"I've always assumed [they] would be shit, since the NME plugged them so heavily."

Anyways, this is going to sound pretty sheltered for someone who actually writes about music on a regular basis, but I don't read hype-addled mags much at all, really, or acknowledge their existence. I read Spin sometimes, and usually keep track of a good handful of alt-weeklies, but I manage to avoid most of the NEW NOW HOT kind of shit. If I didn't, I'd probably turn into the type of bitter, frothing cynic I always get into arguments with here (ha ha, I kid).

But the Internet!

http://nme.com

Awww, I quite like the Frames in an Irish Automatic For The People kinda way (I discovered them because "Frame" is my surname, granted).

Whereas it seems like the musical focus in the UK these days is techno, techno, techno, rap, techno, and fond recollections of brit pop, madchester and MAYBE postpunk/new wave. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Ha! The dance press is pretty much dead on its arse, well, if you comapre it now to about three or four years ago. Some fighters still going, but no massively mainstream overage any more.

I started reading the NME as a teenager in the mid-80s, and treated it as a Bible until some point in the early 90s. So my dislike of it now is at least in part the bitterness of the disillusioned ex-disciple. When I occasionally see a copy nowadays there are sometimes people I'm interested in in there, but the quality of the writing has dropped to the point where I'm embarrassed to read it. Like a lot of people I don't find out about new music through print media any more.

I don't really detest most of the bands that the paper has championed over the last couple of years, most of them have done songs I've liked. The reason that I've got such a kneejerk distrust of NME championed bands is that the paper is a naked advertorial. I get no feeling that the journalists are fans. Bands are promoted because they fit the target demographic, not because somebody on the staff loves them. People might argue that magazines have always done this; all I can say is that even 20 years ago the NME's target demographic was a lot broader than it is today. To me, the NME actually taints the artists it promotes, because some of the stink of naked target marketing rubs off. This may be right or wrong. It bothers me at a pre-logical level, anyhow.

(But I checked out the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and they sound good.)

Cos I'd buy it just for the release info to be honest.

I see Clash magazine is still going, even though it's circulation sales must be shockingly low

Clash
http://www.clashmagazine.com/