Comments on: down with nme

By: anna

anna — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:16:58 +0000

The guys in the US office get Plan B sent over Andy – they’re very good at staying on top of things. A couple of Plan B-ers write for eMu too – and I contribute to Plan B very infrequently.

By: andy

andy — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:41:11 +0000

if yr after an emusic friendly uk mag then go for Plan B, it’s a perfect fit staffed mainly by the guys who used to write for NME & Melody Maker when they were decent

By: yancey

yancey — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:17:36 +0000

i’m actually not 100% dissing nme though! i kinda meant the title of this post to be “i’m down with the nme,” too. i sympathize at least: trying to manufacture shit that will matter to people is not easy.

By: ptolemyclark

ptolemyclark — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:51:05 +0000

My mind immediately jumps to Scroobius Pip vs Dan le Sac’s “Thou Shalt Always Kill” (which showed up on Emu a few weeks back) in which he decrees: “Thou shalt not read NME” moments before saying “Thou shalt not stop liking a band just because they have become popular.” (He kinda nails me there.)

By: Adamm

Adamm — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:28:56 +0000

See, I love reading about music, if the writing is good, although I generally enjoy a story much more than a review. I love the period of time between when I read about something and actually hear it, because in that period of time I imagine it and hear it in my head.

I also don’t have your job or live in [insert big city with cool music scene] so reading and imagining is often the best I can get.

By: yancey

yancey — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:47:47 +0000

Adamm you are totally right in mentioning Fader. I find out about so much new music from the magazine and the blog. They are so on top of stuff it’s funny sometimes; they did a huge feature on a NYC band called Amazing Baby (they are so-so) recently after their second or third show. Ever. So yeah, take those things with a grain of salt, but they get it right more often than most.

Here’s the honest truth for me: I hate reading about music. I find so much of it exhausting, and having little relation to what I like about music or music itself. Instead I rely on friends, going to shows and my own ears, primarily. Certainly I check Fader and Pitchfork and NME, but by and large I try to figure out stuff for myself as best I can. I realize I am fortunate in that my job kind of entails that, but it really is hard to find outlets/opinions you can trust.

By: Adamm

Adamm — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:33:48 +0000

Stateside I used to love Spin from say 92-99. I discovered so many great things in Spin, but definitely not so much anymore. Like Gekko I’ve never been sure if it changed or I outgrew it; probably some of each, but there was a very noticeable shift when Bob Guccione Jr. left as editor.

The only music magazine that I love now is The Wire, but it’s prohibitively expensive here so I usually only get the year end episode, and browse through everytime I’m in a bookstore.

I recently subsrcibed to Fader and it’s pretty good; lots of variety, and I like that they give you hip-hop/reggae and indie stuff. The last one had a great article/intierview with High Places.

Other than that I have my three blog/websites: 17dots, Pitchfork and Tiny Mix Tapes.

By: Gekko

Gekko — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:26:37 +0000

I’m a Brit who grew up on a diet of NME and Melody Maker and used to scrutinise each issue for up and coming bands. This was in the late 80s, early 90s, pre-Brit Pop era. These magazines were my bibles alongside the Teletext music reviews on indie/alternative day, The Chart Show on the weeks when it was the indie chart and my local independent record store.

I have to say that I agree with this article pretty much; NME has gone to the dogs. If you want to find out about decent, non-commerical music this isn’t the place to go. To be honest I’m not sure what things are like Stateside but in the UK there really aren’t many decent indie mags anymore. There’s Clash magazine, which I read quite a bit but there’s too much fashion in there for my liking. Nowadays I find out about new bands through Hype Machine blogs and eMusic.

I guess I’m no longer the target market for NME though, being in my 30s so maybe it’s just me but I don’t think so.

By: George

George — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:27:56 +0000

Admittedly, Telepathe are kind of shit live, but if you actually listen to their recorded stuff, it’s pretty damn good. It’s just a shame they aren’t better live.

By: yancey

yancey — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:30:20 +0000

Funnily enough, I really like ARE Weapons! But agreed.