The other day I heard the lyrics, ‘There’s a new band in town, but you can’t get the sound from a story in a magazine – aimed at your average teen’, which comes from Billy Joel’s ‘It’s Still Rock N Roll To Me’. It got me thinking: ‘Who reads magazines still?’. With the amount of information on the internet, and it being available almost immediately are magazines obsolete? I mean, between bands having their own social media, you have fan pages, general music news sites, online magazines that no longer print physical copies, heck even some of the magazines I’ve seen on the stands have e-versions and websites. I’ll be honest, I haven’t bought a magazine in a few years. Mostly because I found they were going unread and being recycled without ever having more than a cursory flip through to disturb the pages. I was a magazine reader for years though. I read Teen and Tiger Beat as a kid, Creem and Hit Parader, RIP, Revolver, Classic Rock, Men’s Health…I’ve spent a LOT of money on magazines over the years and in a way, I miss it. I miss the tangibility of the magazine and the pages, but from a convenience and immediacy point of view, online works much better for me. One thing I always hated about magazines as I got older was finding out information about a new release from a band I loved or show coming to town that I wanted to see, AFTER it happened. The internet has definitely cured that for me. On the other hand…the amount of information can be overwhelming. Having a magazine streamline things for you a bit can be helpful. I don’t think I’ll be picking up a magazine any time soon, but I still see the value in them for others. If it works for you and your life, pick it up! If the internet works better for you, scroll away!
