If you're here and...

... you haven't got your arses over to Drowned In Sound this week, do so now! Article (and link) breakdown follows...

And, much as I'm loving the articles, it's in the comments - as ever - that some of the real meat can be found. Although shame on you all for trying to drag down the righteous Brother John Robb!

Here's the stuff so far:
Music Journalism R.I.P? - An Introduction
"Is music journalism dead?" We were wondering that, too! So, this week DiS dedicates the bulk of our editorial to pondering that very question. We kick off with a quick word from DiS editor Sean Adams before handing you over to the editor of this week of content, Everett True.
You write to make an impact: A tribute to Steven Wells (a fuller version of the article previously published)
Everett True pays tribute and discusses the changing role of the music critic in web 2.0
The Neil Kulkarni guide to being a record-reviewer (absolute top-notch stuff)
Ten bits of advice from someone without a clue
"It wasn’t meant to end up like this"
To get a musician's point of view of things, we asked Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai what he thinks to the current state of music journalism.
Some Legacy...
The last issues of Plan B Magazine finally departed from shelves at the end of July. kicking_k, former section editor and staff writer, spoke to himself about it...
A Day In The Life Of A Music Critic
The gospel according to John Robb.
The 12-second critic (Tim Footman)
What we’re talking about – the public expression of opinion about cultural product – doesn’t really have a name that does it justice. Let’s use ‘criticism’ for the moment, but any single word that can encompass TS Eliot and Britain’s Got Talent is so vague as to be essentially meaningless. Maybe we should break it down further: critics; reviewers; pundits; judges; arbiters; theorists; tastemakers; hacks; bloggers; spin doctors; PR ninjas; purveyors of artistic snake oil.
Music criticism in Web 2.0 (Laura Nineham)
One of the main issues with music criticism and the Internet lies in the fact that anyone can post a review online and call themselves a critic. If they could honestly label themselves that way, where is the art in being a critic? If anyone can write a review, what justifies the column inches and salaries earned by critics?
The Winner Takes It All (Kieron Gillen - absolute topnotch article)
I wanted to be a music critic. I became a games one. There had to be a reason for that. I have to believe there’s a reason for that...
To think, I could have got a proper job... (Ben Myers)
From a financial perspective, freelance music journalism is a terrible profession. Rates are no higher than when I first got paid for a review back in 1996 (though I was writing for fanzines before that). And that's if you get paid at all.
Music critics are not to be trusted (Jesse Darling)
I figured out long ago that music critics weren’t to be trusted. Journalism in post-modern times is a cynical business; everyone knows that there can no longer be any talk of the “new big thing”...
Kissing without the sex – the role of the music critic (Meg White)
The day that I realised my girlfriend wanted to leave me for a musician was the day I discovered a burning interest in music criticism.
The trouble with music criticism (Jon Dale)
Everett True asked me to tell you about some music journalism that interests me. There were a few problems with what he asked; firstly, his injunction to privilege slightly more under-appreciated or under-known examples of good music criticism – to “[steer] as far away from the obvious ones as possible,” in his own words. This will make sense to anyone who’s sufficiently au fait with Everett’s ideological position regarding the almost inherent validity of underground modes of expression.
How To Start A Music Magazine
A five point guide to starting a music magazine from Everett True
How The Peacocks Lost Their Lips (Chris Roberts - awesome article)
A herd mentality replaced enjoyable argument. We lost, they won. Pity the brave soul who asks if Bon Iver (or whoever) might not actually be a tiny bit over-celebrated, if he/she wants to be commissioned again.
Love Thy Reader
The rot set in when the music press started treating you all like idiots, says Stevie Chick.
Making the grade: the strange and cryptic lore behind assigning numbers to records
Louis Pattison talks us through the strange and cryptic lore behind assigning numbers to records
Rubbing Sh*t in God's Eyes
The Death Of The Music Critic. By John Doran.
You are what you read (Petra Davis)
The recent death of pop-political scatologist Swells has prompted fresh introspection among music journalists
An Australian’s Input (Andrew McMillen)
I chose to become a music critic in Brisbane, Australia as a stupid 19-year old in June 2007, after reading a factually incorrect and otherwise poorly written review of a show that I’d attended. Two years later, I’d like to think that my critical analysis skills have markedly improved, but I’d probably be disappointed.
Being a music critic when music criticism is dead(?) (Andrzej Lukowski)
DiS' albums ed offers his tuppence on this week's debate...
The death of the critic? That’s the least of your problems (Ringo P Stacey)
The death of the music critic I can live with, though I’d rather not. If the music writer is dead it’s really time to stir shit up. The critic dissects, the writer makes the music come alive.
A Day In The Life Of A Music Journalist
Ben Myers talks us through a typical day in his life.

P.S. I'm applying further Lady Gaga logic to the photograph that accompanies this post.