Books

An Oral History Of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti

An exclusive extract Trampled Under Foot, Barney Hoskyns' new oral history of Led Zeppelin

Žižek The Curator: The Year Of Dreaming Dangerously Reviewed

Joshua Warren attempts to unravel the often celebrated but always controversial philosopher's latest work

Homelands: Patrick White – A Personal Odyssey

In the centenary year of the celebrated Australian author’s birth, Barnaby Smith asks how it is that this giant of literature has all but disappeared from the nation’s cultural consciousness

Everything Is An Amalgam: Sam Riviere Interviewed

“Living Dyingly” – Christopher Hitchens’s Mortality

Matthew Foster on the late Christopher Hitchens' final book

All Talked Out: Dismantling The History Of Talk Talk

Wyndham Wallace examines two new celebrations of the work of Talk Talk, 80s synth-poppers turned art-rock pioneers. (Plus an exclusive extract from Spirit Of Talk Talk, the book, by Chris Roberts…)

READ: Paul Auster’s Winter Journal

Paul Auster's Winter Journal is released this week via Faber and Faber. Read an extract here

Every Love Story Is A Ghost Story: A Life Of David Foster Wallace

Charlie Fox reviews D.T. Max's biography of David Foster Wallace - a writer morned and maligned in seemingly equal measure

To Wage War With Ghosts: Joe Banks Of Disinformation Interviewed

Jamie Sutcliffe talks to sound artist and author Joe Banks (aka Disinformation) about his new book Rorschach Audio, a history of Electronic Voice Phenomena and other distortions of aural perception

David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Madonna & Asparagus: Kraftwerk In 1976

This extract from David Buckley's excellent new Kraftwerk biography Publikation (out now on Omnibus) looks at an album collaboration that didn't happen and an expedition to buy seasonal vegetables that did

Damn The Torpedoes! The Quietus Comics Round Up Column For August!

Mat Colegate and Aug Stone get to grips with comic releases for August

Forwards Not Forgetting: Owen Hatherley Interviewed

Jamie Sutcliffe talks to the firebrand of architechtural criticism Owen Hatherley about his recent book A New Kind Of Bleak. Main photo by Agata Pyzik

A Family Affair: Natasha Soobramanien’s Genie And Paul

We review and publish an extract from Natasha Soobramanien's debut novel, a tale of brother and sisterly love. Plus a Q&A with the author, who discusses ideas of "cultural cannibalism" Photo by Dominik Rippl. Words by Josh Warren

Psychedelic Brilliance: The Marvelous Origin Of The Teardrop Explodes

Seldom has a band name been quite so evocative as that of Liverpool's The Teardrop Explodes. Here, band members and associates recall how that name's "psychedelic brilliance" was first unearthed from the pages of an old Marvel comic book

I Think That Someone’s Trying To Thrill Me: Happy Birthday Herman Melville

Had he not been taken from us so cruelly, Herman Melville would have celebrated his 193rd birthday this week. Steve Earles waits and he listens to Mastodon because that's what he does

Morrissey & Marr: 25 Years Since The Alliance Was Severed

This year sees the 25th anniversary of the split of The Smiths. Johnny Rogan's masterful book The Severed Alliance has itself just had a 20th anniversary reprint by Omnibus. Here, reprinted in full, is the chapter that deals with the band's last few weeks

The First Quietus Comics Reviews Column!

Mat Colegate squints at some notable recent comics releases and tries to block out the trauma sustained watching the Dredd 3D trailer

Boredom Is An Energy: David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King Reviewed

David Foster Wallace's last novel introduced the idea of boredom as a tool of anti-capitalism and a state to be relished in, says Siobhan McKeown

Dredder Than Dredd: Geoff Barrow And Ben Salisbury On Drokk

Mat Colegate talks to Portishead's Geoff Barrow and soundtrack composer Ben Salisbury about their Judge Dredd inspired album Drokk. Warning - contains the phrase, "the ribald adventures of shape-shifting warrior oaf Slaine".

Caught By The River: A New Fanzine Extract By Jeff Barrett

Before Caught By The River there was, and is, Heavenly Records. Before that, Jeff Barrett ran record Plymouth shop Meat Whiplash. Here's his story

Sworded Tales: Tim Burgess On What The Wu-Tang Clan Did For Me

Tomorrow night Luke Turner is doing a Q&A with Tim Burgess at Rough Trade East. Ahead of that, we print the missing chapter of his Telling Stories autobiography, where he discusses how the Wu-Tang Clan inspired The Charlatans

Respect My Sociopathy! An Extract And Reviews Of Recent Zero Publications

Siobhan McKeown reviews two new Zero titles and we share an extract from _Why We Love Sociopaths_

An Army Of Faffinettes And The Carmine Vault: Fafi Interviewed

Aug Stone talks to the French graffiti artist and comic book author, Fafi. Some light spoilers

How Soon Is Now? Extract: The Rise Of Blast First

For this Tome On The Range, we print an extract from Richard King's How Soon Is Now? that looks at the thirsty rise of the Blast First label

The Psycho-Geography of Record Fairs, By Johan Kugelberg

If you want to know why we at the Quietus support going to Record Store Day over record fairs, then read this cautionary essay by Johan Kugelberg, taken from his new anthology Brad Pitt's Dog on Zer0 Books

Fact Or Faction: Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s One Model Nation

Aug Stone talks to the Dandy Warhols' frontman about his Kraftwerk and terrorism inspired graphic novel but asks: would the truth have made for a stranger read?

Voguing And The House Ballroom Scene Of New York City 1989-92

Andy Thomas takes a look at the latest excellent coffee table book produced by Soul Jazz, this time on the House Ballroom scene of New York as documented by Chantal Regnault

100 Lost Rock Albums From The 1970s – An Extract

Matt Ingram aka Woebot reckons we've lost touch with the true nature of rock music in the 1970s, a subject he tackles in his new ebook. Here is the intro and an extract on Rock Fusion

Monotheism, The Midwest & The Genesis Of Craig Thompson’s Habibi

Alex Burrows talks to graphic novelist Craig Thompson about exploring the connections between Islam and Christianity with his new masterpiece Habibi. Author picture courtesy of Alicia J. Rose

Lunar Rover: An Interview With Steve Moore And Extract From Somnium

Aug Stone talks to writer, researcher and occultist, Steve Moore about his debut novel Somnium. Portrait courtesy of Stan Blyth

Matters Of The Utmost Concern: Prince Charles Letters

Following the recent publication of his compiled Prince Charles Letters, David Stubbs assembles a number of the Prince Of Wales' letters on "matters of the utmost concern"...

Unmasking Dishonest ‘Big Society’ Logic: Alex Niven & Mark Olden Reviewed

Two new volumes published through Zer0 Books, Alex Niven's Folk Opposition and Mark Olden's Murder In Notting Hill, both push for greater understanding of politics at ground level, and provide examples of what can occur if this does not happen, writes Joe Kennedy