Opening
Bibliographic Information:
Under the Radar / (published) by Mark Redfern & Wendy
Lynch Redfern
ISBN:
7447056683 / Under the Radar LLC
p. 97 / $5.99 (Retail)
2011 (July issue)
Body of Content
Summary: The YA
magazine covers the music industry – though mostly the indie music scene. The magazine features a dozen or so interviews
with musical bands – mostly short interviews covering one to three pages. Most of these interviews converse with the
chief songwriter/singer – and not necessarily with the entire band. These shorter entries still have a
significant amount of photos (one to five photos) per interview – with the text
to photo ratio around an equal 1:1 portion.
Each issue also features a longer, more formal interview – lasting five+
pages. This July issue, Under the
Radar talked to Annie Clark from the band St. Vincent. The magazine contains a handful of other
types of columns – including a section called “Digital Sampler” – which allows
readers to digital hear (and/or download) musical tracks online with a
magazine-provided password. At the end
of the magazine, over 10 pages are devoted to reviews – mostly music CDs,
tracks, etc. – though some books, DVDs, and video games are also reviewed.
Critique: For
such a small production – started by a husband and wife versus a major
publication company – the magazine is of good quality. Under
the Radar knows its target demographic – an audience mostly made of late
teens and young adults. The magazine
represents a nice, balanced ratio of text to photo – (i.e. narrative to visual).
It is not overwhelmed by ads – nor does
it read like a musical version of the Wall St. Journal.
The magazine offers a nice intentionality to its
presentation. It does provide a great
deal of personal information about musical acts. But it also offers an immersive amount of
industry information – regarding new releases, album reviews, and sampling
venues – making it a great source of functionality for reader advisory
purposes.
Overall, magazines as a genre do not reflect the expertise
of a journal article – or the comprehensiveness of a printed book – or the
artistic aspirations of cinema. But as a
magazine, Under the Radar does a
thorough job on providing interesting information. And as such, looking more closely at the
interviews, their feature article – an interview with Annie Clark of St.
Vincent fame – demonstrates some interesting information. The article talks about the process of
recording, her song inspirations, the relationship between her third (new)
album and her two prior releases, specific song details, and even biographical
information including her formal education at Berklee College of Music in Boston
and theories regarding the band/project’s name. Though it may lack (compared to other formats)
in particulars – or in scope – or in multimedia – Under the Radar is still a worthwhile read.
Teaser: Did you know that one of the tour musicians for Sujian Stevens
also has a solo career?
Information about the Author: The magazine was founded in
2001 by Mark Redfern and Wendy Lynch Redfern – who have since married each
other in 2007. Mark is the senior editor
of the publication, while Lynch controls the visual elements – photography,
layout, etc. The magazine mostly covers
the American music scene – but special edition have also covered Canadian
independent music – along with British pop acts (Wikipedia, 2011).
Supplemental Material
Genre: Indie Music / Popular
Culture
Curriculum Ties: Music – industry information,
band bios / Journalism – photography, writing styles
Booktalking Ideas: 1) Would
you like a music source that provides sampling opportunities to quality bands –
bands you might not have heard of – that are Under the Radar? 2) Have
you ever wondered what inspired the lyrics to your favorite song – or performed
the occasion for the composition of your favorite indie rock song? Under the Radar might just provide those
answers.
Reading Level:
Usually teens need a little time to develop more independent music sensibilities
– making this magazine more particular to teens 15-19 – than middle-school-aged
teens.
Challenge Issues and Defense: I did detect some language in
the ads. Magazines are hard to
generalize – since each issue provides new content – and new opportunities for
challenges. The magazine appears as a lighter-toned
“Rolling Stone” magazine – marketed towards teens – and generally should not
represent too many challenge concerns. Further,
the advertisements within the magazine did not appear overly sensual or sexual
in tone or content.
Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I
wanted a neutral magazine – not target to only boys or only girls – and this
magazine helped accomplish this desire.
Last Thoughts
References:
Wikipedia.
(2011). Under the Radar [Webpage]. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Radar_%28magazine%29
Listening to (Music):
Artist – Shaded Red / Album – “Shaded Red”
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