EL, that's why I said it's one for the snobs. They're clearly trying to hard to be scholarly and designy, like music should be homework.
But, I haven't found a magazine that covers certain kinds of music as deeply as it does, from modern classical to electronic, with some hip hop and rock thrown in. It has nice pictures too. The Wire sampler CDs are always worth a listen. I do like a lot of more experimental stuff, which doesn't get talked about on the board too much.
Just like how some FMU shows can pass by without my having heard of a single artist-- and yet it's an awesome show-- it's sort of frightening and scary how the record reviews section in the Wire might not contain more than one or two artists I've ever heard of. And yet, when I follow their leads, it's always really great stuff.
I look to music magazines for leads as to what interesting stuff to check out. I rarely read all the articles unless I'm on an airplane, so I really can't comment on the quality of the writing. Music criticism is usually atrocious, and the artists that are the most fun to write about don't necessarily make the best music.
The sources for music tips that I've found, that don't just have the same stuff you'll find on Shovel (which I do like, but again just for tips, I almost never actually read the text of a review) or on the Pazz and Jopp type lists are just random FMU shows, the Wire, and maybe the Aquarius Records newsletters.
Now if you want to see some truly bad writing, I've got a big stack of Maximum Rock 'n' Rolls from the early 90s to show you. Oof.
Edit: What Beth said. Sorry to "bottom post" you. I keep doing that to people.
