Stephen Mejias

excellent piece.  i prickle a little when someone calls me an audiophile because of the stereotypes (fat, bald, loser) the author mentions.  i usually correct and say, no, just a music lover.  henry hit it on the nose.

There is just no end to the cool of this man.  Henry salutes my vinyl purity!  Right fuckin on!  Coolest dude ever.

Not if you would like to swallow an Ipod, I imagine. 

I'm still rooting for this guy, Rollins, now audiophile hero.

That line in there:

"Sitting in a room, alone, listening to a CD is to be lonely. Sitting in a room alone with an LP crackling away, or sitting next to the turntable listening to a song at a time via 7-inch single is enjoying the sublime state of solitude."

Says it all doesn't it. Great piece by Rollins. Thanks for pointing it out.

 Everytime I see Henry Rollins, It reminds me of the video he did for the song "Liar"

Great lyrics that cut to the bone. good stuff!

Would it be totally off brand if Stereophile created a column that profiled famous Audiophiles, their gear, and the music they love?

Look at that picture of Henry Rollins. Look at it. Look at that music collection. The guy is as punk rock as it gets and he's rocking $12,000 Wilsons? Also, HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE PRESSING of his favorite album. I want to know what his kind of gear is driving those Wilsons. I want to know what introduced him to higher end gear. I want to know how his background as a musician informs his audio habits. Imagine that picture, a picture of his gear in the pages of Stereophile.

Fvck CES, I want to know what Thom Yorke listens to.

Imagine other known Audiophiles like Rick Rubin getting a profile. Or better yet, find a girl. Like Zooey D. or a well know actresss. Get some people outside of the hobby to wax poetic about great sound, and more importantly, the music they love. I mean, A. Digest does profiles of celebrity homes. What about Music and Gear?

This could:

Make great sound cool again.

Raise the public profile of audiophiles for the better.

Lower the demographic for the magazine.

Increase Readership.

Piss off a lot of long time readers. Which is probably why you won't do it. But those people will be dead in 10-20 years and what will you be left with?

Most importantly it would get Stephan in front of some music celebs he can nerd out with.

Think about it.

While the magazine is modern already, it could propel the coolness factor again...

Bonhancopeland I am with you on that idea..... what's running those Wilsons... What turntable is he using?

His article brings me me back to my youth making tapes of vinyl records..

Mr Rollins you are the Man!

I would love it.  I'd even love non-celebrity profiles, if they're interesting.  The Human Angle of this hobby that obsesses on things.

I keep telling JA and SM that if they just sent the camera crew over to my house, they'd get the shots they'd want for the magazine - men in tuxes with loosened bowties, rare jazz records, sweaty martinis, lounging women casting longing looks at my gear.  It's all right here, man.  Sheesh, even Hank Rollins was over just last week for some Brahms and Bourbon and told me my place is where its at.  Audio is cool EVERY DAY at my house. 

Couple axioms to take to heart.  First is that land war in asia thing.  Second is that the non-cool kid will never become cool by saying he is actually cool!  If great sound does become cool again it will not be us driving it.

I'm cool with that!

Actually I recall that Stereophile ran a few pieces on the equipment used by some musicians.  I recall Tony Bennett and Branford Marsalis being profiled, clearly not as cool as Rollins, but it seemed to be a short-lived feature.  Maybe because a lot of musicians aren't audiophiles; I seem to recall Marsalis saying something to that effect - they are so into the music that they can latch on to it no matter what it is played through.  Also, a lot of them use studio equipment that may be quite different than a home system would be.

"I recall that Stereophile ran a few pieces on the equipment used by some musicians.  I recall Tony Bennett and Branford Marsalis being profiled, clearly not as cool as Rollins, but it seemed to be a short-lived feature."

It ran for several years, but ended when writer Rick Rosen, whose concept it was, passed away at a tragically early age from unknown causes. Perhaps we should revive it.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Rollins hit the nail on the head with this from his LA Weekly blog:

"Sitting in a room, alone, listening to a CD is to be lonely. Sitting in a room alone with an LP crackling away, or sitting next to the turntable listening to a song at a time via 7-inch single is enjoying the sublime state of solitude."

Incidentally when Rollins hits the nail on the head - he don't need no stinkin hammer- he just uses his fist while the nail cowers in fear of the punishment it is about to endure.

Sure, tell him it ain't cool to be an audiophile.

I really enjoyed those Rick Rosen pieces - if I recall, it was not uncommon for the discussion to be about the equipment simply as a vehicle for enjoying music, rather than just a discussion about the gear itself. A reminder that the enjoyment of music is the thing. For whatever my vote is worth, I'd love to see it revived in some way.

As for Rollins - he's great. I used to run into him on the street from time to time, back in the day. I think he gets a little much at times, but more often than not, he's right on.

Great piece! I would like to see Mr Rollins' entire audiophile set-up.

Of all the people I thought I`d never see in a Stereophile article, Henry Rollins comes pretty near the top. The suggestion to start articles/interviews with "celeb" audiophiles is just what the magazine needs. Plus it looks like you have a target for the first installment.

When you do interview Henry (let`s all say it together, "JA, make it happen!") please inform him that "Illumination" contains the greatest lyrics ever written. Just a pity the production didn`t equal the song....ah well, you can`t have everything....I mean , where would you put it all?

Henry, get the band back together and give us another album. Time`s a-wastin`.

More like impotent.

I recall most musicians Rosen interviewed not being audiophiles, for the explanation Marsalis rightfully provided. Interesting, and makes sense, but doesn't promote much in the way of an on-going feature IMO.

Or you might get a celeb with fancy gear who only bought it because they were told to do so, or because it looked cool. Which would promote this endeavor ... How? Or the person who has 2 systems: studio gear and an iPod.

Famous or not, I'd far rather see a feature that had quality systems, even basic ones, with conversations about the music collections. Why shouldn't, couldn't, Stereophile readers' systems be featured occasionally? Every Internet forum does this.

I would agree...

Why hasn't someone with say... an audiophile magazine thought of hosting a regular article (with pictures) that does for audio what  "Cigar Aficionado magazine" has done for those smelly old stogies? Make it cool, because cool people love music AND are driven to hearing it in Hifi, because that is very cool.  It could be the next logical step from RollingStone to Mtv to now Stereophile. High-end needs a publicist.

So, I recommend "come in here dear boy have a cigar...you're going to go far"

This is shear genius!