A Select choice? (Select)

Member Name: cswann

Product:	Select
Date:	23/08/00 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for indie / dance music lovers

Disadvantages: Tries to be too trendy

When it first came out in the 1980s, Select was a refreshing alternative to the more staid Q, and I bought it every month.
As other magazines such as Mojo and Uncut started come out I stopped buying Select, mainly because it concentrated more and more on dance music, and less on the types of music I usually go for (indie, soul, sixties stuff).
I occasionally buy issues of Select with free CD's (although the music doesn't exactly blow me away - give me Uncut's CD's any time) so I have seen the changes over the years.
Select is now more obviously 'designer', the whole thing looks like one big colourful advertisement. In places it even seems like a men's lifestyle magazine (as in the "Catalog" section, which featurs clothing and gadgetry of all kinds).
I like the "Tracks of the months" feature, which lists the usual singles and album tracks, but also tracks on mp3 or featured on TV. It is good to see a music magazine which is about music regardless of format, and showing they're not entirely about promoting the record labels' output.
Also useful, for the infrequent reader, is their roundup of the 15 best recent CDs.

All in all, it depends on your musical tastes. It's not exactly for me, more for the grown up Smash Hits reader.

Summary: