About Site
The site started like most others, a means of expressing a
passion for music. I enjoy music and have a huge record collection,
so why not write about music for other people to read. And so
this site was born. The principle aim of the site back in June
1998 was to review the current albums of the day in consise paragraphs,
the reviews were basic and site content low. Over time, the site
grew in size and went through name changes - originally called
"Music Zone" then the even more obvious "Online
Music". By December 2000 the site was transferred to
the inuk.com doman and given the title "Alternative Rock
Review" because I couldn't think of an original or witty
site name. The title has stuck ever since, although some web
commentators just call the site "entertainment.inuk.com"
By 2001 the site focused on the "Big Grunge Four"
of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden and mini-site
Essential Rock Album Guide
was created to log as many decent rock albums as possible
annually from the mid-1960s to the present day. By far the most
notorious and most read page is the Nu-Metal
Guide which took on a life of it's own by being a nerve-hitting
parody of a then popular genre. Several people over the years
have e-mailed commenting either how much they loved the page
or were deeply offended - the response was overwhelming and continued
to receive publicity and divide opinion several years later.
The site has become more streamlined towards the 'Essential
Rock Album Guide' rather than full length artist reviews
since many excellent sites offer far more detailed and comprehensive
write-ups within the Web Reviewing Community (WRC). The
'Site Interaction' section continues to gather outside
opinion including the 'Guest Reviewer' page for those
interested in submitting their work. I also have a draw creaking
with promo albums undiscovered bands have sent, giving me a chance
to give exposure to many artists out there I would never have
come across if I didn't own a website. And during a moment of
clarity in December 2004, I deleted all the old, out-of-date
pages that I feel are not relevant anymore, thus concentrating
on the core areas.
Site History
As the internet is not permanent with many pages constantly
updated or removed, it's sometimes difficult to get an understanding
how websites have developed within a historical context. Thankfully
there is a website called http://webdev.archive.org that stores
old versions of sites, including this one! To check out this
page, (if you feel bored) type the domain http://www.entertainment.inuk.com
into http://webdev.archive.org and hey presto - pages
going as far back as 1st March 2001. Blimey, some of the old
pages look simplistic! Anyone who's come across this site more
than once will know the site design kept changing during it's
infancy years. My excuse is trial and error, and willingness
to try new ideas. It's got complicated, simple, many pages of
minimal text, few pages of masses of text, etc etc.
Site 1: Music Zone (Jun 98 > Mar 99)
Well, I first thought about putting some album reviews on-line
back in summer 1998. The first design was kept simple using white
text on black background, reviewing all the recent rock records.
There was also an archive of albums of previous year (1997).
In fact, I couldn't let go of these reviews and still currently
situated in the '97/98 review archive. There was also a mini-site
unimaginably titled 'Justin Zone', which eventually grew
into 'Oak Records'
Site 2: 'Online Music' (Apr 99 > Nov 00)
The same as before, but with different navigation layout and
design. Moved to a free domain name (can't remember the name...)
that was slow and covered in ad banners.
Site 3: 'Entertainment Review' (Dec 00 > Jan 01)
Took the plunge and finally bought a domain name from inuk.com
and still use the same domain today. As I got more ambitious,
I spent more effort on website building than actual content.Finally
the site was changed again to….
Site 4: 'Alternative Rock Review' (Jan 01 > present)
Thought it was a catchier title. Pretty much stayed the same
design.
What Others Say
Within the Web Reviewing Community (WRC), there are some "Link
Pages" giving a brief description of this site. It's always
good to get an outside opinion, as probably more closer to the
truth than I can write.
http://www.jackfeenyreviews.com/links.htm
"It is good to see another site hailing from these fair
shores of roast beef, morris dancing and casual racism and Nick's
is a wonderfully designed site, by far the most impressive in
the WRC. He focuses mainly on the classics, rather than the shit,
and his essential approach ensures plenty of meat for even the
most casual of list-lovers."
http://www.guypetersreviews.com/links.php
"A very nicely designed website run by Londoner Nick
who offers reviews of general rock and metal albums, but also
focuses more than other sites within the WRC on very current
releases, and gives updates about upcoming singles and albums.
Interesting is also that Nick has his very own Anti-Nu-Metal
Guestbook."
http://www.geocities.com/sfloman/links.html
"Nick is the man behind this very professional looking
site. Nick delivers enjoyably concise reviews, mostly of modern
metal and grunge groups. Of particular note are his essential
albums guide and his parodic nu metal guide, which incurred the
wrath of Slipnot!"
http://www.coolnoise.co.uk/sites.htm
"Review site that is honest, unpretentious, and a damn
good read. It also accepts submitted CDs from undiscovered bands."
http://www.geocities.com/bradreviews/links.html
"I like this one (which I’ve just discovered) a
good bit. It concentrates mainly (solely?) on the whole alternative
nineties scene, which is nice with SO MANY classic rock-centered
sites around. I like to think I try to incorporate both. With
MAXIMUM SUCKITUDE. There’s also a nice setup here. It looks
official! Like Rolling Stone or something! Only without MAXIMUM
SUCKITUDE."
http://www.adriandenning.co.uk/sites.html
"A nice looking site with loads of information on it,
and a nice guy running it. UK based."
Tech stuff
For you tech-heads out there, this site was designed
using Adobe Pagemill 3.0 and uploaded using the Terrapin FTP v2.3
software. For the record, I have no official web design experience,
mainly self-taught.
Updates
All the old site updates can be found on this
page
Last updated 7th Sep 2005 |