Stylus to Cease Publication

Stylus Magazine, Respected Online Music Publication, Will Fold After Halloween (New York Observer)

This is really unfortunate news. As a reader, I’ve long felt a particular kinship with Stylus. I can’t think of a single other online or newsstand music publication in the last 10 years–I mean an actual publication, not a blog or chat room–that has catered to my own sensibility so well. Not just in the breadth of the music coverage (and no other ‘zine that I’m aware of has anything like the genuine feel for pop music that Stylus has), but in the way they present their material, in their willingness to exclaim for the old as well as for the new, to explore corners of the pop universe otherwise uncharted (i.e., features on album covers, downloading, the art of mastering, etc.). Stylus doesn’t always hit the bulls eye, of course, but even at its most esoteric, it never strikes me as its own little scene–rather, it seems like a wide open space where music writers can try out all sorts of ideas, where offbeat features are encouraged, where there is no real attempt at forcing on the reader a singular “voice” or attitude.

As a sometime writer for Stylus (only on a very few occasions, mind you), I can attest that working for Todd Burns, Stylus‘s Ed-in-chief (and William B. Swygart, who handled the what-is-sure-to-be-missed Jukebox) was a genuine pleasure. Todd was one of the most receptive editors I’ve ever pitched to, and his receptiveness to people’s pitches and ideas has obviously shone through in the ‘zine itself, at least at its very best. I hope both Todd and William go on to bigger and better things (and btw, guys: my e-mail hasn’t changed!).

I look forward to seeing Stylus‘s “Greatest Hits-style retrospective” in the week ahead, but otherwise… damn, that’s sad.