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''The Big Takeover'' is a bi-annual music magazine published in New York City since May 1980 by critic Jack Rabid.


History


Establishment

Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing ''The Big Takeover'' in May 1980 as a fanzine dedicated to New York punk band
the Stimulators The Stimulators were an American punk rock band from New York City. Although they have a limited discography, they are notable for being consistently cited as an important transitional band between the late-1970s New York City punk rock scene a ...
. The pair had formed a garage band the previous month called Even Worse, originally playing mainly
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
cover songs. Even Worse was quickly tapped to open a show for the Stimulators, and the publication followed."New York: Part One: Jack Rabid — 'Encyclopedia of Punk,'" ''Flipside,'' whole no. 37 (February 1983), pp. 47-48. The interview was conducted in Whittier, California on December 31, 1982. Rabid, an intense music fan, ended up taking over the project, which evolved into a general punk rock
fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
. In a 1983 '' Flipside'' interview, Rabid recalled:
"I'm a genuine fanatic, there's probably a good 3 or 4 or 5 in every city. Just love the music, that's all it is, I love the music. i try to find every record that was ever made, I like making tapes for people to expose them to what they missed. Punk was always creativity to me and expression and it still is to some degree only you have to dig harder.... I just try to support things that I like and those are the things that took time and effort, practice, you know. If you really care then eventually you will make something that is really good".
The title of the fanzine was taken from a
Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...
song. The first issue was a one-pager, printed front and back, photocopied and given out for free at local punk shows. Stein left the fanzine to Rabid after one issue and Rabid has remained the dominant creative force behind the magazine since.


From fanzine to magazine

''The Big Takeover'' moved from the more primitive fanzine style to the black-and-white, stapled magazine style around issue 26 in 1989. During this period, Rabid worked during the day and was still doing most of the writing and all of the layout work and advertising sales. Other notable contributors to the magazine in the early days included former
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
personality
Tim Sommer Timothy Andrew Sommer (born March 5, 1962, in New York City) is an American music journalist, musician, record producer and former Atlantic Records A&R representative. Sommer was the bass player for the slowcore/ dreampop band Hugo Largo. ...
. During the first half of the 1990s, ''The Big Takeover'' began using professional layout design, and by the end of the decade, had become a semi-glossy color magazine. Circulation is currently around 15,000.


Design

The ''Big T'' usually appears in June and December (a subscription is for two years, at two issues per year), with most recent issues coming in around 200 pages. The review section, featuring Rabid's Top 40 for the issue, is regularly 60-80 pages long. The magazine also features lengthy, in-depth interviews with favorite artists transcribed verbatim, sometimes stretching over two issues. In 2006, the magazine relocated to Brooklyn from the apartment at 249 Eldridge Street on the
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
that was home to the magazine for 25 years. Rabid is known for championing what he calls "Music with Heart". This could consist of any kind of music that requires attention, regardless of trends or popularity, which results in the magazine covering a diverse mixture of independent and major label bands from punk to
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
to
slowcore Slowcore, also known as sadcore, is a subgenre of indie rock characterised by its subdued tempos, minimalist instrumentation, and sombre vocal performances. Slowcore's influences are diverse, involving varying other genres, including folk rock ...
. The magazine has been criticized for having a limited scope, mostly because of Rabid's personal dislike of
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
.


Multimedia

In 2003, Rabid and longtime ''Big Takeover'' contributor Jeff Kelson launched Pink Frost/Big Takeover Records, initially releasing two albums: former
Guided by Voices Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...
guitarist
Doug Gillard Douglas Scott Gillard (born December 23, 1965) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde. Early ...
's first solo album, ''Salamander'', and Last Burning Embers' ''Lessons in Redemption'', featuring Rabid on drums. The label has continued to sporadically release albums, mostly by New York-area groups, as well as distribute albums that are not in print in the U.S., such as
Don McGlashan Don McGlashan (born 18 July 1959) is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for cin ...
's ''Warm Hands''. In 2005, ''The Big Takeover'' launched a redesigned website featuring contributors' blogs, top 10 lists and a large forum area. The website was relaunched with a new design and organization in July 2010.


Anniversary concerts

"The Big Takeover" celebrated its 30th anniversary with a two-day music festival in July 2010 at The Bell House, a venue in
Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in South Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park and Eighth Avenue (Brooklyn), Prospect Park West to the east, ...
,
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. For Against, Mark Burgess and the Avengers were among the acts who appeared. An earlier Big Takeover anniversary party in April 2001 at
Giorgio Gomelsky Giorgio Sergio Alessando Gomelsky (28 February 1934 – 13 January 2016) was a filmmaker, impresario, music manager, songwriter (as Oscar Rasputin) and record producer. He was born in Georgia, grew up in Switzerland, and later lived in the Un ...
's in Manhattan featured a rare live performance from
Alternative TV Alternative TV (sometimes known as ATV) are an English band formed in London in 1977. Author Steve Taylor writes: "Alternative TV pioneered reggae rhythms in punk and then moved on to redefine the musical rules". History Alternative TV were fo ...
.


References


External links

* Big Takeove
official
* Big Takeover/Pink Frost Record

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Takeover, The Biannual magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1980 Magazines published in New York City Music magazines published in the United States