[Jandek] Spin/AP (OT)

[chthonic streams]

>Spin, as I remember it, for the first year was a vital music read
>(unlike, say, Rolling Stone which by that point was largely dedicated
>to clothing and fashion for some reason). While the cover feature
>might be David Lee Roth or Madonna, the lion's share of the mag was
>devoted to bands as the Minutemen, the Cramps, Jandek, and so forth;
>bands your average suburban kid in the mid-80's might not have
>otherwise discovered.
>
>>  Ah, but back in the day when it was under the wing of the Penthouse empire
>>  (and briefly thereafter)and was actually writing about Jandek and
>>  underground artists, "Spin" was really quite very good.  After about 1990
>>  or so, forget it - the mag's writers became obsessed with hip-hop and it
>>  began a quick descent into becoming a delivery system for ads targeting
>  > university students.


sadly this is a pattern repeated again and again - the next-in-line 
"large" alternative music magazine was AP (alternative press), which 
at one time was even more "out there" than the early SPINs 
(relatively speaking of course).  now a glance at the cover tells the 
same story of something underground becoming co-opted into mall 
style.  i'm not sure if AP ever covered jandek, but they sure 
wouldn't now.


d.