Goldfrapp cover

[88keys4me]

Having just cast my ballot, I found that my opinions are consistent with the majority - namely, that this is an inoffensive, uncontentious event (note, I do not view it as an "issue"). Admittedly, my attention was immediately captured by Allison's photo, but just as quickly, my thoughts went to "who is she, what style does she play, and why have I not heard of her".

 

I enjoy Keyboard's bringing new artists to our attention. While I like most, if not all such introductions, better to have the option. And I'm happy to report that my issues always arrive on time. Keep up the great work!

[Jon Bryson]

Well, I'd love to be able to comment on this, however, I arrived home Tuesday night to find my Keyboard mag minus the cover and part of the GoldFrapp article. So I can say at least that my wife found it offensive. Actually it was more that she didn't want to have to explain it to young children in the home. Not having seen it I can only offer general comments. I realize that what you had on the cover was probably on par with or even less risque than what one sees in the supermarket, but I don't buy that and lay it out on my coffee table either. So, though I'm probably in the minority, I would vote for more restraint. I appreciate that you are putting actual artists on the cover and not just the window dressing of other mags, and I will be quick to add that I've already read about 1/3 of the issue and enjoyed it very much. You guys have done a bang up job this past year and your responsiveness to your readers is second to none. The fact that you would even ask the question here says alot.

 

Jon

[cnegrad]

Ernie,

 

I'm really glad you asked about this cover, because it's really clarified something for me:

 

I'm not offended by the cover, but my intellegence is insulted. Why is it that a magazine for professionals like MIX has covers of great, high-end studios and gear, and we Keyboard readers get pictures of artists posed and all dolled up with audio cables being inserted between their legs? Again, it's not the sexual component that bothers me. It's that compared to MIX magazine (and others), your company's impression of Keyboard readers is that of horny teenagers who base their magazine purchases based on the amount of cleavage showing on the cover. Ernie, I'm a full time professional musician and I work in pro studios with high end gear. Is Keyboard really conciously aiming itself to be the keyboard equivalent of Teen Beat? I find that magazines like Mix, Electronic Musician, Sound On Sound and Virtual Instrument mag manage to exist without stooping this low.

 

I welcome your reply.

[jimtheswede]

I must be pretty twisted - first thing I noticed in the pic was the bright orange Farfisa Fast2 organ. That was my first "combo" organ that I had at 11 years old! Wonder where she got it... I remember it being heavier than it apparently is - she's carrying it better than I could - of course I was a bit smaller back then also.

[Jonathan Hughes]

I was pleased to see the Goldfrapp article, and really pleased to see theImogen Heap article (although I was hoping there'd be some mention of the amazing vocal/vocoder sound on "Hide and Seek"); but I was pretty annoyed that after reading in the "Fromthe Editor" column that web content would be posted "the moment the magazine" ships from the printer. I got the issue today, went to check out some of the web stuff, and it's not there.

 

Also, why are the reviews in the "Audition" section now only available online (well, they're not yet -- see above)? It's great to have additional stuff online, but I can't say I really like having part of the magazine that was previously available as part of the physical magazine I pay for only available online.

[guestuserguestuser.com]

Originally posted by Jon Bryson:

Well, I'd love to be able to comment on this, however, I arrived home Tuesday night to find my Keyboard mag minus the cover and part of the GoldFrapp article. So I can say at least that my wife found it offensive. Actually it was more that she didn't want to have to explain it to young children in the home.

I shouldn't pry, but, you let your wife rip up your magazines??? Something's wrong with that picture, dude. Rip up a few of hers and see how she likes it. If she wanted to keep it away from the children's eyes, that could easily done without ripping it up. I'd straighten her out, just my $.02.

[Ravi Ivan Sharma]

The idea that folks would tear that cover off in the name of decency or whatever speaks more of a highly freaky atmosphere in their world in my opinion. Children seeing poses that are less provacative that what is in most television ads or even Chicago the musical is a problem? ack. I am hoping that post is a joke for troll purposes. hey, it worked for me. I Am OUTRAGED !!! :0

[Joe Muscara]

Yeah, I was watching The Simpsons last night and it was the ep where Bart pretends to have been kidnapped to explain why he disappeared, but he was rapping at the rap concert instead. At the end of the episode, they're all at the rapper's house where he's having a pool party and there are tons of girls in bikinis. I said, "that's more provocative or whatever than the Goldfrapp pics."

 

I also asked my wife what she thought, trying not to influence her, I tried to be general, and she kept asking, "do you mean these pictures?" She said she didn't see anything. The first thing she noticed is that the pic on the cover made the woman's legs look really long!

 

Jeez, it's not like it's the original cover of Smell the Glove or anything!

 

I think the posed pictures of John Legend were not much different, him going for a cool or sexy look there.

[guestuserguestuser.com]

Originally posted by Joe Muscara:

Jeez, it's not like it's the original cover of Smell the Glove or anything!

[kad]

When I got my issue and looked at the cover, my only thought was "Who in the hell is Goldfrapp??". From there I moved on to the Kawai digital piano review without giving it a second thought. I suppose that for me the cover was rather inconsequential (although she is kinda cute).

[Mr. Nightime]

The question is, "Is this how she dresses onstage?" If so, what's the fuss? I see more risque outfits on the family show "Dancing with the Stars" than that. To the people that complained, GET A LIFE!

[cnegrad]

I'm not offended by the cover, but my intellegence is insulted. Why is it that a magazine for professionals like MIX has covers of great, high-end studios and gear, and we Keyboard readers get pictures of artists posed and all dolled up with audio cables being inserted between their legs? Again, it's not the sexual component that bothers me. It's that compared to MIX magazine (and others), your company's impression of Keyboard readers is that of horny teenagers who base their magazine purchases based on the amount of cleavage showing on the cover. Ernie, I'm a full time professional musician and I work in pro studios with high end gear. Is Keyboard really conciously aiming itself to be the keyboard equivalent of Teen Beat? I find that magazines like Mix, Electronic Musician, Sound On Sound and Virtual Instrument mag manage to exist without stooping this low.

So I guess this stuff only bothers _me_?

[Moon Zero Two]

Is the silver pole inserted where I think it is inserted?

 

I don't get the cover or the inside photos - didn't think they were appropriate or tasteful.

 

The mag itself is so thin these days. The best thing was the Kawai review - I would have liked to have seen how the MP8 stacks up against the MP4 and isn't there another one inbetween now?

[Ernie Rideout]

Jonathan: Regarding the timely uploads promise: We almost made it. Turns out the folks who do our uploads for us also do our main magazine production, and they got way overbooked. The promised online content will be up by this coming Tuesday, I'm told. Sorry about that. At least it'll be up by February 1st! And once the currently nomadic Steven Fortner takes up residence in the office here, we'll be in an even better position to deliver on this promise.

 

The goal with the online stuff is to give you more reviews than we could in just the print edition. It's an experiment, and I absolutely understand that many people dislike reading articles online (assuming they've been posted in a timely manner). So over the next couple of months, see if you find this delivery method to be useful or not, and let me know. Maybe I'll post another poll about it in a couple months. In the meantime, hit me with your opinions via email, or just post 'em here.

 

Cnegrad: I certainly respect your perspective on the whole issue of cover image selection. I agree with you that cover image selection says a lot about the intent and content of the magazine it represents.

 

Our competitors choose to put gear on their covers, and that gear does indeed reflect the profession in which we all work. But our competitors are about gear, for the most part, and not so much about music.

 

We put musicians on the cover because Keyboard magazine is about musicians, the music they make, and the gear they make it with. We're about what inspires musicians, and what it takes to get that inspiration out into the world. The entire process, in other words.

 

If you look at the past year's worth of Keyboard covers, you'll see a trend, but I really don't think in all fairness that Teen Beat is an apt comparison to what we're up to. (I worry about the fact that you even know what Teen Beat looks like.) Yes, many of the artists are young; I personally believe that there is a lot of great keyboard-oriented music being made by younger artists, and I want to reach out to the people who want to emulate them. Yes, many of the artists on our cover are concerned with the image they present to the public, as are most of the players on anyone's list of favorite players. Perhaps you'd be surprised to know which artists are as concerned about their image as Alison Goldfrapp is, I'd wager that many of your favorite players are on that list, and you can bet that they're from every age group.

 

One thing's for sure about all the artists we put on our cover: they're all very successful professional musicians. I believe that the information we put into Keyboard magazine is useful to professoinal musicians, and to musicians who wish to eventually become pros.

 

I hope that helps you see that our impression of Keyboard readers is that they're much more than horny teenagers. ;-)

 

You're absolutely right that Mix, EM, Future, Recording, SOS and Virtual Instrument magazines exist without putting musicians on their covers, regardless of how they dress.

 

But I prefer to do more than exist, and the fact is, Keyboard magazine sells waaaaay more magazines than any of those titles. By a very large margin. By that I mean we sell magazines to people who choose to pay for them.

 

But I'm not selling magazines with sex. Take a look at the past year's worth of Keyboard covers. I'm creating magazines for musicians who want to read about what musicians do.

[K K]

Originally posted by Unsound Practices:

I live on the other side of the planet and won't see February until March... can you post a pic of the cover ?

http://www.curevents.com/vb/images/smilies/worth.gif

[moj]

I haven't seen the new issue yet so I can't give you my opinion of it. However, Keyboard's decision to give Goldfrapp the cover was based on what? Are they the next big thing to make a significant contribution to the entertainment world?

 

If there's an underlining push by the music biz to make them stars with lasting appeal, then I have to congratulate you and the Keyboard staff for getting a heads up on a new mega rockstar in the making. At least Goldfrapp agreed in doing an interview with a magazine dedicated to promoting, inspiring, informing and instructing musicians all things keyboard related.

 

As far as any provocative photos of Alison Goldfrapp the decision to use them for the issue is only beneficial for Goldfrapp (more publicity is good). I'm sure getting the publicity will lead to more photo ops in the future. I'll be expecting a Playboy magazine photo spread one day.

A while back in the other forum someone posted photos of an european electronica band that had two female keyboardists that were performing topless covered only in body paint. I wonder if a group like that also had critically praised recordings, a large cult following and a major push by a major label would also get a cover story in Keyboard magazine?

[cnegrad]

Ernie,

 

Thank you for spending the time to respond to my query in depth. As usual, it shows that the staff genuinely cares about the quality of it's work. To continue our discussion:

But our competitors are about gear, for the most part, and not so much about music.

I don't know that I agree with that. Just because MIX has dream studios on the cover doesn't stop them from interviewing real engineers and producers that often have a huge role in the creative process. Gear on the cover doesn't necessarily preclude human creativity on the inside.

If you look at the past year's worth of Keyboard covers, you'll see a trend...Take a look at the past year's worth of Keyboard covers...

It's the present that concerns me, and since you ask for reader opinion, mine is that a trade publication supposedly aimed at professionals insults it's professional readership when it puts out a fluff cover like this. I'm not saying that it has to be gear on the cover. I'm saying that Keyboard should be about what happens in the making of the music, not the making of the image.

Yes, many of the artists are young; I personally believe that there is a lot of great keyboard-oriented music being made by younger artists, and I want to reach out to the people who want to emulate them.

I have no problem with young players; Eldar Djangirov is a remarkable player whom Keyboard covered as well as Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who was a child prodigy. This is about musical and personal integrity; not the facade that an artist decides to show to the public.

Yes, many of the artists on our cover are concerned with the image they present to the public, as are most of the players on anyone's list of favorite players. Perhaps you'd be surprised to know which artists are as concerned about their image as Alison Goldfrapp is, I'd wager that many of your favorite players are on that list, and you can bet that they're from every age group.

Oh I'm sure that everyone is concerned about their image, from Chick to Alicia Keys to your retro disco cover artist du jour. The difference is that I don't see the artists with integrity having to wear show-off lingerie, and holding electronics in a seductive fashion. What does it say to me when you tell me just how important image is to Goldfrapp, and the result of all that concern is cleavage and seduction? They care about their image and _this_ is the message they've carefully crafted? Fine; message received. Perhaps they've got real substance going on, but their image has insured that I'll not bother to find out. (The repeated use of the word [disco] didn't help their case much either.)

 

I don't care to see artists specially made up and posed with special lighting, whether it's Alison or Alicia. I want to see candid shots of them in the studio, on the road, and on stage. Not this packaged phonyness. Your treatment of Jordan Rudess would be a good example of "honesty in photography". Maybe it's a male/female thing? But even the Hiromi piece didn't get as "glam" as Goldfrappe or Alicia Keys. IMHO, this is Keyboard; please leave the fashion and the image at the door.

I believe that the information we put into Keyboard magazine is useful to professoinal musicians, and to musicians who wish to eventually become pros.

No question. That's why covers like this and the spread on Alicia throws me.

One thing's for sure about all the artists we put on our cover: they're all very successful professional musicians.

And McDonalds makes hamburgers professionally; but that doesn't make it haute cuisine. Look, I know you guys work hard at what you do, and it's appreciated. I'm NOT saying that you're "the McDonalds of magazines". I'm saying that popularity doesn't necessarily equal quality; though it is often the yardstick some use to measure success (which I disagree with). I found the transition to the new format to be a bumpy one, which was to be expected. But Keyboard listened to our input and is always working with it's readership to meet it's needs. You opened a dialog, and I responded. Know that your work is appreciated, and that taking the time to have this conversation means a lot.

[Clarke Wyvill]

Hey all, Just got the issue a few days ago myself. I've never heard of Goldfrapp before either, but after doing a bit of poking around I like what I hear. I don't understand why some people have such a difficult time with a cover that to me seems both visually appealing and true to the character of the artist. So far everything about this issue has been great, keep up the great work guys.

 

~C

[cnegrad]

Clarke, we're all entitled to our opinions, that's why.

[Jon Doe]

Smokin hot chicks carrying their own vintage keyboards? What on god's green earth could possibly be wrong with that?

 

I plan on using it as example to my daughter that cool chicks do pack their own gear.

[Loufrance]

Well Ernie, Heres my opinion.

 

I'm a younger player so I think it's cool to see an artist I'm familiar with on the cover such as Alicia Keys, John legend, Maroon 5, even Prince. I think your mags cover would be repetitive with Rick Wakeman, Jan Hammer, MC Hammer , Even if you Had Stevie Wonder, on the cover all of the time it still would be.

 

With some of the older Artist I can't name one song of their's. I need something I can Identify with I also need a blend of old and new, along with different music styles. As far as the cover's go I find It a little odd when you guys cover "odd" artist( One's that love to eat psychadelic mushrooms etc.) I don't think the cover should be too sexual be it shouldn't be stiff either, as far as "Hornyness goes there are other mags to read if you need that type of thing .

 

As far as Popularity goes, I can't say all of the artist I have mentioned are "top notch players".

But I must say though for most people when an artist is "popular" they are downgraded, if the same artist wasn't popular most musicians would say they were great artist. I think I detect some jealousy from some players, mad at popular players because they can't or aren't so easily excepted by the public. Maybe I'm one of them?

 

In my eye's Keyboard mag does NOT project the same, Money Popularity/ Ethnic attitude+ Business ideals that most U.S media puts on T.V/Mags.

 

Keyboard mag Is for the musicians, despite whoever is on the cover. It's not about what's more popular etc, If it was it would just cover one or two types of music.

 

As far as the future of Keyboard goes, it needs that balance of New/Older and Begginer/Pro. Which I understand is very difficult, but I do like the "New" Keyboard better then the old, It's got a fresh feel and is easy to read and understand(except for the rumor mill, where even I can't understand what that women is talking about)

[Dick Ward MP Hall of Fame]

Originally posted by Cydonia:

Originally posted by Unsound Practices:

I live on the other side of the planet and won't see February until March... can you post a pic of the cover ?

http://www.curevents.com/vb/images/smilies/worth.gif

Yeah, I agree, I have no frame of reference. But I will say, more dames!

[ManInTheBox]

I can't believe you'd get any slack from those photos.... I honestly thought nothing of them, and was surprised at the subject of this thread/poll. I did read the article, I must confess I'm interested, and want to hear GoldFrapp's music. I want to hear what she can do to her voice with the MS-20. I would like to hear how the Farfisa, and the old Roland fit with what they are doing.

If that is her look, and is what she wears on stage, if it's part of her act, then that is the way Keyboard should present her. To me, she sounds as though she has some knowledge about what she is doing, and an interview of her was beneficial to myself, and I'm sure it will be to others.

[Loufrance]

Originally posted by G-Force:

I can't believe you'd get any slack from those photos.... I honestly thought nothing of them, and was surprised at the subject of this thread/poll. I did read the article, I must confess I'm interested, and want to hear GoldFrapp's music. I want to hear what she can do to her voice with the MS-20. I would like to hear how the Farfisa, and the old Roland fit with what they are doing.

If that is her look, and is what she wears on stage, if it's part of her act, then that is the way Keyboard should present her. To me, she sounds as though she has some knowledge about what she is doing, and an interview of her was beneficial to myself, and I'm sure it will be to others.

Yes Exactly! the interview counts.

[Ed A.]

Originally posted by Clarke Wyvill:

I don't understand why some people have such a difficult time with a cover that to me seems both visually appealing and true to the character of the artist.~C

Yeah, I agree. I don't have a problem with the cover at all, in fact I'd like to see more covers like this.

I discovered Goldfrapp's music a couple months ago and I was impressed enough to buy their Black Cherry CD.

I like their newer dance-oriented stuff more than their debut, which I thought was too much like a copy of Portishead combined with Broadcast.

[eric]

Originally posted by Floyd Tatum:

Originally posted by Jon Bryson:

Well, I'd love to be able to comment on this, however, I arrived home Tuesday night to find my Keyboard mag minus the cover and part of the GoldFrapp article. So I can say at least that my wife found it offensive. Actually it was more that she didn't want to have to explain it to young children in the home.

I shouldn't pry, but, you let your wife rip up your magazines??? Something's wrong with that picture, dude. Rip up a few of hers and see how she likes it. If she wanted to keep it away from the children's eyes, that could easily done without ripping it up. I'd straighten her out, just my $.02.

Big problem there! I treasure all my KB Mags like ancient relics. My wife jokes with me every now and then by threatening to fold over a page and I freak out about it. It all goes back to one day about 10 years ago when she left a cold drink on top of a 1986 KB Mag issue (the Duran issue) and it caused the cover to develop a ring shrink/swell issue.

 

As many of you know, I have every single issue of KB Mag and I keep them pristinely safe in their little yearly cardboard boxes on the library shelf in my music room. If someone ripped out some pages, I would be horrified!

 

As for the new issue, it arrived in my mailbox a few days ago. Never heard of Goldfrapp, but the saucy cleavage was appreciated, along with the cool vintage keyboards.

 

Regards,

Eric

[Clarke Wyvill]

origionally posted by cnegrad

Clarke, we're all entitled to our opinions, that's why.

Granted, nobody is saying otherwise that I can see. It just seems odd to me that people might get stressed/heated or that wives would cut up magazines over this cover. I've seen christian cowgirls on Heehaw singing hyms that would stop more traffic. But then, I was a kid then and my mind might be filling in gaps

 

Yes, I thought the Alicia Keys article was a bit frivilous myself, but not unexpected coming from a magazine that deals exclusively with keyboard/piano/synth based performers and music. Alicia keys is a talented, prominent, and talked about artist. While I personally might be a bit bored with her music, there are many players, new and old, that see her as an inspiration.

 

This magazing is relatively new to me, I've been reading it for about a year and a half now, not including the back issues I've picked up at the used book shop. But even over the last year, it seems apparant that it is trying to redefine itself, to expand it's reader base and to open it's focus a bit to new artists and new ideas. I'm sure it's not the first time it has done this, otherwise I would find it unlikely that it made it this far.

 

Goldfrapp IS synth, and if it hadn't been for this months issue I likely never would have been exposed to them (What's this? Retro-Synth Disco Pop...fling) or there crazy-beautifull synth arangements. Thanks Keyboard, for the great articles and interviews this month. You guys rock.

 

~C

[midinut]

Goldfrapp caught my attention about a year ago. They do some great stuff with synths. She does some provocative stuff yes but if you think the Keyboard Mag photos are out there you probably won't like their web site (hint hint).

 

Enjoy their music, after all ... isn't that what it's all about anyway?

 

[Mark Zeger]

Well, my January issue showed up a couple of days ago. Since Feb. is a short month, I'll probably see the cover in question around March 1.

[Jonathan Hughes]

Ernie,

 

Thanks for explaining what happened with the online content.

 

"The goal with the online stuff is to give you more reviews than we could in just the print edition. It's an experiment, and I absolutely understand that many people dislike reading articles online (assuming they've been posted in a timely manner). So over the next couple of months, see if you find this delivery method to be useful or not, and let me know."

 

I'm definitely all for having additional content online, but I'd hate to see the magazine stay realthin and have those articles we're used to having in the magazine only online.

 

Also, regarding the Goldfrapp cover-- wow! some people need to loosen up a bit. I was expecting something really riske before I got it, but my reaction when i saw it was "what's the big deal." So I have no choice to use the P word.Yep -- prude.

 

I'm glad to see _any_articles about women making music, especially ones who use cool old synths. I had heard of Goldfrapp before, but had never heard them. So I checked theem out, and will definitely be picking some of the stuffs (not because of what she looks like or how she dresses, but because of the music).

 

 

Jonathan