Posted on: December 19, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The Big Takeover #59 / $5.99 / 3:00 / 228M / http://www.bigtakeover.com /

$6 is always a lot of money to drop on an issue of any magazine, and The Big Takeover has the unfortunate task of putting together so much content and trying to have the cost at a point that it will pay for most of their costs without turning too many individuals off from purchasing this issue. The Big Takeover has the perfect balance of acts that are large (Sonic Youth, The Decemberists) with acts that few, if any individuals are familiar with (Calexico, Phoenix). The layout is like every issue of The Big Takeover I’ve ever seen (which is a good thing), which means that each page has black text on a white background. The individuals that lay out The Big Takeover do not try and lay text on a picture (usually leading to disaster); the result is that individuals can easily read what individuals have to say throughout the entirety of the magazine. I’m not so sure that this zine will have the highest levels of re-readability, but the fact is there that there is just so much information in this magazine that by the time a reader gets done with the issue, a new issue will be out on the markets. While this issue does not have a focus on all of the big emo or punk bands of the era, the diffuse focus of The Big Takeover will ensure that anyone who goes through the entirety of the magazine will be extraordinarily well education about the past, present, and future of independent music.

Rating: 6.5/10

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