Don't be misled by the title of this magazine! Thankfully, it isn't exactly what it says on the…read moretin! What it is, is an amazing free monthly music publication that predominantly caters for the electronic music scene. Crack magazine, however, is much more than a music magazine; It is about modern music, modern youth culture and art. I've been reading Crack for quite some time and they have some of they pull articles and features from some of the biggest electronic music artist in the world - Nina Kravitz, Maya Jane Coles, Todd Terje and Flying Lotus to name just a few! I don't think I've ever had an edition that I've read for less than a a few hours, or picked up less than a dozen times. Half the fun of Crack is finding one. You wont find one in WH Smiths, but you will find a pile of them in the doorway of some cool bars, cafes and pubs around Bristol. Crack also set up brilliant parties in some of Bristol mist unused and unground venues. I've been to a couple and loved them. The guys that run the magazine are also heavily involved in The Christmas Steps pub, which was formerly the 3 sugar loaves. Keep your eye out for Crack!

This magazine is great. There have only been 4 issues so far, but having picked up the last one in…read morethe Flyer on Gloucester road, I began thumbing through it - and very much liked what I saw. It really stands out from the other free publications in the area. Firstly it looks like a newspaper rather than a glossy mag, which gives the impression that you're going to be reading something substantial - which you are. Secondly, there are loads of interesting and in-depth features and articles inside focusing heavily on the music, art and fashion scenes in Bristol. You'll find interviews with local bands and international artists alike, as well as a centre fold poster and even a crossword section at the back. Oh and also, did I mention... it's called Crack. Excellent.

I heart Venue. Not just the listings magazine with its fantabulous local previews, reviews and news…read moreof film, food, nights out, music and events. Not just its unique and enchanting dating and hating service 'I Saw You' and 'I'm Sore at You'. Not just its funny and irrevevant outlook on everything Bristolian and Bathtonian. Not just its bargain price and weekly publication, nor its websites and days out West guides, or green-focused festival companions that come free on a regular basis. Not that it sold out and moved to new offices with the local paper (no, actually I don't love that). I love that its always there, I have a subscription to it and there's always something exciting and new to read. And it makes me go out and do new things - always a bonus.

Bristol's leading listings magazine, Venue is one of very few decent media outlets this city has…read more They do their main job well, with up to date listings of films, gigs, pubs and other things like that. The writing is sharp and funny, and they don't mind slagging something off if that what it deserves. Just what you need if you're new to Bristol, their student guide should be obligatory. What, from my point of view, makes this a good magazine is that they seem to have an idea of the tastes, trends, and likes and dislikes of people like myself. As said before, they're owned by the Daily Mail, which is definitely not cool. There isn't any horrifically right wing editorials to be found though, so it seems to be a fairly benign influence. Venue is decent writing with a good eye as to what should be found in a pub, band, club and the various other things they cover.

Reminiscent of The Guardian's Guide, The Cut is one of the best free listings magazines Bristol has…read moreto offer. On the whole, these freebie mags tend to be jammed packed with adverts making it all gloss and no content. The Cut is completely different - its main focus is to show locals Bristol's best of the best in the world of music, theatre, arts, comedy and food. This monthly guide has listings, interviews and features on local Bristol businesses and people. The writing is witty, fresh and interesting, and the design is arty and accessible. It's the essential magazine for locals and visitors to the city to find out where to eat, dance and laugh. As a well known cheapskate it takes a lot for me to say this - but The Cut is the only free magazine that I'd actually pay cold hard cash for (but am eternally grateful that it remains free of charge!) The best places to pick it up are in Park Street shops, St Nicholas Market and Thekla.

This is one of the newer free music magazines in the Bristol area. It's a wonder that so many…read moremanage to survive. You've got Venue the paid for listings magazine, then comes 247 Magazine for all your music needs and there's a couple more smaller ones, The Scene, Suit Yourself Magazine and now The Cut. What amazed me about The Cut is that it had no adverts in it. How the heck was it funded? If you've been in publishing at all you will know that free magazines rely on advertising to pay the bills. It is the bane of any journalists life, having to cut pages due to a lack of advertising to pay for the print run but The Cut does not appear to have this problem and I just don't get it. Perhaps they will start pulling in the ads in future editions? It's largely written by an ex Bristol Evening Post and Venue music writer who knows her stuff so is a good read and the ones I've seen have pretty good artwork too.

Having studied at Art College for three long years I know how important it is to get your work in…read morethe public domain as early and as much as possible. So I think it' very commendable that the creative art student's at Bristol's University have put together Helicon Magazine. This free magazine showcases their talents in photography, fine art, poetry and journalism. Bristol is renowned for its talented artists, in all shapes and forms, so this seasonal mag is a great way of catching a glimpse of tomorrow's bright young stars. Helicon can be picked up from the University itself, Cooshti and St Nicholas market to name just a few places.

Artistic expression is what Helicon is all about, don't pick it up if you want to find out about…read morethe latest thing the government has screwed up. As an English student i find it interesting to peruse the pages from time to tim and find out what other students are spending their free time doing. the paper is not for everyone but it certainly provide a good read for those interested by the arts.

You know Wallace and Gromit right? Well they were created right here (well at their old studios…read morethat burnt down) but they live here now! Animators/businessmen Nick Park and David Sproxton have done themselves proud with a new site for the stupendous studios. Now they've got themselves a proper place to house their Oscars for model animation. And man, have they done them all. As well as the aforementioned dog and man in their various adventures, they've done Morph, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Time, and, bizarrely, Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer video. They've also filmed commercials and promos. Oh how I love 'em and their cute plasticine figures. Aardman entertain, provide humour, employ local people, create beautiful films and works of art with their progressive technology. All this fun and creativity stemming from little old Bristol. Aren't we lucky!

Many a Christmas of my youth was spent with the family huddled around the television watching the…read morelatest Wallace and Gromit episode. A source of much Bristolian pride, Aardman Animations are responsible for them, as well as the popular creature comforts series (the one with all the talking animals). Aardman do a good trade in slightly off the wall family animation and have been enjoying major success over the last few years, taking a clutch of Oscars for their feature length Wallace and Gromit films. They've also been venturing into computer animation with the release of Flushed Away. If you've ever watched a behind the scenes on Wallace and Gromit, you'll know why they only get a release out every few years. It takes hours of painstaking work, gently moving the arms of tiny little plasticine models millimetre by millimetre just to get a few seconds of shot. Very skilled stuff and you can see that they must be mad about animation to spend all day doing this. All the success is starting to show, and they've moved into a new purpose built building, a welcome change to the warehouses and flats that populate Spike Island (the land sliced up Bristol harbour that the building sits on). Just wondering into the lobby is a fantastic way to see these innovative people at work.

Come on guys - give heart a break!…read more So it might not do your street cred much good to have it blaring out with the windows down but I find, in my half an hour drive from work to home it is one of the only stations that I can guarantee actually being able to listen to some music on! Other stations decide to use this peak listening time to presenting mindless babble, when all I want is a few tunes to get me home quicker. I do agree that the talking on Heart is just as bad if not worse, I tend to just tune into another station in between songs. The other real good point is that they are a local station, so you get the travel news relevant to you, and during our recent snow crisis I used their website to find out which buses where running and which roads were closed. I am a fan. If there gave me a t-shirt - I'd wear it.

Oh my God. I had to listen to this radio station whenever I was at my old job and I hated it. The…read moreworst thing was that I found myself singing along after about a week of listening to the same songs over and over again. Even worse are the terrible adverts and jingles (more signing along). Even worse...me having these songs and jingle stuck in my head after work and all the way home. Thanks for polluting my mind.