NME .... RIP

martinw

monquixote said:

I always hated the nme as a kid in the 90s

They turned their noses up at anything that wasn't ironic and art school and all the bands they championed were all about going to the right parties and wearing the right clothes but produced shit music.

Ditto in the 70s and 80s. Good riddance, pretentious wankers.

More about 'new' than music.

MagicPigDetective

All this slating has got me thinking more about what the NME meant to me in the early to mid 90's, the only period that I am familiar with it.
Mainstream music in the 80's and going into the 90's was a shitfest for many. Finding bands or scenes that were different and rejected the mainstream shite was a godsend for many such as me and started a lifelong passion for music. At that time there were many scenes, sub-genres, cities and regions had their own scenes. Without the NME etc a lot of these might have stayed regional and you would not have heard of them as the mainstream media would not have given them any attention. They were dependent on independent record labels and the NME etc (and John Peel) were the only ones who would give such releases exposure, it reflected what was happening away from the charts and the mainstream. Yes it was also looking for the next big thing - I think they were searching for the next Smiths, a band who broke into the mainstream but who were 'different'. It might have looked from the outside as elitist indie types, but it was all based on independent record labels, gigs, word of mouth, at the time the indie scene was buzzing with new bands appearing all the time from all over the UK. 

 
These days it is hard to imagine two weekly papers all about indie/alternative music  with so many pages, record and live reviews, interviews that went on for a few pages. I can read a monthly magazine in a couple of hours now. It took me days to get through the NME, by which time the next one was out. The writers had opinions. Some controversial, some stupid, wrong, right, funny. At least they had an opinion. They also picked up on political issues of the day and reflected issues that were relevant to young 'uns. Poll tax, the criminal justice act, being sick of year of Tory rule. Of course in those days you had bands that were happy to discuss and be associated with politics. In this age of apathy it's very different.

A bit of a ramble there...... I think many would have read the NME during a short period when the bands they covered would have aligned with what they were into or when they were first seriously getting into music as a late teenager etc, The period before or after that it would be of no interest. But for that short time when it was, the NME was seriously relevant and vital. Well it was to me anyway!

EricTheWeary

MagicPigDetective said:

All this slating has got me thinking more about what the NME meant to me in the early to mid 90's, the only period that I am familiar with it.
Mainstream music in the 80's and going into the 90's was a shitfest for many. Finding bands or scenes that were different and rejected the mainstream shite was a godsend for many such as me and started a lifelong passion for music. At that time there were many scenes, sub-genres, cities and regions had their own scenes. Without the NME etc a lot of these might have stayed regional and you would not have heard of them as the mainstream media would not have given them any attention. They were dependent on independent record labels and the NME etc (and John Peel) were the only ones who would give such releases exposure, it reflected what was happening away from the charts and the mainstream. Yes it was also looking for the next big thing - I think they were searching for the next Smiths, a band who broke into the mainstream but who were 'different'. It might have looked from the outside as elitist indie types, but it was all based on independent record labels, gigs, word of mouth, at the time the indie scene was buzzing with new bands appearing all the time from all over the UK. 

 
These days it is hard to imagine two weekly papers all about indie/alternative music  with so many pages, record and live reviews, interviews that went on for a few pages. I can read a monthly magazine in a couple of hours now. It took me days to get through the NME, by which time the next one was out. The writers had opinions. Some controversial, some stupid, wrong, right, funny. At least they had an opinion. They also picked up on political issues of the day and reflected issues that were relevant to young 'uns. Poll tax, the criminal justice act, being sick of year of Tory rule. Of course in those days you had bands that were happy to discuss and be associated with politics. In this age of apathy it's very different.

A bit of a ramble there...... I think many would have read the NME during a short period when the bands they covered would have aligned with what they were into or when they were first seriously getting into music as a late teenager etc, The period before or after that it would be of no interest. But for that short time when it was, the NME was seriously relevant and vital. Well it was to me anyway!

When I was reading Sounds in the late 70s/ early 80s it was relevant and vital to me. A window into a world that had little to do with living with my parents in Wolverhampton. There was very little opportunity to see/ hear/ read about these bands and artists otherwise. By the time Sounds folded in 1991 I'd moved onto other things but I guess many of us had those periods when music journalism seemed really important.

My seventeen year old son can get his equivalent now at the tap of an iPad and unlimited opinions via social media. Oddly enough enough he does read Sound on Sound which offers the in depth information that the wittering masses can't. 

UnclePsychosis

In the NME's defence, Queen really are shite.

MagicPigDetective

Led Zeppelin > Queen 

Nunogilberto

Philly_Q said:

I didn't like NME in my youth because they never covered hard rock or metal bands.  In fact I don't think they even acknowledged the existence of anything outside of whatever they thought was hip and cool.

So fuck 'em, good riddance.

Yep. I bought it a handful of times for the gig listings but wasn’t fussed on the content otherwise. It was all about the latest scenesters  and bands whose names began with ‘the’. Plus they’d frequently mock rock bands, which used to get on my tits.

proggy

I've stil got my copies, I keep them by my bed in front of my American sit-com box set.

I keep my Friends close but my NMEs closer. 

Phil_aka_Pip

Nunogilberto said:

Plus they’d frequently mock rock bands, which used to get on my tits.

I lost all respect for them in the summer of 1976 when within 2 issues Led Zeppelin had gone from being "one of the world's greatest rock'n'roll bands" to being "four boring old farts". Not that I had much before. They never reviewed a band's music or even said much about the band itself. It was always socio-political claptrap plus any excuse to dis anyone who had skills and a musical education. As I said before: Worthless rag, I won't miss it.

fandango

MagicPigDetective said:

Led Zeppelin > Queen 

Pink Floyd > Led Zeppelin > Queen

frank1985

The joy of the internet, or specifically Youtube is that before buying albums we have the resources to form our own opinions instead of being spoon fed them by bigoted, narrow minded journos.

Sporky

Not NME, but in the spirit of the thread...

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/entertainment.theonion.com/pitchfork-gives-music-6-8-1819569318/amp

Bucket

UnclePsychosis said:

In the NME's defence, Queen really are shite.

Get out.

Phil_aka_Pip

UnclePsychosis said:

In the NME's defence, Queen really are shite.

absolute bollox

Strat54

Never a fan of the NME. It was always SOUNDS for me. Loved that magazine, a wealth of info and gigs forever. Still have a copy of this issue signed by Chuck and Dan of Green On Red....

http://www.rockofages.uk.com/stock/19817.jpg

Nunogilberto

Bucket said:

UnclePsychosis said:

In the NME's defence, Queen really are shite.

Get out.

In Queen’s defence, that’s horseshit.

Heartfeltdawn

MagicPigDetective said:

All this slating has got me thinking more about what the NME meant to me in the early to mid 90's, the only period that I am familiar with it.
Mainstream music in the 80's and going into the 90's was a shitfest for many. Finding bands or scenes that were different and rejected the mainstream shite was a godsend for many such as me and started a lifelong passion for music. At that time there were many scenes, sub-genres, cities and regions had their own scenes. Without the NME etc a lot of these might have stayed regional and you would not have heard of them as the mainstream media would not have given them any attention. They were dependent on independent record labels and the NME etc (and John Peel) were the only ones who would give such releases exposure, it reflected what was happening away from the charts and the mainstream. Yes it was also looking for the next big thing - I think they were searching for the next Smiths, a band who broke into the mainstream but who were 'different'. It might have looked from the outside as elitist indie types, but it was all based on independent record labels, gigs, word of mouth, at the time the indie scene was buzzing with new bands appearing all the time from all over the UK. 

 
These days it is hard to imagine two weekly papers all about indie/alternative music  with so many pages, record and live reviews, interviews that went on for a few pages. I can read a monthly magazine in a couple of hours now. It took me days to get through the NME, by which time the next one was out. The writers had opinions. Some controversial, some stupid, wrong, right, funny. At least they had an opinion. They also picked up on political issues of the day and reflected issues that were relevant to young 'uns. Poll tax, the criminal justice act, being sick of year of Tory rule. Of course in those days you had bands that were happy to discuss and be associated with politics. In this age of apathy it's very different.

A bit of a ramble there...... I think many would have read the NME during a short period when the bands they covered would have aligned with what they were into or when they were first seriously getting into music as a late teenager etc, The period before or after that it would be of no interest. But for that short time when it was, the NME was seriously relevant and vital. Well it was to me anyway!

Don't forget the Evening Session and Mark Radcliffe. I still kick myself for not ordering the first Belle & Sebastian record after they played on Radcliffe and Lard's show... The slating on this forum for NME doesn't surprise me. There's a lot of Guitarist readers here. We're in mock leather driving glove territory and no mistake

Where NME truly worked for me was the idea of being open to influences. You might remember a guy called Dele Fadele writing there, a black chap in a sea of white faces at the time, who wrote about hip hop and was a very intelligent passionate writer. When Loveless was reviewed, it was Fadele who reviewed it. 

http://www.tohereknowswhen.org/press/nme-9nov91-2.html

Perfect. If a guy who likes hip hop can dig shoegazing's zenith, then why couldn't a white cracker like me like hip-hop? NME to me was about breaking down boundaries. 

MagicPigDetective

Yes @Heartfeltdawn how could I forget; Mark Goodier, who's 7pm Evening Session introducing a lot of kids great bands, Mark and Lard (before R1, Hit the North on R5....Verve's live session being my highlight. And Frank Sidebottom). There were others... Gary Crowley's sessions programme on at 3am on ITV needed your best attempts at setting the VHS to record. 

As well as indie the NME helped introduce me to electronic music, orbital, aphex twin etc and the whole ‘intelligent dance music’ of the time. 

Was it the NME or MM that used to take the piss out of Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts?  

EricTheWeary

MagicPigDetective said:

Yes @Heartfeltdawn how could I forget; Mark Goodier, who's 7pm Evening Session introducing a lot of kids great bands, Mark and Lard (before R1, Hit the North on R5....Verve's live session being my highlight. And Frank Sidebottom). There were others... Gary Crowley's sessions programme on at 3am on ITV needed your best attempts at setting the VHS to record. 

As well as indie the NME helped introduce me to electronic music, orbital, aphex twin etc and the whole ‘intelligent dance music’ of the time. 

Was it the NME or MM that used to take the piss out of Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts?  

Everyone used to take the piss out of Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts. Although as possibly my greatest claim to fame is having eaten a meal with Dumpy I look upon him kindly.