as suck, lame, and total ass. It's the caliber of acts they follow now that leads anyone with a respectable head on their shoulders to exclaim "WTF?!". AP has always been hit or miss in that department and one year they finally chose a side. There was a time when they used to introduce me to a lot of decent acts and give readers a heads up on upcoming bands that were keeping things interesting. And then it started, they just jumped head first into the pop emo trend and exploited the shit out of it, and still do. Gone is the ability to inform absolutely, gone is the integrity.
These are just a few publications that do their best to enforce the idea that writing about music, doesn't necessarily have to be about the music, at all. We already have music channels that decided to ditch their format entirely, and periodicals are doing the same. The money, oh the money. What's even more uncanny is the fact that people find nothing strange about this, and they tune in/read anyway.
Most bands covered in these publications offer nothing of real importance because as you are aware magazines are part of the larger bullshit hype machine of overrated nonsense. One of the best over hype blunders was Rolling Stones honoring Led Zeppelin as "the Heaviest Band of All Time." in 2006.
These publications will also try to sit there and tell me a band who has not changed in 20 years is going to have something new to say about the creative process of their new album. "We did less heroine this time man. We have changed, this next album is next level shit for sure." Or even better, interviewing people who don't even write their own fucking music! "So tell me Justin, what was it like sitting around until somebody told you that you were putting out another album?"
One periodical I have come to know and love is Decibel. I have boycotted all other music mags. In fact I am so biased that I gushed to one of their staff about how much of a solid read they are. They put it in the magazine under a humorous headline that escapes my memory at the moment. The reasons are simple. Decibel has good writers that do an admirable job of putting together accurate critiques some of which are so well written that you can't help but check the band out. In almost every issue, I get acquainted with at least one or two acts I was once unfamiliar with that deliver the goods.
They remember that first and foremost, that they are a music periodical. Sure they have baseball and football season articles that get a hold of band members to have them express their sports fanship, but other than those once a year issues of off topic hobby pieces, they make the most of their publication. The reviews are abstract to the point where you are not even sure what kind of music the band actually plays. This resorts in the reader checking the band out for themselves. The reviewers only have so much room to work with and they make the best of their tiny word count guidelines.
The most obvious indication that Decibel's writing staff knows what's up is the fact that their reviews are usually on par with mine. I generally agree with everything they praise and everything they dump on. The elite recognize each other but I'm not about to put words in anyone's mouth, I'm just saying that I know where they stand. Their ability to recognize talent is expressed in an identifiable way that keeps people aware and excited. I should know, I do the same thing for you.
They also feature a Hall of Fame section which is great because I found myself convinced by the writer of a particular induction that there's an Accept album that kicks ass and sure enough it does! The Hall of Fame inductees are usually spot on. They often feature albums I overlooked by bands you wouldn't think were of such musical force. Unfortunately there's such a long line that it is unlikely that I will see many of my hall of fame picks in any issues any time soon (Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops).
Here's Decibel's treatment of high profile acts. They had Metallica as the cover story for an issue. This is rare because Decibel usually doesn't go for such obvious and predictable cover stories, they leave that to the shitty publications discussed earlier. So they took this sad sack of rich children and turned it into the best coverage of Metallica I have read. They inducted "...And Justice For All" into the Hall of Fame and that was their Metallica article. Decibel didn't ask about "Death Magnetic" or how hard it was for James to overcome his 'demons'. His egotistical narcissistic demons who have ripped his sack off causing him to forget how to play music, and love the act of. Or maybe he forgot because of the dildo made out of 100's that he had Lars insert into his rectum went too far and struck his brain. In either case, knowing they couldn't willfully interview a band that hasn't done anything of note since that 89' release, they focused on the good times. Decibel asked the band to discuss the making of their finest work instead of discussing the musical failures the rotted out husk of former musicians had just released. Take note!
Also, the ability to inform is definitely their strong point. These guys know their history and make sure you know it to. They inform you of the 'what was' that resulted in the 'what is' of today. I thought I was pretty familiar with the Swedish death metal movement. Wrong! Decibel brought up a lot of acts that formed before the ones I came to know and so I had to do some audible research to get up to par.
Decibel does well to delve into the details of a interviewees life without straying from the music. They keep all questions relevant to the music. The interviewer chooses questions that usually result in elaborate answers which give the reader further insight into the thought process that goes into creating the art we know and love. Often times after reading a cover story about a band I highly enjoy, I feel incredibly inspired knowing more about the band's evolution and how they sacrifice in order to do what they enjoy most in life.
This is the way journalism is supposed to be; to inform, educate, and inspire. I know it seems silly that I mention the obvious but in this world of compromise it never hurts to to recognize the sole purpose of things.
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