Can’t wait to see Hot Press’s Mamma Mia cover as a spoiler for this.
Or maybe Hot Press will just scratch their heads (like we did when we saw it) and go “Abba? State have put Abba on the cover? Abba? Are they after the hairdresser market or something? We thought State were supposed to be about hot, new music”
New issue is also reduced in price and comes with a free CD.
The interview is great. That’s why its on the cover.
Comment by NiallI’m looking forward to getting my hands on new State. Fair play for getting Abba, why the hell not?! They have a massive back catalogue of damn good pop songs. The thing I always complained about with State was the high price, so the reduction and a free CD is perfection. There will never be a need to buy Hot Pants again.
Comment by MixTapePRThe interview is great. That’s why its on the cover.
Yeah, right. Nothing to do with an Abba cover will draw in buyers who would not be tempted by having Interpol or Muse on the cover? Next, you’ll be putting Daniel O’Donnell or Brian Cowen on the front. Didnt take long for State to turn into Hot Press, did it?
Comment by StuartStuart, of course Abba draws in buyers but we always said we wouldn’t be afraid to put things not expected of us on the cover. The second part of your comment is inane. You haven’t seen inside of the magazine yet. Unfortunately, people always judge a book by its cover.
Comment by NiallMusic publication in putting popular act on the cover shocker!
I’d rather read about a classic pop band than drug smuggling scumbag, in a music magazine that is.
Comment by Sean DHow far away do you stand once you’ve lit the dynamite, Jim?
Comment by JohnnieNialler - Your attempts to justify what your employer puts on the cover are very noble but the fact is State has been a huge disappointment so far, to me at least and I don’t think I am alone.
I thought it would be way better, sharper and better written. Even the website is not great - and it’s really sad that you’re not updating your blog as much as before because you’re working so much on State.
I think Analogue magazine is going to be the one for me and anyone interested in new music from here on in (and no I don’t write for Analogue)
Comment by RangerI think some people are being grossly unfair to State, IMO it’s been a breath of fresh air so far. People also need to remember that it’s only 4 or 5 issues in, and is bound to have teething problems.
But I think such sniping is inherent in some music fans. So I think I’ll start an Analogue backlash before it becomes cliched.
(And no, I don’t work for Hot Press, State, Analogue, The Irish Times, etc etc)
Comment by JoeIMO it’s been a breath of fresh air so far.
This is a joke, right? There is noway in hell anyone could think it is a breath of fresh air. Covering bands like REM and Gemma Hayes and fucking Muse and Iggy isn’t “fresh.” And when they do get around to covering a new/cool artist, it’s always a month after everywhere else featured them.
Comment by Alexthe backlash to the analogue backlash starts here.
or something like that.
Comment by ciaranThe problem with any music magazine is that most people have hugely different notions of what constitues a good music magazine. Abbagate is a case in point. One poster thought it would be ‘way better’ and .sharper.’ What the hell does that mean?
Music readers are a difficult bunch to please as most believe they can do a better job
Comment by nerrawAlex @ 10
Yeah I do think it’s been refreshing, to be honest. I’d ask you to define “everywhere else” that covers stuff before them. Hot Press? Because to a lot of people that is the only other Irish music magazine available. Perhaps the likes of AU, Analogue and others are ahead of the game in terms of features or more obscure (and therefore instantly more credible, right?) acts but in reality, for most people in Ireland, the likes of those magazines I just mentioned aren’t circulated as widely outside the capital.
And compared to Hot Press it has been a welcome addition. Yeah they’ll cover REM, Muse et al because they have to sell magazines. They’re the cover acts, but there’s more to a magazine than what’s on the cover.
How far away do you stand once you’ve lit the dynamite, Jim?
Johnnie - the remote control detonation devices are really amazing.
Comment by Jim CarrollI buy Wire magazine all the time but I never seem to be able to get my head far enough out of my ass to read it
Comment by adamI think Abba are a great choice for a cover feature. Anyone with even the smallest vestige of an interest in popular music would see them as a much more interesting feature than Interpol. I also read somewhere that the singer Frida was fathered by an SS officer as part of a Nazi project to protect the Aryan bloodline by having Scandinavians breed with Germans.
Comment by gardenheadAt 15 … Same can be said of the tv show.
Steps away quietly.
Comment by MullyMully - You mean “steps away quickly”
Comment by Jim Carroll@Mully - Chris and Snoop are gonna be paying you a visit, y’feel me? You goin’ get to spend time in the vacants yo’
Comment by adamGardenhead, for serious? ( off to check wikipedia)
Yup… says so there.
And come on , even Sid Vicious was a major ABBA fan.
Speaking of Wire. Where is our Wire thread for today? I have a love poem to Andre Royo I want to post.
Comment by Q“a Nazi project to protect the Aryan bloodline by having Scandinavians breed with Germans”
I’ve always maintained that Abba were a Nazi propaganda machine, no one ever believed me.
Comment by Peter81State is a decent magazine but its problem is that there are plenty of publications available to the Irish public already which cover simillar terrain - Hotpress, The Ticket, the Sunday Times Culture section, the Tribune plus all the UK publications. You can argue all night about which one has the better writers, integrity, design etc but they’re all doing the same thing as State at the end of the day.
There simply is very little to distinguish it from the multitude of music magazines. The market is already saturated.
Why didn’t they just ditch the print magazine - expensive and inefficient to produce, difficult to distribute - and do a really good website? [The current website is good, though] Modern music is now all about the net, and it is a pity the publishers of State did not see this.
BTW I bear no ill will towards State as I’m told all involved are extremely decent people and wish them all the best
Comment by TonyBAre people really saying that State has had its Waterloo just because they take a chance on Lykke Li’s grandparents?
For how long can the super troupers of Analogue keep on the march?
How badly are HotPress coming under attack from them both?
In the battle for readership, the winner takes it all folks! When all is said and done, money, money, money is the name of the game.
And yes I do work for the Times, the Indo, State, Analgoue, HotPress, Farmers’ Journal, Hello Magazine, Iranian Bikini Review, etc.
Comment by JDJD - You have just indicated @ 23 why you HAVE to go back blogging. Forget about the “issues” you had with those Belgian farmers and that little “incident” with Mary Hanafin and the scented candle - GET BACK BLOGGING.
Comment by Jim CarrollGodwins Law after only 16 comments! I’m impressed Jim!
Comment by le CatchLe Catch - Goodwin obviously ran out of patience with the Crazy Ol Tom thread
Comment by Jim CarrollI just came from the State site, where I was quite excited by the new issue preview. I’ve always mantained a stance of sensible appreciation for Abba. Over the years I have often been shunned at parties for announcing that they’re the 2nd best pop band of all time behind The Beatles.
I’ve bought a couple of copies of State so far, based on what I know is in there. Most of the cover artists haven’t been my cup of Buckfast, but I bought the last issue because I saw the words “Bon Iver” in little letters on the cover. In general, I’ve found it pretty good in terms of variety and quality of writing, design, photography etc. I’ll buy this one, it looks like it’ll be good and I’d love to read the Abba interview.
I also like the dog-chasing-his-own-tail hilarity of the business. Online music bloggers kill print journalism, then band together to start music magazine and wonder how to fool people into spending money on something they can get online, 6 weeks faster. It’s like the kids who download music, kill the record indutry, then start bands and wonder why some guy in a suit isn’t making them extremely rich.
Comment by kDamoI work for State– or should I say worked? I quit the moment I was informed of this awful “featuring a band I don’t like” fiasco. I demand a return to interviews with disinterested pop-indie acts immediately! Post stat!
Comment by DaveAbba is the best band to be on the cover of State so far, and I can’t imagine that anyone better ever will be. If you’re moaning, go listen to an Abba album on headphones and then get back here for a headbutt. They seem like lovely people too, and I don’t mean that in a “I met the lead singer of Angel Pier backstage in The Stables in Mullingar and he was soooo down-to-earth” way. I look forward to reading the interview more than I’m looking forward to my breakfast tomorrow morning.
Also, Mamma Mia for 35 Oscars.
Comment by bobbyMagazine attempts to sell more copies shocker!
They’ve reduced the price.
They’ve added on a free CD.
It sounds like they’re listening to the public, or at least give them better value for money. Of course ABBA are not everyone’s cup of tea but interviews with them are almost non-existent these days. So if they got one they’re right to scream about it. I think tying in with the Mamma Mia! movie last month would have been better timing but obviously they wanted to feature Oxegen last month.
Comparing it to Analogue magazine is also unfair, Analogue is a free magazine so can take more risks with their cover. As proven with Mongrel, you can put any image on a free magazine and anyone will pick it up. Making people hand over their hard earned cash is a different story.
Foggy Notions magazine (RIP) took big risks with its cover, I don’t know how much it sold but it’s no longer around so it can’t have been too good for business.
Comment by VinceIf I can be pedantic (for a change), comment 16 is not, strictly speaking, an example of Godwin’s Law as I understand it.
Godwin’s Law (as I understand it) is where a comparison is made to Hitler and/or the nazis, in the context of an online debate or argument, specifically where one party to the debate/argument compares the other party or parties to Hitler/the nazis.
Thus, if someone had said “I can’t believe you don’t think State should have Abba on the cover - you lot are worse than the Nazis”, then Godwin’s Law would come into effect. A casual reference to the Nazis in passing (as in comment 16) does not, strictly speaking, constitute an example of Godwin’s Law.
I’ll get me coat
(You bunch of Nazi bastards)
Comment by NeillDid no one bother to read the interview with Benny and Bjorn in the last Observer Music Monthly. Here it is:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/jul/13/popandrock.film
Abba on the cover? Free CD with Mumblin Deaf Ro on it? Hooray! This’ll be the first State I’ve bought since the first issue.
Comment by Cormac-out-of-StoatAbba are genius. How could anyone have a problem with them being on the cover of a magazine that’s all about great music? There’ll never be a pop band as good as them, ever. Case closed, end of story, jah bless.
Picking up my copy in an hour. I can’t wait.
Comment by AstonishingSodApe“”State is a decent magazine but its problem is that there are plenty of publications available to the Irish public already which cover simillar terrain -”"”
Hrmmm…….HUH?
The length and breadth of Glen Hansards penis has been covered pretty well by hotpress, thats about it.
Comment by Hoolio“What’s The Name Of The Game” haunts me. But in a good way.
Anyway… I’m in favour.
I’d like to second whoever said they’d prefer to read about abba in a music magazine than that total fucking scumbag Gilligan. Gotta hand it to them, HP always manage to outdo themselves in churning out tripe.
Comment by MikeAnyone know what the Heathers track on the free CD is called?
Comment by BrianHeathers - Remember When?
Comment by Niall1989, how could you forget? Winona Ryder was lovely in it.
Comment by huggerOh! My diamond shoes are too tight!
My silver pony is too big!
Get your messy PVA glue and make your own!
I for one would love to see more writer led, idiosyncratic zines knocking around this island.
10:47 am
If you’re going to give away a free CD and also reduce the price, then shouldn’t you really have a top notch band on the cover to highlight this?
Comment by AlexNo you shouldn’t?
You should put an ancient band on the cover that nobody gives a shit about and then hope that it sells?
Really?
Wow, there is so much I don’t know about music publications.