Like us, you’re all busy people, nose to the grindstone of life, battling the various commitments of work, family, minor mental illness and addiction; gardening, proving bread… perhaps some of you even play in an amateur sports team at the weekend. This means that you perhaps haven’t had the chance, over the wet year of 2012, to see some of the most popular pieces of content on the Quietus. Lord knows we forget half of what we’ve done as we keep our eyes firmly on the horizon. Anyway, with this in mind we’ve put together a collection of Quietus Greatest Hits Of 2012 – the most popular articles according to our Google Analytics. As usual, we like the Number 13, so we’ve picked the 13 most popular news stories, Black Sky Thinking opinion pieces and reviews (no prizes for guessing which one wins that), and 26 features to give you lots to chew over. Enjoy, and here’s to an even better 2013.
Most Read Quietus Features Of 2012
1: Kevin Shields interview by Taylor Parkes
(read it here)
2: From the Rock’s Backpages archives – Joy Division In Their Own Words
(read it here)
3: John Peel’s Record Collection: the letter ‘A’ reviewed by David Stubbs
(read it here)
4: John Robb on Massive Attack’s Blue Lines
(read it here)
5: Kylie Minogue interviewed by Simon Price
(read it here)
6: Taylor Parkes on The Beatles at Abbey Road
(read it here)
7: It’s The Vinyl Countdown – Some of our favourite artists discuss their favourite LPs
(read it here)
8: Damon Albarn Interviewed by Stephen Dalton
(read it here)
9: Mark E Smith’s Record Collection
(read it here)
10: Blur – their back catalogue beyond the hits
(read it here)
11: VCMG Interview – Luke Turner speaks to Martin L Gore and Vince Clarke about their techno pop project
(read it here)
12: Genesis P-Orridge interviewed by Joseph Burnett
(read it here)
13: Snooker player Steve Davis & Kavus Torabi go for a Late Lunch and a chat about prog with John Doran
(read it here)
14: John Baizley of Baroness talks to Toby Cook about illustration and heavy metal art
(read it here)
15: 100% Shock & Awe – Skrillex live at the Shacklewell Arms by John Calvert
(read it here)
16: David Sylvian interviewed by Wyndham Wallace
(read it here)
17: Bill Drummond takes us through 59 songs, one for each year of his life
(read it here)
18: Meditate On Bass Weight: Why Sunn O))) are akin to a dance act, by Angus Finlayson
(read it here)
19: Soulsavers interviewed by Sam Spokony
(read it here)
20: Clash Of The Titans: The Cure Vs Radiohead Live by Kevin E.G. Perry
(read it here)
21: Lana del Rey interviewed by John Calvert
(read it here)
22: The Quietus Jovian Bow Shock Mercury Prize alternative award 2012
(read it here)
23: A Folk Devil Talking: Slayer’s Tom Araya interviewed by Jenn Selby
(read it here)
24: A Liquid Lunch: In Bed With Shane MacGowan – an interview by Kevin E.G. Perry
(read it here)
25: Lana Del Rey live, by John Calvert
(read it here)
26: Jonathan Meades interviewed by John Doran
(read it here)
Black Sky Thinking – The Most Read of 2012
1: A Sorry State: Pop Marketing & Rihanna’s Unapologetic, by Jude Rogers
(read it here)
2: Ariel Pink And Beta Male Misogyny, by Joe Kennedy
(read it here)
3: Oh Happy Days: A Personal Recollection Of Working For Jeremy Hunt, by Luke Turner
(read it here)
4: Kindred Spirits: Burial The Urban Explorer, by Rory Gibb
(read it here)
5: Slut Rock? Louise Brown On Using Sexuality & Gender In Metal
(read it here)
6: Half Baked: The Trouble With Cupcake Feminism, by Meryl Trussler
(read it here)
7: Uni Lad & Why Every Man Must Fight The Trivialisation Of Rape, by Luke Turner
(read it here)
8: It’s A Sin? Frank Ocean & Prejudice Against Male Bisexuality, by Luke Turner
(read it here)
9: The New Bleak: Trauma, Haunting And The Cultural Obsession With Darkness, by Ryan Diduck
(read it here)
10: 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony: Why Subversive Gestures Are Not Enough, by John Doran
(read it here)
11: The World Is Still Waiting: The Significance Of The Stone Roses Reunion, by Alex Niven
(read it here)
12: Social Media Myth: Why Facebook Hasn’t Stolen Your Friends, by Charles Ubaghs
(read it here)
13: 2012 – The Year The Establishment Didn’t Crumble, by Alex Niven
(read it here)
The Quietus’ Top Baker’s Dozens of 2012
1: Frank Black’s Favourite Albums
(read it here)
2: Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai’s Favourite Albums
(read it here)
3: Mark Lanegan’s Favourite Albums
(read it here)
4: Michael Gira of Swans
(read it here)
5: Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke
(read it here)
6: Devin Townsend of Strapping Young Lad
(read it here)
7: Geddy Lee of Rush
(read it here)
8: Chris Packham
(read it here)
9: Gary Numan
(read it here)
10: Dylan Carlson
(read it here)
11: Ian Rankin
(read it here)
12: Diamanda Galas
(read it here)
13: Tom Jones
(read it here)
Most read Quietus reviews of 2012
1: Mumford & Sons – Babel, by Mr Agreeable
(read it here)
2: Muse – The 2nd Law, by Simon Catling
(read it here)
3: Swans – We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head, by Luke Turner
(read it here)
4: The Enemy – Streets In The Sky, by Neil Kulkarni
(read it here)
5: Rush – Clockwork Angels, by Mark Eglinton
(read it here)
6: The xx – Coextist, track-by-track by Luke Turner
(read it here)
7: Frank Ocean – Channel Orange, track-by-track by John Calvert
(read it here)
8: Death Grips – The Money Store, track-by-track by John Calvert
(read it here)
9: The Darkness – Hot Cakes, by Jeremy Allen
(read it here)
10: Can – The Lost Tapes, by Taylor Parkes
(read it here)
11: Frank Zappa – reissues by Ringo P Stacey
(read it here)
12: Animal Collective – Centipede HZ, track-by-track by John Calvert
(read it here)
13: Lana Del Rey – Born To Die, by John Calvert
(read it here)
Quietus most-read news of 2012
1: Pussy Riot protest man sews up face
(read it here)
2: Plan B Apology for Skrewdriver t-shirt misunderstanding
(read it here)
3: Investigation into Bloc Festival cancellation by Luke Turner
(read it here)
4: Alex James, Cheese, McDonald’s, The Sun, Bellendery
(read it here)
5: Burial – A Pseud Quote Collection
(read it here)
6: Martin Gore tells us about Depeche Mode’s new LP
(read it here)
7: Berlin clubs face closure over copyright law
(read it here)
8: Gary Kasparov arrested at Pussy Riot trial
(read it here)
9: Euronymous of Mayhem To be Honoured by Norwegian airline
(read it here)
10: Megaupload down
(read it here)
11: Kraftwerk announce Tate Modern gigs
(read it here)
12: Fuck Buttons played at Olympic ceremony
(read it here)
13: Obama Criticises SOPA privacy bill
(read it here)
