I still remember my first time. It was on a London to Liverpool nighttime train journey, in the depths of winter. I'd picked up my copy at Euston WHSmiths, in the hope of easing the pain of a three hour journey home. It worked. This was, I think, 2003 (and Blur were on the cover), and I haven't missed a copy since; greedily seeking it out every second Thursday of the month. I've come to realize that my slavish devotion is not without its own subconscious narrative, dating back to my childhood. You see, after my Roy of The Rovers and Dandy comics phase, my first foray into more 'grown up' publications was with the absolutely vital Smash Hits which, it turns out, was overseen by the younger versions of the people behind The Word. My thirst for more pop gossip led me into the orbits of NME, Melody Maker, Sounds, Q, Select, Vox, Mojo, Uncut... (yada yada). And, of course, it also turns out that most of these were launched by the people behind The Word, and most of the rest will have featured its writers at one time or another. So, I've been well groomed, but it seems I'm OK with it.
But, enough of the sinister grip Messrs Hepworth & Ellen have over a certain demographic of 80s kids - back to the magazine. I'd say that there's a characteristic disunity about the content of The Word, and it is this that makes it such a vibrant, heady read. Sounds a bit much, I know (and yet care not), but what I mean is that there's no message; it doesn't aim for a tone of 'worthiness' - unlike, say Mojo: there's no pretense at this being a 'heritage' publication. What's more, as befits the Smash Hits ethos, they manage to retain an ability to be hugely moved by, engaged with, and enthusiastic about their subjects, yet at the same time completely un-obsequious to them. If you listen to their now weekly podcasts, you can witness the gang of them in good humored disagreement over anything from the 1960s folk of Pentangle, rock charity flag waving, to the merits of beards in Rock. This all feeds into the tone of the magazine, which is held together by a combination of brilliant writing and innovative formatting.
And best of all, their free CDs are amazing!
1 comment:
Nic,
I have to say that I am totally with you on 'The Word'. I started reading it at the first issue and haven't missed one since. Much like yourself I progressed from 'Look In' to 'Smash Hits' and the onto 'Q' and pretty much progressed with Hepworth and Ellen along the way. What I love about the magazine is that it manages to maintain the vibrancy and excitement that ordinary folk have for music and such, that other magazines look on with complete disdain. I once e-mailed Hepworth to tell him that I get the same excitement now at 33 years of age waiting every month to get the new magazine as I had in the late 80's when I waited every week for the new single releases to be delivered to the local record shop in the small Irish town I grew up in.
Also, the CD's are great - like anything that has a human input into it the quality does fluctuate, but that's a great thing - they are the equivalent of being asked over to a friends house to listen to his record collection. As with those trips to friends houses in the eighties you just know that you'll hear stuff you like and some stuff that you don't, but nevertheless it will be fun.
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