Welcome to The Perfect Prescription

A little over a quarter of a century ago, I started a music website called No Ripcord.

Did I foresee the demise of print media and lead the charge in pioneering an exciting new brand of music criticism? No, I did not. Honestly, no one would enjoy telling that story more than me, but the truth is nowhere near elastic enough to stretch that far.

I idolised the music magazines of the era, specifically the British music weeklies NME and Melody Maker, and wanted to create my own version. I didn’t even add the caveat of “doing it better” — a second rate knock-off would suffice. At the age of seventeen and stuck in the musical No Man’s Land of West Cumbria, an early embrace of mediocrity was probably the most realistic part of the plan.

At this point I was blissfully unaware of Pitchfork Media, but I had read and admired the Drowned In Sound precursor, The Last Resort, so I did at least recognise the potential of the medium. Being a flaky teenager with intermittent exam pressures, I couldn’t commit to a schedule, so the resulting product ended up being an irregular ‘issue’ sent to subscribers via e-mail. A newsletter, basically.

As new contributors came on board, No Ripcord became a team endeavour, and my humble newsletter soon morphed into our irregularly updated website, with a heavy focus on verbose album reviews and a penchant for ambitious collaborative lists. I qualified as a doctor (hence the title), formed a band, got married, had a couple of kids, split up the band (probably for the best), and eventually handed over the reins to Juan Edgardo Rodriguez, whose unrivalled enthusiasm and skilful leadership kept No Ripcord alive for over a decade.

At various intervals we created three separate podcasts, all with limited success, and a rather niche digital magazine celebrating long-form music writing, which lasted precisely one issue. It’s been a fascinating journey, but the future for No Ripcord looks uncertain. The antiquated website poses one significant problem, but a more pressing existential concern is waning interest in the 800+ word album review (basically the one thing we do).

After a decade spent swimming against the tide, Juan and I are starting to fatigue. At some point in the near future we’ll have to choose whether to gracefully throw in the towel or to dust ourselves down and spearhead an evolution.

We’re still grappling with that one and I certainly don’t want to force the decision. 

But I do want to keep writing about music, sharing my discoveries, and making inconsequential lists. Sometimes this will fit the traditional mould of the No Ripcord website, but increasingly I yearn to write in a more casual format and a newsletter feels like a perfect fit for some of these ideas. 

So, while I know what the future holds for No Ripcord, I’ll be using this space to discuss new music and reflect on the last 25 years — the challenges, frustrations, and undeniable moments of joy that I’ve experienced self-publishing a music magazine. And perhaps, if I’m half as lucky as I was last time, I’ll wind up in a position where I’ll be tempted to claim it was all part of some grandiose masterplan.