The Quietus and Guilt-Free Pleasures

Music blog “The Quietus”  is rapidly establishing itself as the place to go for music writing with bite.

These guys write with passion and don’t care who they upset but most of all they just love music. It doesn’t matter if the music in question is from last week, last year, the 60’s, the 70’s – whenever – if they like it, they say so and say why. You may not agree with what they write - prepare to have your preconceptions challenged - but in general it's a fun and bumpy ride.

There have been articles praising Hawkwind’s towering live album “Space Ritual”, the influence of the Motorik drumming style, 14 of the best independent label tracks  from 2014 and an interview with Ronika about her recent album “Selectadisc” to name but four.  (I note with raised eyebrow an article today in praise of the re-released version of Jethro Tull’s “Passion Play” – who could have seen that coming? Never heard the album myself - must give it a listen)

One of the recent articles that caught my eye is titled “Absolved!The Quietus Writers' 50 Favourite Guilt-Free Pleasures”.  It starts with an excellent polemic against the concept of the “guilty pleasure” and then proceeds to shove 50 of their favourite “un-cool” tracks down your throat.    There is, inevitably, some absolute toss amongst the list – no amount of hectoring or fine words (not even ‘Family Guy’) will persuade me that Hanson’s “MMMbop” is anything but total clinker – but there are still some good songs amongst them. Decide for yourself: there’s a Spotify playlist – but don't feel guilty about skipping Hanson ;-)