SPIN magazine ends print publication

SPIN ends print publication.

SPIN magazine is the latest victim of print media’s rapid decline. After more than 25 years in existence, the music magazine has ceased publication effective of December 2012.

SPIN previously announced that there would be no November/December issue as its new owner BuzzMedia determined “exactly how print fits in with SPIN’s multiple distribution points and growth initiatives.”

But now, as The Daily Swarm points out, subscribers of SPIN were recently informed that the magazine has permanently ceased publication. As a consolation (?), Car and Driver magazine promises to service subscriptions in full for the remainder of their term.

Update: SPIN has confirmed the news on its website:

“Following the September/October issue, SPIN has halted publication of our print edition to invest more deeply in our digital properties, including SPIN.com, SPIN Play for iPad, and SPIN mobile. SPIN has been a pioneer in music journalism since 1985 and we hope you’ll continue to enjoy our leading editorial, photographic, and multi-media content online. Special arrangements have been made with alternative publishers to fulfill your SPIN print subscription for the remaining term: you will automatically receive your new magazine in the mail, with the option to ask for a full refund. We appreciate your patience during the transition of your subscription.”

SPIN joins a list of defunct music magazines that includes Paste, Blender, and Vibe, among others.

Rock Legend Lou Reed died aged 71

R.I.P. Lou Reed

Today is a sad day for those who appreciate and love good music. Rock legend Lou Reed died.

Lou Reed, who took rock ‘n’ roll into dark corners as a songwriter, vocalist and guitarist for the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist, died Sunday, his publicist said. He was 71.

“It is now officially confirmed that Lou Reed did pass away several hours ago,” said Peter Noble.

Noble didn’t disclose details of Reed’s death.

Reed was a rock pioneer who went from record label songwriter to a member of a short-lived, but innovative and influential band.

“Lou Reed’s influence is one that there are really only a tiny handful of other figures who you can compare to him,” said Simon Vozick-Levinson, a senior editor at Rolling Stone, which first reported Reed’s death.

“He spoke incredibly frankly about the realities of being an artist, being a person who lived life on one’s own terms. He didn’t prettify things. He didn’t sugarcoat things. He showed life as it really is and that’s something that made him a true original, and one of our great all-time artists,” he said.

Reed, violist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Maureen Tucker played their first show as the Velvet Underground in 1965.

Photos: People we lost in 2013

“The world has lost a fine songwriter and poet. I’ve lost my ‘school-yard buddy,’ ” Cale wrote on Twitter.

The Velvets tackled taboo topics like drug addiction, paranoia and sexual deviancy.

Rock mythology has it that even though they were around only for a few years, everyone who went to a Velvet Underground concert went out and started a band.

Rolling Stone ranks the group’s debut album, “The Velvet Underground and Nico” as the 13th greatest of all time.

And performers from David Bowie to R.E.M. and U2 have cited them as inspiration.

Reed “was one of the first artists to experiment with guitar feedback on record and to show that sort of ugly noise can actually be quite beautiful and moving. He also, lyrically, wrote about all kinds of topics that were taboo before he started exploring them,” said Vozick-Levinson.

Reed gave a voice to gay and transgender people in a way that had never been done before by a popular artist, which made his work incredibly important to many people, he said.

In 1970, Reed left the Velvets for a long solo career turning out classics like “Walk on the Wild Side” and “Sweet Jane.”

“People say rock ‘n’ roll is constricting, but you can do anything you want, any way you want. And my goal has been to make an album that would speak to people the way Shakespeare speaks to me, the way Joyce speaks to me. Something with that kind of power; something with bite to it,” Reed told the New York Times in 1982 while promoting his album “The Blue Mask.”

Reed’s wife, Laurie Anderson, told The Times of London this summer, that Reed had a life-saving liver transplant in May.

“R.I.P. LOU REED….A LEGEND,” the Pixies wrote on their Twitter page.

Iggy Pop wrote simply: “Devastating news.”

Interview- TLOBF: Two Door Cinema Club + Band Video Performing @ Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver – October 25, 2013

Two Door Cinema Club

Bangor may not be renown for producing any kind of bands whose fan base extends outside menopausal housewives (*cough* SNOW PATROL *cough*) but Two Door Cinema Club – a Bangor trio of virile twenty-somethings who create sparky, sparkling indie-pop recalling Passion Pit’s rockiest moments and Star’s synthiest moments – are here to change all that. Already shortlisted for the BBC’s Sounds of 2010 award, TDCC are proving to be the brightest stars to light up the Northern Irish music scene for a long time – and with a lengthy tour currently on the agenda, they’re planning to light up the wholeworld.

We caught up with them below…

Hello Two Door Cinema Club! So your debut album is coming out next month – how are you all feeling about the release?
Very good! It’s been waiting to go for a few months now. We are so happy with it and wouldn’t change a thing.

How did you decide on the album’s name, Tourist History?
The past couple of years we have become tourists – playing shows in different cities and countries every night – most of which we have never been to before. The town we are from, Bangor, was a big tourist town in the 60s/70s and so we grew up with that history too.

Has your sound differed any from your earlier demos – are there going to be any surprises for the fans?
A lot of the songs are the same but they just sound a lot better! There is just more depth in the tracks and sonic variations throughout. I think it’s also great to have another person you respect having their input on your sound.

Could you talk me through the recording process for the album – how did you go about writing your songs?
Usually it will come from a small initial idea – melody or drum track. And then we loop it and play together to get a general structure. We would then go away and work individually in getting our own parts better.

Have you a particular favourite track on it?
I think ‘I Can Talk’ came out sounding great. Zdar brought a lot to the track too. He made it sound massive! It’s also the last song we wrote for the album.

How did you all meet, and what’s the story behind your band name?
We all met at high school and realised we all played guitar and liked similar music. The name came from a small cinema called the Tudor cinema which Sam pronounced wrong when thinking of a band name – Tudor Cinema Club – so the spelling got changed to Two Door.

What music do you think has influenced Two Door Cinema Club’s sound – is there any particular artist or album that had the most influence? I can hear a lot of Canadian indie influences in your music, like Broken Social Scene and Stars.
Yeah. we love those bands but we love so much music. We have quite different tastes. Everything from Stevie Wonder and John Denver to Kylie Minogue, At The Drive-in, Idlewild, Death Cab For Cutie and Mew.

You’ve received some brilliant press – you’ve been nominated as one of BBC’s Sounds of 2010, and Kanye West even included the video for ‘I Can Talk’ in one of his blog posts! How has all this press affected you as a band? Did you expect to be so well-received?
No – it all came as quite a shock. We have been working away for nearly 3 years and it just seems people are starting to catch on, which is great! It hasn’t affected us a lot. We have the album all ready and the tour is all planned. So we just plan to continue to work hard!

You’ve been touring around the UK and Europe at the minute – how receptive have audiences been to your new material? Is there any place where audiences have been particularly enthusiastic?
Yeah we have had a great time touring. It is always great playing in Ireland and the UK but I think people tend to be a bit more enthusiastic at our shows in Europe. France is pretty great. Our label is based there and we have played a lot there so things are picking up for us there and we have played our biggest shows there over anywhere…

What have been your best and worst touring moments?
Festivals are always a lot of fun. We got to go to lots of different ones last year, Like Glastonbury, Reading, Positivus in Latvia.

Much has been made over the fact that you use a laptop instead of a drummer when playing live – have you recruited a live drummer, or are you going to continue on using the laptop in live performances?
Yes indeed we have…but yes we still use a laptop also for some other percussion and samples.

Published on Oct 26, 2013
Performed at Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver – October 25, 2013

Two Door Cinema Club are a Northern Irish indie rock band from Bangor and Donaghadee, County Down, formed in 2007. The band consists of Alex Trimble Sam Halliday, and Kevin Baird.

Lead singer: Alex Trimble (2007–)
Origin: Bangor, United Kingdom
Albums: Tourist History, Beacon, iTunes Festival: London 2010, Sleep Alone (Remixes)
Members: Alex Trimble, Sam Halliday, Kevin Baird

Record labels: Kitsuné, Glassnote Records, Parlophone