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In order to make your trip to your local booshop or newsstand a little bit more taxing, a
new music magazine has decided to throw its hat into the proverbial ring.
Revolver is the name of this new rag, which seemingly attempts to fuse
Magnet's indieness with Spin's corporate-driven rock and hip-hop persona.
Oh, and for good measure they toss in a dash of Maxim's over-the-top
hedonism. And while this all may seem utterly impossible, Revolver
miraculously succeeds in pulling off this most difficult of tricks.
I must admit that I was initially wary of this magazine because of its cover, which features the Doors' late frontman, Jim Morrison. I've never been a
fan of the Doors' psychedelic pseudo-porno music, nor have I ever been
utterly enthralled by their bewilderingly iconic leader. His appearance on
the cover initially led me to believe that Revolver was going to be a
classic rock-aping, Beatles-title-stealing throwback mag. Thankfully, that
thought was dashed to bits upon reading their casually
conversational interview with the ever-so-elusive Elliott
Smith. My initial notion was then blown clear away by Revolver's
how-in-the-hell-did-they-get-this interview with the three original members
of the Police, which proved to be very interesting and thought-provoking
and leads me to believe that Sting is, in fact, a big pansy.
Also worth
mentioning is the "Jailhouse Rock" feature, which takes the reader on a blow
by blow account of just who in the music biz has had a run in with the
fuzz -- and who has served time for doing so.
Other notable articles include candid
chats with Billy Corgan, Moby and Wu-mastermind RZA as well as two great
columns, one called "Little Earthquakes" and another titled "Great Fucking
Music" which probes Dave Navarro on soundtracks he has used during sexual encounters.
Though it will no doubt get better with time, Revolver's premier issue is a
sufficiently interesting mix of the weird, the mainstream and the tawdry. If you can stomach relatively mainstream music rags, you'll probably agree that it shows definite promise.
Reviewed by Jason Jackowiak
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