1) How does the choice of band featured in the article suggest who the target audience will be?
This double page spread is dedicated to letters htat people have sent in, and so there are many bands that are featured within these pages, for example, Oasis, Blur and MGMT. These bands are quite indie, which suggests that this magazine is dedicated to indie music. The target audience is probably 16-35 years. This is due to that fact that MGMT is quite a recent band for the younger generations, yet Oasis have been around for a while, therefor aiming more at the older generations.
2) What type of language is used in the article? Give examples of words or phrases which are specific to the style of the magazine
The language on this page is quite informal and colloquial, espeically the letters that have been sent in. The magazine asks questions such as "Anyone else delighted to see Blur back?". This is very informal, and creates quite a 'chatty' and conversational atmosphere.
3) How is colour used?
The colours on this page are white, black and red. Red is clearly used because it is this magazine's house colour, meaning that the magazine can achieve a consistent style if they use it throughout their magazine. The black text on the white background makes the text stand out well, as they are both greatly contrasting colours.
4) What style of text is used? Is it similar to any other pages? What does it say about the image of the magazine and the audience?
The style of the text is quite informal throughout the magazine, such as on page 23, the opening sentence is "Professional northerner wanted", which is clearly quite humourous and not meant to be taken seriously. This suggests that this magazine is quite laid back, which may represent the people who read the magazine and are into this sort of music. It also suggests that the magazine want to create a friendly and more personal relationship with its readers, to make them want to continue reading.
5) How is the double page spread laid out? How much of the pages are taken up by images and how much by text? How does this reflect the audience? What do they value?
This double page spread is laid out in a quite structured way. The text and images are positioned in columns, making it easy for the user to follow. There appears to be an even balance of text and images, probably due to the fact that the main image on the left page is quite big. This represents the style of the magazine, which is quite casual and laid-back. The readers do not want to read huge paragraphs of formal text; they want to to be able to read some text, but be able to flick through images as well.
6) What tone is the magazine using when addressing the reader (as a close friend, a member of an 'in' crowd or an informed intelligent fan?) - provide evidence
The tone is very casual and appears to be addressing all readers, instead of just you. "Anyone else delighted to see Blur back?" is a very casual question, open to anyone. It makes you feel as if you are part of a community of NME readers, and assumes that you are well informed about what uis happening in the music world (as it suggests you know that Blue have made a comeback).
7) How is the artist/band presented to the audience through the images? You may wish to carry out a textual analysis.
The main image is on the left page of Blur. They have made a comeback recently, and the caption that describes this image reads "Blur: middle age ain't rubbish". This suggests that this band, although they are slightly older, still feel that their music is not bad. The image shows the four band members, looking extremely casual and laid-back, which matches the style and theme of this magazine. The fact that it is in black and white represent that fact that they are probably a bit older than the other younger bands that are on this page in colour. The clothes that these band members are wearing are extremely dark, most of them in all black. This shows that they are quite plain, suggesting that they do not need to attract attention through their fashion, but with their music.
8) How does the style of the article match the style of the front cover?
The colours red and yellow are used quite a lot through this magazine, as these appear to be their house colours. The front cover and this article are both quite eye catching, drawing attention from the readers.
9) Does the article demand any prior knowledge? Give examples.
This magazine requires you to know something about this type of music, as the artists within are all from the indie genre. If you are not interested in this style, then the chances are that this magazine will not appeal to you. As mentioned previously, the question on page 14, "Anyone else delighted to see Blur back?" requires the user to already know that this band has made a comeback. If you did not, then you probably wouldn't be able to have an opinion on the article.
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