Tag Archives: magazines

Vibe’s demise premature

On August 23, Vibe.com quietly relaunched as a blog. A banner ad in the top right corner declares “Prepare For The Re-Launch: November 2009.” The beta premiere of Vibe.com followed news that InterMedia Partners, a private fund, teamed with the … Continue reading

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Frank 151 37: The De La Soul issue

This may be the best Frank 151 issue I’ve seen to date. It celebrates the 20th anniversary of De La Soul’s seminal 3 Feet High Rising with 150 pages on everything De La, from interviews with onetime Native Tongues (including … Continue reading

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Vibe’s demise

The apparent collapse of Vibe Media Group, and the end of Vibe magazine, is something less than a surprise. Rumors have circulated for months that Vibe may fold at any moment. The same rumors shadow every major newspaper and magazine, … Continue reading

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R.I.P. Paper Thin Walls

Today, Paper Thin Walls announced that it is shutting down operations on Labor Day. According to head honcho (and former hip-hop guru at CMJ) Christopher Weingarten, the site will stay archived online…for a while. Paper Thin Walls was a curious … Continue reading

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Scratch, Straight No Chaser RIP

scratch and straight no chaser.jpg

This fall brings the demise of two venerable music magazines, Scratch and Straight No Chaser.

Many expected that Scratch, the better known of the two here in the States, wouldn’t last long. Originally launched in 2004 by Harris Publications, it was a failed attempt to capitalize on a burgeoning interest in hip-hop production, studio musicians and crate-digging. In some respects, it was a mainstream version of the same culture that Wax Poetics (launched in 2002) had already successfully targeted. But while Wax Poetics focused on "classic" hip-hop, soul, jazz and deep funk artists such as Pete Rock, the late Weldon Irvine and Roy Ayers, Scratch — which was launched with the help of several Wax Poetics editors — spotlighted the modern-day rap industry.

Straight No Chaser was founded by several veteran UK journalists, including a former editor at The Wire. From the start, its mission was to highlight the acid jazz bubbling around the world. Taking its name from Thelonious Monk’s classic song, it became a standard bearer for underground, soul-influenced beat music. Its cover subjects ranged from Madlib to Bjork, and from Jeff Mills to Meshell Ndegeocello.

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