Magnet (magazine)
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Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands. It published six times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option, Raygun, and Alternative Press. The first issue of Magnet came out in mid-1993. Examples of cover stars over the years include Yo La Tengo (1993, 2000), The Afghan Whigs (1994), Spacemen 3 (1997), Shudder To Think (1997), Tortoise/ Swervedriver (1998), Sonic Youth (1998), Sunny Day Real Estate (1998), Ween (2000), Ride (2002), Interpol (2003), Hüsker Dü (2005), and Cat Power (2007).
The magazine's content tends to focus on feature-length pieces about up-and-coming indie bands, lengthy expositions on various music scenes. Examples include long pieces on the Denton, TX psychedelic rock scene (1997), the New York City "Illbient" scene (1997), the history of power pop (2002), the Cleveland avant-punk scene of the 1970s, the Minneapolis college-rock scene of the '80s (2005), the California "Paisley Underground" bands of the '80s (2001), and the resurgence of the Shoegaze movement (2002). Also common is the "artists within a construct" theme -- e.g., the "Eccentrics And Dreamers" issue (2003) featuring various "outsider" artists.
Beginning in early 1997, subscribers to each issue receive a sampler CD. Record labels pay the magazine to have songs put on the CDs, meaning that inclusion signified no endorsement from the staff of Magnet, although bands would claim otherwise, leading to moderate controversy over the years. The songs on the CDs often have little to do with the type of music covered by the magazine.
Though the magazine's focus for the first five years or so of its existence was experimental/underground music, it shifted at the turn of the century to an emphasis on covering traditional country-rock/ light pop fare such as Wilco, Steve Earle, New Pornographers, Shins, and even Tom Petty. Despite this, it still maintains a section devoted to free jazz and obscure electronic-based music in each issue. It has also done long articles on jazz icons Albert Ayler, Ken Vandermark, and Ornette Coleman. The photographic style of subjects has also evolved from inventive avant-garde settings to stark, no-frills closeups of band members. One common thread in Magnet's history has a been a staunch opposition to covering the emo, heavy metal, and gangsta rap genres of music.
The January/February issue of each year features a faux-retrospective look on that year, predicting various absurdist musical occurrences; this is always penned by Phil Sheridan. More recently, Andrew Earles has written an article in each issue entitled "Where's The Street Team?," chastizing overhyped bands and their fans.
