Customer Reviews

SPIN

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

"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.

I like Spin magazine. Sure, it has a lot of ads and they primarily cover newer trends in music. There's not a lot for people who like classic pop vocals here! However, I always like to keep my head tuned in for new artists and the evolution of music; and so for me Spin magazine serves the purpose well. Moreover, the quality of the paper, images and text is great; and the binding is well manufactured, too.

Spin has articles on great new music and hot developments in the music industry. For example, the current issue focuses on R.E.M. and their "resurrection." I love it! They also have smaller articles with pictures of other newcomers to the music scene.

In addition, look for interesting articles like "who earns what" and "the honor roll" of new gadgets like t-shirts and wireless earphones that are rather informative about what's "hip and happening" today. It could be construed as tabloid gossip; but to me it's a great reprieve from heavy duty thinking!

Overall, Spin magazine is a fine choice for those of us who want the latest news and trends from the music industry. The writing isn't exactly Shakespearian; but you didn't buy this to read Shakespeare! The articles are actually rather well written and the humor is OK by me. I recommend this magazine for fans of modern music and people who enjoy updates about their favorite artists and bands.

Every now and then Spin offers some high quality rock criticism. I, too, found it's 90 greatest albums of the '90s issue to be very good... yet so many of the artists they covered in that list go largely unnoticed in the magazine's regular issues, or end up buried beneath a lot of sub-par not music related articles and advertising.
If you are looking for a higher quality magazine of music criticism and rock journalism, I'd suggest seeking out some of the lower circulation, genre-specific magazines out there. Spin caters too much to evaluating pop trends and pushing bands that are already popular for my taste. If the subscription price is cheap enough and you just want something to browse, then go for it. But if you really want a quality music magazine, you'll have to look a little harder at your local bookstore, there are some out there.

Having been a subscriber until recently for about 4 years, I can state from firsthand experience just how lame this magazine has become. Regarding the Amazon review of the magazine, merely coming up with a gimmicky cover series on the Beastie Boys hardly qualifies as anything more than the obvious, clever advertising. It has nothing to do with the music, any music. The editors constantly put ridiculous bands on the cover and give them top billing as well in coverage. Offspring (as "punk!"), Slipknot, Creed, Metallica, KISS, Axel Rose, David Lee Roth (Agh!!) and, if I'm not mistaken, that brilliant mind of innovation, Fred Durst, have all been cover boys in the past 12-18 months. Utterly pathetic. Of course, if you're musical taste is of that ilk, go for it. Occasionally, they'll have an interesting article or band profiled, but it's hardly worth the yearly subscription for it. I've cancelled my subscription and haven't regretted it at all. If you want to read a music magazine that's about music, not the idiotic rantings of arrested adolescence, check out Magnet magazine sometime.

Between the fact that I never get the latest issue of this horrid magazine on time and the lack of decent artists and bands, Spin magazine represents everything wrong in music to me. For a magazine that claims to represent counter culture and the concept of alternative music, they certainly don't represent my musical horizons with the garbage they put on the cover of their magazines (Creed, Limp Bizkit, Matchbox Twenty). If that isn't enough, what the heck is all this... about video games, movies, and fashion layouts? If I wanted to read about those things, I would buy magazines that would be specifically tailored for those subjects. Rolling Stone magazine is far more entertaining than this... that Spins churns out on a monthly basis...

This magazine hasn't been worth a gob of spit since Bob Guccione Jr. was forced out. Since his departure, the entire look of the magazine has changed. The photography, which used to be fantastic, is now sub-par and lifeless--with a cheap, barely trying aesthetic that seems to be everywhere these days (if you're looking for comparisons, think those Calvin Kline TV commercials from about five years back that got them into so much trouble). As far as the bands they now cover, they seem to be taking their queues from MTV (where you can scarcely find a video anymore). And there is so much filler and non-music related material, you might forget that you're reading a MUSIC magazine. Even the record reviews have changed--SPIN is a LOT more generous with the 8, 9, and 10 ratings than they used to be. The focus of their reviews now seems to be moving product--why I have no idea. Bob Guccione Jr. is sorely missed.

boring. trite.

If you feel that not enough of your life is spent looking at commercials, SPIN magazine is for you. The reporting is wonderful, if you've never experienced music outside of MTV. Don't waste your time, the brain damage you'll have from reading a year's subscription of SPIN you can achieve quicker and cheaper by drinking a gallon of gasoline.

Really. You'll find more underground bands on internet radio(though who knows how long it'll last), or poking around here in Amazon, or even watching MTV2 than between the glossy little pages of spin magazine. Another reviewer was right on the money: line your bird cage with this waste paper. Spin may have started out catering to the underground, but now they're basically a slightly less hip Rolling Stone. Don't you love it when companies start producing the same product as their rivals just to stay in competition? At least, that was probably the strategy over there at Spin, whether anyone there wants to admit it or not.

Too bad, because the popularity of bands like Radiohead or Gorillaz plainly shows that there is a market for more different music. Of course, they'll still put Radiohead on the cover, if only because of a desperate need to appear "cutting edge". Anyway, no one needs a subscription to this tripe, except perhaps for comic relief.

First, let me say that I am sick of all the people who are bashing Spin because "it's too mainstream" or "it's like MTV" or "it doesn't cover the bands I like". Stop your bitching and if you don't like Spin, go read something else. And no I'm no teeny-bopper or wannabe- I listen to music like Nirvana, Incubus, Pearl Jam, The Darkness, Jet, The Vines, etc. I'm no punk or metal-head, but I know good music and writing when I see them. That being said... on to the review.

I recently picked up a copy of Spin because of the Kurt Cobain cover. I figured "oh what the hell... it can't be that bad if Kurt is on the cover". I flipped through it, and read some of the articles. Most of them were pretty interesting, mainly the ones about Kurt. Then I flipped to the music reviews. Athough I had never heard of any of the CDs or bands they were reviewing, I found the reviews to be very interesting, well written, and funny. It even inspired me to buy some of the CDs. I was pretty pleased with Spin, so I've now decided to get a full subscription.

Overall, there were a bit too many ads, but I can deal with that. I found everything to be well written and informative (for the most part). This mag mainly caters to fans of Rock, but does have some hip-hop, rap and other various tidbits on other music styles thrown in as well. A very welcome surprise, and I'll be looking forward to seeing Spin in my mailbox next month!

I ordered SPIN for a year, but soon found that the amount of time I spend with a new issue is not much more than 20 minutes. I'm forty now, so I don't care who is supposed to be cool. Most of the bands are not that interesting to me, but that's not the point. It's the writing, mostly pretty stupid photographs and record reviews that don't excite me. In my opinion, a better magazine supposed to cover similar ground is "Under the radar". If you really care about music and want to read an informative magazine, try "Mojo". They cover a wide range of different styles and I spend usually several hours with a new issue. Of course, you won't get it for ten dollars a year!
BTW, my SPIN subscription ran out several months ago and I keep receiving it for free. But do I care?