Met Peter Krause a co-founder of Critical Mob at BEA and then I checked out the site. It looks like they have a wealth of material worth your time, and a very interesting books section. Here’s an excerpt from their press release:
Critical Mob, a writer-owned website dedicated to covering and connecting the best in arts and culture, is now live. With print reviews dying, and the web offering a dizzying choice of blogs, Critical Mob hopes to fill a gap with an accessible and interactive approach to discovering the best new music, books, films, television, arts and culture.
Owned and funded solely by its contributors, Critical Mob features the best new releases by the most innovative new artists, and then connects them back to their inspirations, their collaborators, as well as to handpicked recommendations of similar titles and artists. These connections form the backbone of the Critical Mob database, offering interactive paths where users can begin with a musician like Patti Smith, then move on to the poet Rimbaud, the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and back to her fellow punk poet Jim Carroll and the CBGB-era band Television.
“The interactive nature of the web allows new paths to discovery that print publications simply can’t offer,” says Peter Krause, co-founder of the site. “Then consider that most online reviews are from users, and most recommendations are created by computer algorithms. The web was supposed to pick up where newspapers left off. We felt that potential hadn’t been tapped yet, and created Critical Mob to do just that, to create a trusted editorial voice on the web.”
Formed by a group of passionate, life-long enthusiasts, Critical Mob features sharp, concise writing and a commitment to covering a wide range of accessible artists. “There’s something here for everyone,” says co-founder Paul Parreira. “We love pop and sub cultures. We speak to young music fans as well as seasoned fiction readers. And we’ll cover the latest pop sensation or coolest underground hit—as long as they’re both truly outstanding.”
It’s always fun to check out the new guys on the block.
