Here is my opinion of Revolution.
I picked up Revolution based solely on the fact that they helped bring
Swayzak to Atlanta last month. Once I got home and started reading, though,
I was utterly appalled. Madonna on the cover? "Dance music is the new
rock." as the heading??
The entire magazine seemed hopelessly behind the times. An article "The Toys
of Summer" featured a Flat Eric puppet. Hasn't he been around for over a
year now? The feature "Hip Factor" was a complete rip off of the Face's
barometer and wasn't particularly funny. "Slanguage" lists "PLUR" as a
term - I thought everyone knew PLUR!? The layout and design of the mag is
neither revolutionary or eye-catching. The reviews, were, ok...I shouldn't
bash on the reviews too much, because we all know that reviews boil down to
opinions and of course everyone is entitled to one...but giving Fila
Brazilia's "Brazilification" 2 stars out of 5 is just WRONG. Other than that
the reviews were well-written but not particularly insightful. The review of
Suba's "Sao Paolo Confessions" is nice and even gives Suba a generous 4
"r"s.
As for the CDs, the Thievery Corporation was a mild pleasant suprize, maybe
like finding a lost sock or something. The other one, "Deep Summer",
included some incredible artists, but they were all those artists most
mediocre tracks. I may be a new initiate to the works of A:xus/Abacus, but I
think that "You Make Me Feel Like" (included on Deep Summer) is one of his
worst tracks.
On a positive note: Revolution carries a plethora of URLs. Even if the
magazine blows you still have plenty to amuse yourself with. :) This month
also had a nice article on Larry Levan/Paradise Garage which is an excerpt
from "Keep on Dancin'" by Mel Cheren (the new book about the Garage).
In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend this magazine for anyone who has had any
sort of familiarity with the scene for more than a year. It is simply trying
to cover too many genres, spreading itself too thin and assuming that the
reader knows too little about electronic music. If you are, or know someone,
who is just breaking out from their rock-and-roll shell, maybe Revolution
would be a solid investment.
hoping I don't sound too negative,
B.
--- Bethany A. Johnson http://www.rawkawn.com http://www.thedownbeat.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cyrus, Kevin" <Kcyrus@cvty.com> To: <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu> Sent: Monday, August 07, 2000 5:52 PM Subject: San Diego Happenings? And AJ topic: Revolutions magazine> What's hot for this weekend on the San Diego acid jazz scene? I'll be > visiting from 8/9 - 8/14. Tips on where to go or at least a resource to > check out either online or hard copy would be greatly appreciated. > > Also, has anyone seen a magazine called "Revolutions"? It's about internet > dance music but it covers some hip hop, international, electronica and other > genres. The premiere issue included two CDs. One was an eleven track mix > disc from Thievery Corp. The other was a sampler of eight tracks talked > about in the magazine AND an internet toolkit. A monthly subscription is > $20 US and includes a sampler CD per issue PLUS the net CD. > > The magazine believes in getting music off the net and putting it into your > PC, an MP3 player or just burning a disc. They give you internet sites to > put together a full CD each month. They even provide the jewel box artwork. > Based on the first issue, it's worth checking out. > > I bought some of the featured/reviewed discs to check out: > LTJ Bukem - Journey Inwards > Femi Kuti - Shoki, Shoki > Slum Village - Fantastic, Vol. 1 > Jurassic 5 - Quality Control > Dilated Peoples - The Platform > > The Thievery disc was definitely nice. > > Couldn't really get into the J5, maybe it will grow on me later. The rest > of the lot is hittin'. Still need to get Gilles Peterson and Francois K. > > Anyone checked out Jill Scott? She is coming out of the Roots camp and her > CD is NICE! > > It's been a while since I've posted, hope this isn't old news. Peace. > > Thanks for any San Diego feedback. I especially want to catch DJ Greyboy, > Fattburger and any LOCAL act I wouldn't ordinarily see on the east coast. > > > > >
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