NME
The New Musical Express, popularly known by the initialism NME, is a music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in the 14 November 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. During the period 1972 to 1976 it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism, then became closely associated with punk rock through the writing of Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill.
An online version of NME, NME.COM, was launched in 1996. It is now the world's biggest standalone music site, with over 7 million users per month.
The Script - Album Review
Released on Monday, Sep 10 2012
Published Friday, Sep 7 2012, 16:53 BST | By Lewis Corner |4 comments
The Script may not be the most fashionable band, but that hasn't stopped them achieving worldwide success. By the end of touring their second studio album Science & Faith, the Irish trio had firmly conquered both sides of the Atlantic with their penchant for a good ol' soft rock anthem, so you could hardly blame them for playing it safe for album #3.
The most daring the group treads is a hook-up with will.i.am - which by all accounts could be seen by some as a pretty risky decision. Nevertheless, the rapper's vocoder holds up on lead single 'Hall of Fame', which results in a buoyant tribute to the unsung heroes in our communities. That said, while the trailer cut is a celebration of people, the remainder of the record centres heavily around heartbreak and love.
The soundscape rarely escapes stadium-soaring guitar riffs, anthemic "oohs" and "ahhs" and intricate piano, but it's a mixture that continues to complement the group's narrative. Whether it's venting about a past relationship on 'Six Degrees of Separation' or embarking on a boozy pub crawl in 'Good Ol' Days', The Script's lyrics remain slick and relatable. The most poignant of these moments is on 'If You Could See Me Now', where Danny O'Donoghue and Mark Sheehan sing-speak about the premature passing of their parents.
What's more, when The Script do slip out of their foolproof method for a soft-rock anthem, it delivers surprising results. 'Give The Love Around' - a track about loving your family and foes - is a light composition of strings with flecks of reggae that serves as a welcome change. Don't get us wrong, The Script have hardly torn up the rulebook for #3, but with a proven track record, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Rita Ora - Album Review
Released on Monday, Aug 27 2012
Published Tuesday, Aug 28 2012, 16:19 BST | By Robert Copsey |10 comments
Rita Ora may be leaping up the charts quicker than a champion pole vaulter (she's scored three consecutive number one singles to be exact), but the build-up to her success has in fact been a work in progress for two years. At such time she was plucked out of putting herself forward for Eurovision and instead placed in front of rapping mogul Jay-Z, where she was promptly signed to his Roc Nation imprint.
The culmination of 24 months of trend watching, market positioning and image primping on the resulting ORA does, more often than not, make it feel like a highly calculated exercise, but that doesn't mean she hasn't turned out some genuinely well-crafted songs. Current single 'How We Do' is the set's global-reaching party tune which improves with every listen, while Tinie Tempah-assisted 'R.I.P' sets her up as the UK's answer to Rihanna - though whether that was needed in the first place is another question entirely.
Elsewhere, she continues to fulfil all the necessary criteria to place herself among today's chart mainstayers. 'Radioactive' sees her in Guetta-style dancefloor mode (it was even penned by 'Titanium' singer/songwriter Sia), and smooth jam 'Love and War' checks the credible rap feature box in the form of J. Cole. Even will.i.am pops up for the obligatory appearance on 'Fall in Love', though Rita just manages to hold her own against his typically head-spinning beats.
Q magazine
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.
Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology. Q was first published in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands.
The magazine has an extensive review section, featuring: new releases (music), reissues (music), music compilations, film and live concert reviews, as well as radio and television reviews. It uses a star-rating system from one to five stars; indeed, the rating an album receives in Q is often added to print and television advertising for the album in the UK and Ireland. It also compiles a list of approximately eight albums, which it classes as the best new releases of the last three months.
Much of the magazine is devoted to interviews with popular musical artists.
The magazine is well known for compiling lists. It has created many, ranging from "The 100 Greatest albums" to the "100 Greatest '100 Greatest' Lists". Every other month, Q — and its sister magazine, Mojo (also owned by Bauer) — have a special edition. These have been about musical times, genres, or a very important/influential musician.
Often, promotional gifts are given away, such as cover-mounted CDs or books. The January 2006 issue included a free copy of "The Greatest Rock and Pop Miscellany … Ever!", modeled on Schott's Original Miscellany.
Every issue of Q has a different message on the spine. Readers then try to work out what the message has to do with the contents of the mag. This practice — known as the "spine line" — has since become commonplace among British lifestyle magazines, including Q's sister publication, Empire and the football monthly FourFourTwo.
Usual features include The Q50, wherein the magazine lists the top 50 essential tracks of the month; Cash for Questions, in which a famous celeb/band answers question sent in by readers — who win £25 if their question is printed; Ten Commandments, wherein a particular singer creates their very own ten commandments by which to live; and Rewind, in which they take us back in time through the history of music via archive issues of Q. On March 4, 2007, Q named Elvis Presley the greatest singer of all time.
Summary of 'Smash Hits Closure'
‘Smash Hits’ was a popular magazine that was first published in 1978 but closed a few years ago in 2006. It was successful during its peak, however as the years went on, sales dropped and it eventually died out. Its main threat was the internet and non-mainstream magazines.
‘Smash Hits’ was targeted at young boys and girls (aged 11-12) and it featured a range of music styles including punk, indie and pop. However targeters noticed that it was more girls buying the magazine, therefore they changed their target audience slightly to pre-teen girliness which then limited its audience.
The magazine was good at creating a personal relationship with their readers as it allowed them to write letters, to ask for advice with problems and to enter competitions and polls. They also offered song lyrics and posters. But this couldn’t compete with the ever-growing internet. The internet offered much more such as listening to music and see live performances. The magazine did not offer much personal identity to its readers unlike competing magazines like NME. The social context also changed as the government disallowed them to advertise high fat sugar snacks and drinks to under 18’s. At first, ‘Smash Hits’ offered a wide range of information to their audience, which couldn’t be seen or found in any other magazine, therefore making it exclusive – but the internet was much faster and included chat rooms where people could access the precise person who they wished to talk to.
Interest in ‘Smash Hits’ became lost as it lost its USP. The information it supplied could be found in competing magazines which presented the information in a more adult way and tabloid press also started to feature news on celebrities.
‘Smash Hits’ reached a 1million readership at its high point, but finished with just 120,000 for its last issue. It slowly died out as the new, more modern generation found more exciting things to do with their time eg listen to their ipod, go on the internet and watch tv.
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