Miscellaneous - The Quietus

  by Admin

published: 10 / 1 / 2009

intro

Our Website of the Month is The Quietus, a new alternative music and popular culture website

'The Quietus' www.thequietus.com is a new alternative music and popular culture website. Initially running briefly as a blog before launching officially last summer, its editor John Doran described its agenda at the time of the launch in the following way. "We will be introducing you to a stellar cast of opinionated bloggers, consummate taste makers and provocative interviewers who will be covering the must-hear new bands and current releases. On top of this we will have cutting edge audio visual content on the most noteworthy music and pop culture from the last 30 years. In short we will be an essential read guide to the best in new albums, reissues and related books, comics, graphic novels, TV series, DVDs and the like, concentrating on quality over hype. We will inject a strong mix of opinion, humour, intelligence and passion back into journalism utilizing the best writers for the job. If you don’t actually believe that Jack Penate is the best thing since Nirvana but you’re still not ready to slump into yet another feature on ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ then we could be the thing you’re waiting for." While being up-dated most days, 'The Quietus', which is independently run, puts an emphasis on quality rather quantity, electing to concentrate in its music reviews on approximately just 30 of the best releases and reissues of each month. Recent interviews have included Darren Hayman, Paul Morley, Death Cab for Cutie Luke Haines, Robert Wyatt and Warren Ellis, and there have been features on subjects as diverse as heavy metal guitarists, independent music sleeve artwork, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, African music culture and Morrissey. Doran describes the staff at 'The Quietus', which features some of the best known writers of the last 30 years, as being "the cream of the new school to hardened survivors of the punk wars" Recent contributors have included musicians and journalists such as Aidan John Moffat (Arab Strap), John Robb (Goldblade), Chris Roberts, David Stubbs, Melissa Bradshaw, Andrew Mueller and one-time Pennyblackmusic writer David McNamee. A classic albums mime game proved a massive internet hit, attracting over 200,000 visitors and 'The Quietus' now has a sequel in the pipeline. It will also be starting a podcast in February. 'The Quietus' provides a fresh, but formidable alternative and outlook to such web giants as 'Drowned in Sound' and 'Pitchfork Media' and looks set to become one of the most important and crucial web sites in the on-line music community.