Posted on: May 29, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Ragged is the mini-magazine that Filter puts out under the support of American Rag, a clothing line that only can be found at Macy’s. Although, neither me nor the fiancé have ever found any American Rag clothing ever over at Macy’s. This issue of the magazine skillfully blends established acts (Q-Tip, Thrice, Kate Nash) with up and coming acts (Monte Negro, Gran Ronde, and Grand Ole Party). Furthermore, they do this mix-up in the course of one piece, with “Flippin’ Disc”, a listing of the albums that were influential in creating The Switches’ unique sound. The act ultimately chooses such standards as Guns N Roses, The Stranglers, The Beatles, and Ben Folds Five.

The magazine is free, it is in brilliant full color, and aside for a few pages in this issue, it is completely devoid of any advertisements. It is thus okay if the interviews, such as the ones conducted with both Q-Tip and Kate Nash, are a little on the short side. For subsequent issues of Ragged, I would personally like to see more variation in terms of the interviews. While there are lists of different things (albums, Gran Ronde’s favorites), I would like to see the interviews broken up in different ways, or some articles be feature pieces rather than interviews. Overall, this magazine will get individuals discussing a number of new bands, and that’s always a good thing. If you can make it out to a Macy’s, it should behoove you to pick up a copy of this issue of Ragged, or whatever is on the market at this time.

Rating: 6.3/10

Ragged #4 / Free / 36M / :45 / http://www.raggedmag.com / http://www.filter-mag.com /

Leave a Comment