So, Stylus is going to stop publishing tomorrow a.k.a. October 31st a.k.a. Halloween, which is the internet music criticism equivalent of Burger King going out of business: yeah, it's no. 2, but it's the kind of no. 2 that's never going to be no. 1, so why not just concentrate on the people who really want Whoppers and Italian Chicken Sandwiches instead of getting all worked up about what Mickey D's is doing? Stylus was never really a threat to Pitchfork's ongoing reign as the first and last word in internet music dorkery, but it was the best alternative - more excited about the Top 40 than rifling through Sufjan Stevens' trash, free from blatant amateurism and blind indie boosterism, and possessed of a far more collegial atmosphere. (Plus it had movie reviews.) If Pitchfork assumes the tone of a knowing older sibling delineating what's cool and what's not, reading Stylus
I had been working on a list of the best writing the site had to offer during its run, but Editor-in-Chief and Stylus founder Todd Burns beat me to the punch, so I will defer to his judgment and link to The Bluffer's Guide to Stylus. My picks of his litter would be Nick Southall's treatise on the state of sonics in modern recording, "Imperfect Sound Forever"; Michael Patrick Brady's survey of the handwritten "conversations" on LP covers at Boston College's WZBC radio station, "Cover Commentary: Second Looks at First Impressions"; and the staff's take on The Top 101-200 Favourite Albums Ever. Apparently the site will remain up beyond Wednesday, but I urge you to visit it ASAP, because, you know, nothing lasts forever these days.
Also: Stylus Senior Writer Nick Southall's thoughts on Stylus' demise and the downslope of music criticism in general (overstated, perhaps, but insightful), and his favorite 50 records (no reissues or comps) released during the site's five year run.
