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106-529: The label's output was a mix of new names and old pioneers, and documents a period in which self-assertive lyrics begin to detail street life even as the music moved from hardcore drum-machine-based tracks to the horns and drum sounds of sampler-based hip hop. B-Boy Records folded in 1988, though Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Media reports that, "both Allen and Kamarra have set about reviving the B-Boy Records name independently of each other, and there seems to have been

212-681: A DIN sync port (a precursor to MIDI ) to synchronize with other devices. Its three trigger outputs can synchronize with synthesizers and other equipment. The 808 launched in 1980 with a list price of US$ 1,195 (equivalent to $ 4,419 in 2023). Roland marketed it as an affordable alternative to the Linn LM-1 , manufactured by Linn Electronics , which used samples of real drum kits. The 808 sounded simplistic and synthetic by comparison; electronic music had yet to become mainstream and many musicians and producers wanted realistic-sounding drum machines. According to many reports, one review dismissed

318-592: A cult following among underground musicians and producers, and it became a cornerstone of the developing electronic and hip hop genres. CBC News credited the first use of the 808 to the Japanese electronic group Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1980. The first records to feature the 808 were released the following year: the Yellow Magic Orchestra album BGM and the Monitors single "Nobody Told Me". In 1982,

424-432: A paywall by the end of the year. It abandoned experiments with Pitchfork paywalls following criticism from readers. In 2020, Condé Nast laid off the executive editor Matthew Schnipper and the features editor and union chair Stacey Anderson. In 2022 and 2023, Pitchfork had about three million unique visitors a month, down by about 36% from 2021. On January 17, 2024, Wintour announced that Pitchfork would merge with

530-452: A skeleton crew continuing its mission, and said he was pleased with the work it had published since the announcement. On July 2, 2024, Pitchfork named Mano Sundaresan, the founder of the music blog No Bells , as the new head of editorial content. Sundaresan denied that Pitchfork was "going away", and said he aimed to adapt it to modern media and cater to more specialized audiences. That October, five former Pitchfork writers launched

636-617: A "distinguished digital property that brings a strong editorial voice, an enthusiastic and young audience, a growing video platform and a thriving events business". Kaskie said "our needs and wants were converging", and that Pitchfork needed capital and expertise to expand its publication and festivals. The sale boosted Pitchfork's value to advertisers. Pitchfork relocated to the Condé Nast offices in One World Trade Center , Manhattan. Previously, Pitchfork 's independence had been

742-456: A consistent content strategy, and packaging a love of music in a compelling way", according to its founder, Alex Young. The critic Carl Wilson said Pitchfork drove a "feeding frenzy about band discovery" in North American music journalism, with publications vying to discover new acts. In the 2000s, Pitchfork was credited with "making or breaking" musical careers, a phenomenon known as

848-548: A critical review. Itzkoff argued that the obtuse and confrontational style was part of the Pitchfork business model and made their reviews memorable. He suggested that the writers' lack of training or experience, and the fact that they worked for low or no pay, created a sense of authenticity and undermined the authority of traditional media. Schreiber conceded that Pitchfork had a reputation for snobbery, but said its writers were "really just honest, opinionated music fans". In

954-444: A difference to social causes. In July 2010, Pitchfork launched Altered Zones , a blog aggregator devoted to underground and DIY music . In 2011, Pitchfork relocated to Brooklyn , New York. On May 21, Pitchfork announced a partnership with the website Kill Screen , in which Pitchfork would publish some of their articles. Altered Zones closed on November 30. On December 26, 2012, Pitchfork launched Nothing Major ,

1060-425: A gap in the market for faster-moving publication that emphasized new acts. Pitchfork could publish several articles a day, greatly outpacing print media. New technologies such as MP3 , the iPod and the file-sharing service Napster created greater access to music, and music blogs became an important resource, creating further opportunity for Pitchfork. The contributors Mark Richardson and Eric Harvey said this

1166-469: A key aspect of its image. Schreiber said it would continue to have "creative independence". The acquisition triggered concern; the New York Observer wrote that was a "death knell for indie rock". The Condé Nast chief digital officer, Fred Santarpia, was criticized when he said the acquisition would bring "a very passionate audience of millennial males into our roster". The Atlantic connected

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1272-479: A language of their own", with sounds recognizable even to listeners who do not know what drum machines are, and so "you also notice when somebody messes with them or uses them in unusual contexts". In 2019, DJMag wrote that it was likely the most used drum machine of the preceding 40 years. The 808 has been described as hip hop's equivalent to the Fender Stratocaster guitar, which dramatically influenced

1378-485: A late release from Spyder-D (of " Big Apple Rappin' " fame), and B Girls Live and Kicking (1987), a collection of B-Boy's female MCs (Sparky D, Five Star Moet, Baby Doll, and L.A. Star). Not on the release was that the group BDP was to produce "Gotta-Rock" (G-Supreme & K-Rakeem), but Scott La Rock was killed before any work was done. Nate Patrin, writing for Pitchfork , observes that in B-Boy's recordings, "you can divine

1484-537: A limited-edition quarterly publication of about 10,000 copies of each issue, printed on glossy, high-quality paper. About two thirds of the content would be original, with the remaining reused from the Pitchfork website. The International Business Times likened the literary aspirations to The New Yorker and the Paris Review . The Pitchfork Review ended after 11 issues in November 2016. As of 2014, Pitchfork

1590-410: A new means for listeners to discover music. Pitchfork staff conflicted with Condé Nast over its attempts to monetize Pitchfork Music Festival by making it into a "luxury" experience. Santarpia left Condé Nast in 2018, leaving Pitchfork under the purview of Anna Wintour , the chief content officer. Two former Pitchfork staffers told The Verge that Wintour did not care about music or understand

1696-429: A number of bridges burned between the two men." B-Boy Records was founded by Jack Allen and William Kamarra in 1986, with one act on its roster. Allen, Kamarra, and Ray Wilson, calling themselves Rock Candy Records and Filmworks, advertised that a record label was seeking new musical talent in a newspaper. (Steve Huey of AllMusic reported rumors that it was seeking to establish a front for a pornography business.) The ad

1802-474: A number, these albums were given fixed scores. In the 2000s, Pitchfork reviews were criticized as pretentious, verbose and inaccurate. Itzkoff wrote that Pitchfork was overwrought and sometimes hard to understand, with an abundance of adjectives, adverbs and misused words. Shaer identified examples of "verbose and unreadable writing ... dense without being insightful, personal without being interesting". In City Pages , Thomas Lindsay wrote that its prose

1908-442: A reliable source of recommendations. Without the limitations of print media, Pitchfork was able to champion emerging independent acts that major print magazines, which had to sell millions of copies every year, could not. Schreiber felt the magazines were "not even trying to discover new music ... Publications used to take more chances on artists, putting bands on the cover that they thought deserved to be there." He said Pitchfork

2014-471: A review or $ 40 for a feature. In 2004, following staff tensions about Schreiber's advertising income, Pitchfork started paying writers from their first articles at a slightly improved rate. That year, Pitchfork published a positive review of the debut album by Arcade Fire , Funeral . The album became a bestseller and is cited as the first major example of Pitchfork 's influence on independent music, attracting coverage of Pitchfork from outlets such as

2120-526: A signature 10-point scale with punitive zeal." Schreiber said the site's early period "was about really laying into people who really deserved it", and defended the importance of honesty in arts criticism. In 1999, Schreiber relocated Pitchfork to Chicago. He estimated that Pitchfork had published 1,000 reviews by this point. Around the turn of the millennium, the American music press was dominated by monthly print magazines such as Rolling Stone , creating

2226-475: A time when music has proven to be one of our culture's most beautifully progressive spaces". In The Guardian , Laura Snapes wrote that Pitchfork had provided a vital "leading example" and doubted that specialist music journalism could survive without it. She lamented the job losses, saying that Pitchfork had been one of the last stable employers of freelance music writers. Schreiber said that commentators were "premature to eulogize Pitchfork ", as it retained

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2332-561: A website that covered visual arts, which closed in October 2013. Pitchfork launched a film website, The Dissolve , in 2013. It closed in 2015, citing "financial challenges". In 2017, Kaskie said he remained proud of The Dissolve and that it was "a huge success from the creative and editorial, design and everything else". In 2013, Pitchfork won the National Magazine Award for general excellence in digital media. That year,

2438-486: A whole and gave it a score of 6.8. The music blog Idolator ran a feature asking readers to guess which lines came from Pitchfork reviews and which were fabricated. In 2010, the writer David Shapiro started a Tumblr blog, "Pitchfork Reviews Reviews", which reviewed Pitchfork reviews and assessed their arguments. It attracted more than 100,000 followers and a profile in the New York Times . Spencer Kornhaber of

2544-548: Is being revamp by no other than Linda G Lopez taking back what belongs to her and her late husband chill bill aka Ira Zarnoff and the airs of the estate his children...the saga continues! Pitchfork Media Pitchfork (formerly Pitchfork Media ) is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis . It originally covered alternative and independent music , and expanded to cover genres including pop, hip hop, jazz and metal. Pitchfork

2650-701: Is credited with popularizing acts such as Arcade Fire , Broken Social Scene , Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens . Pitchfork relocated to Chicago in 1999 and Brooklyn , New York, in 2011. It expanded with projects including the annual Pitchfork Music Festival , launched in Chicago in 2006; the video site Pitchfork.tv and book, The Pitchfork 500 , both launched in 2008; and a print publication, The Pitchfork Review , published between 2013 and 2016. In later years, Pitchfork became less antagonistic and more professional in style, and began covering more mainstream music and issues of gender, race and identity. As of 2014, it

2756-413: Is going on in the inside, if you look at the circuit diagram, and you see how the unknown Roland engineer was making the best out of super limited technology, it's unbelievable. You look at the circuit diagram like you look at an orchestral score, you think, how on earth did they come up with this idea? It's brilliant, it's a masterpiece. — Robert Henke , musician and co-creator of Ableton Live In

2862-405: Is one of the most influential music publications to have emerged in the internet age . In the 2000s, Pitchfork distinguished itself from print media through its unusual editorial style, frequent updates and coverage of emerging acts. It was praised as passionate, authentic and unique, but criticized as pretentious, mean-spirited and elitist, playing into stereotypes of the cynical hipster . It

2968-628: The Atlantic described Pitchfork as the most influential music publication to emerge in the internet age . Itzkoff, a former editor for Spin , described the Spin staff checking Pitchfork regularly: "If it was lavishing attention on a new band, we at least had to ask ourselves why we weren't doing the same: by then, our value as a trustworthy and consistent filter had waned." The online magazine Consequence of Sound emulated Pitchfork early on, "especially as it came to creating an editorial voice, developing

3074-649: The Los Angeles Times . The contributor Jess Weiss said the review "changed everything". By 2005, Pitchfork was attracting around one million readers a month, with an annual revenue of around $ 5 million. That year, Schreiber said he was uninterested in selling Pitchfork: "It would change into the antithesis of the reason I started it. This is something I am so in love with—this is my entire adult life's work." By 2006, traditional music media, such as print magazines, music video channels and radio stations, had declined or changed focus, but music listeners still sought

3180-502: The Flaming Lips , NYC Ghosts & Flowers (2000) by Sonic Youth , Liz Phair (2003) by Liz Phair and Shine On (2006) by Jet . The Jet review consisted entirely of a video of a chimp urinating into its own mouth and was widely shared. The authors of the Phair and Sonic Youth reviews later changed their opinions and apologized to the artists. In Slate , Amos Barshad cited

3286-467: The Soulsonic Force released their single " Planet Rock ", which used the 808 to create "strange, futuristic" percussion that was popular in clubs. The track influenced the development of electronic and hip hop music and subgenres including Miami bass and Detroit techno , and popularized the 808 as a "fundamental element of futuristic sound". According to Slate , "Planet Rock" "didn't so much put

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3392-568: The " Pitchfork effect". In 2006, the Washington Post described Schreiber as an "indie-rock kingmaker" and wrote that "an endorsement from Pitchfork ... is very valuable, indeed". Megan Jasper, the CEO of the record label Sub Pop , said favorable Pitchfork reviews would boost sales and that it became normal for indie rock bands to sell 100,000 records, exceeding expectations. Poorly reviewed albums made no impact. After Pitchfork awarded 9.7 to

3498-476: The 1960s, drum machines were most often used to accompany home organs . They did not allow users to program rhythms , but instead offered preset patterns such as bossa nova . In 1969, the Hammond Organ Company hired the American musician and engineer Don Lewis to demonstrate its products, including an electronic organ with a built-in drum machine designed by the Japanese company Ace Tone . Lewis

3604-399: The 2000s, Pitchfork was criticized for focusing on music made by white men. In its early years, its staff comprised almost entirely white men. In 2007, the rapper M.I.A. criticized Pitchfork for assuming that her album Kala had been produced entirely by the male producer Diplo . Another Pitchfork writer described the error as "perpetuating the male-led ingenue myth". M.I.A. and

3710-471: The 2001 Tool album Lateralus consisted mostly of a list of the equipment used by the drummer. Some reviews consist only of single images or videos, implying the record is beneath critical analysis. Shaer wrote in 2006 that Pitchfork typically triumphed acts it had "discovered" and attacked beloved legacy acts and bands popular on music blogs. Some believed that Pitchfork deliberately waited for excitement to build around an act before dismissing it with

3816-443: The 808 as sounding like "marching anteaters", though this likely referred to machines that predated it. Contemporary Keyboard wrote a positive review, predicting that it would become "the standard for rhythm machines of the future". Despite some early adopters, the 808 was a commercial failure and fewer than 12,000 units were sold. Roland ended production in 1983 after semiconductor improvements made it impossible to restock

3922-449: The 808 generates sounds using analog synthesis rather than by playing samples . The 808 was a commercial failure, as electronic music had yet to become mainstream and many producers wanted more realistic drum sounds. After building approximately 12,000 units, Roland discontinued the 808 after its semiconductors became impossible to restock. It was succeeded by the TR-909 in 1983. Over

4028-458: The 808 include Damon Albarn , Diplo , Fatboy Slim , David Guetta and New Order . It has been referenced in lyrics by artists including the Beastie Boys, Beck, Outkast , Kelis , TI , Lil Wayne , Britney Spears , Beyoncé , R Kelly and Robbie Williams . Its bass drum has been used as a metaphor for a heartbeat in songs by artists including Madonna , Rihanna and Kesha . The 808

4134-457: The 808 on the map so much as reorient an entire world of post-disco dance music around it". The British electronic group 808 State took its name from the 808 and used it extensively. 808 State's Graham Massey said: "The Roland gear began to be a kind of Esperanto in music. The whole world began to be less separated through this technology, and there was a classiness to it—you could transcend your provincial music with this equipment." With

4240-422: The 808 was the bedrock of the modern "urban-youth-culture soundtrack", particularly in trap music , and had influenced a new blend of dance and retro hip hop that "embraces and fetishizes ... street music from the past". Artists pushed the limits of the 808's limited pattern storage; according to Slate , "Those eight-bar units became veritable playgrounds for invention and creativity." Artists manipulated

4346-512: The 808's defining feature. The 808 was the first drum machine with which users could program a percussion track from beginning to end, complete with breaks and rolls . Users can program up to 32 patterns using the step sequencer , chain up to 768 measures and place accents on individual beats. Users can also set the tempo and time signature , including unusual signatures such as 4 and 8 . The 808 includes volume knobs for each voice, numerous audio outputs and

B-Boy Records - Misplaced Pages Continue

4452-419: The 808's distinctive sizzling sound. The chief engineer, Makoto Muroi, credited the 808 voice circuit design to "Mr. Nakamura" and the software to "Mr. Matsuoka". The 808 imitates acoustic percussion: the bass drum , snare , toms , conga , rimshot , claves , handclap , maraca , cowbell , cymbal and hi-hat (open and closed). Rather than playing samples, it generates sounds using analog synthesis ;

4558-512: The American R&;B artist Marvin Gaye released the first hit single that featured the 808, " Sexual Healing ". Gaye was drawn to 808 because he could use it to create music in isolation, without other musicians or producers. 808 samples are common in music software, and it has inspired numerous unlicensed clones. Flavorwire wrote that the 808 is now so ubiquitous that "its beats are almost

4664-507: The Bridge Wars ). Technically homeless, KRS-One was living in a meat freezer below the B-Boy Records offices during this period. "South Bronx" was characteristic of much of B-Boy's releases: noisy, minimalist hip hop driven by the drum machine rather than the sampler . The Brothers' "I Got Rhythm", Wax Master Torey's "Duck Season", Jewel T's "I Like It Loud" and Levi 167's "Something Fresh to Swing To" (all 1987) are further examples. By contrast,

4770-447: The Bronx and Detroit, are part of America's cultural DNA". Even after the 808 fell out of use by East Coast hip hop producers in the 1990s, it remained a staple of Southern hip hop . The rapper Kanye West used the 808 on every track on his 2008 solo album 808s & Heartbreak , which Slate described as "an explicit love letter to the device". The New Yorker wrote in 2015 that

4876-565: The TR in TR-808 stands for "transistor rhythm". The sounds do not resemble real percussion, and have been described as "clicky", "robotic", "spacey", "toy-like" and "futuristic". Fact described them as a combination of synthesizer tones and white noise that resemble "bursts coming from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop " more than a real drum kit. In Music Technology , Tim Goodyer described

4982-526: The TR-808, Roland aimed to develop a drum machine for the professional market, expecting that it would mainly be used to create demos . The engineers conceived a "drum synthesizer" with which users could program drum sequences and edit parameters such as tuning, decay and level. Though they aimed to emulate real percussion, the prohibitive cost of memory drove them to design sound-generating hardware instead of using samples (prerecorded sounds). Kakehashi deliberately purchased faulty transistors to create

5088-645: The Trail of Dead and Wilco . According to Harvilla, a perfect score given to an album on release "qualifies as a seismic event for the rock-critic universe as a whole". Some reviews experimented with the score system. The 2005 Robert Pollard album Relaxation of the Asshole received a simultaneous 10 and 0; the review for the 2007 Radiohead album In Rainbows , which allowed fans to pay what they wanted to download, allowed readers to enter their own score. After Pitchfork changed its content management system to require

5194-573: The band Black Kids as the most infamous example of Pitchfork "at its most deleterious". Pitchfork 's review of their debut EP, Wizard of Ahhhs , boosted the Black Kids' career; however, it collapsed when Pitchfork gave their debut album, Partie Traumatic (2008), a score of 3.3, with a review consisting entirely of a photograph of two frowning dogs and a frowning emoticon . Plagenhoef said Pitchfork later became more cautious in publishing negative reviews, as they were no longer "little guys on

5300-446: The bass drum to produce new sounds, such as on the 1984 single "Set it Off", in which the producer Strafe used it to imitate the sound of an underground nuclear test . The producer Rick Rubin popularized the technique of lengthening the bass drum decay and tuning it to different pitches to create basslines . The Beastie Boys used a reversed recording of an 808 on their 1986 track " Paul Revere ". In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa and

5406-482: The beginnings of independent, street-level hardcore rap lyricism during the key transitional point that shifted the dominant production style from the 808 drum machine to the SP1200 sampler." He describes the label's roster as "a dizzying array of past icons, future legends, coulda-beens, never-weres and more than a few acts you probably haven't heard of that caught lightning in a bottle for one 12" record".the legacu of bboy

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5512-420: The comedian David Cross to write a list of his favorite albums. Cross wrote that he was surprised by the invitation, citing several insulting Pitchfork reviews of his comedy albums, and instead wrote a "withering and absurdist" article titled "Albums to listen to while reading overwrought Pitchfork reviews". In 2007, the satirical website The Onion published a piece in which Pitchfork reviewed music as

5618-722: The comment to a 2014 Nielsen report that found that millennial men were heavy music listeners and were more interested in streaming services than other demographics. In 2012, a Pitchfork poll asking readers to vote for their favorite music found that 88% of respondents were male, and statistics recorded by Quantcast in 2015 found that 82% of Pitchfork readers were men, most aged 18–34. Schreiber responded on Twitter that women were "a huge part of Pitchfork's staff and readership" and that Pitchfork aimed to reach "all music fans everywhere". On March 13, 2016, Pitchfork launched its first new design since 2011. That October, Pitchfork had 4.1 million unique visitors, up from 2.7 million

5724-501: The contributor Nate Patrin said Pitchfork had become "what publications like the Village Voice used to be in terms of letting writers go deep without feeling pressured to talk down to readers", with long-form articles and documentaries. By 2017, according to Bloomberg , its reviews had become "as erudite as those of the music magazines that Pitchfork had all but eclipsed in influence". The critic Ann Powers wrote in 2024 that "in

5830-444: The course of the 1980s, the 808 attracted a cult following among underground musicians for its affordability on the used market, ease of use and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, booming bass drum . It became a cornerstone of the emerging electronic, dance and hip hop genres, popularized by early hits such as " Planet Rock " by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force and " Sexual Healing " by Marvin Gaye . The 808

5936-407: The cowbell as "clumsy, clonky and hopelessly underpitched". The 808 is noted for its powerful bass drum sound, built from a sine oscillator, low-pass filter and voltage-controlled amplifier . The bass drum decay control allows users to lengthen the sound, creating uniquely low frequencies that flatten slightly over time, possibly not by design. The New Yorker described the bass drum as

6042-621: The debut album by Arcade Fire , Funeral (2004), it became the fastest-selling record in the history of Merge Records . Other acts whose careers were boosted by Pitchfork in the 2000s include the Dismemberment Plan , Clap Your Hands Say Yeah , Modest Mouse , Broken Social Scene , Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens . Schreiber said they wanted to create a roster of artists whom people discovered with Pitchfork and became associated them. The managing editor, Scott Plagenhoef, downplayed their influence, saying Pitchfork merely "accelerated

6148-505: The development of rock music . It was used by pioneering hip hop acts including Run-DMC , LL Cool J and Public Enemy . The 808 bass drum, in particular, became so essential that Hank Shocklee of the Bomb Squad production group declared that "it's not hip hop without that sound". The New Yorker wrote that the "trembling feeling of [the 808 bass drum], booming down boulevards in Oakland,

6254-456: The domain of a new world of music". According to Slate , it was instrumental in pop music's shift from conventional structure and harmonic progression to "thinking in terms of sequences , discrete passages of sound and time to be repeated and revised ad infinitum ". The Argentine artist Charly García used the 808 for all percussion on his second album, Clics modernos (1983). In the 1984 Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense ,

6360-468: The end of the 2000s, Pitchfork had become influential in the music industry, credited for launching acts such as Arcade Fire and Bon Iver . Employees at record labels and record stores would use it to anticipate interest in acts. It was also attracting large sponsors such as American Express and Apple . The influence of Pitchfork on music careers declined around the turn of the decade, as streaming and social media fractured audiences and reduced

6466-473: The end of the 20th century, which were publishing content about Star Wars , nu metal and pop punk. He characterized the Pitchfork voice as that of the outsider mocking the mainstream. In The Verge , Elizabeth Lopatto wrote that early reviews were unpolished and sometimes unprofessional, and "brash, sometimes bizarre, often typo-ridden", but that this distinguished Pitchfork from traditional media and made it fun to read. Pitchfork contributors said it

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6572-444: The faulty transistors essential to its design. Though the 808 was unsuccessful, it was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine and became one of the most influential inventions in popular music. By the time Roland discontinued it in 1983, it had become common on the used market, often selling for less than $ 100 (equivalent to $ 306 in 2023). Its ease of use, affordability and idiosyncratic sound earned it

6678-513: The following decade, Pitchfork shifted its editorial range and style. It began running news and features alongside reviews, coming to resemble a more conventional music publication. It also diversified from indie rock to cover mainstream music including pop, rap and metal, and began covering issues of gender, race and identity in music, influenced by movements such as MeToo and Black Lives Matter . Schreiber said that "our tastes broadened with age and experience", and that Pitchfork could make

6784-515: The grand tradition of rock criticism, joining the ranks of imperious and opinionated writers". Schreiber described the reviews of one early Pitchfork writer, Brent DiCrescenzo, as dense with dialogue and pop culture references, "exploring outlandish scenarios". Pitchfork 's style changed in the 2010s as it broadened its scope and audience, shifting to poptimism . The contributor Craig Jenkins said Pitchfork had needed to change its "walled-in" perspective, and that it had been "antagonistic toward

6890-689: The impression of a "forward-facing, vibrant title". Unlike other music publications, which typically assign scores out of five or ten, Pitchfork uses a decimal scale of 0.0 to 10.0. The system has drawn mockery as arbitrary and overprecise. DiCrescenzo described it as "knowingly silly", and in 2021 Pitchfork wrote that it was an "admittedly absurd and subjective" signature element. Schreiber said he liked its absurdity and how "it felt kind of scientific without any actual science to it". Early reviews used percentages rather than decimals. By 2021, Pitchfork had published more than 28,000 reviews. Pitchfork reviews do not represent an editorial consensus but

6996-403: The internet throwing rocks at big artists". Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer , commonly known as the 808 , is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. Unlike its nearest competitor at the time, the more expensive Linn LM-1 ,

7102-458: The internet. Schreiber announced his departure on January 8, 2019, saying he wanted to "keep pushing boundaries and exploring new things". The Los Angeles Times said the departure came at a time of "existential change" for the media industries, citing the rise of streaming services and social media and the downsizing of many major music publications. That month, Condé Nast announced it would put all its publications, including Pitchfork , behind

7208-481: The journalistic form and temperament of the time". While it was widely mocked, it boosted Pitchfork 's profile. Schreiber said he understood the review would make Pitchfork subject to ridicule, but "wanted Pitchfork to be daring and to surprise people". In 2001, Pitchfork had 30,000 daily readers. In 2004, Pitchfork hired its first full-time employee, Chris Kaskie, formerly of the satirical website The Onion , to run business operations. Kaskie later became

7314-439: The landmark Criminal Minded (1987), Boogie Down Productions was supposed to sign with Warner Bros. Records and the label folded soon afterward. According to writer Peter Shapiro , B-Boy's best release besides those by Boogie Down was Levi 167's aforementioned 1987 single. They did however have late success with "Strong Island" (1988) by JVC Force , which Shapiro calls "one of the most kinetic records in hip-hop history". After

7420-533: The men's magazine GQ , resulting in layoffs. The merge drew criticism and triggered concern about the implications for music journalism. Pitchfork was created in February 1996 by Ryan Schreiber, a high school graduate living in his parents' home in Minneapolis . Schreiber grew up listening to indie rock acts such as Fugazi , Jawbox and Guided by Voices . He was influenced by fanzine culture and had no previous writing experience. Schreiber initially named

7526-509: The men's magazine GQ . Staff including Patel were laid off, leaving around a dozen editorial staff, including some working on multiple Condé Nast publications. Max Tani of Semafor reported that the remaining staff were "depressed and embarrassed" by the merge. One writer who was laid off, Andy Cush, said "there was this real sense of despair ... about ever having a place to do the kind of work you feel like you're good at and that you're interested in again". As of that month, Pitchfork had

7632-419: The most daily active users of any Condé Nast publication. Journalists reacted with sadness and concern for the future of music journalism. Tani and The Washington Post 's Chris Richards expressed disgust that Pitchfork , once independent and provocative, would be absorbed into an establishment men's magazine. The music critic Ann Powers wrote that the merge felt "like a highly conservative move at

7738-425: The murder of Scott La Rock, however, BDP ultimately signed with Jive Records . B-Boy Records’ discography is now controlled Traffic Entertainment Group, under exclusive license from Phase One Network Inc. A 2002 retrospective of the label, The Best of B-Boy Records , is available on ]] (lotus digital distribution owned by bboy records sed with Boogie Down Productions' 2001 compilation, Best of B-Boy Records , on

7844-532: The music site Hearing Things , which aims to "capture the original independent spirit" of Pitchfork . In November, Pitchfork announced that it had canceled Pitchfork Music Festival but would continue to produce events and "create spaces where music, culture, and community intersect". Pitchfork's unusual, passionate and stylized reviews differentiated it from the more scholarly and formal style of print magazines such as Rolling Stone . The critic Steven Hyden said it offered an alternative to music magazines at

7950-436: The music, playing into stereotypes of the cynical hipster . In 2018, the music journalist Robert Christgau described the early years of Pitchfork as "a snotty boys' club open to many 'critics' ... Too many amateur wise-asses and self-appointed aesthetes throwing their weight around." Many scathing early reviews were by Brent DiCrescenzo, who wrote lengthy reviews that rarely addressed the music. For example, his review of

8056-507: The need for gatekeepers. Streaming services began to fulfill Pitchfork 's function of helping new artists find audiences, and independent music criticism moved to podcasts and YouTube . Declining music industry revenues reduced advertising spending, and Pitchfork faced competition from advertisers such as Facebook . According to the Los Angeles Times , "The internet era that birthed Pitchfork 's blend of saucy writing, outre tastes and massive popularity [was] by and large over." Over

8162-953: The opinion of the individual reviewer. Writers who did not want to use their names, or failed to include bylines with their submissions, were credited as Ray Suzuki, similarly to the filmmaker pseudonym Alan Smithee . In The Ringer , Rob Harvilla wrote that a 10.0 from Pitchfork "carries all the historical weight of five stars in Rolling Stone or five mics in The Source ... with its maddening and theoretically precise approach to decimal places, such that an ocean of feeling separates an 8.1 from an 8.9". Pitchfork has awarded perfect scores to more than 50 albums, most of them in its "Sunday Reviews" feature, which publishes retrospective reviews of classic albums. Artists who have received perfect scores on release include Radiohead, Fiona Apple , Kanye West , Bonnie "Prince" Billy , And You Will Know Us by

8268-514: The past decade Pitchfork had nurtured many of the best and most influential writers working today". She felt that "great music writing messes with productivity by creating a space to slow down and really immerse in someone else's creative work ... The best writing at Pitchfork or anywhere reflects that process and is as variegated as the human experience itself." In 2015, The Guardian credited Pitchfork for pioneering design techniques that combined print design and technical innovation to create

8374-589: The president and co-owner. Pitchfork 's first professional editor, Scott Plagenhoef, was hired shortly afterwards. Kaskie and Plagenhoef are credited for turning Pitchfork into a professional operation. It began to scale quickly, investing in the more money it made, the more resources it had for reviews and articles. As of 2004, Pitchfork had eight full-time employees and about 50 freelance staff members, most of whom worked remotely and co-ordinated through phone and internet. Writers were unpaid for their first six months, after which they could earn $ 10 or $ 20 for

8480-478: The previous October. With Schreiber aiming to make it the world's best repository for music content, Pitchfork began creating videos and retrospective articles, covering classic albums released before its founding. Kaskie announced his departure from Pitchfork in May 2017. He had been frustrated by his diminished role under Condé Nast and Pitchfork 's reduced autonomy. On September 18, 2018, Schreiber stepped down as

8586-479: The process". After Pitchfork awarded 0.0 to Travistan (2004), the debut solo album by the Dismemberment Plan singer Travis Morrison , his solo career effectively ended. Years later, Morrison described the experience as "frightening and awful". Schreiber said he felt bad for him, but that it was important for Pitchfork writers to be honest. Other albums to receive 0.0 include Zaireeka (1995) by

8692-408: The rapper Chief Keef was arrested for violating a probation sentence by using a rifle in a promotional video by Pitchfork . Staff later described the episode as a low point and an example of how Pitchfork mishandled hip-hop artists. In December, Pitchfork launched The Pitchfork Review , a quarterly print journal focused on long-form music writing and design-focused content. Pitchfork planned

8798-507: The rise of rave culture , a precursor to acid house , the 808 became a staple sound on British radio. In the early 90s, the Japanese composer Yuzo Koshiro incorporated samples of the 808 in his soundtracks for the Streets of Rage games. The 808 was used extensively in pop. The New Yorker wrote that it triggered "the big bang of pop's great age of disruption, from 1983 to 1986", and that its "defiantly inorganic timbres ... sketched out

8904-427: The same label). In 2007 the two-disc B-Boy Records: The Archives Rare & Unreleased was released through traffic group illegally, the successor of LandSpeed. In 2008, again through Traffic, came a four-disc MP3 collection of the label's complete official output, B-Boy Records: The Masterworks , featuring short-lived B-Boy Records acts such as Soul Dimension, Incredible Two, Crazy 8 Posse and Wacky Rapper, as well as

9010-410: The same year's "Just Saying Fresh Rhymes" by Castle D relies on a relatively quiet percussive accompaniment based around the hi-hat , and a disorienting synth melody reminiscent today of G-funk . Other notable, but more sampler-influenced, 1987 releases include The Busy Boys' "Classical," "Feel The Horns" by old school pioneers Cold Crush Brothers , and Sparky D's "Throwdown." After its first album,

9116-495: The singer Björk argued that this was part of a wider problem of journalists assuming that female artists do not write or produce their own music. In 2024, the Pitchfork contributor Andrew Nosnitsky argued that hip-hop, not indie rock, was the "defining music" of his generation, but that Pitchfork was viewed as the defining music publication for "purely mechanical and straight-up white-supremacy reasons". Pitchfork has attracted multiple parodies. In 2005, Pitchfork invited

9222-434: The singer David Byrne performs " Psycho Killer " accompanied by an 808, stumbling against its "gunshot"-like sounds. The drummer and songwriter Phil Collins found the 808 useful for looping rhythms for long periods, as human drummers would be tempted to add variations and fills . Whitney Houston 's 1987 single " I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) " makes extensive use of the 808. Other artists who have used

9328-407: The size of their biggest show ever. That's the goal, man. To put fucking Titus Andronicus in front of 10,000 people." In April 2008, after acquiring the live music show Juan's Basement , Pitchfork launched Pitchfork.tv , a website displaying interviews, music videos and feature-length films. In November, it published a book, The Pitchfork 500 , covering the preceding 30 years of music. By

9434-718: The sounds using the Ace Tone machine. In 1972, Kakehashi formed the Roland Corporation and hired Lewis to help design drum machines. By the late 1970s, microprocessors were appearing in instruments such as the Roland MC-8 Microcomposer , and Kakehashi realized they could be used to program drum machines. In 1978, Roland released the CompuRhythm CR-78 , the first drum machine with which users could write, save and replay their own patterns. With its next machine,

9540-398: The stuff that the average person would be appreciating". Plagenhoef felt that the inflammatory "stunt reviews" were limiting, and wanted Pitchfork to be seen as trustworthy and thoughtful. Snapes said some had lamented the change, suggesting that it made Pitchfork "a less specific proposition". However, she felt it reflected modern music consumption and found it heartening that Pitchfork

9646-436: The top editor. He was replaced by Puja Patel, who had worked at Spin and Gawker Media , as editor-in-chief on October 15. Schreiber remained as a strategic advisor. He said he later realized that Condé Nast did not understand Pitchfork and had unrealistic expectations of its performance. Patel came under pressure to cut costs amid declining traffic from social media, and competition from streaming platforms, which offered

9752-743: The website Turntable , but changed it after another website claimed the rights. The name Pitchfork was inspired by the tattoo on the assassin Tony Montana in the film Scarface . Schreiber chose it as it was concise and had "evilish overtones". The first review was of Pacer (1995) by the Amps , and the record store Insound was Pitchfork 's first advertiser. Early Pitchfork reviews focused on indie rock and were often critical. The Washington Post described them as "brutal" and "merciless", writing: "The site's stable of critics often seemed capricious, uninvested, sometimes spiteful, assigning low scores on

9858-470: Was able to take risks as it was not interested in appeasing bands, record labels or advertisers. In 2006, Pitchfork had 170,000 daily readers and was publishing five album reviews a day, with six full-time employees. Schreiber said that Pitchfork was able to sustain paid freelancers and eight employees, though they were "always cutting it close". He said he had attracted interest from investors, but wanted to retain control and that journalistic integrity

9964-551: Was an important part of Pitchfork 's early popularity, as music fans could share and listen to recordings while reading daily updates. In 2000, Pitchfork ' s 10.0/10.0 review of the highly anticipated Radiohead album Kid A , written by Brent DiCrescenzo, generated a surge in readership and was one of the first signs of Pitchfork becoming a major publication. One of the first Kid A reviews published, it attracted attention for its unusual style. Billboard described it as "extremely long-winded and brazenly unhinged from

10070-609: Was answered by the then-unrecorded Boogie Down Productions , now the most famous of the acts that were to be associated with the label. By request, the group recorded an anti-drug song called "Crack Attack" and was signed to the newly formed B-Boy Records. The label's graffiti -style logo was designed by the group's lead emcee, KRS-One . The first official B-Boy release was Boogie Down Productions' "South Bronx" (1986). A forcefully delivered oral history of hip hop written in response to MC Shan 's "The Bridge." It generated considerable New York interest and became part of hip hop history (see

10176-446: Was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine. Its popularity in hip hop has made it one of the most influential inventions in popular music, comparable to the Fender Stratocaster 's impact on rock . Its sounds are included with music software and modern drum machines and it has inspired unlicensed recreations. The TR-808 is a piece of art. It's engineering art, it's so beautifully made. If you have an idea of what

10282-481: Was facing mounting financial problems, and Kaskie spent the year attempting to find funding. On October 13, 2015, the American mass media company Condé Nast announced that it had acquired Pitchfork . At this point, Pitchfork had about 50 employees, with editorial and video production staff in Brooklyn and advertising, sales and development staff in Chicago. The Condé Nast CEO, Bob Sauerberg, described Pitchfork as

10388-464: Was florid and sometimes impenetrable, and contained factual errors. Similar criticisms came from Rob Harvilla of the East Bay Express and Claire Suddath of Time . Responding to criticism in 2006, Schreiber said he trusted his writers' style and opinions. In its early years, Pitchfork was criticized as mean-spirited and elitist , and for publishing reviews that do not meaningfully discuss

10494-493: Was followed in 1983 by the TR-909 , the first Roland drum machine to use samples. Like the 808, the 909 influenced popular music, including such genres as techno , house and acid . 808 samples were included in ReBirth RB-338 , an early software synthesiser developed by Propellerhead Software . According to Andy Jones of MusicTech , ReBirth was "especially incredible" as the first software emulation of 808 sounds. It

10600-536: Was his priority. In August 2006, an internal Pitchfork server containing promotional copies of hundreds of albums was hacked, including the forthcoming Joanna Newsom album Ys . In the mid-2000s, Pitchfork expanded its operations. In 2006, it launched the annual Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. The first Paris Pitchfork Music Festival was held in 2011. Kaskie said it was exciting to see acts Pitchfork had championed playing to large crowds: "We start to see these bands playing in front of audiences 10 times

10706-680: Was immediately divisive among music fans. In the Washington Post , J. Freedom du Lac described Pitchfork as entertaining, "hilariously snarky" and "occasionally even enlightening". The Los Angeles Times writer August Brown described it as "raucous, passionate, sometimes blinkered but always evolving". In Slate , Matthew Shaer wrote that the best Pitchfork reviews were "cagey, fierce, witty and graceful". The journalist Dave Itzkoff described Pitchfork reviews as "defiantly passionate and frustratingly capricious" with an "aura of integrity and authenticity that made such pronouncements credible, even definitive, to fans ... insinuating themselves into

10812-445: Was known for performances using electronic instruments he had modified, decades before the popularization of instrument hacking via circuit bending . He made extensive modifications to the Ace Tone drum machine, creating his own rhythms and wiring it through his organ's expression pedal to accent the percussion. Lewis was approached by Ikutaro Kakehashi , the president and founder of Ace Tone, who wanted to know how he had achieved

10918-422: Was receiving around 6.2 million unique visitors and 40 million pageviews every month, with an expected annual revenue growth of 25 to 40 percent. Its primary revenue came from advertising. According to the media analytics firm Comscore , Pitchfork had 2.47 million unique visitors that August, more than the websites for Spin or Vibe but fewer than Rolling Stone 's 11 million. By this point, Pitchfork

11024-418: Was receiving around 6.2 million unique visitors every month. The influence of Pitchfork declined in the 2010s with the growth of streaming and social media . In 2015, it was acquired by the mass media company Condé Nast and moved to One World Trade Center . The Pitchfork president, Chris Kaskie, left in 2017, followed by Schreiber in 2019. In 2024, Condé Nast announced plans to merge Pitchfork into

11130-503: Was retired in 2017 as Roland said it infringed on its intellectual property. Roland has included 808 samples in several drum machines, including its Grooveboxes in the 1990s. Its TR-8 and TR-8S drum machines, released in the 2010s, recreate the sounds electronically rather than through sample playback. In 2017, Roland released the TR-08, a miniaturized 808 featuring an LED display, MIDI and USB connections, expanded sequencer control and

11236-443: Was reviewing a variety of genres and artists. Under Puja Patel, who became the editor in 2018, Pitchfork covered more female, non-binary, queer and non-white artists. Pitchfork also switched to a more professional style. The editor Amy Phillips illustrated this by comparing her coverage of the announcement of two Radiohead albums, years apart; the first was excitable, whereas the second was more professional and factual. In 2014,

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