Abstract

Articles, commentary, review articles, music reviews and news of note for string musicians, includes instruments, music techniques, design, concerts, history and current affairs.
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The ideal No Depression reader believes that Johnny Cash and Jeff Tweedy are both gods and for similar reasons: they respect tradition enough to rebel against it. The same can be said for the magazine that covers them with a similar restless energy. Started in the mid-'90s as a vehicle to cover alt-country upstarts, No Depression has since broadened its range to include all kinds of roots music, including folk, blues, bluegrass, indie rock, and even the occasional classic-rock icon (but only when former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant is singing Bob Dylan and Bukka White covers). It's fitting that the name of the magazine comes from a 1990 Uncle Tupelo album title, which in turn was borrowed from a Carter Family song lyric from the '30s, because No Depression is interested in music that draws on a rich rural history but is now played and enjoyed by urban hipsters as well as roots traditionalists. Although the writing and design tend to be as utilitarian as a pair of denim overalls, each issue is jammed full of reviews (of CDs, concerts, movies, and books), short profiles of regional musicians, and lengthy features devoted to major artists (recent subjects have included Guy Clark, Dolly Parton, Linda Thompson, and Rhett Miller). If you prefer your country music shrink-wrapped by Nashville, look elsewhere. However, if you think Austin, Texas, is the music world's mecca, No Depression is probably for you. --Keith Moerer ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Read, Read, Read, and Listen
This magazine was founded to follow the alt-country music, a label it follows with the tag "(whatever that is)." Here's a hint--if you don't know what alt-country music is, this magazine isn't for you.

Alt-country is music based on the rural traditions of the 1930's and 1940's, interpreted primarily by urban-dwelling musicians, addressing itself to modern concerns. This sounds like a broad umbrella, and it is. No Depression magazine has had to cast its net wider and wider over the last few years. A recent issue ran obituaries for Johnny Cash, Floyd Tillman, and Warren Zevon on adjacent pages.

Because the music this magazine focuses on tends to have a cult following and little radio airplay, you can be sure of discovering something between these covers you haven't heard before. Simply opening the magazine is a learning experience. Page after page of album reviews are often followed by readable, throrough-going feature articles, concert reviews, DVD listings, and more. Even the ads are mostly well-constructed and informative.

This is an easy magazine to read. The writing is crisp and unpretentious, and the structural design mimics the willfully primitive rural art of the Great Depression. You can read a lot very quickly and not feel like you've skimmed past the real meaning.

If you can have more than two alt-country or Americana albums in your CD collection, this magazine is for you. You'll stay ahead of the trends, you'll know the best raw music being made, and you'll always know what you're looking for when you go to the record store. And what's more: you'll hang onto back issues, because they're so completely worth rereading. There's no higher praise for a culture magazine than that.

keeps me feeling up!
one of the most erudite music magazines on the market! several in depth articles in each issue. extensive reviews that don't fudge - candid and critical, and lots of pings to bands you've heard before, when reviewing those it's likely you haven't. the only criticism i can think of, is that it's become so big and thick with ads that it's gotten harder to get thru! but many of the ads display great graphic design, even they are fun! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The epitomy of all music magazines.
Whether you are into hard music or not, whether you are a Christian or not, there is plenty of good stuff carefully invested in each page of HM magazine. The news keeps you on your toes with pointers that you actually care about. There is a notably diverse range of music covered, with a special emphasis on hard music and indie music-- "Christian" bands, mind you (whatever that means now days...) Interviews are anything but standard, and far from dull. Reviews are constructive, insightful and informative... very useful for selecting cds. There are helpful tips for guitarists and drummers, and they review gear too. For those of us who are Christian (yes I am one,) there is some great down to earth advice in the last columns on all things relevant. However, one must be interested in at least one of these two things: 1. Good music 2. Christianity. Otherwise, this zine is probably not for you. Anyhow, find out for yourself!

The Only Magazine That Matters
Once upon a time a Texas kid named Doug Van Pelt got an interview with an upcoming, young metal band called Stryper, and xeroxed a fanzine in his basement. That was Heaven's Metal. Now HM stands for Holy Mackerel--I mean, Hard Music. It's not just metal any more.

After Stryper pioneered the way, a lot of other great bands rushed down the trail--so many Doug had to make a bigger magazine to hold them all. After Doug pioneered the way, a lot of other great magazines rushed down the trail. A lot of great writers started writing about a lot of great bands. With so much to listen to, and so much to read, fans were in heaven.

But then it got hard. Some false prophet declared the end of print, and famine fell upon many zines. Doug walked sadly through the graveyard, strewn with once proud writers, past the gravestones that bore the once-proud names: Swordbearer, White Throne, Harvest Rock Syndicate, Notebored, Counter Culture. Stricken to his soul, he looked up to heaven and cried out, "I am but one soul; what can I do?" Turning, he began to gather up the wretched writers, carrying them one by one to the shelter of his Texas home.

Today, the broken writers have been nursed back to health, and Doug lets them express their writing adiction in his magazine. He includes free CDs for subscribers to help bands survive and fans get their music fix. There--did I do good, Doug? Can I go back to the kennel now? P.S.: In 2003, HM celebrated it's 100th issue, Join the celebration and subscribe! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Perfect for the lover of classical and opera music
Each issue is full of reviews of orchestral, chamber, isntrumental, choral, opera and world music, with additional information about equipment for the audiophile. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

WHAT'S UP WITH THE PRICE?
Uncut is without a doubt the best music mag in the world right now....but why on earth would anyone buy 12 issues for the price of 15? This mag is 8 bucks in any of the stores mentioned in the other reviews here, not 11 an issue which is what this subscription breaks down to....whats up with that?

The Best Magazine on the Planet
Some times I feel like it was written just for me. The music articles cover everything from classic rock and punk through the best of what is going on today. The movie articles have a great balance between reevaluating the great 70s and 80s films and new movies. Plus the free CDs every month are usually outstanding and have introduced me to new music I would have missed. It's an absolute must have.

Best Music Magazine Around
I'll get to the point ... if you are looking to stay abreast of what's going on in popular music, including the Indie scene, the Americana world and the major elders still around, this is as far as you need to go. The quality of the writing, be it an in-depth article (many of which are excellent) or a short review (you can expect about 200 per issue) is consistently high. Furthermore, I have been introduced to many great bands that don't even show up in any domestic magazine's radar, although -ironically- many of these bands are American. So, if you can't believe that best it gets is Spin or, much worse, Rolling Stone (how did it ever got to the low point of having Jessica Simpson on the cover ... yikes!), you will be immensely rewarded by trying Uncut. Tip: you can get any single issue at B&N, Borders or Tower Records for the same amount, that way if you don't like it you won't have to mourn 100 bucks.

A High Five Rating for this Grreat Pix-Musix Adumbrating
This is the one that I subscribe to, even though, strictly speaking, Q magazine does a better job of covering contempo musica mondo. Uncut is for those of us who feel nostalgic for popular music figures whose stuff has held up over time. The writing is superior, VASTLY superiour to anything in print today. This is because the mag is staffed by geezers who cut their teeth writing for the likes of the NME and probably something like the top of the pops back in the day. The writers are veterans and this is good for a number of reasons, among them is that they bring great perspective, journalistic professionalism, acute insights, otherwise forgotten trivia and the realization there is more to life than just listening to the tunes, i.e. there is a whole other culture happening simultaneously, to their writing. Actually, apart from the FEATURE ARTIST feature, this magazine is more about film, past and present, and I love this aspect of it because the editors choose an actor, director, genre or actor/director and focus in on the oevre of xhosen subject and then just lay out a whole wackawackapacka stuff that you are definitely going to go out and buy/ rent/ borrow and view. I ALWAYS find a new movie that I have just GOT to watch after reading my latest edition of UNCUT. Plus, each issue comes with a complimentary CD. The selections on these CD's is spotty and I find that the poor ones I spin through just a couple of times, the good ones, I keep and play lots. You won't be sorry that you subscribed to this mag but you will likely be sorry that you didn't if you ever get the chance to see what you missed by not doing so.

Fed up with Rolling Stone? Check this one out..
Well, it might not be quite the same level as Rolling Stone, remember clout and tradition have something to do with the interviews THEY can get. The writing and reviews are a lot better... since it's British it gives quite a different spin on things and emphasizes other than the mainstream. The downside is the price...You do get a free cd, which is cool I guess. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Jamband Favorite
This is my favorite magazine. I don't have much time to go to concerts these days, but Relix keeps me tuned in with the Jamband music scene. They recently redesigned their magazine and I think that it appeals to a much larger audience now. They do everthing from camping equipment reviews to music reviews to in-depth articles on bands... anything that might relate to the live music scene. Still, they find time to devote to the Grateful Dead (The Dead, Other Ones, etc.), keeping the magazine true to its roots.

The only magazine if you are passionate about live music
RELIX is the only source for live, improvisational music. They cover the Jamband scene like no other.
If you are a musician, fan or want to learn about great music this is the magazine for you. Phish, Grateful Dead, String Cheese, Widespread Panic, Allman Brothers, Dave Mathews, they have it all! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

They should add an "s" to their title.....
Basically, this magazine sucks. The only redeeming quality is that there are really good pictures and pinups. The articles in the magazine are basically the same every month. They just re-word it and update them a little bit. They've basically been running the same Slipknot article for 3 years now. The only good thing they've done is an article on Society 1. The other thing I noticed was that some of the information is completely false. In one article, they said that cold's self-titled cd was gold, and 13 ways to bleed onstage was approaching platinum. 13 Ways to Bleed Onstage wasn't even gold when this issue was printed. Save your money, and get Revolver or Metal Hammer instead. At least they get their facts straight. The only reason to buy this magazine would be to wallpaper your house with all the latest nu-metal (modern rock) Stars or to line a litter box. So unless you like reading the same articles month after month, stay away!

Posters are good
The only thing in the magazine i found worth anything weret he posters... They usually have articles over old bands tht many people dont care about like Velvet revolver and The darkness... And they usually have the same bands like KoRn, Manson, and Few other bands its really a bunch of crap but i buy it for the posters which are usually good!!!

TOO REPETITIVE
I THINK ITS TOO REPETITIVE ON BOTH THE ARTICLES AND THE PINUPS. THERE'S REEALLY NO POINT IN READING THE ARTICLES BECAUSE THE ARTICLES ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE MAGAZINE. THIS MAGAZINE USUALLY USES THE SAME BANDS ON THEIR COVERS. IT USUALLY INTRODUCES NEW BANDS THAT ARE ON THE SOFTER SIDE OF ROCK. I WAS SUBSCRIBED TO THIS MAGAZINE FOR A YEAR, AND I FOUND A FEW ARTICLES ON A PARTICULAR BAND TO BE EXACTLY THE SAME THING EXCEPT THE PARAGRAGHS WERE PUT IN DIFFERENT ORDER. SO SAVE UR CASH AND GET A NEW CD OR SOMETHING. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Review from a DJ
As a country music DJ, I have to be up on the latest in the field. Country Weekly provides me with just "the good stuff," allowing me to tell my fans the most accurate information about what's going on in the country music world. I highly recommend it!

One of the best.....
if you love country music than this is what you want to read. it will keep you up to date, along with lots of photos of what is going in and around countyr music. many of the photos are mint, and they change up the covers a lot. (esp. faith and tim) but this is a magazine that i found myself buying every week. it was just easier to have it sent to my home!!

Country Weekly
I have subscribed to other country music magazines before and have never been as satisfied as I am with Country Weekly. The articles are written for easy, believable reading and feature the favorites, the oldies and the up-and-coming artists.....and written with "good taste". Saying I read it from "cover to cover" is appropriate. Each issue is read very quickly. My husband and mother-in-law have become avid readers since I bought my first issue. Thank you for the opportunity to share my opinion.

country weely makes me up to date about music and singers
I'm from Brazil, it's hard to find in ours newspaper and magazines something about country music. We used to see CMT Brazil , but they changed the subject and it's now just like a MTV , a bad one. I'm fanatic about Mrs. Emmylou Harrys and Country Songs also. I've about 500 CDs from Country Music, I knew the news in the Country weekly magazine but it cames to Brazil with 2 months late, and failled some issues. So I'm on the road again looking for Copuntry Music. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Fanfare and I are now celebrating our 20th anniversary.
I have been collecting classical music recordings, now, for nearly a half-century, beginning in the mid-50s (my high school years) with a few monophonic LPs, and even the odd 45 or two: basically, whatever my "walking-around" money was able to cover. Once I was in college, with the sorts of interpersonal interactions that such "close living" encourages, my record collecting became both more varied and more frenetic. And I can identify those college years with the introduction of stereophonic recordings. It was also at this time that I discovered the first two monthly magazines having classical music recording reviews: High Fidelity and HiFi Review (later, Stereo Review).

For the most part, these two magazines (and a few others long fallen by the wayside) covered my music-buying needs for nearly three decades. But, in early 1983, when the CD was launched, I began a re-rationalizing of music purchases, thanks to the permanence of the CD medium.

Enter Fanfare, nearly exactly 20 years ago as I write this. CDs were finally making a big impact on the domestic music industry. (My early CD acquisitions had been from overseas sources, where the CD launch was several months ahead of the domestic launch.) Record stores were stocking new CD titles like mad. And one such store, specializing in classical music, had "retail" copies of Fanfare for sale at the check-out counter. So I bought a copy, along with several CDs.

It turns out that that was both the first and the last such over-the-counter copy of Fanfare that I purchased. The content of that first copy of Fanfare was so incredible that I've been a subscriber ever since. There were so many reviews, so many meaningful interviews with musicians and record label executives, and so many advertisements for this new music medium that I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. (Oh, I'd tried other music review sources as well, many of them, such as CD Reviews, now long gone. Others, such as Gramophone and the British Penguin Guide, seemed too parochial for me. And Fanfare's main competitor over the years, the American Record Guide, just seemed too biased by the publisher's individualistic tastes.)

The average size of a current semi-monthly copy of Fanfare (which is a signal event each time it turns up in my mailbox) is smaller than it once was, thanks to the problems the music industry is presently going through. Whereas it once used to take me the full two months to totally digest its cover-to-cover contents, just in time for the next isssue to show up, now it takes me somewhat less. But it is still the best bargain around for the serious music lover, and it is still the best single source for the widest variety of reliable opinions on music and recording releases. ("Reliable" opinions don't necessarily imply opinions with which one agrees; no one can or will agree with all reviewers or critics. But they DO mean that, once one becomes familiar with the scopes and tastes of individual reviewers, those reviewers' opinions are accurate predictors of one's expectations.)

Over the years, Fanfare has had some of the very best music opinion writers on its staff of reviewers, reading like a "Who's Who" of the field. It still does, and many of these reviewers have been with Fanfare for a long time. While I have a "mind of my own," I nonetheless can rely on these reviewers for their thoughtful analyses.

I guess my favorite feature of Fanfare is the annual (November/December) "Wish List" issue, in which each reviewer sets out his or her five most-wanted recordings of the year. I find it fascinating to compare my own "wish list" to theirs, even though our tastes may vary dramatically. This feature, probably more than any other, has led me to explore new repertoire and artists that I might otherwise have ignored.

And, finally, Fanfare has a nicely liberal attitude toward publishing readers' letters and comments. I've had a few of my own published, and can even state that, in at least one instance, my thoughts on a particular recording has had the effect of changing a reviewer's mind from a postion he previously had held.

My hat is off to Joel Flegler, the publisher of Fanfare, whose unvarying vision and open-mindedness regarding his reviewing staff over a quarter-century has made this journal the benchmark of the music-reviewing field. Thanks, Joel!

The most reliable American classical CD magazine
I've been a subscriber to Fanfare for many years and have come to regard it as the most reliable of the two comprehensive American classical CD magazines (the other being the American Record Guide). Its reviews are more scholarly than those of the ARG and tend to be longer, including more detail, more extensive comparisons with other recordings and the like. The writing style is more standard. It has a lively letters section and runs very interesting interviews with musicians as well as reviews of live performances here and abroad. I subscribe to both, but tend to pay more attention to Fanfare. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Getting focused
I must attest! As a young opera singer not in New York, I have had to do a lot to stay focused and inspired until I can get our there. I bought Classical Singer, Voice Lessons To Go (-both volumes-)by Vaccarino (voice lessons on cd they are so convenient! Wow has my ear improved form the second volume), and The Artist Way by Cameron. Now I feel like I have my own little Opera program around me! I am able to schedule myself and still feel connected to what I hope my future to be.

Keeping Classical singers in " Pitch"
I recently, for the first time, discovered the" Classical Singer". I have often dreamed of producing a magazine that gives singers like myself categorised, concise ,variety of easy to read communication on current events in the music world. Who are the current and rising stars?Where do they perform? How do I go about finding and agent? Who and where are the choruses, opera groups, to which I could apply. This magazine covers the need of a singer predominantly.
Clamoring through pages of other magazines to find a paragraph which concerns my interest is a big turn off and waist of precious time. We singers have short lives you know. The Classical singers covers all my needs and fast... ... Read more

Reviews (9)

If Spin was written by Brits...
There used to be tons of music magazines in Britain, but gradually they've disappeared, giving way to lifestyle magazines that run the gamut from celebrity gossip, to articles on (of all things) health. Q has always been focused on music and is pretty much the best barometer of the British music scene. It's stylish, irreverent and intelligent. They're aren't afraid to offend the interviewees neither.

A subscription to Q will keep you up to date on breaking new bands, in-depth interviews with musicians, latest album reviews, (many of which don't get US releases, and certainly aren't played on Clear Channel radio stations) and some really great photography. All of this is delivered with the usual wry humour of good British journalism.

$140 is a lot to pay in one go. I buy it monthly from my local bookshop where the price works out a bit higher, but only because I keep moving house and can't be dealing with changing my address, and I like to support local stores. It's worth bearing in mind that on average 4 issues a year come with full length CDs which mitigates the initial outlay a bit.

Go on... subscribe, you know you want to.

good, but not worth the price
First of all, I like this magazine. Q really is the best music-themed magazine out there. But with only 12 issues a year, 120 bucks is way too expensive. I think you will be disappointed if you spend this much on it (well, on any magazine, for that matter).

Very informative...
...even though I have to agree with the previous reviewer that they do have some favorites (inc. Beatles,Radiohead,Oasis etc) and you find them on almost every issue. But if you sort reviews carefully you'll be alright...

Considering a 'Q' subscription...you should, too!
Q magazine is a brilliant magazine laden with British humor, bonus CDs, special edition magazines, and more. Being a fan, I bought the Led Zeppelin special edition issue, and it was more complete than any novel! It was about 150 pages and contained full-color pictures, info on each album, concert, experience, myth, book, review and bootleg imaginable. When critiqueing an album, they used the opinions of others and the band members as well as their own. This magazine CARES-rather than gushing, ranting, or offering biased opinions, it gives the impartial truth about bands-new and old.

When Rolling Stone just won't cut it...
I first picked up Q in desperation after deciding that I just couldn't take any more of Rolling Stone's pretention. Their forays into "serious" political and social commentary are laughable at best -- how do you take seriously an article on Bush's economic proposals when it's prefaced by another considering Britney's thong? I don't read RS for their banal political insights, which are shallow and misinformed -- I read it for the music.

Well, no more. Q has more music and less filler. Even their music coverage is better, extending beyond the typical Xtina/Creed/pop drivel that is recycled so often in American mags. They give you more new music in one issue than RS could in a year's subscription. Yes, the Brits have their own pop divas that Q loves to love, but even just the change of pace is refreshing (at least it's not the *same* pop divas). They manage to pack in an astonishing number of interviews, up-and-coming artist profiles, interesting features, plus literally hundreds of reviews in each issue. Add the bonus CDs, their willingness to cover little-known bands from all over, and the standard British humor, and you've got the best music mag for your buck.

Alas, it is a hefty price tag. For those of us stateside who can't afford the subscription, CMJ is also a fine mag in its own right. ... Read more