Spin is taking album reviews to a new place in 2012. The magazine has launched the Twitter account @SpinReviews, and it will be posting album reviews in 140 characters or less throughout the year. The albums — everything from hip-hop to country — will be reviewed by editors and freelancers, and the account is spearheaded by Christopher Weingarten, Senior Editor at Spin. Weingarten certainly has the chops to pull this off: He’s the man behind the @1000TimesYes handle, which offered reviews of 1,000 albums in 2009.

Weingarten hopes that the Twitter experiment will break through the online clutter. ”As music criticism gradually evolves into a ‘downloader’s handbook,’ Spin would love to be there to help you decide which records are worth breaking the law to hear… and which are worth the price of owning a vinyl or CD keepsake,” writes Weingarten. “Think of this as a passionate cheat sheet, a jumping-off point to explore your own opinion and fandom.”

Read more

Spin is preparing for its expanded online presence by making some additions to its team. Caryn Ganz, who most recently was with Yahoo and once worked for Spin in 2001, is being brought back to fill the newly created position of Editor-in-Chief, Online. Ganz will oversee all online content and work with Digital General Manager Jeff Rogers on the magazine’s redesign that is planned for 2012.

Christopher Weingarten will also join Spin as a Senior Editor. Weingarten is a published author and has contributed to a variety of publications, including Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and Spin.

David Bevan will now be an Associate Editor at the magazine. He comes to Spin from Pitchfork.