complain about other magazines to the actual magazines editors?

is complete crap if you don't mind me saying. I am a subscriber to both Word and Mojo and also buy Uncut most months. In recent months Mojo has had a return to form and has produced some truly excellent articles. Have you posted on this site to toady up to the producers of Word? If so you appear faintly ridiculous - I don't suppose thy give a rats ass if you like Mojo or not and I certainly don't. There was a time when it looked as if Mojo and myself were going in different directions but they have pulled it round. I buy the 2 magazines for different reasons and there are some months when Word is better and vice versa. Mojo tends to have the better cover cd's overall and this month they are giving away the free Antony and the Johnsons new cd AND a 6 film boxset of Al Pacino.Makes me wish my subscription was up for renewal.

I like Mojo overall - some months it's great, others not so great, so I'll keep up my subscription on this too - looks like i should give Uncut a try?

I have to say the last two Mojo ones have been cracking. So my subscrip remains… for now.

for both mags to survive. Must admit that I haven't forked out for Mojo for over two years but I may be tempted if Mott are on the cover. I'm probably out of step in my musical tastes to the majority of the massive because I've never really found anything much I like on the Word CD. I now stick it in the walkman, close my eyes and give each tune twenty seconds. If I'm not grabbed I move on to the next selection. My average listening time is something like five minutes. Thank heavens the magazine itself is generally more interesting. ( Although more reviews of re-issues would be nice ).

because it's all about opinions and replying to criticism is pretty pointless because errrrrrr it's all about opinions.

For this time only, I stand by what I posted and that's my opinion, not necessarily right for everyone else, but it is for me.

I reply because of the over reaction to the post, I see you like Mojo in it's present form but "complete crap" and "slightly ridiculous" are, in my view, completely over the top and silly.

I have no reason at all to toady up to anyone from Word, why would I?

I have also expressed my views to Mojo itself.

In the past, I've been critical of Word and also praised it.

If Mojo don't care about my opinion then that's fine, I vote with my money and many others have.

I agree that the cover cd is great, I don't buy a magazine for what is on the cd, I buy it to read and it doesn't do it for me.

I haven't bought it for a while and I won't buy it again.

Steve, your view is fine, but temper the comments, it's only an opinion.

Sheesh!

... and I subscribe to both, but each edition is variable. This month's Mojo's Mott feature is great (excellent CD too), but the Lennon/Ono piece might be the worst major piece I've ever read in the mag, and certainly the worst cover story.

Conversely, it's rare that I'm totally knocked out by Word, but I look forward to the "plop" on the doormat more than I do for Mojo, maybe because it has an "old friend" status that Mojo just doesn't, almost certainly down to my appreciation for "the cut of their jib", the podcasts and this forum...

a little tongue in cheek and designed to get a response as no doubt your original blog was. I do agree with LOUDspeaker though - the funnier responses are normally those that are shall we say less polite. So if you don't like it tough shit!!!

My heart sinks every time it plops onto the doormat. It's not as wide-ranging as Word, it's quite narrow and very repetitive.

Nice feature on Madness in there.

*walks away whistling to himself*

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I was a subscriber a couple of years ago, before switching first to Uncut and then to Mojo. I wish I'd returned to Word instead. I too get a sinking feeling when the latest edition arrives. It's just so STUFFY.

When I buy Word (and visit here and listen to the podcast), I get a real sense that the people behind it genuinely understand what it is to LOVE music (and books and films and... stuff). Has anyone else read anything about Spotify in Mojo or Uncut? I haven't. And unless I'm mistaken, Mojo doesn't do columnists - so you won't get an opinion anywhere other than the letters page or reviews section.

I still think Word could increase its hit rate of readable features - I still find myself skipping over too many pages, which is why I changed my subscription in the first place. But there were only two worth reading in the latest Mojo (the Antony and Mott pieces). The rest felt like a magazine for stamp collectors.

Probably a lot on here who did too.

Time, growth of the net, even money meant one by one they dropped off.

At the time of the revamp of Select and with Q, Vox, Record Collector, the sum of the parts meant that the music I like was covered by them all.

That was before the internet and now I suppose a lot of use the money to pay for the isp.

I thought I'd give them all a go, month by month to see if I was missing anything.

I was really disappointed with Mojo, could be just the one issue and the Mott and Anthony features are bob on agreed.

Last month it was Uncut and it was ok, not ok enough to make me want to buy it every month.

Q was probably the best of the rest but completely different to how it used to be. Seemed to be for the short attention span but was quite enjoyable.

Steve, you made me cry you brute, I'm just coming to terms with the trauma, I've booked counselling and everything, how could you do this to me.

Word doesn't always hit the spot, but I think "cut of the jib" sums it all up.

I do look forward to it and I suppose the issues I find a bit wanting, others will find great.

... are its features. I’ve always liked the way they’re prepared to devote 10 or 15 pages to an in-depth feature on an artist, and they’re invariably well researched and written. Last month they gave about eight pages to the story of the Dave Clark Five, and it was fascinating.

In contrast, I’m occasionally frustrated by The Word’s unwillingness to go into real depth on a topic. The ‘bit at the front’ tends to take up over half the magazine these days, and there are rarely more than a couple of articles of more than three pages - and even those are often ‘portmanteau’ features like this month’s ‘stuff we like’ article.

Given that the magazine originally advertised itself with the strapline ‘At last - something to read’, I can't help feeling a bit short-changed at times. I’d rather have one really meaty 5,000-word article than five 1,000-worders.

But overall I agree with other posters: The Word has heaps more character, opinion and fun.

is the first time in my life that I've looked at the cover stars and had no clue who they were.

The subcriber's edition is wordless, but even asking around the office, it took a long time before someone guessed who they were. (Greenday of course).

Does this say something about me, or something about the cover stars?

i agree with everything the previous caller said

Green Day were so much better when they were the Foxboro Hot Tubs

Last weeks Kerrang had an article on the recent Fall Out Boy tour. Through my daughter I have become a big fan of FOB (check out their last two albums - they should be bigger than Killers and Kings of Leon put together).
Anyway, the magazine usually has a house style of NME crossed with Smash Hits, but the article described the tedium of touring areas better than anything I have ever read. The breeze block anonimity of MEN/NEC/O2 was summed up brilliantly, worthy of Word magazine, and has helped me get over the fact that, at 47 and with no musical talent, I am probably not going to become a rock star.

Totally different magazines, both worthwhile.

when Bauer started sending him unsolicited sample copies of their other "men's titles", he actually cancelled his Mojo subscription. Evidently, rapacious publishing giants mess with the "do not send me marketing information" tickbox at their peril...

I bought Mojo every month for about 200 issues and only now read and subscribe to Word....but I think I'm going to give Mojo another go, simply because I am a bit weary of the pop music dimension of Word - Pet Shop Boys etc - I know a lot of the massive like "classic pop" etc but I have come to realise I don't actually like most pop music and fancy an alternative mag which talks about grown ups' music with some depth.

All pile in. Assuming you're not down the disco. And it isn't all pop music, by the way.

having the ability to choose or buy all is a joy. We cannot browse record shops anymore , at least we can browse a mag and i am sure there are others like me who find interesting stuff in all. I am alo glad 'the word' cd sticks to the new music and is therefore different. when all three mags become so similar as the (large ) record shops did there will be little point in having all three on the shelf.

...they ALL give you a free(ish) CD.
Without them I doubt whether I would never have listened to or heard:
Band Of Horses
Sparklehorse
Colin Meloy
Iron & Wine
Kate Campbell
Big Bill Broonzy
Calexico
The Magnetic Fields
The Handsome Family
Felice Brothers
Matthew Ryan
Midlake
etc etc etc

..what's it called again "God bless America, and every tinpot band that bleats from its shores"?

there's no women on here then?

A polite anagram of the one Shane mentions...and I completely agree with him.

It truly is appalling, and how many times can they prattle on about the same artists over and over again? Hopefully another Beatles or Stones cover to look forward to soon though...

and she appears to buy Word in a church.

A whole new marketing world seems to be appearing, it'll never catch on surely.

about Uncut - the subject matter is narrower than in either Word or Mojo although I am interested very much in Americana which is why I still buy it most months. The problem I have is with Alan Jones - his ego seems to be bloody huge and he gives the impression it his magazine only.
I have to say thatuntil this posting occurred I didnt even realise MOJO had changed ownership so i have to say it hasnt affected the quality in my humble etc etc.
Now which magazine was the blowjob article in - I have to get my wife a birthday present.

Responding to favourable comments above I bought the new Mojo. Got in, tried to remove the cover CD only to find it stuck on with some awful semi runny sticky shit (not the usual cow gum), most of which stayed on the cover. I tried to get it off but it ended up just smearing around the place. Got some on my clothes. Ended up having to rip the cover off and stick it in the bin. Bastards!
Anyone else have this problem?
Before whoever it was above suggests it, I did send an e-mail of complaint as soon as I got the crap off my hands.

Excellent book about the history of the music press told through the voices of the writers is "In their own write" by Paul Gormam, including Heppo and much about, though he's not quoted, Mark Ellen. Plus CSM, etc. I've read it over and over. Lots of great bitchiness and gossip!

http://www.amazon.com/Their-Own-Write-Adventures-Music/dp/1860743412

Uncut has completely lost it in the last few years, gone from bad to worse and has disappered up its own fundament with the Americana,Dylan, Neil Young and yadda,yadda
Mojo can still bring home the bacon although some of its recent issues have been poor.
and finally , I reckon anythingcanhappen started this thread to meet girls

At the Jones boy, at least get his bloody name right. As in Allan. Personally, I love his stuff, especially the bit at the back.

I thought it was Grinning Idiot Boy.
I find that once I've read about one drunken exploit with Nick Lowe/Elvis Costello/Lee Brilleaux, I've read 'em all. Quite enjoyed the one with/about Gordon Lightfoot tho', as it was clear "Jonesy" was a whisker away from a lamping.

'fess up. Everyone knows that music died when Daddy Longlegs broke up. At least Classic Rock keeps the illusion alive. And once every year or so, the cover CD has a stonkingly good track on it.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Aren't we all followers of the Prophets Hepworth and Ellen?!

stop using pictures of provocatively-posed young 'ladies' on the free cds.

great tunes, very, very silly covers

(and i'm a bloke, by the way...)

...the millenium. Or thereabouts.

Truth be told, the zenith came around spring 1997 (remember the fantastic Byrds / Kraftwerk and English Psychedelia issues?).
Exceptionally high standard maintained for 18 months or so (e.g. Keith Moon, Marvin Gaye / XTC issues).
Dropped sharply in 2000. . You suddenly stopped learning anything new. Instead, you had to wade through lazy, barely-researched, error strewn cut / paste jobs written by apparent novices*.
Issue 100 was like a sick car-crash - stopped buying it shortly afterwards.
...I'm sure this co-incided with departure of Mssrs Ellen, Hepworth from EMAP sausage factory.

But for that 7 year period, it was in a class of it's own and the first 80 odd issues still read well today.

*: before we get all smug, THAT Mitch Mitchell photograph byline (3 errors in one sentence) a couple of Word issues ago made my CHUFFING BLOOD BOIL. Exactly the type of poor journalism that made me give up on Mojo. Hopefully, that was a genuine exception.

I'm not really one for everything was better in the past. For every Teenage Kicks, there was a Feels Like I'm In Love.

But...... Mojo was great, I couldn't go in to Jeff's detail, but I stuck with it till about 2004 ish, for me it just lost it. It was a gradual thing. I've tried since and find it hard to believe that every issue I've bought and not liked is a one off.

The English Psychedelia issue was brilliant but there were many more, it was my favourite read.

I remember the publicity on the launch, Mark Ellllllllllllen was on radio 4 if I remember and he obviously talked it up and it turned out justly so.

Classic Rock is a mag, I dib in and out of.

It was laughable at the beginning, I think the proof reader was pre-school, but it tackled things from an interesting angle and you felt that it was written by subjective fans.

It's demise in my eyes, coincided with Mick Wall's departure and I've never been a massive fan of his. He's a bit like a Heavy Metal version of Allllllllllllllan Jones.

It could however be that it's remit ran out of subjects and that's why it seemed so repetitive. The new band market was, and still probably is, well served.

I like women on the cover cd and I suspect we may now have religious conatations due to the church marketing ideas.