Lollipop #61 ($4.95 , PO Box 441493, Boston, MA 02144)Â
Ooh it’s a full colour publication, and it has a free mp3 CD. Good sign, right? Typically, it would be, if the magazine’s content was more than just reviews and interviews, with a comic strip thrown in here and there. Bands featured in this issue include Strapping Young Lad, The Donnas, and Grave. Oh, did I mention the advertisements that take up half of the issue? The interviews are slightly different in content and with slightly different enough people that they do not get stale just on their own merit, but the other half of the magazine, the reviews, have enough problems with them to negate the slight gain by the interviews. The reviews, which are slight on the musical style or similar bands (besides the obligatory sounds like), really are never more than 100 words about any one band. The featured review in each section provides the only real insight to what a band sounds like, and what each album has to make you want to buy it. Lollipop Magazine’s only real strength lies in their versatility, which includes having sections dedicated to just electro/industrial , metal/hardcore, and punk/powerpop. If you are looking for a magazine that purely reviews CDs (with that slight bit of interviewing), pick up Lollipop. Otherwise, the magazine won’t even benefit you for toilet paper – the pages are glossy!