The Influence of Music Magazines on Late 70's & Early 80's Music

In my youth it was partly my mission in life to be as hip and cool as possible as I'm sure it was for most other kids. Back in the late 70's & early 80's music was the litmus test by which your coolness could be calculated. Getting in on the ground floor of the coolest new bands and trends of the day was a must. God-forbid that you should enjoy some of the much frowned upon Commercial Top-30 hits of the day that wafted over the airwaves. There was a sense of needing to belong to something and outside of a gang being part of a musical clique could make you feel like you were a part of something important and revolutionary. Lots of groups had their manic supporters back then. The "Motorhead" crowd were fervent metal-heads. You had the shoe-gazing (anorak wearing) "Joy Division" sect, the "Goths" who worshipped at "The Bauhaus" alter. You had the effeminate "New Romantic" devotees, all puffy clothes, ridiculous make-up and colorful accessorizing. All these different groups were springing up all over the country. It even became cool to live in certain areas of Britain. London gave way to Manchester for a time. The Manchurian working class industrial wasteland seemed to be the place to be in the early 80's with many formidable bands springing up Post-Punk & the rise of 'Factory Records' blazing the trail for all British Indie Labels.

I remember getting into 'U2' for a time back in 1980 and then giving up on them after about 83-84 as soon as they become commercial. My clique was gone. My coolness quotient was in jeopardy. Now they were public property and so I moved on to new bands. Ridiculous in retrospect of course but teenagers are fickle creatures at the best of times.

I like many was influenced by the Music-media's say on who was hot and who was not at the time. This was not necessarily a bad thing as back then, there was of course no internet and limited ways to discover new and exciting bands other than the radio, which although it did offer some Alternative Music listening experiences, i.e.: 'John Peel Show' (essential listening) did not in general connect with the street-kid looking for something with more soul and fire. Something to relate to and belong to. Something real. No, the easiest way to find out what was going on in the cool side of the music world was to skim through the pages of the Weekly music-rags: 'NME' or 'Melody Maker' or even 'Sounds'. The 'NME' was my bible of choice at the time and introduced me to many new bands I would never have otherwise heard about otherwise. Remember that this is pre-pre Internet.

These magazines (perhaps I should say papers) were at the time very well produced. The articles within were written by true music-fans it seemed. The interviews and observations were more akin to a really good 'Rolling-Stone' article. Unfortunately nowadays the 'NME' looks more like a glossy teen-mag than anything people are going to actually read. Back then, once I'd found writer's whose reviews I enjoyed and whose opinions I trusted then the magazine became my weekly joy. Every Wednesday I'd fork over my 40 or 50 pence and see what else I'd been missing out on. One of my favorite segments was the single of the week section which would highlight the cream of the crop for that week. I remember "Echo & the Bunnymen's' -'Pictures on my wall', "Lori & the Chameleons" - 'Touch', "Bill Nelson's Red Noise" - 'Revolt into Style' all being highlighted this way. I bought these (3) singles and they all have a special place in my heart. In the back of the magazines would be advertisements from Record shops selling the latest 7" vinyl singles and LP's. Many times would I scurry in excitement to my local Post Office to get a money order for the latest "X Ray Spex" single or that limited edition Orange vinyl single featured in the latest issue.

Nowadays I have given up on the music magazines. For one thing they are now ridiculously expensive. There are some interesting Mags out there like 'Wired', 'Filter' and the like which cater for a more eclectic musical palette. Other magazines offer sample CD's which pushes the price up even further of course. Nowadays I skim the internet for my inspiration. There are some great On-Line review sites like 'Pitchfork' and even places like 'Amazon' offer folks-at-large the chance to leave their own comments. The sample/snippet 'MP3's' on 'Amazon' and other On-Line Music stores is a god-send and certainly helps me make that final decision to buy. However it is with a sense of fondness and a little sadness that I look back all those years to the exciting times when bands were exciting enough to get all hot and bothered about when you read about them in print.