Hi! I'm Owen Morawitz and welcome to The Pitch of Discontent.
I’m a freelance writer based in Brisbane, Australia with an interest in music, alternative culture, and media. After several years of writing for both print and online publications, I wanted to try my hand at a more direct form of communication.
Every day, my inbox is flooded with emails and press releases from all over the world for bands and their music. However, it’s not always easy to determine the good from the bad—sometimes you just need to listen. As author John Higgs writes in The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds:
Anyone who has ever had to read record company press releases will know that they contain more unreadable bullshit than any other literary medium. An awkward amalgam of romantic fawning and angry political manifestos, music industry releases are frequently a stream-of-consciousness outpouring of rare and unlikely superlatives, written by people without firsthand knowledge of the music they are referring to.
With The Pitch of Discontent, I aim to cut through this noise. I’ll highlight some of my favourite artists and music that I think is worth your time, regardless of genre persuasion or superlative potential. I also write about film, philosophy, and culture in a variety of other places across the Web, so I’ll link to those pieces as well to give your subscription some extra mileage. You can always find those links here.
This part of the newsletter will remain completely free. Additionally, I will aim to offer paid subscriptions for more substantive “deep dive” content, including retrospective essays and lists on some of my favourite records, interviews, features, and more.
Alright, let’s do this!