I began my Rolling Stone subscription a few years ago when I bought something at Best Buy. The subscription was a bonus gift of some sort. The choices were pretty lousy and I didn’t even want Rolling Stone, but I figured what the heck.
I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the magazine.
I suppose no one has to be told what Rolling Stone is like. Or so I thought, because here was me, being surprised by this most mainstream of magazines. I mean, I’ve seen the covers for years, and I knew they liked sex, drugs and rock and roll, but there’s more under the covers.
I have quickly learned my favorite sections and the ones I don’t even bother looking at.
Skim the letters. Maybe there’s a worthwhile addition.
The first main section is the “news” of the last two weeks…usually a concert or a new album or some such. This one happens to focus on American Idol, so, I skipped right past that nonsense.
The Hot List is 5 things that impress them since last issue. I usually like 1 of the 5.
I never read the Smoking Section, but Breaking is usually about an indie band that I heard about a few months earlier. RS finally catches up and I can read a bit more about them. The In the Studio section is worth browsing to see who’s due for a new disc.
The Random Notes I feel is meant to be a big deal, with “insider” photos and blah blah. I skim it but little more than that.
And then the issue proper starts.
I’ve been really surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed the political articles in Rolling Stone. In addition to Matt Tiabbi, whose articles are long on vitriol and short on tolerance for shenanigans, there’s been some heavy hitters published in this section: John F. Kennedy Jr, and some big name economists (is there really such a thing?) talking about Obama’s plans. The political stuff pretty much always bashes the GOP, but they also criticize wayward Democrats. Basically, they are more agenda than party, but when the parties are so divisive, the agenda is pretty easy to see.
I have really enjoyed the Threat Assessment chart that’s in every issue. It lists all of the happenings of the last two weeks on a chart from With Us “New Drug Czar disowns phrase “War on Drugs” to Against Us “GOP runs attack ad about Obama’s Dog.”
The front cover article I skip probably 90% of the time (more on that in a second). I know Rolling Stone interviews are like THE SHIT in the music and film world, but most of the time I don’t care that much about any celebrity to read that many pages about them.
There’s also usually a Very Serious Article about something or other: campus troubles, the military, the drug war or some such thing. But I tend to skip it, which is why I can’t be more specific.
And then the reviews. I may not always agree with the reviews, although I am surprised by how much I do agree with them. And they still like a lot of cool, alternativey music. You won’t find little-known indie bands, but then, this isn’t the focus of the magazine.
When I was looking up Rolling Stone on Amazon I was shocked at how many people trashed it, especially those people saying that it’s not as good as it used to be. And how they sold out by putting (name pop icon here) on the cover. And they never would have done that back in the day with Hendrix and whatnot.
Well, true, RS is a pretty mainstream rock magazine. And true, they don’t review all that many indie label bands. But I don’t think they EVER did that (certainly when they were founded there weren’t really indie labels). Now, I’ve not read the older “glory days” of the publication, so I can’t say for certain. But as far as I can tell, Jimi Hendrix was a pop icon back in the day. He may be a different kind of icon than Justin Timberlake, but he was a hugely popular musician, and so he made the cover. RS covers what’s popular. So the fact that Lady Gaga, whoever that is, is on the cover, just means that I won’t read the article about her. Although I will read the one about Green Day from the week before.
So, for the most par I enjoy the bulk of their issues. However, they just released their annual Hot Issue. This is one issue where I give a big thumbs down to them. I don’t care at all what Rolling Stone thinks is hot, but that’s not the problem. At the bottom of the pages are a list of “hot things.” I understand having fun with the concept of “hot” things, but when you start stretching the boundaries of the English language with things like: when you get awkward categories like “Hot Make Up Your Mind Already: Sean Penn’s Marriage” and “Hot Thud: Newsweek’s Redesign” and “Hot Fine in the Long Run: Conan O’Brien.” I can’t even decide if “Hot Thud” is good or bad. Preposterous. Incidentally, Entertainment Weekly stretched the bounds of common sense with their similar “Must” items. Stoopid!
But aside from that issue, RS is a satisfying review of pop culture & politics.
Original mention in Periodicals Page:
Rolling Stone.Wow, I’ve really hit mainstream with this one. The story behind Rolling Stone is that I went to Best Buy or some such place and they had a deal where you got a free subscription to the magazine of your choice. Well, I intended to get my few issues and quit. But then I discovered that I actually LIKED it. I liked the politics. I liked some of the music reviews, although frankly their cover choices are pretty questionable. Overall, however, I enjoy it easily as much as some of the other mags I get, and since it comes out every two weeks, I even get a breather in between.
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