Skip Mojo unless you formed your political identity in 1962 and have never updated it since. Mojo offers a "SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!" and you notice quickly that, for them, it's a man's world: U2, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, White Stripes (they ignore Meg and focus on Jack), Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits (the cover boy -- if you can believe it!), Johnny Cash, Artic Monkeys and Hank Williams III. But, remember, 1962. So they're not complete racists. In a White Man Baby Boomer way, they care. They really, really care. So they toss in Harry Belafonte. They also toss in a CD that Tom Waits compiled. 15 tracks, one is a woman (Blind Mamie Forehand). When you've included "When You Wish Upon A Star," you're not rocking, you're just revealing how much you hate women. Message received, Tom and Mojo.
Uncut has David Bowie as cover boy. But the pull quote and media attention will probably go to Willie Nelson who confesses to Andrew Mueller, "I liked Bill Clinton. And Jimmy Carter's a good buddy. I even smoked dope on the White House roof one time . . ."
WILLIE NELSON SMOKED DOPE ON THE WHITE HOUSE ROOF will be the headline. In fact, we'll use it here.
They also offer a review (Neil Spencer) of Anais Mitchell's Hadestown which they give five stars:
Singer's star-studded 'folk opera' has 'American classic' stamped on it. Mitchell has a couple of well reeived albums to her name, but Hadestown has made her an American princess. It retells the Grek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, relocating the poet and his lost lover to Depression-era USA and handing parts to Bon Iver, Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown and Low Anthem's Ben Knox Miller. The songs are pithy, their arrangements sliding between country, gospel, Dixieland and string sextet. The Waisian growl of Brown, as Hades, King of the Underworld, is a stand-out while the zest and narrative flow of the piece never falters. Beautiful package, too.
Q magazine attempts to bounce back after the ridiculous McCartney issue by tossing Muse on the cover. Yes, a cover male whose pubes are not grey. Shocking, isn't it. The bulk of the album is a look at 40 years of the Glastonbury music festivals.
They also interview Mick Jagger who replies to a question about plans for another Stones' tour with, "Nnnno. Not yet. But who knows?" They're pimping Gaslight Anthem heavy in Q. Spin also pimps the band with a feature article by Steve Kandell. For several pages, you search in favin for something -- anything -- of interest. Nothing. Not even a pull quote. If the band is as dull as Kandell makes them out to be, they better hope earnest is the new grunge. Mikael Wood's review of their American Slang (eight dots; ten means classic) indicates Spin thinks it is.
But not strongly enough to put them on the cover which is how Paramore's lead singer Hayley Williams ends up there instead. In a seven page article by Josh Eells, Williams offers many pull quotes on everything from drugs, to sex, to Twilight teeny bops.
Of the four magazines, Uncut's the page turner this month but for a solid look at the Glastonbury festivals, check out Q.