Is SPIN really circling the drain?

That would rule.

SPIN was a godsend for me in high school (1990-1994), living out on a farm in the middle of central Illinois. sure it wasn't all that subversive or underground, but to someone raised on country and Top 40 it was a whole new world. i still pick up an issue from time to time, mostly because it's more affordable than the import prices on the decent British mags. but i'm always wondering why.

While we're on the subject of Tracks, I can't believe how lifeless and personality-free it is.

The UltraGrrl thing is awful. I'd forgotten about that.

Gawker calls Details "The gay magazine for straight men" or something like that. Classic.

What? You mean the non-music journalism about the NYC guy with the biggest penis in the world or people who make living room speed and eat it until their teeth fall out?

I'd call it the white-trash beat for voyeurs but not hard-hitting or strong.

Yes, SPIN, supporter of whackos and rubbish science.

Remember when Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl were pushing this agenda, playing benefit shows for that wacko group "Alive and Well." That was insane... I wonder if they still support that cause.

That said, I think Spin is perfect. I expect nothing more. Each issue lasts me exactly one lunch break, once a month, where I look at the pretty pictures as I eat some soup.

Either way, Alex is right that SPIN was way better back then. Anyone remember the Michael O'Donohue columns? That guy was a scream, the best back page they've ever had. I've got a few of those columns on my hard drive if anyone wants a repost (SPIN used to keep them at their website, back when they first came online.)

Rolling Stone used to have better non-music writers, too. William Grieder I liked even though I never agreed with much of his stuff. PJ O'Rourke is better than anyone they've had in at least five years on staff there.

The more I think about it, the more I think I've been harsh on Sia for putting her mug all over her page. Bobby Jr. was more of a publicity whore, and she's better looking. But the direction of the magazine is still shit.

I moved recently and actually came across some of the fabled golden age pre'88 issues in a forgotten milk crate at the back of my closet. some of it was pretty great indeed - especially an article on cookie-puss era beastie boys, but a lot of it was pretty thin. there was really LESS in it - huge empty spaces on the pages, big fonts disguising 3 paragraph long stories, fan-ziney articles about nothing and only a couple of pages of record reviews. and legs mcneil was way past his prime by that point too - if you want to get all golden age-y about stuff. he mostly wrote about how shit everything was compared to 1978!

i was into spin more later because - before vibe & the source & rappages, maybe even before Word Up! - they were the only magazine I could find covering hip hop - albeit with a pretty big NYC Def Jam Beasties-PE-Run DMC slant to it but that was fine by me at that point.

I read it pretty much every issue up until the end of the grunge and the beginning of Electronica Fever in the summer of Trainspotting. I have no idea if it's good or bad anymore. Pretty much all music magazines bore me to tears now - but I think that might have as much to do with me as it does with it not being 1988 anymore ;)

that big sound-boy article in the year end round-up in 97 or 98 was a really great article though, and it made me feel like i wasn't the only one like that in the universe ;-)

lets not forget that they used to also have some great stories about electronic music. There was that one issue with Rage on the cover (ugh) in the mid-90s that had articles on Orbital/Underworld/Chem Brothers, a guide to underground electronic music (mentioning Spooky, Mouse on Mars, Jacob's Optical Stairway) and a list of some of america's best producers (everyone from RZA to Wink) and their best productions. Reynolds also used to write for them, and I would wager that his little sidebar on BC/CR/Maurizio is probably the only account of that music to appear in a major american magazine.

I had zine called sugarhigh! It came out twice, in the mid-Nineties. It also caused me to become employed (note passive
construction; it sure felt that way) by The Village Voice, which caused me to become employed by Spin, which caused me
to become a very predictable kind of boring writer and feel like a whore. Eventually I stopped; quitting is actually a
perturbing story which involves, in more and less obvious ways, a review of The Coup, backstage passes to a U2 concert,
September 11th, being threatened with a lawsuit by Sia Michel, and a shady helicopter rental in Rio. Anyway, I hope to
write some about music on this site, in a way that might be predictable and boring but not whoresque.

Blount otm, I think this was around time I stopped reading it. I don't know if it has improved much since then, but it still makes a bit sad that it won't be around anymore because it meant a lot to me back in the day.

the jane/josh '100 albums in 1000 words' thing seemed like spin house snarkpun style pushed to the snake eating tail absurdity. like a litmus test for their readers - 'if you can stomach this you can stomach spin'.

🫡 https://www.spin.com/2024/03/spin-u-s-army-team-for-week-long-austin-takeover/

no one wanted their name on that

Lol yeah "Written by Spin Contributor" is sure something. I wonder if they were just hoping a bunch of people would clown them online for this to drive traffic to the site? Basically never see anyone share anything from it minus some local musicians in my town who got very excited someone (also local) got a piece published there. The piece was very bad.

Ah it is a "PARTNER" right at the top with a link to an Army site or something. Looks like it is just a paid promo spot made to look like a piece from Spin.

SPIN still has a couple big names on bylines.