Posted on: August 4, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Skyscraper #17 / 1:30 / $4.99 / 200M / Skyscraper Magazine, PO Box 1595, New York, NY 10276 / http://www.skyscrapermagazine.com / 

With each subsequent issue of Skyscraper I receive, the editors seem to go further and further into the pop-alternative with the end result being issue 17. Skyscaper has moved from being a post-emo and hardcore magazine to a zine that tows the Pitchfork Media line. Using interviews with Franz Ferdinand, Hella, and !!! to draw individuals in, the simple fact is that Skyscaper is a two-trick pony. If it isn’t an interview, it is a review, either of a CD or a live concert. The style in which Skyscaper is rendered has not changed throughout the last few issues, but more needs to be done concerning up-and-coming band. Everyone knows Franz Ferdinand, just like everyone knows True North, Lucero, and This Moment in Black History; while interviews with bands like Part Chimp and The Robot Ate Me are good steps in the direction, commerciality be damned – the kowtowing to major-alternative bands and the absurd amount of advertisements littering this issue really detract from the experience. What really saves this issue of Skyscaper for me are the pages upon pages of music reviews, which do not write off a band in fifteen or twenty words. This theme can be expanded further to the well-written interviews, which combine brevity and concise questions to make each piece relatively painless. The price is a little high concerning the amount of advertisements and the lack of differing content, but it is a worthwhile buy considering the price of news-trash magazines like Metal Edge.

Rating: 4.3/10

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