Is This The New Smash Hits?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=122193692

Popworld Pulp, launching in a couple of weeks as a new music WEEKLY (v bold).

Looking at its MySpace it doesn't seem to be offering anything hugely compelling though.

Does anyone here still buy print music media, out of interest?

Comments

[zenith.livejournal.com]

I buy Plan B on occasion, but not regularly - and the reason I don't buy it regularly is I never end up reading it cover to cover. Which I know one doesn't have to do, but it's always sort of an indulgence - I only get it when there's the right alignment of money in the bank, time on my hands, and prominent articles by and/or about people I'm interested in.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Dude not even Plan B writers ever read it. I only read my own stuff, and what maybe a couple of other people write.

[zenith.livejournal.com]

Am I going mad or does the cover not name any of the bands pictured? That seems an odd move...

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

I think it's the Automatic, Klaxons, Calvin Harris and Fall Out Boy but could easily be wrong. I did mistake Fall Out singer guy for Lily Allen momentarily!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Obviously it's worth pointing out that I'm a grown man and parent only just clinging to the 25-34 demographic, so "not hugely compelling" coming from me means about as much as "x;=vafsdjba#'[e'sRG2W" in terms of the aims of the mag.

[getbacknow.livejournal.com]

Definitely not the new Smash Hits...not very pop-oriented at all, as far as I can see. Look at their music interest list and their sampler; very NME. No thanks.

[http://users.livejournal.com/xyzzzz__/]

WIRE, but I haven't read a feature in ages, only checking the odd review and the contemporary classical page.

I rially rilly rilly want to read and GET something anything from reading in print. Shame there is so little of it about.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I still buy Mojo if I want the cover-mounted CD, which usually means on 2 or 3 occasions in any one year. Last month I actually bought Uncut as well, for the first time in yonks - for the "nu North America" cover CD (I wanted it mainly for educational purposes, as a primer, but actually the CD was very listenable).

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

er, I do read the mags I buy as well, but generally skip the features and concentrate on the record reviews pages.

[thenipper.livejournal.com]

I compiled that CD!

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I subscribed to a German magazine, Spex, for a year, as they have a really good cover-mounted CD every month (which is where I got the Michaela Melian track I submitted to the Chart Championship in week 2). If I spoke better German I'd have read the magazine and carried on subscribing as it covers a wider range of interesting music (although still rather indie-biased) than most UK mags. And it has lovely design too.

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

arf with the hadouken song on their myspace! an odd time for 'popworld' with this list of bands:

Akon, Lily Allen, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Ash, The Automatic, Babyshambles, Biffy Clyro, Bloc Party, CSS, Dirty Pretty Things, Editors, Enter Shikari, Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters, The Fratellis, The Game, Gnarls Barkley, Green Day, Guillemots, Hadouken! Calvin Harris, Hot Chip, Jamie T, Jay-Z, Just Jack, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Kelis, Klaxons, The Killers, Kings Of Leon, The Kooks, The Long Blondes, The Maccabees, Maximo Park, Muse, My Chemical Romance, Nas, Oasis, Panic! At The Disco, The Raconteurs, Razorlight, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lionel Richie, R Kelly (especially Trapped In The Closet), Mark Ronson, Scissor Sisters, The Strokes, The Twang, The View, We Are Scientists, Kanye West, Wolfmother, Wombats

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

with pop just about in there as: Lily Allen, Gnarls Barkley, Green Day, Kelis, Lionel Richie, Scissor Sisters

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

As proof of how weak-minded the 18-25 advertising bracket in this arena may be, I just got very excited about The Automatic being on the cover and didn't even look at anything else beyond the fact the colour scheme was quite jolly. :/

First mention of Red Hot Chilli Peppers in a non-derogatory fashion'd have me ceasing my readership. See also bloogy Foo Fighters, Editors, Fratellis, Just Jack, Oasis, R Kelly because clearly they're trying to be ironic and appeal to THEM KER-AZY STUDENTS with the Trapped In The Closet qualifier, The %^$^^*&(*&)(*ing View or Wolfmother. This has now put me off the whole thing.

Someone make me stop writing about this and go and write my essay, plz.

Ask Dr DJ Martian

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

What SHOULD a weekly music magazine be covering?

Re: Ask Dr DJ Martian

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I really can't think of anything which isn't already covered by the internet or existing print media.

I do like the idea of a monthly or bimonthly London Review of Music idea which gets periodically floated around ILM.

Re: Ask Dr DJ Martian

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

- New releases, obv
- Comedy Showbiz news (eg "Lily vs Amy, FITE?")

Erm

Re: Ask Dr DJ Martian

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Music, mostly, which is the error which 90% of magazines make by instead blithering on about "lifestyle" and having a review section that makes More magazine's looks extensive. I don't care what the Sugababes are wearing, I want to know when they're going to release something halfway decent etc. I like reading reviews and going out and buying an album I've never heard any of and then getting very excited when it's brilliant (or wondering if I can even bring myself to eBay it, on the basis this would entail admitting I'd paid money for it in the first place, in the case of the IdiotPilot crapfest) and basically, that is absolutely all I want it to do. Have a few interviews, by all means but mostly I want it to talk to me about music.

Re: Ask Dr DJ Martian

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

needs to be like Record Mirror when i used to read that. a couple of pages devoted to the top 100 singles and albums that week with all the stats (but not the extent of Music Week and not industry-focussed). other than that just the usual bunch of reviews, gossip...some neat features, interviews, discussions, nothing that out of the ordinary or difficult surely.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I never did buy print media! Apart from Just 17 and Sugar. Hence my patchy knowledge of all things musical. I've bought the NME once or twice (many years ago) just for something to read on a long train journey but that's about it. I never bought Smash Hits (too pop for teenage indiekid Kat) and I didn't really know about Melody Maker. I found out my pop news by reading Planet Sound teletext! That was free!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Me neither! I've paid money for about three music mags ever in my life, all because they had Tori/Bjork/PJ on the cover. I bought Vibe magazine about a month ago because Ciara was on the cover and it was in the name of research.

[mippy.livejournal.com]

God, I miss Planet Sound. We don't have the teletext anymore.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

That looks ace, should it reach this far out, I will be straight down WH Smiths for a copy.

I read Rock Sound when I have the money, (£3.50 :O etc.) it's actually pretty damned good and has pages and pages (15 or more) of reviews which is, to be honest, the only thing I'm interested in unless there's an interview with someone I really like/am incredibly curious about. I also read the Observer Music Monthly-my-arse-it's-always-fucking-sport-or-food thing, which is good but appears to be cutting back the review section, which is bad.

NME occasionally turns up in our bathroom after a particularly drunken night ending in 24 hour Spar. There's a certain level of intoxication which makes me think 'free CD of utter rubbish?! FVCK YEAH!' and hand over my money.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

OMM is dreadful. The actual content level is minimal, I can't remember being interested or entertained by ANYTHING in the last issue I read, even the "MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE FANS" feature was k-limp and missed some great opportunities for good music writing. I just don't know why they bother.

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

There used to be a monthly Popworld magazine which was pretty good. It's the only magazine I've bought religiously since I stopped buying Smash Hits and Top of the Pops around 2002, but sadly it only lasted a year. There are no music magazines which even come close to representing my taste or attitude to music, but I'm glad really cos I don't have time to read magazines anyway.