Kludge

A kludge (or kluge) (/klʌdʒ/, /kluːʒ/, /kluːdʒ/) is a workaround or quick-and-dirty solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend and hard to maintain. It is a rough synonym to the term "jury rig." This term is used in diverse fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, internet slang, evolutionary neuroscience, and government.

Pronunciation and etymology

The word has alternate spellings (kludge and kluge), pronunciations (/ˈklʌdʒ/ and /ˈkluːdʒ/, rhyming with judge and stooge respectively) and several proposed etymologies.

Jackson W. Granholm

In the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed., 1989), the kludge entry cites one source for this word's earliest recorded usage, definition and etymology: Jackson W. Granholm's 1962 "How to Design a Kludge" article, which appeared in the American computer magazine Datamation.

Although OED accepts Granholm's definition and credits him with the invention, examples of its use before the 1960s exist.

A source of some confusion has been Granholm's jocular citation of the wholly fictitious lexicographer, Phineas Burling, of the firm "Fink and Wiggles" (for Funk & Wagnalls) as confirming the Germanic origin of the word.

Kludge (magazine)

Kludge was a Los Angeles-based online music magazine devoted to long-form music journalism, album reviews, music news and interviews. It included a media section and a discussion forum. Founded in 2000 by editor-in-chief Arturo Perez, the magazine developed a reputation for its extensive coverage of underground and independent music.

Kludge had a combined staff of over twenty writers, editors, graphic designers, and photographers. It included writers from various backgrounds, ranging from academics and professional journalists to first time writers. After its establishment, the site rapidly expanded to include live reviews, interviews, streams of albums, and year-end features. Kludge had frequently partnered with Virgin Megastores for presenting new works and promoting new artists.

While the site's readership numbers never reached the levels of Pitchfork Media's, it did receive many notices in the press for the quality of its writing. It has been quoted by publications such as the Oakland Tribune, Music Connection, and PureVolume, and has been used as a source by Artistdirect as well as a number of record labels, including Epitaph Records.