Magazines SPIN
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - Decent overview
Ok - This is not pitchforkmedia.com - the online music review who's more concerned with prose rather than the actual reviewing of music BUT nevertheless the greatest source out there to new music. This ain't Rolling Stone neither, who'd have a better place in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame rather than the newstand, as it doesn't mean anything anymore to contemporary music fans. This is the guy stuck in the middle, between the one who does not want the intellectual crap of the one, neither the commercial junk from the other. Hence, a 3-star for ideal pulp, just what you want if you have 10 minutes to spend on the toilet! But then again, this is a daily occupation...

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Rating: - Egocentric Trash
I'm sure that this review isn't unique. Spin rotates the same ten bands on its cover, not to mention the ridiculous articles written within. By the time they get done describing the 'euro-punk-indie-pop artist that just slammed them in the face on their way to the train station with their jazzed up sound' I've completely forgotten the point of thier article. They must have the greatest time just sitting around finding how many contradictory adjectives they can tag onto useless music and still manage to say nothing. They sound like cyber-nerds who need to get out a little more and stop getting thier info from mtv.com. I'm sure that i've learned more about what thier editors do in the office on any given day than anything remotely close to music while reading spin. Next time you see it on the stands, I suggest you spin in another direction.

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Rating: - Spun out
"Spin" is an accurate name for something like this -- a lot of hype, for an innocuous but rather tepid rock magazine. If Rolling Stone is the dirty old geezer of rock magazines, then Spin is the teenager who tries hard to convince you he's cool by name-dropping the Strokes.

Spin covers some of the same turf as Rolling Stone and Blender, but less lasciviously -- lots of coverage of popular bands. Some of them are quite good -- the Hives, for example, or indie newcomer Steve Burns (who quit his job on "Blues Clues" after hearing a Flaming Lips album, and reinvented his life as a rocker).

Unfortunately they overemphasize whatever bands are hot at the moment, and then overemphasize them again -- as well as tacking them up in whatever "coolest"/"best" lists they chalk up for the year/decade/century/history of rock. Indie cred is maintained by a few half-page articles on potentially hot bands like the Comas and Metric, but this info is halfhearted. It's like they're reluctant to tear themselves away from articles on better-known bands, regardless of talent.

The writing, however, has that certain affliction that a lot of major rock magazines have: the Need To Be Cool. Their writers always are trying to be funny, but rarely come across that way. It seems silly and strained, like a soccer mom wearing a spandex tube dress. Even the CD reviews are mediocre. However, one recent highlight is Dave Eggers' columns -- witty, funny, and a little bit skewed. In fact, they are often the best things in the entirety of the magazine.

One of the problems is the emphasis on stuff in Hollywood. Scarlett Johanssen is a wonderful actress, yes. But she doesn't sing, nor has she appeared in a music-based movie -- Jack Black yes, Scarlett no. And what is up with party coverage on TV starlet Mischa Barton and MTV couples?

Check out sublimely indie mags like Chord, Filter, Under the Radar and the online Kludge for in-depth looks at some worthy bands. As for Spin? It's still trying to convince us it's cool, but Eggers is the only regularly cool thing about it.

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Rating: - Best damn magazine ever!
SPIN covers pretty much every type of rock music out there...like electronic, altevernative, metal, EVERYTHING. They don't sugarcoat anything, and it's really funny at times. Definetly 5 stars.