struggleville

No Depression: Bids farewell after May-June Issue

This is a sad loss of a great magazine that so well represented alt.county/Americana for almost 13 years.

Ed Ward calls foul on the USPS. (the rest of his post is swell)

Obligatory Metafilter thread here.

Having just read Seth Godin's speech to the music industry, I can't help but relate this loss to the analogy of the tribe, a tribe that has lost an important and guiding voice. What if anything will take its place? The host of niche labels taht advertised and had their records reviewed in No Depression have lost this channel to its tribe members, how will they begin that conversation again?

SPIN Top 100

SPIN Magazine names their top 100 albums of the last 20 years. (75-100 listed here)  I haven't seen the full list, but Husker Du  - New Day Rising came in at #13 --Nice...but could have been even higher!

(Reminiscing...I remember distinctly when Rolling Stone did the same thing for their first twenty years as a magazine, I was in high school...It was filled with "old" bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones etc.. I liked those bands but also remember lamenting there weren't a better representation of more recent artists. To think that the high schoolers reading this list might have same same distant opinion of say R.E.M. and Nirvana makes me feel mighty old!

I also vividly remember my brother purchasing the very first issue of SPIN...even though Madonna was their first cover, the music coverage was much further left of center than is is now!)

Paste in the New York Daily News

The Taste of Paste. a nice write up af a GREAT mag! (as I've said before)

P.S. One correction to the article: they have been including their great sampler CD since the beginning not in their second year. They will know be including a FREE DVD in every issue to subscribers only(the one they included in the newsstand version last month had over 4 hours of music videos, movie trailers and shorts).....Subscribe HERE.

Paste Radio is on the Air

The excellent Paste Magazine (yes I mention them a lot)has started their own station, Paste Radio, over at Live365.....

Tune in today!

No Depression Best of 2003

Well the ballots are in....from the No Depression staff for the the Best of 2003.

I promise this will be the last "best of" post for awhile.

The final results have only published in their print magazine. But here's the Top 10 (out of 40)

1. The Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
2. Drive-By Truckers - Decoration Day
3. Rodney Crowell - Fate's Right Hand
4. Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears
5. Gillian Welch - Soul Journey
6. Pernice Brothers - Yours Mine and Ours
7. Kathleen Edwards - Failer
8. Rosanne Cash - Rules of Travel
9. Warren Zevon - The Wind
10. White Stripes - Elephant

If you want to see the rest you should buy a copy at the newsstand or subscribe!

Periodical Update

I love listening to music, but reading about it holds a special thrill for me as well. When I am on the road for work (which is often) I eat many meals alone. Sometimes I've got a good book to read, but more often I'll make a trip to the closest bookstore for some fresh music coverage. Here are a few recent finds:

--->Paste Magazine - I was recently reminded that I had not plugged Paste nearly enough of late. They continue to put out a stellar magazine covering music, film and culture from a unique perspective. They keep getting better with each issue. You aren't going to find the kind of in-depth coverage they gave to a band like Over the Rhine as they did lin their last issue in too many places! Plus each issue comes with a sampler CD which should have a few surprises for even the most knowlegable music fans.

As an added bonus they have (thankfully) changed over from a quarterly to a bi-monthly publication schedule with their Oct/Nov issue. This issue also saw a friend (and a thoughtful and skilled writer) join their staff as Contributing Editor for Film. Congratulations Jeffrey!

They are also getting some broader recognition as Utne Independent Press Awards have nominated them for their design work. (Did I mention it looks good too?)

Georgia Magazine published a great overview of their humble but passionate beginnings that's worth the read if your interested in the human element of the story.

Paste is carried at Borders and most Barnes and Nobles (and other fine places I'm sure.)

--->Harp - A fairly new entry in the music magazine business, Harp is another bi-monthly publication (no CD here though) that brings intelligence to their writings on great music across a fairly broad spectrum of styles(Americana, singer-songwriter, rock, indie etc.). Look for it at Borders.

--->Tracks--Finally, most recent to the newstand is Tracks. They are intentionally argeting the over 30 music buyer who comprise 56% of all music purchases, according to the press release. I have not read this one yet, but it seems promising (I hope they were just trying to buy readers with Sting on their first cover and will sufficently cover all that's available outside the mainstream.) When I get a chance to pick it up I will update you here on what I find. Once again Barnes and Noble is a good place to look.

Bluegrass Apologetics

In the current annual music issue of Oxford American (article available offline only) there is a profile of the Del McCoury Band who are generally considered the best bluegrass band working today. Having seen them live three times in the last year and a half you'll get no argument from me.

But therein lies the following quote from article author Grant Alden (co-editor of No Depression)

"Bluegrass is a difficult music. It's damned hard to play, and perhaps because--no let's face it, because of Deliverance as much as anything, some hear only redneck bumpkins wallowing in illiterate, primitive religious ectasy, and front-porch backwoods liquor. Which altogether misses the point, for bluegrass is a subtle, sophisticated music, as intuitive as jazz, filled with the deep emotion of the blues, punctuated by the passion of rock. It is a potent, acquired taste, like a good whiskey, sharp cheese, or home-grown greens. But once the flavor gets in your mouth, it never leaves."

Well put! Now go listen!

Lessig in Wired

Wired makes a nice (and needed) regular monthly addition to their 'zine (online and off) with a new column from Lawrence Lessig. Lawrence is definitely one of the most influential voices in shaping the future of the internet. He is also the chair of Creative Commons. Mr. Lessig also has his own contribution to the blog world.

Nice move Wired!