It is in the nature of business that people regard their competitors as bitter rivals to be outdone and defeated at every opportunity. And publishing is no exception. But it’s never good news for anyone when a title actually closes. So it’s with some sadness that I learned today of Blender magazine’s demise.
The title was launched in 2001 by former Q magazine chief Andy Pemberton and publishing vet Craig Marks. It rapidly gained a well-deserved rep for snarkily entertaining coverage of the music scene and all manner of lunatic features. I actually worked at Blender for a long time (as did fellow EW staffer Jason Adams) and, without that organ, it is doubtful that I would ever have appeared onstage with Lil Jon, watched the Flaming Lips pour a case of Pepto-Bismol over a pair of strippers or learned how to soundtrack a porn movie (FYI: it’s easier than you might think, thanks to iTunes).
So Music Mixers, will you miss Blender? Or do you think that we here at the far superior EW are already satisfying all your music needs (hey, come on, we can’t mourn forever)?
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Comments (1-30) of 91 Add your comment
It was about time. I used to laugh at some of the comments when I picked it up once in a while when waiting in line at Blockbuster. I then decided to get my own subscription. It took me about 3 issues to realize that they just made the same jokes over and over. For a monthly magazine, I still can’t figure out how they needed to include the same tired Pete Doherty jokes in every issue. The magazine had potential, but it never seemed to grow.
I am sorry to hear of Blender’s demise. It was fun to read and I enjoy the snarkiness.
i loved both magazines. however blender was the ONLY mag that gave shine to every single genre which i loved. it didn’t matter what color or what type of music you sang. that will be missed. entertainment weekly is not superior when it comes to music. nothing wrong with that, it just doesnt fill the void an any way shape or form.
Nothing beats Rolling Stone for coverage of the music industry and political commentary, but it is unfortunate that all those involved with Blender will be out of work. Another victim of the nation’s economy.
How many times do I have to see the word snarky today?
I don’t see how you could talk about Blender without mentioning the photo captions. The magazine itself was never better than OK, it was mildly amusing, but whoever wrote those photo caps should win a pulitzer prize for sheer awesomeness.
Blender was a waste of paper.
Goodbye to the only major US music mag worth a read. Rolling Stone has long been a joke. Guess I’m going to have to pony up to import Mojo from the UK now.
It’s about time they went under. There was nothing ’snarky’ about them. They were lame, disrespectful, and UNknowledgeable. Pure garbage. Good riddance.
Funny…that’s how I feel about Rolling Stone…terrible rag…
I really liked Blender so this is sad news. It was really good about higlighting all genres of music not just the super mainstream stuff, and it had its own voice. I love EW and read the music section religiously, and hope it borrows some of the best aspects of Blender in order to beef itself up.
Some snarks are boojums, you see.
snarky
Spin magazine is way better than all of these magazines, including formerly awesome, but now excessively-political Rolling Stone magazine.
Blender gave me the chance to be on stage with you and lil Jon as well. The Mag will be missed..
see ya
I gave up on all music magazines, including Blender and Rolling Stone. Just google alerts for me now.
I picked up a free Blender at a sneak peak showing of The Life Aquatic. Owen Wilson was on the cover. I liked the magazine so much I got a subscription. It gave reviews of good Indie rock and movies and had people like Jack Black on the cover. Then it seemed to change demographics and went the hip hop and R&B route. Every cover had either P Diddy, Janet Jackson or Little Wayne on it. This was not the magazine that gave me insight to new music and movies. I never renewed but have been getting them ever since.
I am surprised this magazine didn’t fold sooner. Treid way too hard to be cool. Next!
pureed
what about my subscriptions?
SPIN magazine is the best!
It’s getting harder for good magazines to make a buck, so it’s no surprise that a trash rag like Blender is folding.
I got a subscrption as a gift. It sucked. It never jumped the snark. I wish it had been eaten by the snark. It was a clumbsy, visually cluttered mess. Judging by the reviews posted here, i think we found out why it failed.
Blender was a good rag mag. So much better than that political garbage spewed in the pages of Rolling Stone (I purchased the RS subscription on amazon.com for $1 and have been regreeting it ever since)
Blender had much better interviews, articles, and lists than EW.
Finally, they always accused GQ of ripping them off. News flash blender, GQ has been around a whole lot longer than you and has more style and moxie than they will ever have.
You better watch out, EW. I still love you, but I don’t read you in print anymore and won’t be renewing my subscription, now that everything I want is available online.
Darn. What a loss – NOT.
Fewer lists. Fewer journalists profiling musicians trying to live the rock and roll lifestyle. So what’s the problem?
I liked Blender when it first came out due to the format. It was easy to read and none of the politicalness of Rolling Stone. Then they changed the format and it seemed that the amount of pages got smaller and smaller but the price just went up and up. Guess I’m not surprised
RIP Blender. Rolling Stone is disappointing these days…but Paste is there to make it all okay.