Observer Music Monthly, RIP, 2003-2010

Posted on 26th Jan 10 by Aoibheann Maguire | 1

It was nice to see the Observer Music Monthly (OMM) bow out in the typical, modest, fashion with which they had ran the magazine for its entire, 76- issue, lifespan. It was a magazine which during its, six and a half years, had chronicled  an explosion of internet tools such as, MySpace and YouTube which were about to change the way we accessed music forever. And unfortunately for OMM, these exciting new portals ,of music videos and interaction, that they were reporting on, were taking readers away from the page and more towards, the screen. That’s not to say, the Internet murdered this particular monthly, but I’d bet it was an accomplice in its demise.

It would have been quiet easy for OMM contributors (Miranda Sawyer, Paul Morley et al) to use the final issue of OMM as a way to remind their readers – just how great OMM, really, was, how much they had achieved and how much we should mourn the loss, on the music front, but in true OMM style , they remained largely dignified, hinting that, well, at least the wheel of pop keeps churning, and wistfully –the music lives on.

Throughout its run, OMM didn’t succumb to the “you heard it here first” type of trumpet blowing favoured by nearly every music media going. For this alone, and for admitting that it was actually an intern who introduced them to a then, unknown, Lilly Allen, whom they (OMM) are held responsible for introducing to the masses. For this “credit where credit’s due” and “self-praise is no praise” attitude, OMM will be fondly remembered and, hopefully, used as a benchmark for things to come.

Tags: Lilly Allen, Miranda Sawyer, Observer Music Monthly, Paul Morley