{"product_id":"weird-era-how-pitchfork-changed-music-forever-a-memoir-9780374605506","title":"Weird Era: How Pitchfork Changed Music Forever: A Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e really did change music forever, which makes Ryan Schreiber one of the major innovators of this era. This book is a fascinating exploration into \u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e, and as a tribute, I put it at number one in my list of top books of the year.\" -- Fred Armisen\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"More than a gripping memoir, \u003ci\u003eWeird Era\u003c\/i\u003e doubles as a history of indie rock in the 21st Century and its equally unlikely journey from snarky outsider to Zeitgeist sound.\" --Simon Reynolds, author of \u003ci\u003eStill In A Dream\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003ci\u003eAlmost Famous\u003c\/i\u003e-like memoir for the twenty-first century: \u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e's founder opens up about running the most influential, and infamous, music publication of the internet age. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1996, as legacy media slowly went digital, a nineteen-year-old Minneapolitan named Ryan Schreiber fired up his family's desktop computer and brought his dream to life: a daily online music zine published for, and by, nerds like him. He wasn't yet a writer, but he was passionate about discovering and sharing new music; he figured if he didn't do it, someone else would. He named his site \u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e, an homage to the assassin tattoo Tony Montana sports in \u003ci\u003eScarface\u003c\/i\u003e. Schreiber also decided to eschew a five-star rating system for a new one based on a decimal scale from 0 to 10. Little did he know that he had launched what would become one of the most consequential cultural forces of our time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThirty years after \u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e's founding, Schreiber recounts the extraordinary story behind the site and the generation of listeners and musicians it fostered. He was in the room for it all: the consequences and thrills of \u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e's make-or-break criticism; the boom and bust of digital media; and the albums, concerts, and meltdowns he witnessed from some of this century's most beloved musicians. Along the way, he writes candidly about the site's and his own growing pains as he sought to stay true to \u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e's roots despite its morphing from a bedroom blog to a global behemoth, a journey that culminated in the site's shocking sale to Condé Nast in 2015. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom one of the most influential names in the industry, \u003ci\u003eWeird Era\u003c\/i\u003e is a compulsively readable and revealing memoir of fandom, music, media, and the power of trusting your gut.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Farrar, Straus and Giroux\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780374605506\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.25h x 5.38w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2026 pg. 104\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/0001\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Ryan Schreiber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53458848678069,"sku":"9780374605506","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/9780374605506.jpg?v=1791297381","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/weird-era-how-pitchfork-changed-music-forever-a-memoir-9780374605506","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}