''Perfect Sound Forever'' (established 1995) is one of the longest-running online-only

music magazine A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and culture in music cognition, music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with ...

s. Along with Michael Goldberg's '' Addicted to Noise'' (est. 1994), it is one of the first publications to post recurring, feature-length music journalism online. PSF's origins trace back to New York freelance writer Jason Gross, who began a now-defunct website called Furious Green Thoughts (from the noted Noam Chomsky quote). The site was first hosted by the pre- Earthlink ISP

Pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

, and included articles covering politics, music and fiction. The name Perfect Sound Forever originated in an early 1980s ad campaign about the first generation of CDs, promising the highest fidelity possible, and that the discs would outlive their owners. The same term was used as the title of a Pavement EP released in 1991. In 1995, Furious Green Thoughts was splintered into three sections, with the main title covering political (usually far-left) stories, "Assorted Realities" covering fiction and "Perfect Sound Forever" covering music. Laboring as a staff of one, Gross eventually folded Furious Green Thoughts and Assorted Realities, simplifying the zine's name to ''Perfect Sound Forever'' by the mid-1990s. PSF also moved from monthly to bi-monthly publication, with approximately 14 articles in each issue. Apart from occasional review columns, the 'zine concentrates on in-depth

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

pieces, think pieces and interviews, usually of obscure, often reclusive artists. Its design is a dark background with white lettering, which some readers have complained is difficult to wade through. However, a 2004 redesign prompted many calls for reversion to the original code. PSF's longest running column is Marc Phillips' "The Vinyl Anachronist" (which began in 1998). The site's most popular article remains "Bad Songs of the Seventies", which was written in 1995 and still generates hate-mail. A 1997 interview with

Tuli Kupferberg Naphtali "Tuli" Kupferberg (September 28, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was an American counterculture poet, author, singer, editorial cartoonist, comic artist, columnist, publisher, and co-founder of the rock band The Fugs. Biography Naphtali Ku ...

was also cited in his obituary in the ''New York Times''. Former

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editor Chris Ott briefly worked as co-editor, and put together a redesign of Perfect Sound Forever that ran in late 2004 and early 2005. Current editors include founder Jason Gross, Robin Cook (who is also a production editor at

Kensington Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New Yorkbased publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender Grossman (1946–1992). Kensington is known as "Am ...

), Al Spicer (former editor at '' Time Out London'') and Kurt Wildermuth (an editor at W. W. Norton & Company). Ken Cox, who also worked as a reverend and professor, was also an editor- he died in March 2010. Gross also contributes an annual report on the state of music criticism to RockCritics.com and

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. PSF has also published work by several noted writers including

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(who also edited the June 2008 issue), Jim DeRogatis, Vivien Goldman, Barney Hoskyns,

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born ) is an American music critic and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has published num ...

, Richard Meltzer,

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture. Reynold ...

, David Toop and

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

. There have also been articles, stories and literature from several musicians including

Colin Newman Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire (band), Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury ...

(Wire), Peter Stampfel (

The Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of New York City. Although they achieved only limited commercial and critical success in ...

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

, Chris Cutler, Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls), Holger Czukay (Can),

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American Electronic music, electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". ...

, Richard Hell, Moondog and

(The Fugs).

Reissues

Several of PSF's articles have led to reissues of the artists involved, including: * Delta 5 * Essential Logic *

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* Oh-OKOh-OK- Lynda Stipe & Linda Hopper interviews
/ref>

References

{{Reflist

External links

Perfect Sound Forever homepagePSF MySpace pageYe Wei, founder Jason Gross' blog
Online music magazines published in the United States