Magnet (magazine)

Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.

History

The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option, Raygun, and Alternative Press. The first issue of Magnet came out in mid-1993. Examples of cover stars over the years include Yo La Tengo (1993, 2000), The Afghan Whigs (1994), Spacemen 3 (1997), Shudder To Think (1997), Tortoise/ Swervedriver (1998), Sonic Youth (1998), Sunny Day Real Estate (1998), Ween (2000), Ride (2002), Interpol (2003), Hüsker Dü (2005), and Cat Power (2007).

The magazine's content tends to focus on up-and-coming indie bands and expositions of various music scenes. Examples include long pieces on the Denton, TX psychedelic rock scene (1997), the New York City "Illbient" scene (1997), the history of power pop (2002), the Cleveland avant-punk scene of the 1970s, the Minneapolis college-rock scene of the '80s (2005), the California "Paisley Underground" bands of the '80s (2001), and the resurgence of the Shoegaze movement (2002). Also common is the "artists within a construct" theme -- e.g., the "Eccentrics And Dreamers" issue (2003) featuring various "outsider" artists.

Magnet (band)

Magnet was a band formed for the purpose of recording the soundtrack to the 1973 film The Wicker Man. The band was assembled by musician Gary Carpenter (the film's Associate Musical Director) to perform songs composed by New York songwriter Paul Giovanni. Originally under the moniker Lodestone, later to change to "Magnet" because of a conflict with another band, the group included Peter Brewis (recorders, jaw harp, harmonica, bass guitar, etc.), Michael Cole (concertina, harmonica, bassoon), Andrew Tompkins (guitars), Ian Cutler (violin), Bernard Murray (percussion) and finally Carpenter himself (piano, recorders, fife, ocarina, Nordic lyre, etc.). Carpenter, Brewis and Cole had recently graduated from The Royal College of Music in London and Tompkins, Cutler and Murray were all members of Carpenter's band Hocket. The band also featured Giovanni on guitar and vocals for many tracks and appeared in the film in various scenes.

In 2004 Castle label edited the anthology GATHER IN THE MUSHROOMS The British acid folk underground1968 1974 which include the song "Corn riggs" from Magnet.

Magnet (musician)

Magnet is the pseudonym of Norwegian singer-songwriter Even Johansen (born 7 June 1970). To date, he has released four full-length studio albums as well as several singles and EPs. Johansen draws upon many influences, including folk, pop, and electronica. His albums are composed and produced solely by him, and he usually performs live sets on his own, using preset loops or creating them as he plays.

Biography

Even Johansen was born, raised, and resides in Bergen, Norway, but he has also lived just outside the southern Scottish town of Lockerbie, where he recorded his On Your Side album. Initially, Even was a founding member of the Norwegian rock bands Libido and Chocolate Overdose. During his involvement with Libido, Even conceived a series of songs he thought were inappropriate for the band. His first solo album, Quiet & Still, was released in 2000 under the alias Magnet (in the United States, the album was released under his real name). The name "Magnet" originated from when Even was a child with anemia; he was prescribed a special magnetic tattoo on his left shoulder so it could attract iron.

Reality (David Bowie album)

Reality is the twenty-third studio album by English rock musician David Bowie. It was released in 2003 on his Iso Records label, in conjunction with Columbia Records.

Recording and production

The album was recorded and produced in New York's Looking Glass Studios and co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti. Consisting mostly of original compositions, the album also includes two cover songs, The Modern Lovers' "Pablo Picasso" and George Harrison's "Try Some, Buy Some". These two tracks were originally slated for Bowie's never-recorded Pin Ups 2 album from the early 1970s.

Bowie started writing the songs for Reality as the production for his previous album Heathen was wrapping up. Some songs he wrote quickly: "Fall Dog Bombs the Moon" was written in 30 minutes. Other songs, such as "Bring Me the Disco King", was a song Bowie had tried his hand at as early as the 1970s and had tried again with 1993's Black Tie White Noise as well as Heathen in 2002.

Bowie and Visconti produced both the stereo and 5.1 mix in the studio as the album was recorded.

Days (The Kinks song)

"Days" is a song by The Kinks, written by lead singer Ray Davies, released as a single in 1968. It also appeared on an early version of the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (released only in continental Europe and New Zealand), and now appears as a bonus track of the remastered CD. On the original Pye 7N 17573 label, the name of the song is "Day's".

Release and reception

The song was an important single for Davies and the Kinks, coming in a year of declining commercial fortunes for the band. The song had been intended as an album track but after the relative failure of the previous single "Wonderboy" (which only reached No. 36 in the UK), "Days" was rushed out as a single with an old unreleased track "She's Got Everything" (recorded in February 1966 in the same session as "Dedicated Follower of Fashion") as the B-side. It reached No. 12 on the UK chart, but failed to chart in the U.S. This did not help future releases however as the next four Kinks singles failed to reach the top 30 (two of them failing to chart altogether) in the UK.

Days (Alisa Mizuki song)

"Days" is the fourteenth single by Japanese recording artist Alisa Mizuki. It was released on November 19, 1997 as the fifth and final single from Mizuki's third compilation album Fiore II. It was also included on Mizuki's fifth studio album Innocence. The title track was written and produced by former Every Little Thing keyboardist Mitsuru Igarashi and served as theme song for the second season of the Fuji TV drama Nurse no Oshigoto, starring Mizuki herself. "Days" is Mizuki's first release under the record label Avex Tune.

Chart performance

"Days" debuted on the Oricon Weekly Singles chart at number 14 with 28,020 copies sold in its first week. It stayed in the top 30, at number 24, on its second week, with 18,660 copies sold. The single charted for nine weeks and has sold a total of 101,120 copies.

Track listing

Charts and sales

References