DROWNED IN SOUND SINGLES REVIEW COLUMN
I was co-editor of a music blog called The Lipster (named one of the 100 Best Blogs in the World by the Sunday Times) when I was asked to write Drowned in Sound’s weekly singles column. Coming out every Monday, it was a slightly unhinged round-up of all that was new in left-field music and became rather popular (at one point I had enough weekly readers to fill the Albert Hall twice). I covered European festivals, albums and gigs for DiS too, and was given the dangerous/beautiful double-edged sword that is complete creative control over anything under by byline. All my music journalism for DiS is collated here, but I think my favourites were this piece about why vinyl matters, this one about the end of a relationship, and this column, written entirely in free verse.
I wrote my column every week for four years, racking up something like 300,000 words. Even when I left, I knew a singles column was the best job in music journalism. The seven inch single has always been a mad snapshot of what pop music is doing at any particular time, and its throwaway, ephemeral nature requires you to respond with breathless enthusiasm and/or horror. I LOVED writing it.
