Best Music Magazines and Websites

Your humble BSB has been thinking about reading material recently, as happens when he has a few days off from his day job.

What do you read in terms of music publications? Not necessarily folk/Americana music, but also in general. Here are my thoughts on a few publications and websites. Love to get your thoughts, too.

Rolling Stone--Still the grandaddy of them all in my opinion, and http://www.rollingstone.com/ is pretty good. Of course the magazine is geared for folks younger than the BSB, but it's still a good way to take the pulse of the nation. Plus, for all you political folks, it's as lefty as ever. Not enough coverage of the folk/Americana scene (pretty much none), but we're an elitist group anyway.

No Depression--A folk/Americana magazine that drives the BSB nuts with its refusal to follow standard American punctuation. (Message to No Depression editors: In the USA, the period always goes inside the quotation mark.) Other than that, it's pretty much the bible for the kind of music we feature at the Narrows. The articles are way too long for me though. (Message to No Depression editors: Leave the best and cut the rest.) I like to read the advertisements, too, because they're often about upcoming releases. Great reading for the treadmill!

Dirty Linen--Another folk/Americana magazine. I don't receive this in the mail at this time, but I used to read it every now and then after purchasing it at the newstand. Pretty good, but No Depression is better. Update 11/23/07: Disclosure: Dirty Linen once gave me a positive review for a CD I co-produced and had a track on.

Blender--This is a guilty pleasure. It doesn't look like it would be a good magazine for us elitists, but it has more coverage of stuff we're interested in than you might imagine. Yes, yes lot's of hip-hop, but also indie rock, which is not far from folk/Americana. The latest issue has Jay-Z on the cover (I wasn't exactly sure who he is), but also a listing of the 100 greatest indie-rock albums of all time. Hmm, let's see....the #1 album is "Slanted and Enchanted" by Pavement; #7 "The Velvet Underground" by the VU, an album that featured "Pale Blue Eyes"; #21 is "The Modern Lovers" by Massachusetts guy Jonathan Richman & his crew; #30 is Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"; #97 is "Rock 'n' Roll" from Narrows alums The Mekons; you get the picture. Overall a fun magazine, unless you're so elitist that only something sanctioned by NPR will do.

npr.org/music--This site does the sanctioning. Great cross-section of musical genres. I don't read this enough. Maybe I'll make a vow in the New Year to do so. Currently features an interview with Narrows alum Eric Anderson.

Revolver--okay, this is a metal magazine that has an approach way below my personal standards. But--if you have any interest in the metal scene, this is pretty good. It has surprisingly good interviews mixed in with the stupid stuff. And its CD reviews are interesting. If your life is way too serious, this may be the magazine for you! I think it's fun to read about various musical genres, and this is my way of staying in touch with metal. Now, I just need to get magazines on jazz, classical and hip-hop and I'll be all set!

folkalley.com--An online magazine I check regularly. Not enough content, but it's quality stuff worth a look every week. Made to order for the Narrows' audience.

mog.com--Sort of like Blender, except on-line. A musician in one of the groups playing the Narrows made me aware of this site. Worth a visit every couple days. Occasional coverage of folk/Americana artists.

pastemagazine.com--I became aware of this after it was referred to by Narrows alum Sarah Borges (Sarah is playing the Narrows Saturday night). Haven't spent much time on this site, but it looks like a nice mixture of music genres. I should read this more often.

aolmusic.com--I rarely look at, but a friend says it's a quick way to follow the music trends, if you care. I do care, so I'm going to look at this one more.

americanaroots.com--I've written many reviews for this site, so I'm partial. It's the most ambitious on-line Americana magazine that I've found, featuring podcasts, reviews and interviews. It comes out of San Antonio, Texas so it seems to have a slant for the Lone Star State at times, but that's fine with me. When I wrote for it, I provided a Northerner viewpoint. They're constantly revamping the site, trying to make it better, so if you haven't visited in awhile you'll notice a different look. Their reviewers are all volunteers, by the way, so they may be looking for somebody who can write who digs the music.

radioandrecords.com--One of the important magazines for the world of radio. It does have sections about Americana and Triple A (Triple A is the format for WBOS in Boston; open to folkie/Americana stuff, but not really hardcore).

americanaradio.org--A weekly chart about who's getting the airplay in the folk/Americana scene. These are the Narrows' folks! Btw, according to musicians I've spoken with, being successful on this chart doesn't mean you can afford to buy a new car.

wumb.org--This is for Boston's WUMB radio, an important station to us folks at the Narrows. You must visit this site! I even set up a link (I'm too lazy to do this for every entry). I particularly like to read the playlist archives to see which Narrows' artist is getting the most airplay.

fmqb.com--Another important radio publication that is worth checking out, particularly to learn about new releases. Doesn't really cover folk/Americana but does venture into this territory in its writing about the Triple A format.

billboard.com--Still critical for those of us who care about charts. Its charts are based on sales, so it's a good way to take the pulse of the nation. The Eagles and Led Zeppelin are in the top ten in terms of album sales this week, btw. All is not lost! Now if we could only get Tim O'Brien, Sarah Borges, Eilen Jewell, Richie Haven and other Narrows' alums on the chart, then the world would be a much kinder place!

Did I miss anything? Please leave your suggestions in the comments area.

Happy T-Day. Hope to see you Friday night at the Tony Trischka show.

Update 11/23/07: I ran into a guy who suggested pitchforkmedia.com and expectingrain.com.